SpeckyBraumonster 2.1

[specky85]

Late in 2017 I had a chance to closely inspect NealK's DIY Braumonster. It is an amazing feat of ingenuity and homebrew engineering.

I had started building a different, smaller 1v system, but my meeting with Neal convinced me to abandon that effort and instead focus on making a much larger one like his.

It is like his in many respects except with the addition of a three-way valve and an integrated whirlpool return.

The build took me from late December 2017 through February 2018, with integration testing and a first brew in March 2018.

In April I added acid-etched volume marks to the main vessel, and installed a heavy-duty door track system in part of my garage to assist with lifting the malt pipe.

When I started brewing with this new system I found that my BeerSmith installation had become corrupted, so instead of recovering my license and starting over, I switched to the Free and Open Source Brewtarget package.

It's a learning curve but worth it because there are no restrictions on how many or what computers it works on which makes it sustainable in the long run.

In September I was gifted a plate chiller. I switched out the fixed tubing between the valve and return port and installed camlocks to facilitate attaching and removing a chiller mid-brew.

I have since brewed with it five times, and while I'm still working things out I can reliably hit 70-72% efficiency.

Photos to follow in succeeding posts.

 

[specky85]

Test fitting 100L stainless pot, Braumiester 50L large malt pipe, a 2.4 kW outer element and 1.8kW inner element.



Marking out where all the penetrations will go and how the pot will sit on the autocrate/foam.



Making the holes



Making corresponding holes in autocrate & foam padding



Installed drains & returns, centre rod, probe, and elements.



Leak-testing





Gluing the pot to the foam/autocrate






More photos to follow...

 

[specky85]

Installing internal plumbing (these lines were later secured with stainless screw clamps)



Cutting out and fitting C-14 IEC inlets.



Wiring up pump, elements and applying heat-shrink.







Securing earth line to pot and applying labels.



Initial build done.

 

[specky85]

Improvements on initial build: Marking out volumes for acid etching.


Improvements on initial build: Fixed tubing replaced with and cam-locks, additional valve installed.



I will start a seperate thread for my controller build. Any questions ask away.

 

[Maheel]

Awesome looking build.

100L pot brand?

Would you give a price guide on the build?

What volumes does it give you? (2 cubes / 50L etc?)

operating brew pics would be awesome !!

I am a pretty lazy 20L BIAB'er but would like to up size to 40-45L into the kegmenter. I pressure ferment and keg etc
Would you suggest build or buy now you have done one.

Many thanks

 

[Dazzat3]

Wow, nice build dude! very detailed with some great pics. I'll second Maheal's question on a price guide and volumes.

 

[specky85]

Thanks for the compliments & interest.

As for volumes I have done 1x 20L cube + 1x 22L into fermenter, so 2x 20L cubes should be easy.

It has a 10L/hour boil off rate, and I usually write off 3-5L for turb etc. The internal plumbing holds about 500ml but there is no pickup tube. I am still tuning it.

Given the large size of the pot it should be capable of 3-4 cubes (80L). Though this will require a few different strategies, e.g. double or triple mashing, adding water after the sparge, adding DME/LME, and patience.

> Would you suggest build or buy now you have done one.

This depends on practical considerations and what you want out of this project. How what volumes do you want? what's your budget? how much time do you have? how much space you have? and what tools or skills you have and are you willing to acquire new ones?

For me the answer is "yes", build it. Take your time and enjoy the project and result.

I put together a parts spreadsheet and as at the time of writing this post the parts for this brewery come to a touch under $1,200.00 plus shipping.