Recent content by Rubberband

Do you think you can share which bag you are using? As far as the mesh size and the size of the bag itself?

My initial concern is the recirculation, any kind of stuck mash and the heating element will be at risk scorch. If you go with some extra water to keep things extra thin, it may not be a problem. I'm sure Spike is correct, 5 gallon batches are possible. My main argument against this is the...

Garage Brewer, what can I say. The better half let's me brew outside and I have a fermentation room in the basement. One day I'll build a pole barn with a heated brewery.

There's a Spike Solo owners thread out there if you're interested. Search for Spike Solo and you'll see it about third down from the top. Myself and many others have posted there already. I know nothing about the Grainfather system, I have been a three vessel traditional all grain brewer for...

7 Batches into brewing with the Spike Solo 20 and I feel like I'm getting this down. Yesterday's brew day was 5 hours long start to finish and I have 11 gallons fermenting away. This is about 2-3 hours shorter than my previous 3 vessel system. I thought I would share a few of my problems and...

Second brew day under my belt with the Spike solo. I have resolved my mash re-circulation problem with the hose falling into the grain bed with a Lock Line manifold, it worked really well. As for the hoist, I will never lift the basket alone again. I used my deer hoist to lift the basket and...

I saw the Short Circuited Brewer video and it was helpful but I needed to tweak it for my set-up. I have Brewfather, at least I downloaded the app and gave it a try but I really don't like the subscription model for the software. I have an old version of Brewsmith (one version behind the most...

An entire Packer Brisket! That's impressive, where did you get a vacuum sealer or ziploc bag that big? I enjoy smoking brisket, it's my favorite cut of meat but it takes me about 7 hours to cook and I run the smoker hot compared to most. I would be very curious to know how long you have to...

Brewed an IPA and I came up about 1 gal short of the recipe. I'm updating my equipment profile in beersmith to 1.0 gal. to correct this. The beer is in the secondary dry hopping but the gravity sample tasted great. I fully agree about the hoist, I used my deer hoist and it worked well and...

The Gateway 55 in action.

Gateway drum is a great smoker, I have the 55 gallon model. It's great for brisket, that's my favorite cut for smoking. I can cook a two full packer briskets in about 7 hours, we feed about 30 at a tailgate.and it's always a hit. I had an 18" WSM and it was just too small. I went back and...

This looks interesting, I did have a lot of trub in the first wort out of the kettle after a 15 minute whirlpool and 20 minute rest. Would you still whirlpool with the hop stopper in place or just drain the kettle directly?

Spike Solo First Batch Update: Brewed first batch of beer yesterday and it was full of adventure. It's amazing how a few differences in process can make you feel uncomfortable. I am a long time 5 gallon AG brewer using three vessels (gas) and no controls. I normally hit my numbers no...

It is a problem if your wire pulled in the house is only two hots and ground but I like the convenience of having two 120V outlets right on my controller that the 4-wire plug allows. I don't need to connect another extension cord and a separate GFCI for the 120V, it's covered in with the...

No worries, thank you for the reply. I do suggest you mention the pump brand in the product description. The picture used on the web page looks just generic enough that I could not tell which brand you may be using. I saw the TC fitting in the end view and thought it was on the pump housing...