Dave258

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I am putting the finishing touches on my Keggle today. SS Ball Valve and Sight Glass/Thermometer duo from Bargin Fittings. Mash Tun is finished, a 10 gallon round Home Depot cooler with CPVC manifold and SS ball Valve.

I need a new burner, mine will not support my Keggle. I was thinking of these:
Bayou Classic Banjo Cooker (High Output Propane Burner) or Bayou Classic Outdoor Propane Burner .
Then, I need something for Aeration. was thinking about Aquarium Pump or Oxygen kit. I currently use the Mix Stirer that attaches to my drill, but didn't think that would be sufficient.
I am going to need to build a new chiller to be big enough for the keggle. I didn't know if I should just get a counter flow chiller for now, and see how I like it. Do they work well if gravity fed? Don't know if I am getting a pump just yet.
Any info or feedback on any of the items listed here, or any items others use is welcomed!!
Thanks,
Dave

COLObrewer

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Bayou banjo works great but I modified ours to get the flame closer and allow for the width of the keg better, like this:

Can't see it but they are welded on.

We don't use any special aeration equipment, it's typically aerated enough when we drain it through the funnel/strainer into the fermentor, more porn:


We use a simple immersion chiller and have recently been experimenting with no chill.
Brew on my friend

jagg

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For what its worth I think the mix stirrer on your drill will be good to oxegenate your wort, thats all I use and am getting an average of 80% AA using us-05 yeast, good luck on your upgrade.

thesanch

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I think the O2 system they have at William's Brewing is a better deal. It has a nice SS wand which other O2 systems don't.
http://www.williamsbrewing.com/WILLIAM_S_OXYGEN_AERATION_SYST_P699.cfm

I'm hoping to get one of these when I ever decide to go up to 10g batches. For now I'm still just rocking the carboy back and forth on my leg as I kneel down for aeration. It seems to do a decent job. Fermentation kicks off in less than 12 hours.

A local HBTer donated his square burner stand to me. It fits the keggle just right. The flame could be a little closer, but it worked out great for my first two brews in the keggle.

Planning on spiffing up my keggle with ball valve and sight glass as soon as I can get a stepper drill bit. What did you use?

Dave258

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Thanks for that link for Williams. I was looking for that set up instead of the stone and couldn't find it. I am going to go with that.
To drill my keg, I used the a step bit from home depot. It was a 7/8 bit with a 13/16 step. That is what wanye from bargin fittings told me to use. It worked well. I installed my ball valve and sight glass today and gave the keg a good cleaning.
It seems that I heard the same complaint about both burners. The burner being too far from the keg. I can't find any other burners that people recommend.
I measured my homemade IC and if I buy another 20 feet of copper tubbing and some slip couplings I could probably just add on to my first one.
If you don't have a valve on your keg, how are you draining it? Syphon?

thesanch

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Check a locally owned plumbing store for copper. I found 50' of 1/2" refrigeration tubing for $45.

Yep - It sucks, but works.

Bensiff

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I had an aquarium pump for a while, their maximum saturation is low and it takes a while and creates a lot of foam getting there. With O2 you get way more into your wort, it only takes 60 seconds and you don't have to deal with foaming issues...one of my upgrades I really like.

I am very pro IC, I know things like a plate chiller are faster, but I like to minimize the wort from contacting internal surfaces to keep things as clean as possible.

hafmpty

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I have a keggle and the Bayou Classic Outdoor Propane Burner. I took about 30min to get my water from room temp to sparge temps and about 45 minutes to boil. It's a great burner. The only disadvantage is the lack of a wind screen. I made some aluminum sides and bolted them to the burner so wind won't blow the thing out. Works great.

The size of the Bayou Classic Outdoor Propane Burner is PERFECT for a keggle. It centers right on there. And it is SUPER STABLE. If I could get the high output burner from the Banjo Cooker on the Classic Outdoor Propane Burner, I'd be in hog heaven. But I don't regret my decision.

In my opinion, I'd just get an immersion chiller. Here's the one I have:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/stainless-steel-immersion-wort-chiller-w-garden-hose-fittings-50-ft.html

Super simple cleanup w/ a spray off and a plastic dish scrubber. There aren't any hoses that need cleaning, you don't need a pump, and sanitation is super simple. Just put it in the boil for the last 15min. A counterflow chiller has surfaces that are internal meaning you can't SEE them and so don't know if they're clean and/or sanitized. It's an unknown that I don't want to mess with. Plus you really have to worry about sediment going through there and clogging it up. They aren't worth it to me. Plus, if you get some of these hooking your hose up to this baby is SUPER EASY:
http://morebeer.com/view_product/17373//Brass_Quick_Disconnect_Set

About your Oxygenator, I have the Oxygenator and I have yet to use it. I brewed 10gal and drained it into a 14gal Demijohn. I'm with COLObrewer. I had SERIOUS amounts of foam in that baby because of the drop it had from the funnel to the bottom of the bottle. It's getting plenty of air.

I watched a video or read somewhere that oxygenating wort after 12 hours is a good idea. This is where have the Oxygenator kit would help. But otherwise, the drop through the funnel and a minute of good shaking will save you the hassle and the money. Plus, don't know if you know this or not, but the oxygen stone has to be boiled for 10min before you use it. That's one more thing to have to take care of on Brew Day.

I have one and have the peace of mind of knowing it's there just in case, but you don't really NEED it.

Just something else to think about. I checked prices on Midwest Supplies, MoreBeer, Austin Homebrew, and Northern Brewer and far and away, Midwest Supplies prices are cheaper even including S&H. I bought 95% of my setup from Midwest and 5% from MoreBeer with the free shipping. Check it out and see. Just a thought for what it's worth. Good luck!