Building my brewery...Several questions?

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Mr. Mojo Rising

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I have just successfully converted 3 sanke kegs thanks to the help of the fellow brewers here! I have several questions about where I go from here.

1. What is the best filter for my keggle mash/lauter tun? False bottom, manifold, what will work every time?
2. How does one build and pipe multiple burners? Can I use just one high pressure regulator and multiple burners?
3. How do you initially clean a counter flow chiller and keep it clean.
 
Not a complete answer, but some ideas:

1. A braid works for batch sparging but I don't know if it can flow enough to keep up with recirculation (if you use a pump that is). I plan on starting here though because it's cheaper than a full false bottom.

3. I run some hot vinigar water through the CFC now and then but my normal process is to recirculate hot wort through it and back into the BK for about 5 minutes at the end of the boil. After cooling, I just run clean water through and cap it off on both ends.
 
Bobby_M said:
I run some hot vinigar water through the CFC now and then but my normal process is to recirculate hot wort through it and back into the BK for about 5 minutes at the end of the boil. After cooling, I just run clean water through and cap it off on both ends.


How do you recirculate the wort?
 
Mr. Mojo Rising said:
How do you recirculate the wort?
Recirculation is the process of drawing liquid off of the bottom of a kettle and returning it back to the top. He takes the outlet of the CFC and returns it to the top of the BK.
 
1) I use a false bottom. Here's a pic inside my MLT. Got it here: http://morebeer.com/view_product/19807/102318. It's worked great every since I figure out that it needs to be tightly secured to the bottom or grain will get by and clog the pickup tube. You can see in the picture how I secured it with a hose clamp. Never had a stuck sparge since and it works great with a pump as Bobby alluded to.

inside_mlt.JPG


2) I built a simple manifold running all the burners off a single regulator. Each burner has a ball valve, so I can run one full open and another at partial throttle (as I often do). Here's a pic of that.

brew_stand_plumbing.JPG


3) Just like Bobby, I used to sanitize it by running iodophor through it, and cleaning it occasionally with vinegar. Now I use my March pump and recirculate boiling wort through it during the last 10 mins of the boil and it's good to go.
 
Lil' Sparky said:
2) I built a simple manifold running all the burners off a single regulator. Each burner has a ball valve, so I can run one full open and another at partial throttle (as I often do). Here's a pic of that.

brew_stand_plumbing.JPG

.


Thanks for all the input. It is really helpfull to see where I should go from here before I blow money and rebuy to get things right....so is the way of the homebrewer I guess. Where did you get the burners and regulator from? What diameter O.D. is the black pipe and ball valves?
 
One burner and the regulator I took from my turkey fryer. The other two I got from the "online store that shall not be named", i.e. bayouclassicdepot.com. The hoses I picked up from a local propane place. I think the black pipe is 3/8" and the ball valves are 1/4". If I did it all over again, I'd hard plump the whole thing using 1/2" pipe, 3/8" valves, and pipe-threaded orifices from morebeer (here). The ones I used have a flanged fitting, and I couldn't figure out how to adapt that to pipe threads. :( I recently helped my dad build his and that's what we did. I like the way it turned out.

199899455-M.jpg


199899479-M.jpg
 
Are these high or low pressure burners? What constitutes a high pressure burner and a low pressure burner and what pressure regulator should you use with three burners? Which one is better, high pressure or low pressure?
 
All burners for these applications are "high pressure", but some are more high pressure than others.

The burners I'm using are all common high pressure burners. I use a 10 psi adjustable regulator. You can get more BTUs from a 20 psi reg, but I've never seen the need. I really never turn it up all the way.

bcbg10_cast_iron_propane_cast_burner.jpg


Dad's using some of these fry burners under his HLT and MLT, and one like I use under the BK. I don't know why he went that way, but he did. He's got a 20 psi adjustable reg. He can turn it all the way up under the BK, but not with the fry burners. They don't handle the extra propane as well.

bcbg12_cast_iron_propane_cast_burner.jpg


I guess the fry burners have a better flame at low pressure and are probably a little more efficient in the way they use propane. The down side is the flame gets less controllable at higher pressuers and they want to blow themselves out.
 
Lil' Sparky said:
All burners for these applications are "high pressure", but some are more high pressure than others.


Are the regulators that I can buy off the shelf at Lowe's or Home Depot 10 psi? How do I know if they are and where can I get one if not?
 
Probably. They should say. There's several online shops that sell them, or you could check with a local propane place.
 
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