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**Yambor44** · 06-29-2011, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wyzazz

Weave a small nylon string through the top of the bag.

You guys are gonna keep on until I have to do a sewing video huh?

Good idea.

clex25 · 06-29-2011, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yambor44

You're very welcome. Who has the alias? Me? You?

How was your brew day?

Me! I have a different username on youtube from which I sent you some questions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by makomachine

Clex25 - So how was the first brew on it? How was wort clarity, efficiency, etc? You pleased with it?

Well I should also note that this was also my first all-grain batch ever, so I don't really have much to compare it to. I was following the Walker's GRUAGACH 80 recipe that I found here on the site, and kept the default mash schedule that was programmed into the braumeister.

I performed a batch sparge, and ended up with an OG that was high. I think I followed the recipe instructions too closely instead of some advice here in the thread for the braumeister. Next time, I will be adding ~23L of strike water (did about 19 or so this time). Maybe I will increase the grain bill slightly and skip a sparge altogether.

Wort clarity seemed...OK? It was hard to tell since it was pretty dark, and I have never brewed this recipe (or all-grain) before. Efficiency...honestly didn't measure, but I know I was off in the amount of water I started with anyway. Overall It was very easy and its speeding up my introduction to all grain brewing quickly. Next step is getting some software so I can keep better track of my brews and make some calculations I know I've been fudging.

Also, has anyone thought about installing a small screen directly over the pump inlet? I got a small piece of grain stuck in the pump that I was able to remove after cleaning (read: taking it apart) but I would love to skip that if possible.

wyzazz · 06-29-2011, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clex25

Also, has anyone thought about installing a small screen directly over the pump inlet? I got a small piece of grain stuck in the pump that I was able to remove after cleaning (read: taking it apart) but I would love to skip that if possible.

ScubaSteve puts a small stainless sink strainer on his pump inlet, he has a single vessel brewing system similar to the braumeister. Something like the below.

**makomachine** · 06-29-2011, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wyzazz

ScubaSteve puts a small stainless sink strainer on his pump inlet, he has a single vessel brewing system similar to the braumeister. Something like the below.

Any worries on fine particles clogging this up and causing a problem? My initial thoughts are to my koi pond filter - too fine filtration and you get clogged quickly. Can you remove this prior to the boil in the Braumeister setup? Hops would for sure clog this up if you were going to try the whirlpool add on.

wyzazz · 06-29-2011, 01:21 PM

Don't know, the only way to tell for sure is to try it!

hfk2 · 06-29-2011, 03:57 PM

Chris showed on page 48 how he placed a 1/2" elbow in the pump discharge. You could try the same in the pump intake but place a small bazooka screen or SS mesh from a hot water heater flexible tubing to help filter out larger pieces of grains. a small piece of screen placed just over the intake might clog up very fast. I'll try this on this weekends brew.

**makomachine** · 06-29-2011, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hfk2

Chris showed on page 48 how he placed a 1/2" elbow in the pump discharge. You could try the same in the pump intake but place a small bazooka screen or SS mesh from a hot water heater flexible tubing to help filter out larger pieces of grains. a small piece of screen placed just over the intake might clog up very fast. I'll try this on this weekends brew.

I'm guessing this will also impact pump output and workload. The designers probably over engineered the system but that's something I would watch for if you go the flex tubing / screen route.

hfk2 · 06-29-2011, 04:27 PM

Might not be enough room for the discharge elbow. It's really close to the side of the kettle and the heating coils are almost right above it. Also the rubber gasket around the SS sieve is too tight to slide in the malt pipe, even though my sieves fit much looser than Yambor44's. Yambor44 I used two small paperclips to hold my ss mesh to the sieve and it seems to work very well and is very easy (and inexpensive) to do. Thanks

hfk2 · 06-29-2011, 06:23 PM

makomachine, I agree. Any restrictions placed on the intake or output side of the pump will reduce its efficiency. Typically it is allowable to restrict the outflow from a pump, but you should never restrict the input. Maybe better hygiene keeping the grain out of the boil kettle is all that's needed. On my 20l the pump is just barely adequate for the job.

**Yambor44** · 06-30-2011, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hfk2

Might not be enough room for the discharge elbow. It's really close to the side of the kettle and the heating coils are almost right above it. Also the rubber gasket around the SS sieve is too tight to slide in the malt pipe, even though my sieves fit much looser than Yambor44's. Yambor44 I used two small paperclips to hold my ss mesh to the sieve and it seems to work very well and is very easy (and inexpensive) to do. Thanks

Make SURE they are stainless paper clips. They must say STAINLESS on the package. Video to follow.....