this setup looks great
would it be a pain to do a list of the items required and cost
this looks to be exactly what I need to get brewing outside
how long does it take to get to strike temp and then to boil with those elements (depending on how much water)
great job
@mikec - thanks mate, it's taken me a lot of thought as to how i wanted my single vessel to perform and initial testing and one batch it seems to be a good system. Not too dissimilar to a braumeister, but with enough change to be able to implement my own thoughts about how to extract those lovely sugars from my grains...
I've also thought about covering the "ghetto control board"(trademark
) with something, otherwise i may not live too long....In keeping with the ghetto tradition, i may just use a couple of right angle brackets with some more timber over the top as a roof.
@lukasfab - here's a basic run down of my parts list. Keep in mind, i've come from a 3V rig, and therefore had a lot of the parts already.
50lt (actually holds 56.5Lt's) Primus Stainless Pot - Camping World $109
Aluminium Crab Cooker Insert - $55.
(to support the bag, easier to pull with a pulley setup, and having the bag "open" in the basket when it's hanging means a quick sparge through the grains is way too easy...) This was from a local fishing shop who was prepared to sell it to me out of an aluminium crab cooker set.
Black Milk Crate - ummmmm,,,,,,,,you know the story.....
Ball Valves x 2 - One for drainage to wort return, the other for filling point, and draining to cubes. $30 for both???
Assorted brass compression fittings from bunnings (right angle x 2) for the lid fittings - thermowell, and wort return.
1 x brass t piece for the thermometer install underneath (less than $10)
1 x little brown pump - ebay or a better option is Gryphon Brewing when he gets them back in stock, which is imminent. $35approx.
2 x kmart kettle elements. (gut kettle, remove element, element seal, and plastic switch assembly) $18 total.
1 x stainless steel colander stolen from Mrs BigNath's kitchen. Not sure she knows about this part yet..... but you can buy them for less than $10 at kmart.
1 x stc1000 controller - ebay $25approx. delivered to your door.
1 x dial thermometer. (not necessary at all, i just thought i'd put it in to measure any discrepancy between the flow out of the bottom of the pot and the mash temp which is controlled by the stc probe in the thermowell.
Assorted brass fittings, some have been cut in half to join the thermo, pump etc system to the bottom ball valve. Was a bit tricky. Not sure of exactly the parts i used, as i had most of them lying around from previous "brewery renovation ideas" years ago... Wouldn't amount to much $$$
1 x length of hose (im about to upgrade to silicone) to get from back of the pump to the wort return port in the lid. Maybe $10, but silicone will most likely cost me closer to $20-30 - i need about 1.5meters.
1 x inline tap in the end of the wort return. This is so you can shut off flow temporarily with the pump still going to allow disconnection from the lid, and put in the laundry sink close to where i brew to drain hoses. Otherwise, even with the pump turned off, without an inline tap, fluid in the line can go everywhere once it gets removed from the lid, which is not good when it's so close to electricals.
2 x IEC power cords for the elements installed in the bottom of pot.
1 x pulley system put together from bit's of crap lying around. Maybe $20 worth of parts from bunnings.
Other assorted bits and pieces that i had lying around (brass fittings, flange nuts, rubber/silicone seals etc...)
Basically, it owes me $400 if i was going from scratch. BUT, i already had most of the brass fittings, I had the stc and the brown pump setup already. I already had the dial thermo, milk crate, colander, hoses, ball valves, inline tap etc.
Really the only thing i've spent money on are the pot itself, the crab cooker basket insert, voille bag/sheet, and the two elements. Everything else is recycled from my other setups...
One thing i've learnt about the build, is the value of a good dremel too with the attachments. A dremel will work through stainless stuff, retardedly quick and easy, and due to the nature of the tool, is very good at creating neat jobs. And when you've got 50kg's of water and malt sitting above two kmart elements, and a four board power strip, you want it water tight!
Regarding the elements and heating.....
I mash in with strike water from my hot water tap which comes out at pretty much mash temp, so i only need to heat it a few degrees to allow for temp loss when it meets the grain. Probably takes 3-5mins...I crush my grain fresh whilst this is happening, and the stc controls it so it's ready for when i am..
Getting from mash out at 78deg to boil took 23 minutes on it's maiden brew a few weeks ago. This is for a preboil volume of 46.5lt's.
I just control the boil by switching in and out, the second element. One element maintains a nice simmer, two elements makes leaping bubbles o' wort.
when i get home tonight i'll be fermenting the maiden brew i did a few weeks back, which will free up my cubes ready for the weekend's brewday on this single vessel rig.
Can't wait!
EDIT: Forgot to add, when brewday is done, i drain the kettle, disconnect from thermometer and pump assembly, hose out the hop and trub stuff, put back on stand, reconnect pump assembly, refill with hot water and run some citric acid through the rig for an hour or so while i have some beers. Come back and drain it, rinse, wipe out done - good as new.
I do this because where i live, we have big problems with calcium buildup on kettle elements. Once batch and i've got elements covered in white film. Citric recirculating bath does a great job of it.
EDIT #2: The only issue i have with this setup is with cleaning when you disconnect the thermo and pump t piece assembly, water and wort goes everywhere for a little bit. Probably lose about 50-100ml of fluids as the hose backwashes through the pump and out of the top of the t piece. Also, when it's disconnected, it just sit's on the ground inside the milkcrate, which is not an ideal situation, but it works. One day i'll have a better solution to this small inconvenience.
