My One Vessel AG System

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wobdee

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Here are some pictures of my new modified stainless steel BIAB system. After researching here about the whole BIAB thingy I decided I was going to try it then came across this thread about hop gunk and it gave me an idea.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/new-way-control-pellet-hop-gunk-352293/

I figure if it works for straining hops why not grains so I talked with Chad and came up with this 400 micron s/s mesh basket to fit my 8gl Megapot. He also built a round disc with handle to help squeeze the grains while draining.

I do 2.5 gl batches on top of a 1800w induction plate. Also have a 4x10" hop basket which works great. The work quality is great, thanks Chad!

I'll post some more pictures next week when I brew my first batch.

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Please keep us posted on how this works for you. I know Scubasteve tried but never managed to get the correct combination of flow-thru and straining. My concern with the basket is that flour and/or protiens will plug up the screen and render the rig unuseable or you'll have to constantly scrape the sides to maintain flow and allow water outside the basket to circulate through the grain. It may also prove to be a thermal barrier.

My bag is much larger than the inside of my pot allowing it to move around and prevent gunk from pluging it up. The bag also allows the grain to touch every drop of water as opposed to having dead space around and below the basket. In addition, the weave size in the bag is somewhat dynamic in that it stretchs and opens up when you hoist/squeze to promote better draining.

Very curious to see if your basket idea works as well. Good luck!!!
 
Yeah, I'll keep you all posted. Before I ordered this I did a test with my hop basket and it seemed to work fine, infact I think a smaller basket could work well for steeping grains in extract brews.

I had this basket made so it's only 1/2" diameter less than the OD of my kettle so just about all the kettle water should be inside the basket with the grains.

I don't know yet how fine I should crush the grains, I can see where a too fine crush could lead to clogging up the mesh but then most say a fine crush is a good idea for higher efficiency. I'll have to find a good compromise and If I have to go a little more coarse and lose a few points thats fine, I'll add a little more grain, it won't have to be much with 2.5gl batches.
 
I would also like a report on how this works out. I was talking to Chad about getting one for 5G batches.

In the last pic on the first post, what are those tabs on the edge of the kettle that appear to be holding the basket up?
 
I would also like a report on how this works out. I was talking to Chad about getting one for 5G batches.

In the last pic on the first post, what are those tabs on the edge of the kettle that appear to be holding the basket up?

There are two tabs welded to the bottom so I can hang the basket on the side of the kettle for draining.

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Yep, Morebeer 8gl Mega pot. Found the Burton 1800w induction plate on Amazon, I think it was around $70?

It works just fine with the sandwiched bottom of the MoreBeer Kettle?

Looking forward to see how your brew day goes, I'm looking to do 2.5 gallon batches and i just happen to have a MB kettle and IC that I don't use any more.
 
Doing some testing today before I try and brew. With the basket inside the kettle the bottom of the basket sits about 1.5" above the bottom so I loose a full gallon of water from the basket. I would perfer it to sit a little lower in the kettle but the kettle spigot is in the way.

I really like this induction plate. I have 4 gl of water in there right now and can adjust the setting so it holds the mash temps.

Looks like 4 gl should be good for this system for brewing a 2.5gl BIAB type batch with a 60 min boil. Next on deck is a Black IPA!
 
It works just fine with the sandwiched bottom of the MoreBeer Kettle?

Looking forward to see how your brew day goes, I'm looking to do 2.5 gallon batches and i just happen to have a MB kettle and IC that I don't use any more.

Yeah the kettle works great, I've done a few 2.5 gl extract batches with it and it brings 3.5 gl of water to boil in about an hour. It doesn't give a good rolling boil unless you leave the lid partially on but overall I'm pretty satisifed.
 
i've been quite happy using these for hop filtering. looking forward to hearing how it performs as a BIAB (brew in a basket).

any worries that 400 microns is too tight?
 
i've been quite happy using these for hop filtering. looking forward to hearing how it performs as a BIAB (brew in a basket).

any worries that 400 microns is too tight?

There's always a worry but I'm thinking 400 should be fine as long as I don't crush too fine. I'll let everyone know how it goes either Wed or Thur.
 
This sounds like a great idea. I love the idea of adding the feet to hold the basket. How much was it for the basket and grain draining disc?
 
I think Chad is selling them for around $100 depending on what size and options you want. I don't know if he could come up with one standard size for so many different kettles?
 
I found Chad on ebay as well and bought a hop spider from him a month ago, his craftsmanship is excellent! I'm in the process of building a RIMS tube like this one http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-portable-Stainless-Steel-RIMS-tube-/ so hopefully everything works like I think it should. It should make for a nice little compact system that I can also take to friends homes and help them get started in the home brew hobby. I'll post pics of my set up when everything is done.
 
Ok, did a batch of Black IPA today and it worked great! I did screw up the mash temps by leaving the heat on and it shot up from 150 to 165 and I had to scramble to cool it down with ice cubes, oops. Next time I'll just turn the heat off and cover.

The 400 micron basket worked great for draining except for a little dribble over the edge when I set it on the edge of the kettle. It also cleaned up real easy.

I ended up with 70% efficiency when I was shooting for 75% but that could of been my fault from the mash temps or not attempting a finer crush? Probably could of used a little more water as well, mash was kind a thicker than I wanted.

Overall I'm pretty impressed and I'm going to try again Thursday.

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Ok, did a batch of Black IPA today and it worked great! I did screw up the mash temps by leaving the heat on and it shot up from 150 to 165 and I had to scramble to cool it down with ice cubes, oops. Next time I'll just turn the heat off and cover.

The 400 micron basket worked great for draining except for a little dribble over the edge when I set it on the edge of the kettle. It also cleaned up real easy.

I ended up with 70% efficiency when I was shooting for 75% but that could of been my fault from the mash temps or not attempting a finer crush? Probably could of used a little more water as well, mash was kind a thicker than I wanted.

Overall I'm pretty impressed and I'm going to try again Thursday.

How did the basket feel when it was hanging on the side of the pot? I was a little worried about the weight when I first saw your design. I think I am going to have to order one of these soon because I really do not like using the various BIAB grain bags.
 
How did the basket feel when it was hanging on the side of the pot? I was a little worried about the weight when I first saw your design. I think I am going to have to order one of these soon because I really do not like using the various BIAB grain bags.

I agree on the tabs. That seems a bit too iffy, especially if you're looking to upsize this idea to do 5G batches. Otherwise, this seems fantastic!
 
The basket was fine hanging on the side of the kettle, I lifted it slowly and let it drain for a minute or two then hung it on the kettle side. I think there is plenty of weight down below in the kettle to offset the grain and basket.

When I used the squeeze plate I held onto the basket handle with one hand and squeezed with the other. The tabs seemed strong enough to hold it there but I was more worried about putting too much pressure and weight on top of my glass top induction plate.

Maybe instead of those tabs a guy could just hang the basket from some pulley system above or place a grill rack across the kettle? I figure my 2.5 gl batches won't get too top heavy with 4-7lbs of grain.
 
Kind a debating wether or not to squeeze the grains for that little extra wort. Maybe just let it drain on its own while the wort comes up to boil?
 
Kind a debating wether or not to squeeze the grains for that little extra wort. Maybe just let it drain on its own while the wort comes up to boil?

I would think that would be the best idea in most cases. I'm not sure how thick the mesh is on that thing, but I would guess that over time you might break it from squeezing it.

That reminds me, how sturdy is the mesh? Do you think it would be easy to dent? Does is seem like any of the tack welds would pop off easily?
 
The mesh seems pretty solid but I'm sure you could put a dent in it if you dropped it or banged it up against something. I had him build an X underneath to help support the weight and I'm sure it could be beefed up a bit if needed. I'm no expert on welding but the tacks look fine to me and don't expect any problems.
 
Do you sparge/rinse at all? This system looks too cool! I've been using a full all grain system for years and extract before that, but this looks like the best of both worlds! Using the bags always look like it would be cumbersome at best, but I might have to give this a shot.
 
Do you sparge/rinse at all? This system looks too cool! I've been using a full all grain system for years and extract before that, but this looks like the best of both worlds! Using the bags always look like it would be cumbersome at best, but I might have to give this a shot.

No sparge, true BIAB (brew in a basket)
 
I made some changes this morning. I didn't like how the basket was a tad too tall and I couldn't get a tight seal with my lid and I wanted the basket to sit down closer to the bottom of the kettle.

I cut off those side tabs and 4 extra flat stock risers that kept the basket off my inner spigot then removed the inner spigot so the basket sits about 3/4" off the bottom instead of 1 1/2". Also bought a Weber 17" grill grate that fits perfectly and will use it to drain and squeeze.

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I should be able to put much more pressure down this way when squeezing the grains and it was only $10 for the grate.
 
That looks good, man! When are you brewing next? I'd like to know how the adjustments work out for you before ordering from Chad.

Also, in the original thread on this, was there any consensus on what size basket you would need to hold a given amount of hops?
 
I need a solution for hot break filtering. Something like this would be pretty neat. Remove once before first hops addition, clean and replace. Then again after cooling.
 
That looks good, man! When are you brewing next? I'd like to know how the adjustments work out for you before ordering from Chad.

Also, in the original thread on this, was there any consensus on what size basket you would need to hold a given amount of hops?

Brewing again tomorrow, I'll let you know how it goes.

I have the 4x10" basket and I feel it's just right for my smaller 2.5gl system. If your into big hoppy 5gl or larger batches I'd recommend something larger. 2-3 oz of pellets in mine looks pretty compact and I like to do a big flame out addition so I dump out the boiling hops at flame out before adding the rest.
 
This was my first atempt at BIAB and noticed a difference in wort clarity and trub compared to my old 3 vessel system. I use to recirculate the mash and set the filter bed until it ran clear, I wonder if I should recirculate some before pulling the basket? Thoughts?
 
This was my first atempt at BIAB and noticed a difference in wort clarity and trub compared to my old 3 vessel system. I use to recirculate the mash and set the filter bed until it ran clear, I wonder if I should recirculate some before pulling the basket? Thoughts?


Darn, I was hoping to use this for hot break. perhaps a tighter mesh...
Recirculating would certainly give clearer wort and couldn't hurt anything. It wouldn't take any extra time cause you could do it with the mash going. Probably even a good idea to keep even temps.
 
I thought about taking it out, dumping the grain and using it for hops but I would need to get it out of the way when it's time for my immersion chiller. It only takes a few minutes to dump the grain and rinse off.
 
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