Recent content by thomcat333

1. did you use 2" foam ? I bought 1" think with both side covered by aluminium foil. Reading your post I am not sure is good enough. Pretty sure I used 2" foam. 2. On the bottom, did you put the laundry sheet on top of the foam. How is that working when you put 2-3 full carboys on it...

Hi all, I've recently had a good experience using the Duda Diesel 30-plate chiller and wanted to post a few thoughts. This is a pic of the 3-tier stand with the chiller hooked up to the boil tank via a chugger pump with stainless pump head. Lessons Learned (Sorry if these are...

Since about 2006, I'm guessing the following: Original AG Setup: Polarware Kettles - ~$300 Polarware False Bottom - $60 Small Propane Burner - $50 Carboys - ~$175 Various Small Equipment - ~$200 Immersion Chiller - $50 Fermentation Chamber - ~$200 Kegerator - $300 Upgrades...

Thanks! It definitely served me well... I've since moved on to using a small/medium sized chest freezer for fermentation. More room but more difficult to load.

Today's 4th of July project was finally building the 3-tier setup. Still need to mount the heat exchanger, run some plumbing for water supply, and get the new burners hooked up, but the structure is together. Can't wait to brew with it :D

So this isn't anything terribly new, but I just got my temperature controller box wired up and running and am pumped so I wanted to post. It's not terribly complicated, but it looks pretty nice, it will both heat and cool, it has outlet connections, and only cost around ~$60. I based the...

Nice setups, guys. I documented my build in another thread, but I figured I'd add it to this one as well. After a couple years, it's still kicking and actually fermenting a Hefeweizen at 64F as we speak. Cheers! The chamber with the front door open. The back side showing the...

Hey from the Raleigh area... always good to see homebrewers from NC. Welcome!

I'm using the mill at the local HBS, and I am thinking that it's not a very fine crush. Also I'll try breaking up the bed a bit. As for batch sparging, maybe someday, but I have this stupid compulsion to make the fly sparging work well... I dunno. Thanks again!

Although it's consistent, I'd like to improve my ~69-70% extraction efficiency and have a few questions... 1) Is a 45 to 60 minute lauter long enough for a typical 5-gallon batch, or should this be taking longer? 2) Should I be aiming for a specific lauter flow rate (given a 5-gallon batch...

If your cider is finished fermenting, you can bottle as would be done for beer as far as I know (unless you've purposefully killed the yeast in order to sweeten it). You should dissolve however much priming sugar you want to use in water, boil it for a couple minutes then cool it, and finally...

Just wanted to chip in my $.02 as well since it is my first order... hopsdirect is pretty awesome. 1.8# Cascade (6.6%AA) - ($22 + $7.87 shipping for a 1# order) Vacuum-sealed and ready for the freezer