Recent content by Beerum

I ended up with 25 gallons of Irish Death (a regional beer in the PNW). There was a scorching problem with one heating element. The grain got in the outflow of the pump and clogged one of the PVC pipes making the wort not flow by the heating element. It made a heavy smoke flavor that is not...

OK, it was a moderate success. We ended up yielding 25 gallons in the first batch. There were multiple problems with the shoddy assembler (me). We had a hose come apart when transferring from the mash tun which dumped about a gallon of sticky wort on the floor. The biggest issue was the...

Here is the Frankenstein assembly. I'll weld a better one once this one proves that it works. The 50A 240V plug is visible behind the barrel.

PVC at boiling is not a issue with chemical decomposition, it is a structural integrity problem. The Wert pump and open ended manifold will be at pretty low pressure. I don't think it will blow out a schedule 40 pipe. Here is a website discussing pvc...

There is a lot of PVC plumbing on the hot side of modern plumbing. The food grade barrel is made of pvc. 140C is way past boiling wurt. PVC is pretty inert below that temp.

I've been distracted repairing my Margurita maker. It makes 5 gallons at a time. It uses a garbage disposal to blend/crush the ice. It also needed some silicone cauking.

Making beer Sunday. We are doing 40 gallons instead of 80, just a half batch ;) The electrical box leaked water into it from the conduit. I sealed the waterproof conduit with silicone caulk. I plan another water only run on Saturday. The electrical box is not submersed in the...

Ok, so that didn't go so well. I was able to do a wet run and found that the water heating element gets really hot at the end that is bolted through the plastic electrical box. The box warped and caused a leak. I think I have a solution to that. I've made an aluminum plate to which the...

Here are a couple pictures of the heater elements and their attachment to the electrical box. This whole thing will be in the mash. The 3800 Watt heating elements are a different size threaded section (1 1/8 inch) than the 4500W element that is 1 inch. The plastic Tees will connect to the...

I think it should be kept blow 100C with this setup. "PVC starts to decompose when the temperature reaches 140 °C, with melting temperature starting around 160 °C."

I have to do a work trip. Won't be back to making beer equipment until Sunday:( Sunday I should assemble everything and do a dry (wet) run.

A little progress last night.. I got a sealed plastic 4x6x6 inch electrical box. It will house the electrical end of the heating elements. I'll test it out today to see if it will withstand boiling water and stay dry inside. Picked up the 16gal/min pump. It is a plastic pool pump. I'm...

I'll get some pics tonight. Any suggestions scaling the beer recipe up to 40 Gallons(x2)? Any favorite all grain recipe that comes out like an Alaskan Amber or Nut brown ale?

Progress over the weekend... We got the 80Gallon tanks out of storage. My Brother In-law is cleaning them and letting them sit with a mild bleach solution. One will go in the heated shop, and one in the 37F cooler. I finished the reverse flow wort chiller. It is 20' of 3/8ths Cu tubing with...

I've never heard of a no chill process. Can you send a link? I'm guessing that you hit it with CO2 and let it cool overnight and pitch the yeast the next morning.?