Newbie 3 vessel build (and other stuff probably), because.. why not?

[Hopdrop]

Hey Guys,

So I'm greener than grass when it comes to brewing, but enjoying picking up bits and pieces, reading up and having a project to work on. With a bit of luck I might churn out some decent beers too!

Thought I'd start this thread as I stumble along my build and hopefully gain some good tips and insight from the old hands on here.

Essentially, this is what I'm starting out with: http://imgur.com/7VMC4Qt

(sorry can't figure out how to embed the images)

Planning to use the kegs as kettle (gas fired) and a hlt (maybe try one of the new KK elements?) and the esky for the mash tun. I grabbed the copper tube on a bit of a whim from masters because it was heavily discounted. Hoping to make an immersion chiller with it, use it for dip tubes, and maybe a copper manifold for the bottom of the mash tun instead of a purchased false bottom (open to input and suggestions here!...... well on anything really!).

I've cut the top off the kegs now, and the blade wandered a bit, but oh well! and also drilled holes to port with ball valves. Used a flexovit cutting disc and then a grinding and flap disc to dull the edges and get rid of the burrs best I could. Need to clean them out from all the scraps (will a napisan soak as people use for just cleaning brewing kit be good enough?).

http://imgur.com/KzGWrgx



And finally picked up this old upright freezer, hoping I can fit the two fermenters in there with the gladwrap method so air lock height won't be a problem, and manage the temperature with an InkBird 308. Also want to look into a budget kegging set up with the dream of putting a brew down early December and having it on tap January some time!


http://imgur.com/CmCGSHR

Well I guess that's all for now, cheers all and I'll ensure to update as I plod away! :beer:

 

[mr_wibble]

Looks like a good start.

Since your mash & hlt kegs are on the pre-boil side, they only need to be clean, not sanitary.
The boil afterwards will take care of sanitation.

From the photo, it looks like you'll have room for air-locks - on the top at least.

good luck!

PS> remember you want a few weeks for your beer to condition after brewing, so get cracking if you want it ready ASAP.

 

[pcqypcqy]

I did a keg HLT recently, and we weren't sure whether to go to the new Keg King elements. Apparently they're much better than the old ones, but we ended up going with this option. I believe they're local to you in Perth. One of the other guys who isn't afraid of wiring picked up the element by itself and the bits to do the box himself and did it cheaper as well.

Give everything a few good cleans with napi san, and a blast with a gerni or jet nozzle on the garden hose. Those little shavings of metal can be a pain to get out, and you wouldn't want to leave any behind.

What are you using for valves? If you can, pull them apart and give them a good clean with napisan before your first brew. Mine had a real chemical flavour to it that didn't make it undrinkable, but was not particularly tasty. That keg will probably get dumped now that I've replaced it with the real deal.

With your copper, consider saving some to do a pre-chiller. I'm currently looking at taking some copper out of my 18m chiller so that it remains completely submerged for my smaller brews, and then using that for the pre-chiller. In summer the best I can manage (without wasting heaps of water) is to chill down to 30 to 40 degrees, and let the freezer do the rest. I plan to make a coil that fits in a 20L white bucket, fill it with ice slurry, and then use my water tank for the chill water with a return back to the tank.

As for manifold vs false bottom, I'd just get the false bottom and put a pick up tube on it. Copper manifolds are a bit of a pain, I used one on my last set up. The new false bottom in the keg is much easier, just a quick rinse and it's done.

 

[Hopdrop]

Thanks for the input guys.

Mr Wibble, I keep forgetting that the poil will take care of a lot of the nasties and get carried away with everything that touches anything ever must be nuked with sanitiser or napisan! I'll have to get over my procrastinating ways and start brewing!

pcqypcqy (kaldjsljkshdfgkjsldhfs) thanks for the link to the element, looks the goods! Might even get one of those and a keg king to evaluate their quality, and worst thing is I install both for an all electric kettle?

I'm just using one piece ball valves at the moment purchased from the LHBS (pretty much this https://homebru.com.au/brewing-equipment/1-2-s-s-ball-valve-kit.html), I'll make sure to give them a boil in a pot, and then maybe a few wet runs when the vessels are all set up without grains, wort etc to flush them a bit. I had seen video where a bloke filled an esky with ice slurry and a pump to push the water into the immersion chiller and back to the esky to reuse the same water, you reckon maybe a 12m immersion chiller with a 7m pre chiller in the esky with slurry would be the go if I'm not using any pipe for the manifold? or am I getting the way the system works a bit confused here?

Cheers!

 

[pcqypcqy]

Thanks for the input guys.

Mr Wibble, I keep forgetting that the poil will take care of a lot of the nasties and get carried away with everything that touches anything ever must be nuked with sanitiser or napisan! I'll have to get over my procrastinating ways and start brewing!

pcqypcqy (kaldjsljkshdfgkjsldhfs) thanks for the link to the element, looks the goods! Might even get one of those and a keg king to evaluate their quality, and worst thing is I install both for an all electric kettle?

I'm just using one piece ball valves at the moment purchased from the LHBS (pretty much this https://homebru.com.au/brewing-equipment/1-2-s-s-ball-valve-kit.html), I'll make sure to give them a boil in a pot, and then maybe a few wet runs when the vessels are all set up without grains, wort etc to flush them a bit. I had seen video where a bloke filled an esky with ice slurry and a pump to push the water into the immersion chiller and back to the esky to reuse the same water, you reckon maybe a 12m immersion chiller with a 7m pre chiller in the esky with slurry would be the go if I'm not using any pipe for the manifold? or am I getting the way the system works a bit confused here?

Cheers!

Yeah, about 2/3rds / 1/3rd seems like a good split between chiller and pre-chiller.

The problem you might have is if the total volume of recirculated chill water is low, you'll end up melting your ice very quickly and lose the benefit. It's all about the difference in temp between the chiller and the wort. Straight after the boil, tap water will do a good job getting the chill started. I find tap water at ambient temps gets me down to 40 degrees wort temp pretty quick. It's that final few degrees that takes forever.

So, if you had a rainwater tank (or swimming pool or whatever), you can run it through your chiller with a pump and full speed and not worry about how much you're using because it all gets returned to the source. This is what I plan to do, with the prechiller between the pump and the chiller, and the return going back into the tank. That way, the input to the pre-chiller is more or less constant temperature, and the ice chills it down some more, and you're not dumping the hot water back onto the ice and ruining the effect.

If you didn't have this option, I'd run the first whatever litres of water into some buckets and use this water to clean your brew gear, it'll be nice and hot. Once it chills down, then you can put the return from the chiller into the esky and just recirculate. Won't melt the ice so much.

 

[pcqypcqy]

Also if you're paying $32 odd dollars for a single piece ball valve you're getting ripped off. There are a number of places that do 3 piece valves for less than this, I got mine from grain and grape.

http://www.grainandgrape.com.au/products/category/POLHBDTU-fittings/7TAP%20BALL%20VALVE%20%BD%22%203%20PICE

$25 for the real deal, you'd be surprised how much shit can get behind the seals in there. They will work with weldless fittings the same as your 1 piece..

 

[Hopdrop]

Thanks again for the feedback pcq. No swimming pool or water tank here, so I reckon the first run of hot water to clean kit sounds the goods!

I thought the price was a bit steep for the ball valve at the local shop, but I was so antsy to get my build moving and not be waiting around for postage I bit the bullet and the till price rose very quickly! Can't make any progress this weekend as have people visiting from overseas to show around, but hopefully I will be able to update build early next week!

Cheers