Look for advice on what to add to my brew setup

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wookiemofo

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I swear I was reading something on this site yesterday but now I can't find it. I think I want to add a piece or two to my setup every year, but I am at a stand still for what to add. Looking for suggestions.

Current setup.
2 propane burners, one a classic turkey the other a SQ14
8gal kettle
10gal polarware kettle with valve and space for thermometer (no false bottom)
10gal drink cooler for mash tun with false bottom
Stainless Immersion chiller that I used back when i was doing partial mashes in a smaller pot

My brew day:
Heat strike water in kettle, dump in to preheat. Dough in.
Heat Sparge water in second kettle. Vorlof... Drain into primary kettle.
Start Boil
Sparge... repeat
Boil
Cool
Siphon into carboy, pitch, aerate with an oxynator
Into the fermentation fridge

No yeast starter equipment

Ideas?
 
First question to ask yourself is what part drives you nuts on brewday? I got to the point that I was hating lifting pots of hot liquid, and always needing someone to help me carry them, so my last purchase was to finally get a pump.
 
Yeah I guess the worst part is dumping in my sparge water, it's damn near impossible by myself. Lifting the tun or kettle to a shelf for siphoning isn't as bad. So did you just add a pump for the sake of moving hot liquid to your mash tun?
 
I actually plan on using it for mash recirculation and then runoff to the boil kettle, and then chilling through a CFC and whirlpooling, which means I still get to lift my HLT, but its one step closer to lazy brewing.
 
Are you looking to make better beer, or a better system? If it's the former, look first to the beer. Is there something about your beer you'd really like to improve? Is there an investment you can make that will help you to make that improvement?
 
wookiemofo said:
I swear I was reading something on this site yesterday but now I can't find it. I think I want to add a piece or two to my setup every year, but I am at a stand still for what to add. Looking for suggestions.

Current setup.
2 propane burners, one a classic turkey the other a SQ14
8gal kettle
10gal polarware kettle with valve and space for thermometer (no false bottom)
10gal drink cooler for mash tun with false bottom
Stainless Immersion chiller that I used back when i was doing partial mashes in a smaller pot

My brew day:
Heat strike water in kettle, dump in to preheat. Dough in.
Heat Sparge water in second kettle. Vorlof... Drain into primary kettle.
Start Boil
Sparge... repeat
Boil
Cool
Siphon into carboy, pitch, aerate with an oxynator
Into the fermentation fridge

No yeast starter equipment

Ideas?

Do you have temperature control of the fermentation fridge? This is quite important.

Do you bottle? Consider a legging setup, it is much faster and easier

Do you keg? Consider a beer gun to help you share your brew, and enter competitions.

Consider changing your chiller. I use immersion/ whirlpool with 5/8" copper, and a march pump. With my setup I can chill an entire 30 gallon batch in 15 minutes to pitching temp. Some people prefer the lower water usage of a plate chiller, but they require more finicky cleaning.

I switched to trick over fittings, and will never look back. Consider changing or at least standardizing all your fittings so you can move things around.

Buy a stir plate, and a 5 liter erlenmeyer for making giant yeast starters. Happy yeast = better beer.

Have a homebrew.

Get a pump.
 
damnitbeavis said:
Do you have temperature control of the fermentation fridge? This is quite important.

Do you bottle? Consider a legging setup, it is much faster and easier

Do you keg? Consider a beer gun to help you share your brew, and enter competitions.

Consider changing your chiller. I use immersion/ whirlpool with 5/8" copper, and a march pump. With my setup I can chill an entire 30 gallon batch in 15 minutes to pitching temp. Some people prefer the lower water usage of a plate chiller, but they require more finicky cleaning.

I switched to trick over fittings, and will never look back. Consider changing or at least standardizing all your fittings so you can move things around.

Buy a stir plate, and a 5 liter erlenmeyer for making giant yeast starters. Happy yeast = better beer.

Have a homebrew.

Get a pump.

Tri clover fittings, rather
 
Some pretty good suggestions here. Sounds like a yeast start setup would be the next best thing to buy. I'm happy with my beer, but I'd like to minimize the amount of scrambling that seems to happen sometimes on brew day.

Also thought about some minor advanced while I wait to get things like a pump. Stuff like a stainless auto siphon...
 
@damnitbeavis

Here's my answers to your questions:

Do you have temperature control of the fermentation fridge? This is quite important. - Yes, currently only a single mode though. It might be nice to have a dual. Here in MN there are times of the season where I need to switch it over from heat to cold daily it seems.

Do you bottle? Consider a legging setup, it is much faster and easier - No

Do you keg? Consider a beer gun to help you share your brew, and enter competitions. -Yes, I currently have the counter pressure filler that a member was selling/construction

Consider changing your chiller. I use immersion/ whirlpool with 5/8" copper, and a march pump. With my setup I can chill an entire 30 gallon batch in 15 minutes to pitching temp. Some people prefer the lower water usage of a plate chiller, but they require more finicky cleaning. - I have been looking at a whirlpool chiller for awhile now, maybe this is a good investment as well.

I switched to trick over fittings, and will never look back. Consider changing or at least standardizing all your fittings so you can move things around.

Buy a stir plate, and a 5 liter erlenmeyer for making giant yeast starters. Happy yeast = better beer.

Have a homebrew.

Get a pump.[/QUOTE]
 
Yeah I guess the worst part is dumping in my sparge water, it's damn near impossible by myself. Lifting the tun or kettle to a shelf for siphoning isn't as bad. So did you just add a pump for the sake of moving hot liquid to your mash tun?

Try moving your sparge water a gallon at a time with a simple plastic pitcher. I have found that this is extremely simple and effective, likely easier than hooking up and unhooking a pump and lines...oh about 3 bucks, maybe less.
 
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