My braumeister clone build

[micbrew]

ok another update
went into kk today and they were out of the 70mm thermowell

thanks djgilmore ... Cheeky Peak sorted me out and it should arrive tomorrow in the mail :super:

as I hope to be brewing this Saturday on JBs system ..I may not get a chance to do much work

hey wide eyed
yeah the pipe in that photo ...was 2 x 150mm pieces joined with a socket ...as a prototype

I have since had fabed a piece now ..less the socket .....
this is connected to the kettle and obviously passes through the malt pipe
and yes the pump is located under the kettle

if that's makes sense

cheers mick

 

[grimpanda]

Hey Mick,

I think what Wide Eyed was asking is whether the output of the pump (water/wort) flows out from below the bottom filter.

From your photos it looks like the wort travels up the central 1/2" bsp pipe, which is going up through the malt pipe and bypassing the majority of where your grain bed would be. If this is the case you'll be missing out on the main benefits of a recirculating system (consistent mash temperature, clarification of wort and increased extraction efficiency), seeing as the recirculating wort will only make contact with the top part of the grain bed before flowing out over the top.

As Pratty1 mentioned, you could probably adapt your system using camlocks to have the wort exit from beneath your bottom filter - this way wort will flow evenly up through the entire grain bed. The 'Braubushka' rig is a good example of this method.

Good luck!

 

[micbrew]

IT BREATHES ......

after some further electrical tinkering and bastardization , this is the result
it still requires further tweaking and testing over the next few weeks

and I can evaluate it effectiveness in design and build its no braumesieter ...

but if it cooks a wort ok ..I will be happy

couple of pics in the link


http://s1248.photobucket.com/user/hmcanny01/library/beer%20machine%202

cheers mick

 

[JB]

IT BREATHES ......

after some further electrical tinkering and bastardization , this is the result
it still requires further tweaking and testing over the next few weeks

and I can evaluate it effectiveness in design and build its no braumesieter ...

but if it cooks a wort ok ..I will be happy

couple of pics in the link


http://s1248.photobucket.com/user/hmcanny01/library/beer%20machine%202

cheers mick

Well done Mick! I know how much of a battle it's been for you to get to this point. Your persistence will all be worth it once we get your system dialled in & tweaked / optimised to get some awesome brews on.

Happy brewing mate!

 

[micbrew]

well the big day arrived

the plan being to brew a morning pale ale

with the help of JB , we set about

setting up parameters of mathos controller and also the recipe ...which went smoothly ...thx Jason

water was at strike temp ..we add the grain bill ....
I was a little game ..adding in almost 11 kg of grain !!!
this resulted in grain blocking my malt pipe ...recirculation tube and pump ...feck it

trying to clear hoses, with grain reducing and or blocking the flow , it was almost comical with hot wort flying all over the place

so we attempt to lift the malt pipe and discard some of the grain ... with the grain wet and heavy
it makes my pulley system redundant in moments .... bending the ceiling hook

once we empty some of the grain form the malt pipe ...success

the recirculation of the wort is quite good and the 3.6 kw is running quite well
achieving a rolling boil and mathos controller regulating the temperature perfectly
these are a great bit of kit ...

well after some hours now lost , the decision is made to abort the recipe and go through the motions anyhow
thanks JB for supporting me in the first brew I really needed a calm influence !!

I did manage to yield about 34 litres . I fermented 23 litre for the sake of it
and will see how it goes ... im not holding out much hope

although after cleaning up my mess this evening ..looks to be a mighty krausen working away
clean up was easy with just the 2 vessels

I will now trial a smaller grain bill over the next few weeks

cheers Michael

 

[JB]

A pleasure Mick. Very glad to see you up & running.

Working out your specific system's ideal grain amount & water level's Vs output volumes, to bed down recipe figures you'll be flying mate.
= :chug: