The Incredible, Invisible, AG Sculpture (Picture Heavy)
OK, so not really "Incredible".
I think this is a first here, but I could be quite wrong....(also, please excuse bad grammar....been brewing all day, have had a few )
So here was my problem. I wanted to go AG, but didn't have the room to store a sculpture. I didn't have the money for a compact, pump powered unit. What I needed was an invisible gravity powered AG system.
I realized that I only ever needed ONE height difference, (not two, as is given by a permanent 3 tier system) Since I don't fly sparge, I never need to be transfering from one kettle to the next to the third at the same time.
So I bought one of these: A 2000 lb Winch. I could have bought one of these: (an actual hoist), but it was more money, and I got the winch for cheaper. The winch is NOT rated for hoisting, but it's rated for 2000 lb of winching, and I figured 200 lb of hoisting wouldn't be too bad. Sure enough, I can hang my fat butt from it, and it doesn't budge, and I don't use it to suspend loads for any amount of time, so I'm OK with it.
I rigged up my winch as such:
I attached some threaded rod, nuts, chain links, hooks, etc. as such:
Making this:
The hooks can hook onto the handles of my HLT (5 gal pot), my MLT (7.5 gal pot), or BK (15.5 gal keg).
Finally, I have a dolly I can put everything on, as such:
(wheels of dolly)
So, first stage, I heat up my MLT with water in it, then use my hoist to lift it off the burner, then move the dolly to center the table on the dolly under the MLT, then lower, and wrap in a sleeping bag to hold in heat, (I lose 1 deg F per hour)
After the mash, I transfer the 1st runnings to the BK.
Then, I pour in my sparge water:
__________________ Itchy Dog Brewery.
(As of 10-24-2011) Primary - Steppe 112 PA, 2x Monday RyePA Aging - None :-( On tap - Big Dog, Apfelwein, Steppe 112 PA
Finally, after draining in the sparged wort, (or whatever it's called, I lift the keg up, move the dolly over, and set the keg down on the burner. Time to brew!!!
Cooling the wort:
Sterilizing the oxy stone:
Yay Oxygen!
The best part is, everything folds out of the way, and I STILL HAVE A 2 CAR GARAGE!!
The dolly + winch combo is the key. I can lift up hundreds of pounds with the touch of a finger, and the dolly means I can move everything around easy. No more back breaking effort!
Oh, and just to illustrate, the command center:
My home made sink, from a rubbermaid tub, some PVC, and some holes into my laundry room:
The 6 keg kegerator (the light down below keeps it from freezing):
__________________ Itchy Dog Brewery.
(As of 10-24-2011) Primary - Steppe 112 PA, 2x Monday RyePA Aging - None :-( On tap - Big Dog, Apfelwein, Steppe 112 PA
Fap fap fap to the hops man! That is pretty sweet. Do you ever get lightheaded in there? LOL, I saw that the door was closed!
__________________
On Tap: Heavenly Scourge Black IPA and Beecave Heffe
Primary: Empty
Secondary: Empty
Next: Thunderstruck Pumpkin Ale and Pliny the Elder Clone
Nope, no lightheadedness, except due to imbibing. It was about 75 degrees in there, and rather humid, (30 degrees outside). I use my NG heater to warm up the garage first, (visible on the right side, mounted to the wall, in both the "transferring 1st runnings" and "cooling the wort" pictures), then just my burner heat and humidity was enough to stay warm. I worried about CO, but the CO detector has never beeped on me, and the NG heater has a safety interlock that shuts it off if it detects too much CO2.
The sink has been my best addition to date, I think. You can't really see it, but I just T-ed off of my washing machine connections in my laundry room, and ran RV hose out to the outside, where I hooked it up to the sink for hot and cold water, (laundry room is directly behind the garage, and 1/2 level lower, since I have a split level house). For the drain, I just used 3M Marine Sealant to seal in my $4 drain into the bottom of the rubbermaid, and rain PVC drain pipe through the wall. The PVC drains directly into the laundry sink. I didn't have to cut into any piping, or mess around with any sewer stuff, and I have full hot and cold running water! Faucet was free on CL, the fittings cost around 30 bucks, OSB to hold the rubbermaid was $5, and the rubbermaid was essentially free, as I had already destroyed it by punching the skeg of my boat motor through the bottom during spring tune-up. It just so happened that the hole punched by the skeg was perfect in size for a drain.
Also, my hot water comes out at about 144°F, so I'm almost at mash/sparge temps right out of the faucet!
When I'm done with my brew day, I just disconnect the RV hose inside the laundry room, open the tap in the garage, and all the water drains by gravity/siphon into the laundry sink, so no worries about anything freezing outside, (the garage is only heated on brew days).
__________________ Itchy Dog Brewery.
(As of 10-24-2011) Primary - Steppe 112 PA, 2x Monday RyePA Aging - None :-( On tap - Big Dog, Apfelwein, Steppe 112 PA
The Incredible, Invisible, AG Sculpture (Picture Heavy)
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