Single Vessel Electric Brew Rig Build

[bignath]

I've been doing quite a bit of research on this & other forums before I started buying bits & pieces to make my BIAB keggle, then I stumbled on this thread & your kick-ass system Big Nath. It is exactly what I had in mind, with a couple of added bits of awesome such as the wort return.

I hope you don't mind if I "borrow" your idea & design?

Steal away my man, steal away!

When i stop and think about it, it's a pretty simple design. You wouldn't believe all the **** that was flying around my head before i settled on this rig.

Brewing beer doesn't need to be hard. Grain, soak in water, remove, cook with hops. Throw some yeast at it.....

I seem to be spending a lot of my time and effort lately trying to do things easier. (that should probably be a quote from somewhere).

 

[lukasfab]

thanks Big Nath, champion

 

[Maheel]

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.

maybe you could add one of these for the 2nd element to give you power control on the boil
it gives you adjustment to the power going to the element from 0-100%
might need to add a cooling fan in the control box but...


http://www.uxcell.com/25a-ssr-soid-state-r...r-p-145478.html

 

[bignath]

maybe you could add one of these for the 2nd element to give you power control on the boil
it gives you adjustment to the power going to the element from 0-100%
might need to add a cooling fan in the control box but...


http://www.uxcell.com/25a-ssr-soid-state-r...r-p-145478.html

i suspect i'm about to display my retardedness when it comes to this sort of stuff....

how does it control the power? i'm trying to see a variable control to that part, but it looks like it just plugs in, in between the element and the power cable...

I really am dumb when it comes to this stuff.

 

[Maheel]

you use it with a potentiometer (pot) that you turn to increase / decrease the power to the element

it looks like a SSR but it's a little more and handy as it gives you "linear' control.
like the stove heat dial but no "on-off" like a thermostat

more like 25 % power or 50% power depending on where you turn the dial (pot)

basic wiring like this (ignore voltmeter V)

i cant post the link but will PM it to you from another forum

 

[Impy]

Thought i'd share my new single vessel electric BIAB recirculating mash rig build.

BN

Hi Nath,

How easy was the instillation of the kettle elements? Was the wiring at all tricky?

I've been looking into building a single vessel electric system and the majority of the ones i've seen have the long hot water heaters elements being mounted horizontally.

Thanks,
Impy

 

[bignath]

Hi Nath,

How easy was the instillation of the kettle elements? Was the wiring at all tricky?

I've been looking into building a single vessel electric system and the majority of the ones i've seen have the long hot water heaters elements being mounted horizontally.

Thanks,
Impy

Very easy - if you have the tools and ability to drill precise and clean holes. No wiring to speak of. The elements have a standard 'kettle' cord setup on the back of them. Its literally remove the element and silicone seal from a kettle ($9 kmart jobbie), drill hole in pot, fit silicone seal, screw element back together in the pot, and connect a kettle appliance cord (also called IEC power cable and your good to go.

I cant emphasise how important it is to get the hole for the element spot on. If not, youll have a ****** up pot that leaks water all over your electrics.

I used a carbide drill bit to start, and then gradually enlarged to size with a dremel rotary tool.

 

[dkaos]

So Nath, the elements look great, however what is the inner pot resting on? I would think those elements would not be stable enough to hold the grain pot / malt pipe.

I was thinking maybe weld some feet to the other pot for stability?

Cheers,

Clint

 

[bignath]

So Nath, the elements look great, however what is the inner pot resting on? I would think those elements would not be stable enough to hold the grain pot / malt pipe.

I was thinking maybe weld some feet to the other pot for stability?

Cheers,

Clint

Wow, thats pretty spooky....Just what im trying to do at the moment, but im gonna use stainless threaded rod and some SS nuts for legs screwed into the bottom of the crab cooker basket.

Currently the basket sits on a SS colander i flogged borrowed from Mrs BigNath, but i think it will work better without the colander, and the basket on legs arrangement instead. Both from a versatility point of view, as well as heat distribution throughout the vessel.

Link to other thread ive got going related to this:

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...mp;#entry908088

Cheers,

BN

 

[bignath]

For anyone who is interested as there's been a few of you'se, there is now a youtube link in my signature, of this rig in action.

Couple of things, the large amount of background noise a minute or few in, is rain. Bloody started hammering down once i got the camera out....

Also, i didn't film the boil for two reasons:

1. It's pretty boring, we've all seen it before....
2. One of the two elements crapped out on me, and ended up just being a gently simmer. I didn't realise it was a blown element until after i drained it. The boil was going when it had started to get dark and cold, so i thought "ok, next time i need to get some insulating mat to put around it to keep the heat in" but no....That wasn't the problem.
Have since replaced the element with a spare i had. I am currently trying to work out (there's another thread going about it) whether the problem was a dodgy element, or a problem of scorching the wort, boil dry etc that caused it go bang.
Leaning toward just being a dodgy element though, as i've used these elements before, but in a different setup. Will monitor the situation with another brewday soon.

Had i twigged to the problem, i would have got my immersion element involved but as i said, when it was only boiling gently, it made sense that it could have been the temp of the brew area when the boil was on.

Anyway, have a look if you like. Hope it's not too boring.....

Oh, and sorry for the "squishing" effect. I think i should have chosen "widescreen" instead of "normal" when uploading it. I've never used youtube so that was another first yesterday for me.

 

[breakbeer]

Thanks heaps for posting the video Nath, sorry to hear about the blown element

I've just installed my SS element & lid on the keggle, so stage 1 is complete. Following this thread with much interest

Are you using the standard temp probe that came with the stc-1000?

 

[bignath]

Are you using the standard temp probe that came with the stc-1000?

Yep, standard probe.

 

[lukasfab]

top vid Nath

by the time Im ready to step it up a notch you would have worked your system out

cheers

 

[breakbeer]

looks like I'll have to buy the full crab cooker, just to get the basket insert. I'm sure I'll find a use for the pot, but it's blowing my budget (which is already outta control since I decided to use all s/s fittings)

 

[spog]

breakbeer, i have been stuffing around with a similar system for a while now using a keggle,the inner basket,crabcooker is substituted with an elcheapo s/s stock pot from the cheap shop.
these pots are thin and easily filled with holes on the bottom and up the sides using a drill and some time.
if you use a small drill bit it makes a voile bag unneccesary so one more less clean up job.....cheers......spog........

looks like I'll have to buy the full crab cooker, just to get the basket insert. I'm sure I'll find a use for the pot, but it's blowing my budget (which is already outta control since I decided to use all s/s fittings)

 

[lukasfab]

not bad idea, how small of a drill bit you think?

 

[breakbeer]

Thanks for the tip spog! I've got alot more time than I have $$$

 

[spog]

sorry for the slow reply,i used a drill bit slightly smaller than 1/8th of an inch,i used this size because it wouldnt let too many grain pieces into the keggle.
to avoid too much cloudy run off just drain slowly at the end of the run off or whirlpool/stir like buggery for a while then drain...slowly.....cheers....spog.....

not bad idea, how small of a drill bit you think?

 

[black_labb]

Thanks for the tip spog! I've got alot more time than I have $$$

I've got a pot I'm going to do a similar thing to but using an angle grinder and a 1mm cutoff wheel. Will be making slits along the bottom so it can run through. Should be quicker than a drill and using the right pattern plenty strong.

 

[breakbeer]

I'll have to find out the diameter of it, but I think the 12L could be a goer....

http://www.geordi.com.au/Products4d.htm