Urn(ish) Design

[Benchish]

Hey all,

I have been throwing around some ideas for a compact BIAB system. I live in an apartment that is at its crap capacity, so small is essential.

I do occasionally run a regular old all grain system with my dad at his place but finding free time to go visit is an issue once you add driving time as well as having to go there to drink my labours. Im not hugely concerned with making large amounts of beer from this system, more of an experemental system for 10L or so (whatever the half kegs are). Something to make some crazy beers i might not want 20L of.

Basic idea as follows:

BIAB in an urn or still (see below) boil in the urn. Chill with immersion chiller put lid on still pot to ferment. Attach a pump and tempmate to the immersion chiller to pump water through the chiller to moderate temp.

This does present many many issues (as below) but it does require almost no transfer so thats a plus.

So i do have a still available (for extracting oils right :icon_cheers: ) so:
1. Would that element have enough grunt to reach a rolling boil (Max volume is about 35L to the top) ?
2. If not how much could it boil?
3. Or failing that could i get an element that would work to fit inside (28cm diameter)?

Ferment container issue

4. Could i ferment inside the still? It has a lid with the actual still part attached could i switch this for an airlock?
5. Would it need to be filtered first to remove the trub? or do the opposite syphon out the trub only?

Temp control

I am in Queensland so my main issue is cooling not heating, I know a fridge would be far easier but space issues dont allow this. I would probibly insulate the fermenter to try and make things more stable. I figure cleaning around the chiller could get anoying, but i should be able to boil it in cleaning solution. This would be an ale only solution and even then fairly restrictive as far as temp goes.

6. Would this work at all? (in a practical sense)
7. Would a bathtub full of water be enough or an ice/water filled eskie fit the bill better? (general answer i figure this one has a lot of variables: seasonal change, temp required, amount of water, amount fermenting)

So am i entirely crazy or is this possible to some degree?

Mafro

 

[ekul]

When you were 'purifying water' did the still get up to a boil? If so then it would boil the wort.


Something else you could consider is nochilling. This would allow you to do your brewing somewhere else (such as your dads place) and then ferment whenever/where ever you like.

If you check out this thread http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=52148 QLDKev has a 140L pot from here http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/140-litre-Stock...=item4aaaaf0f53 which he does 100L batches in.

You could do 4 batches a throw and take your cubes back home with you and ferment at your leisure. Make a day of it and you could knock out 8 cubes worth. Means you save space, only have to brew occaisonally and have more room for other stuff, like a fermenting fridge. You could even give your dad a few cubes worth for him to ferment as well.

 

[donburke]

Hey all,

I have been throwing around some ideas for a compact BIAB system. I live in an apartment that is at its crap capacity, so small is essential.

I do occasionally run a regular old all grain system with my dad at his place but finding free time to go visit is an issue once you add driving time as well as having to go there to drink my labours. Im not hugely concerned with making large amounts of beer from this system, more of an experemental system for 10L or so (whatever the half kegs are). Something to make some crazy beers i might not want 20L of.

Basic idea as follows:

BIAB in an urn or still (see below) boil in the urn. Chill with immersion chiller put lid on still pot to ferment. Attach a pump and tempmate to the immersion chiller to pump water through the chiller to moderate temp.

This does present many many issues (as below) but it does require almost no transfer so thats a plus.

So i do have a still available (for extracting oils right :icon_cheers: ) so:
1. Would that element have enough grunt to reach a rolling boil (Max volume is about 35L to the top) ?
2. If not how much could it boil?
3. Or failing that could i get an element that would work to fit inside (28cm diameter)?

Ferment container issue

4. Could i ferment inside the still? It has a lid with the actual still part attached could i switch this for an airlock?
5. Would it need to be filtered first to remove the trub? or do the opposite syphon out the trub only?

Temp control

I am in Queensland so my main issue is cooling not heating, I know a fridge would be far easier but space issues dont allow this. I would probibly insulate the fermenter to try and make things more stable. I figure cleaning around the chiller could get anoying, but i should be able to boil it in cleaning solution. This would be an ale only solution and even then fairly restrictive as far as temp goes.

6. Would this work at all? (in a practical sense)
7. Would a bathtub full of water be enough or an ice/water filled eskie fit the bill better? (general answer i figure this one has a lot of variables: seasonal change, temp required, amount of water, amount fermenting)

So am i entirely crazy or is this possible to some degree?

Mafro

in theory, what you are suggesting should work, but i would remove most of the trub from the wort before fermenting

i kind of like your idea of having a refrigeration line running through the wort whilst fermenting, the esky holding the iced water, then a pump activated by a tempmate

having said that, i doubt it would save you much space compared to a stovetop 19L BIAB and a small bar fridge (when i say small, you can go for one of the really small ones and shoehorn a small fermenter in it) given you are only interested in 10 L batches

 

[Benchish]

Thanks for your replies

I can see that doing a stovetop biab would be small but at the moment i already have a place for all the pieces in the above plan. I think the only pieces i dont have are the tempmate and the chiller and they should all fit inside the still when im not brewing.

I've thought about using cubes but i dont think i can squeeze a fermenting fridge anywhere (maybe just one of the tiny ones). I also liked the idea of getting some of the wackier brews out of my head with less risk.

I dont think the still gets up to a full rolling boil when its got a full load in it, i will run some tests once i find the damned kettle plug cord (side note is it ok to use a computer power cord or are they to different asside from the notch thing).

Is there anything obvious that will cause issues that i have missed or should i just take the plunge?

 

[BjornJ]

hi mate,
if you have the still why not just give it a go and see what you would want to modify before doing it again?
That is after all half the fun

From reading through it, what comes to mind has already been covered probably.
-should you remove trub from the boil by transferring to another vessel to ferment in?
-if not, at least try to get some oxygen back into the wort by stirring like crazy to foam it up
-will the temperature be constant and low enough to ferment in your still with water going through a chiller over several days?
-on that note, guess you will only have to worry about temperature the first 2-4 days, after that you could just let it go to ambient as main ferment would be over (most likely)

Using the chiller to cool the wort can be done, probably only a matter of getting it constant enough. And if it's worth the hassle of having a stainless steel still in the bathroom and the bath tub filled with water and a pump going 24/7 for some days as opposed to finding another way to chill it like a laundry basked of water and frozen soda bottles you replace morning and night or something similar.

Either way, experimenting is half the fun, I say give it a go!

Bjorn