Urny-nator Project

[Bribie G]

UrnyNator passes its first test today


I was going to spend a few hundred on a march pump, false bottoms etc and build a recirculating BIAB or Brew in a Bucket type single vessel system built round my urn. However I decided why try to fix what ain't really broken, and decided to get a second urn instead. I expect many of us reach that place where we are spending five hours on a brew and the end result is a keg plus four bottles. Ho hum. With the UrnyNator I'm planning to crank out a double BIAB batch in around 6 hours for a 90 min mash 90 min boil recipe and as little as 4 hours for a 60 min mash 60 min boil session. I only have one skyhook position so there is a lag time between doughing in #1 and doughing in #2, the lag time being the period that #1 is hogging the skyhook (mashout and drain). Then the rig rolls sideways and #2 gets its turn.

Anyway yesterday I went down to Ross's new place, picked up the urn etc and dropped off the BABBs annual comp entries and drove into work. It's rare that I drive in but yesterday as it happened they were chucking out a pile of old Pentium 3s so I grabbed 3 for my son who wants to build a retro win 98 machine to play old games on.

So just playing around with the setup till my new Gryph bag arrives.




Just now, SWMBO comes in and says alarmedly - "hey what's that outside?"
Sprung. So I said what? - this stuff she says, walking towards the garage. She walks right past Urny, glances at it and continues out to the car and points at the Pentiums. ........... woohooo, system obtains its first tick h34r:

Running the Crownie (exposed element) today for a single brew and I'll post my first UrnyNator brewday which hopefully will be Tuesday.

 

[bcp]

Virtually the same time yet you produce either a double batch or two completely different batches. That's sweet.

Also interesting to hear about the crown vs birko side by side test. If my memory is correct your other one's a birko? I suspect there won't be much difference practically, but you're in the perfect position to know.

 

[mxd]

good stuff there.

Time for 20 ltrs is the same reason I am building up a 3V (also whilst boiling I could e mashing another ) and the HERMS part is just as I like to play

on a side note, if you boy is looking MAME, let me know I have a few ROMS.

cheers
Matt

 

[RdeVjun]

Hey Bribie, good stuff! You're quite right, sometimes the fruits of a long and tiresome single- batch brewday can seem a bit piddly, wouldn't question anyone for looking to upscale. I was wondering why the malt pipe bizzo seemed to pause, however this seems to be a sensible alternative course which is more brewday efficiency/ production- oriented than honing of a technique, which may or may not prove worthwhile in the end. I do like how you can choose between two singles or a double batch, very clever- seems obvious now that you've done it! :icon_cheers:

So, how's about going all out and including another 20L number for sparge?! Langco make one I hear... OMG, sorry, it just slipped out!

Edit: Meant to mention, just mashing in for a single batch of ESB myself today, will have this in the back of my mind!

 

[Bribie G]

The other thing about a double is that, seeing as I no chill, I can put a mix of both cubes into the two fermenters to get a totally homogeneous brew, just in case there is some slight difference between the two. Also one experiment I'm dying to try is to put the top halves of the two cubes into one fermenter and the bottom halves, with all the cold break into the other

If I keep accurate records then that will probably sort out all the argy bargy on the forum that has been going on for years regarding cold break. And next, hot side aeration..... boom boom tish :lol:

mxd: yes I'll keep in touch re the MAME, used to have heaps of roms on another machine a few years ago, River Raid and other classics. Lost them all. Cheers. I still play Wolfenstein 3d PC edition.

 

[Bribie G]

Urnest and Urnold do Wort :icon_cheers:​

​

First sea-trials today for the new system.
Brew #1 - Australian Pale Ale, 60 min mash, 60 min boil
Brew #2 - English Golden Summer Ale, 90 min mash (has adjuncts), 60 min boil.

Prepare equipment, get strike liquor going, weigh ingredients, strangle kittens etc.
#1 is on the right of the picture in the Crown, will be doughed in first, #2 on the left in the Birko

The two urns work off different circuits, don't attempt this off one.

OK let's go, dough in #1

Lag #1 and set timer#1 to 60 minutes

Dough in #2, lag and set timer#2 to 90 minutes

And under the doonah boys :wub:

Mash out #1 (hoist the bag clear of the element, power on and heat till 75 degree mash achieved) then hoist and drain whilst bringing to boil.
Remove bag, roll the entire rig to the right, and when boiling fit hop sock and add hops. Set timer#1 to 45 mins (for kettle finings addition)

When timer#2 sounds, repeat the process for #2 which is now sitting under the sky hook. When boiling, Set timer #2 to 45 mins

Now go to next post for some reason, AHB won't accept more images in this post:

 

[Bribie G]

continuation of post

Urnest and Urnold full steam ahead - great head, boys.

When timer#1 sounds, add kettle finings (not supposed to discuss these on AHB) and reset timer#1 to 15 mins.
Edit: photo out of sequence, these are the kettle finings for #2, as you can see #1 is being cubed here.

ditto timer#2 - also late hop additions for #2

When timer #1 sounds , remove hopsock, lid on the urn and steam briefly to sterilize headspace, turn power off and leave to settle. reset timer#1 to 20 mins
Ditto #2

when timer #1 sounds for the last time, fill cube #1
ditto #2


2 cubes

Cube #1

Cube #2

Do cleanup, and thank you Urnest and Urnold for a good brew day . :beerbang:

 

[RdeVjun]

Ahh, classic thread BribieG! Each of those helpful lads needs his own digital watch!

The witch's hat cracks me up! Many a recycled photo to come from that little lot! :icon_cheers:

 

[NickB]

B) Too cool for school Michael!

Looks the goods! Will certainly give you the option of trying identical grain bills and varying the hops.

I likey

Cheers

 

[.DJ.]

U-ryn-Nator passes its first test today...



I had a dyslexic moment and above is what I actually read!


I didnt want to see any pictures.... :icon_vomit:

 

[Bribie G]

U-ryn-Nator passes its first test today...



I had a dyslexic moment and above is what I actually read!


I didnt want to see any pictures.... :icon_vomit:

Yes originally I was going to call the project "Urninator" which would have been totally disastrous :lol: I was going to call it the Bribinator but that's a project with Chappo that never came to fruition, and he has dibs on the name of course (Like his Sherminator)

 

[MarkBastard]

Awesome work Bribie. I pissed myself when I saw those cool jackets hahahaha.

How did you find the Crown compared to the Birko over all?

 

[jakub76]

Great post, nice pics. I particularly liked the group hug.

What sort of efficiency are you getting with these bad boys?

 

[Fents]

ZOMG you doubled your batch size? amazing....who would of thunk two urns eh? (and you even gave them gay names just like chappo)

now all you need is a 100L esky mash tun and you to can make triple batch's in the same time it takes you to make a double.

 

[mxd]

well done, setup looks great.

 

[Bribie G]

Awesome work Bribie. I pissed myself when I saw those cool jackets hahahaha.

How did you find the Crown compared to the Birko over all?

I reckon the exposed element Crown is better built and more responsive than the Birko, and the tap is far better than the cheapy job on the Birko. One thing I really like is the tall thin design, less evaporation loss during boiling. If the Birko fails I'll get a second Crown. Haven't looked at efficiency, I reckon probably around 75% ish, I'm really lazy when it comes to hydro readings etc, should really get myself a refract.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

ZOMG you doubled your batch size? amazing....who would of thunk two urns eh? (and you even gave them gay names just like chappo)

now all you need is a 100L esky mash tun and you to can make triple batch's in the same time it takes you to make a double.

Ahh, but Fents, he didn't do a double batch.... He did two completely different batches in that amount of time. And with another urn it could just as easily be triple batches (or three different batches) and still his total vessel volume would only add up to 120l and only around the same size & same number of vessels as a normal 3V brewer would use to make one, single batch of beer.

 

[bum]

​

Ahahaha! You're a weird dude, Bribie.

Does anyone else suspect the inclusion of fleshlights at some point in the future? No? Are you picturing it now? Sorry.

 

[Bribie G]

Good way of looking at it TB. The main thing about the UrnyNator is that it helps to fill in those long periods when nothing is happening (mashing and boiling, basically). There are two philosophies, the guys who are quite happy to walk away and do other things and only go back into the brewery to do the few minutes of frantic activity required, then walk away for another hour or whatever. On the other hand I can't do that - I just have to be in there so I prefer to be doing things most of the time. So the four hours or whatever I have saved by doing two batches, I can devote to what it is that the 'walk away' guys would be doing, except that I can give it my undivided attention (e.g. watch Foxtel etc )

It's a bit like the 'round' songs we used to sing at school as a kid, like "Frere Jaques" - song takes the same length as a single melody song, but you have several people working at it simultaneously but 'staggered'

third urn. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

[Bribie G]

Ahahaha! You're a weird dude, Bribie.

Does anyone else suspect the inclusion of fleshlights at some point in the future? No? Are you picturing it now? Sorry.