Show us your brewrig

[husky]

This is the latest iteration of my single vessel RIMS system. It started life as a BIAB system however the bag is no longer required. It still gets used to make disposal of the spent grain easier.

Originally I wanted to do a HERMS setup however the RIMS seemed a little more compact and earier to make with the materials I had available. Only concern I had was about wort scorching that I had read about was alleviated after my first brew on the weekend. No scorching evident on the elemt after brew day and nice and easy to break the tube down for a clean.

Pot is 75L however biggest brew I have done is a 28L @ 1.060, should be good for a double batch IPA if ever required.

Once I harvest this years hops I will have a go at packing the hop rocket with fresh flowers and running out of the kettle, through hop rocket, through chiller and straight to fermenter. Should be able to pack a kilo or so of flowers in there.


Current setup:

 

[Fish13]

Husky love your setup. I look at a crab cooker for $100 and go there is the start of a manual braumiester if i ever saw one. has a basket, and handles. Just needs a tap and a away you go. maybe a brown pump to recirculate and its done.

 

[spog]

congrat,s to you both...many sleepless nights to come (just had to remind you ..h e ..he ).........cheers...spog..........

oh the brew rig

here

 

[Sprungmonkey]

nice work fish - I have 15mth yr old twin boys - awesome fun - can't wait till they can clean kegs and fermenters

 

[Fish13]

i got 4 of them. all under 4...

Anyway they should be home today

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

i got 4 of them. all under 4...

Anyway they should be home today

Bloody catholic, try the think about jyo method :lol:

Nev

 

[Fish13]

don't swear at me nev or i may not pay my bill....

or bring you fish. Although i am going in for the snip once the signs are green.

 

[Maheel]

i been looking over the rigs here as i think i am going 3V maybe herms or rims using a little brown pump to kick off on a single level brew rig but have a question

what do most do with the spent grain to get it out of the tun ? do most just manhandle them off the rig to empty ?
some of the tuns look fairly locked into position with piping and temp probes etc.

i was thinking to keep the tun fairly movable for emptying would make like easier ? either my big esky or a keggle tun...

input or the chance to come look at your 3V in BNE would be appreciated

thanks

 

[donburke]

i been looking over the rigs here as i think i am going 3V maybe herms or rims using a little brown pump to kick off on a single level brew rig but have a question

what do most do with the spent grain to get it out of the tun ? do most just manhandle them off the rig to empty ?
some of the tuns look fairly locked into position with piping and temp probes etc.

i was thinking to keep the tun fairly movable for emptying would make like easier ? either my big esky or a keggle tun...

input or the chance to come look at your 3V in BNE would be appreciated

thanks

scoop it out into buckets using a plastic dustpan

 

[Maheel]

scoop it out into buckets using a plastic dustpan

yours is the type of rig i have in mind DB

do you find the scoop and dump a pain or no drama ?

thanks

 

[fraser_john]

Depends on the mash tun, mine has a lip, so I scoop with a 2 litre jug, but another brewers was fully cut and had no lip, he also had welded on a kind of "spout" and had the mash tun hinged at the base. That way he would bring in a wheel barrow, tip the mas tun over, dump it all in the wheel barrow then off to the garden. Eezy peezy. He also had the keg turned upside down and used the keg spear locator as the point at which he welded in the pickup tube, so there was no "dead space" in the mash tun. He had it well thought out.

If I was rebuilding my rig from scratch, that is how I would build it.

<edit>
whoo hoo, 1600th post
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[hsb]

I too have a Keg MLT and also use the 'scoop and serve' method to empty it.
I can remove mine from the rig (removable temp probe/silicon hose-camlock fittings), so I take it down to give it a final clean to remove the bits of grain that can't be flushed. The false bottom means I have to do this or you just can't get all the grain out cleanly.

I agree about using the keg spear. I would do it that way if I could start over. I would try and have it setup as a 'dump valve', so I could just rinse with the hose with the drain in the base open and let all the remaining grain wash out. It is a small annoyance trying to flush it out the other way.

Hinging is definitely another option, but seems like the harder way to do it when you can just have a big old hole at the bottom.

I would be inclined to keep the MLT mobile until you're really happy with your setup, purely because you might change your mind about how it's all setup.

 

[kelbygreen]

I use a esky and just scoop it out lift it off and hose out the rest onto the lawn. it can be a pain but either way you do it there will be some handling involved

 

[Maheel]

here's a quick mock up

thinking esky to begin (but it's a bit big at 70L but i have a copper manifold made...)
use brown pump and silicone hose / snap lock fittings to pump from
use a hook shaped copper end on silicone to go direct into top of boiler and a copper Tun "sprayer" type thing for sparge etc ?

HLT -> tun
circulate tun via herms on lower shelf ($9 kmart jug element and copper coil)
TUN -> boiler

top of HLT is 1500mm ish but i am tall and could scoop if it was a keggle

thoughts ?

 

[donburke]

yours is the type of rig i have in mind DB

do you find the scoop and dump a pain or no drama ?

thanks

its no drama, but it is one of the least desirable parts of the brew process, that and cleaning the kettle

i'll scoop until 98% empty, then lift it off the stand and onto the grass, hose it out, grab a sponge with some napisan and give it a gentle wipe, then hose off

its alot easier to clean than the kettle, which gets an overnight soak in hot napisan and a quick hose out the next day

 

[bignath]

my mash tun is an esky. Just pick it up by the handles, and tip into the greenwaste bin.

hose the rest out onto the lawn, backflush through the outlet back through the manifold (always dislodges a few hiding grain shells), tip it upside down to drip dry.

 

[donburke]

my mash tun is an esky. Just pick it up by the handles, and tip into the greenwaste bin.

hose the rest out onto the lawn, backflush through the outlet back through the manifold (always dislodges a few hiding grain shells), tip it upside down to drip dry.

how big is your grain bill ?

 

[kelbygreen]

yeah with 11kg of grain when its dry mine is not that easy to lift when its wet

 

[raven19]

i been looking over the rigs here as i think i am going 3V maybe herms or rims using a little brown pump to kick off on a single level brew rig but have a question

what do most do with the spent grain to get it out of the tun ? do most just manhandle them off the rig to empty ?

Further info here that might be of interest:
Hard Plumbed Mash Tun thread

 

[bignath]

how big is your grain bill ?

Usually 8.5-9kg dry, so maybe 16kg when wet due to absorbtion plus the esky.