Show us your brewrig

[Wolfy]

This is to everyone who has a 3 keg single tier setup with pumps and what not.

How do you go about cleaning the mash tun and kettle? Do you take the mash tun and kettle off the rig to clean them?

I'm about to design a new rig to do full keg sized batches - automated with an opentroller DX1 but I'm just not sure if there's a simple way to clean everything, pipes included, without taking everything apart and stripping the brew rig down each time.

How do you get the grains out of the mash tun for example?

Unless I'm going to disassemble the fittings, I don't take the converted-kegs off the stand - just clean them where they are.
I scoop out the spent grain with special decoction jug, put a bucket under the tap (which is in the bottom of the keg) and wash out the rest of the grain with a hose and then give it a wipe with a rag - if I do that while the kettle is boiling it does not usually need anything more (and takes only about 5mins). Kettle is cleaned in much the same way, with the addition of a percarbonate wash that is recirculated though the pump/lines/etc.
Its a good idea to disassemble and strip everything for a thorough clean - how often you do that is a matter of personal preference (and laziness).

 

[mxd]

I've just upgraded my MLT to an 80 ltr insulted pot and my HX (the stainless coil and kettle)

https://picasaweb.google.com/11425105505970...403/NewMLTAndHX

Gave it a test run (no grain) yesterday, a few leaks but not too bad.

Had 40 ltrs of watr in the MLT and was ramping at 2 degress over 3 minutes (which is similar to my last HX)

I will give it a run with grain this weekend, will try to make it to the Melbourne brewers brewday.

 

[Tim]

I thought I would share a pic of my current brewery. Having started out on a ghetto bucket of death system and then going up to a 3V 60L setup, I have simplified things now and moved towards a single vessel brewery with a removable lauter tun (currently a 20L bucket with a perforated bottom, will upgrade to stainless soon) for full volume mashing aka BIAB style. All up the bits and pieces here probably are pushing towards making a braumeister look economical, but I have been accumulating this stuff over the last 10 years.

Aside form the lauter tun, I still need to tidy up the wiring and potentially put a PID based temp controller for recirculated mashing but as always its work in process and light years ahead of my old bucket and esky system (although that did produce some great beer)

Tim

 

[Bugglz]

Here is my baby, two years in the making! Still have to make a mash return manifold and mount the control box and heat exchanger properly, but you get the idea.

 

[Fish13]

well i got mine sort of finished...

The new setup

Still a work in progress. but it will allow me to do full batches now . i think

One of the urns has a temp dial on it and the other has a power setting to the element dial. they are also both made by birko too.
THe temp dial one will be the mash tun and the secondary run off kettle. the power setting one will be the main kettle. My only problem will be sparging if i need too... hmmm i might be able to use the sparge water in the kettle to get my volumes right.

Back to the drawing board.

 

[Fish13]

and done. no leaks or problems. Its now power pack time and brewing

 

[Edak]

Nice work fish, I see you treat the birko like a baby

If using a pump for recirc try to keep your pipe to a minimum length so you don't lose too much heat energy.

This is my single vessel braumeister clone. I have to put together a build thread for it though.

 

[Fish13]

Nice work fish, I see you treat the birko like a baby

If using a pump for recirc try to keep your pipe to a minimum length so you don't lose too much heat energy.

This is my single vessel braumeister clone. I have to put together a build thread for it though.

yeah still need to get a bench for it to all go on. I will end up getting a STC-1000 for it and look at a PID or something better then an egg timer to get my temps right.

 

[Kappow]

wraped my mash tun with some wood this weekend

 

[gap]

View attachment 57162

wraped my mash tun with some wood this weekend

more info please. i would like to do the same.

Regards


Graeme

 

[dougsbrew]

View attachment 57162

wraped my mash tun with some wood this weekend

Very nice coopering there. i really like when some one turns a peice of appartus intop a peice of art. well done.

 

[b0neski]

View attachment 57162

wraped my mash tun with some wood this weekend

Nice job. I'm thinking of doing something similar with my portakeg. How did you go about this?

 

[adryargument]

Had all week to myself, so i started to knock together the new stand with my new welder.
Loosely based on the Brutus 10 - Built to comfortable fit 3 x 98l kettles with room to upsize.

Stand is approximately 2050 l x 595 w x 700 h

Will be putting on a 2.5mm checkered steel plate for the top and the shelf to spread the kettle weight.

Over the next few weeks i will also be adding:
- Hard plumbing water
- Braudruino controller
- Possible Mash Tippy
- Wheels / pump shields etc

 

[Kappow]

i wrapped with 6mm rubber matt first then the wood is from bunnings its 40x12 tassie oak and the rings are black colourbond with some adjustable latchers pop riveted to the colourbond to hold it all together

 

[Dan Pratt]

I thought I would share a pic of my current brewery. Having started out on a ghetto bucket of death system and then going up to a 3V 60L setup, I have simplified things now and moved towards a single vessel brewery with a removable lauter tun (currently a 20L bucket with a perforated bottom, will upgrade to stainless soon) for full volume mashing aka BIAB style. All up the bits and pieces here probably are pushing towards making a braumeister look economical, but I have been accumulating this stuff over the last 10 years.

Aside form the lauter tun, I still need to tidy up the wiring and potentially put a PID based temp controller for recirculated mashing but as always its work in process and light years ahead of my old bucket and esky system (although that did produce some great beer)

Tim

hi tim,

i have a similar system with a PID controller wired up to control the temp when recirculating during mashing. Im currently having some issues with getting the bucket inside the urn to recirculate the wort through the grain bed>>> even with quality milled grain at 1.5mm, a bucket with a million 6mm holes in it and the splatter guard seems to be clogging up>>>. ive been trying the step mash from 50 - 66 - 72 - 78.

The path of least resistance isnt through the grain, its overflowing the bucket and back into the urn, not what im after.

Have you been able to step mash from temp to temp? and have you been able to recirculate during the entire mash? interested to know what hurdles you have had with the setup your running.

Dan

 

[Tim]

hi tim,

i have a similar system with a PID controller wired up to control the temp when recirculating during mashing. Im currently having some issues with getting the bucket inside the urn to recirculate the wort through the grain bed>>> even with quality milled grain at 1.5mm, a bucket with a million 6mm holes in it and the splatter guard seems to be clogging up>>>. ive been trying the step mash from 50 - 66 - 72 - 78.

The path of least resistance isnt through the grain, its overflowing the bucket and back into the urn, not what im after.

Have you been able to step mash from temp to temp? and have you been able to recirculate during the entire mash? interested to know what hurdles you have had with the setup your running.

Dan

Hi Dan
I've had a few similar issues but do a single infusion mash and only recirc at mash out for which I lift the lauter pipe out. I'm finding that recirculating does not really increase the clarity much and the bucket wants to fill rather than drain.

I was considering a stainless lauter pipe but think a separate mash lautering vessel might be better but use a full volume mash still.
Efficiency may drop but I get 84% at the moment anyhow.

I'm just trying to keep it simple but functional on a small footprint. A separate mlt vessel would also get me away from skyhooking which usually ends up messy.

Tim

 

[labels]

50 Litre brewery I built about three years ago. With HERMS coil, pump, electric heated HLT and LPG heated kettle

 

[Edak]

50 Litre brewery I built about three years ago. With HERMS coil, pump, electric heated HLT and LPG heated kettle

View attachment 57170

Holy bejesus how many valves do you have?

Looks awesome! I totally want to make a wooden cover for my homemade braumeister, would look even cooler than the space jacket mine has.

I am guessing that you just run PBW through everything to clean? It looks like it is all fixed together.

 

[b0neski]

i wrapped with 6mm rubber matt first then the wood is from bunnings its 40x12 tassie oak and the rings are black colourbond with some adjustable latchers pop riveted to the colourbond to hold it all together

Ok so the wood is just held on by the tension of the colourbond straps? No glue holding the wood on?

 

[bigfridge]

50 Litre brewery I built about three years ago. With HERMS coil, pump, electric heated HLT and LPG heated kettle

View attachment 57170

One suggestion for anyone looking to duplicate - fixed pipework should be self draining ie you should be able to turn a valve or similar and the whole pipe network drains to avoid liquid becoming trapped.