My New 1BBL Electric Brewery

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Ranger9913

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Joined
Oct 17, 2009
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Location
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I'm running this in an EHERMS setup with 2-5500w elements in the HLT and BK. Everything is controlled by a BCS-460. In the near future I will be properly insulating and finishing the kettles with a wood plank trim. I did my first brew on Tuesday and everything went according to plan. Took about an hour to get from 55 degree water to 170 degree strike water. It also took about an hour to go from 165 degrees to full boil. Once at full boil I was able to maintain a rolling boil with one element completely on, and the other at 65% duty cycle. All said and done this was about an $900 upgrade from my previous 3 keg system. My new March AC-5B Nano Pump didn't arrive in time for the brew and it took almost 40mins to transfer 35 gallons 10ft to the fermenter.

4 SS Drums -$500
4 5500w elements - $80
4 locking 240v 30A plugs - $72
30' of 6/3 wire - $50
SS fitting and valves - $80
Welding Services - $100
Hot water tank stand - $30

I just hope this first batch turns out good as 22oz of Simcoe/Amarillo cost almost as much as my grain.

1BBL.jpg
 
Is it too late to be an adopted son? I'll take care of it when you are......wait, your half my age.....I'll die first.......you got twice the setup I have? The world is NOT fair!


Nice rig, hope you have lots of batches of GREAT beer with it.:mug:

Oh yeah.....show off.;)
 
Folks, he's messing with us. Can't you tell that this is just a scale model? Those are clearly empty soup cans. The whole thing is probably 8" high, including stand. :D
 
Folks, he's messing with us. Can't you tell that this is just a scale model? Those are clearly empty soup cans. The whole thing is probably 8" high, including stand. :D


I want one of those tiny little shop vacs!
 
I don't use a screen, I use a copper manifold and it works very well. In the BK I have a soft copper tube that picks up off the side of the kettle. I usually just whirlpool with my big mash paddle.
 
I'm using 1/2 copper in in a hexagon shape. I think I used a 3/32'' drill bit but I'm not sure now. I staggered the holes and drilled a lot of them. I will snap a pic when I get home. I also use a 8" silicon hose to connect the manifold to my ball valve.
 
Ranger:
I would appreciate the pic.
I have a tangent inlet 1/2 way up my drum and I am going to whirlpool with a pump. Do you think your manifold would allow enough volume thru to pump fast enough to whirlpool? Or should I use a separate intake for the whirlpool?
Any thoughts are appreciated very much.
 
No I do not believe using 1/2 tubing with a march type pump will get a whirlpool going with 35-40 gallons of wort. It took me 45 mins to transfer my first batch 10ft to my fermenter using a March 809 pump. I have since purchased the March Nano pump and it things are a lot better. I still don't think that pump could get a better whirlpool than my mash paddle.
 
No I do not believe using 1/2 tubing with a march type pump will get a whirlpool going with 35-40 gallons of wort. It took me 45 mins to transfer my first batch 10ft to my fermenter using a March 809 pump. I have since purchased the March Nano pump and it things are a lot better. I still don't think that pump could get a better whirlpool than my mash paddle.

OK. I have the March Nano pump with 3/4" hose and fittings and 3/4" on kettle. But I have not used it yet. If the pump won't whirlpool then the old paddle it will be.
 
Well you may have a chance with 3/4" fittings. That pump can move some liquid and I made the mistake of going 1/2" on my kettles. In the near future I'm going to have all new 1" tc fittings put in.
 
What size tubing is your stand made from? I have a single tier stand made from 1.5" square tubing and am thinking about picking up some 30 gal kettles to upgrade to a 1/2 bbl system with an eventual move to a full bbl by using a larger BK. I have modeled it up in sketchup, and it looks like the kettles will fit on the stand (albeit with a little overhang like yours), but I am a bit concerned about the weight issue. Anybody else made this upgrade that can weigh in (pun intended)?
 
nice restaurant anti fatigue mat there. its nice to know a local guy is doing all electric now some1 I can go to for help.
 
I believe it is also 1.5" tubing. I think the stand will hold up to a lot more than a few 30 gallon kettles. The hot water stands from Home Depot are rated for 150lbs and they are thin galvanized metal.
 
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