Ventilation Choices

Down to my final large piece needed to finalize the brewery. I know it's best to go with the vent set up Kal recommends but I'd like to try and not spend 20% of the overall brewery cost on ventilation. I brewed two five gallon batches at a time on my old stove using a microwave vent fan for many years with doors and windows closed in my one bedroom apt. Yes my place got really humid, smelled amazing, and eventually I had to clean the vents but I never had condensation anywhere. I'm sure I was doing unseen damage to the place, luckily it was a rental.

To keep costs down I've decided to go with a vent just over the boil kettle. I'd rather do a ductless version and just open the door and windows so I don't have to cut holes in the wall to the outside (not great re-sale value in a townhome kitchen) but if I do end up running ducting I only would need one right elbow from the top of the hood, then about four feet straight to the outside wall. Brewery is located in kitchen right next to a door and two windows.

I may end up building a hood myself and getting the vortex fan but I'm REALLY tempted to go with something like one of these if they would work.

Dig the two fan option
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008UEJS7Y/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


Centrifugal blower
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00400TRJQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


Cheapest but lowest CFM
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E4O0R3I/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

What size batches are you doing? Assuming electric, and these being just to remove evaporation, I can't see why the lowest (760cfm) option wouldn't be more than enough power.

I agree with Brett. If it's only for moisture.

I would even consider just a bathroom fan type of setup. Most are much lower power, and much less expensive. They provide about 100 CFMs. If it's enough for a hot shower, it should be enough for a small 1 hr. boil.

The larger hoods you have links to should help keep the smell down too, if that's worth the extra couple hundred bucks to you. Plus they look way cooler!

Ya, I read it as the OP was looking to replace their existing hood in their kitchen?

I currently don't have a hood where I'll be setting up my Kal clone electric brewery. 90% of the time it will be 5g batches with the occasional 10g batch. I was going off of Kal's ventilation recommendation, they seem over the top for what I'll need but I'd hate to get something set up and it not work well just because I tried to save a few hundred dollars. I don't care about smell at all (love when my place smells like wort) and it'll be in the corner of my kitchen next to a door, there's also two windows on the opposite wall.

http://www.TheElectricBrewery.com/ventilation

fxdude said:

(love when my place smells like wort) ... there's also two windows on the opposite wall.

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Simple cheap solution if you don't mind sticking a fan in the window when you brew.

http://www.target.com/p/holmes-twin...sku=11153980&gclid=CPjNnKGMlLkCFZCe4Aodym8A3g

Or perhaps this link, I never knew there were window fans that pemitted opening / closing the window when mounted???

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-LASKO-2...467?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53fc7d6f33\

Just a couple suggestions, completely understandable if you want a professional looking hood set-up.

I'm using a Vornado fan on top of a hutch that blows across the top of my kettle and points toward an open window. Without it I got rain drops forming on the ceiling even with a large ceiling fan running in the center of the room. With the Vornado running, no problems with moisture build up or condensation anywhere in the house. I think it's somewhere around 500 cf/min.

I was thinking about using a fan to blow the across the kettle towards the open door which opens outwards but usually the cross breeze comes in through that door. Boil kettle is the one on the far left and the control panel will be mounted on the far right next to the door.

I love Amazon Warehouse for items like these. I recently bought one of the 400cfm vortex fans (used-like new) and 2 of these to cover the whole work area. They are now around $25 a piece but when I purchased them from Amazon Warehouse they were only $11 so I couldn't pass them up.

I will be putting a piece of clear plastic I have left over from a DIY projector ceiling mount I made to cover the top holes (I considered insulation like used on keezer builds around the collar as well) with the hood over the BK having a cut out for exhaust. I will use a 45* angle connector to the hose to keep it as low profile as possible. The hoods have two screw holes on the sides to bolt them together and then I will use a pair of clippers to cut the metal in between to make one large 5 foot hood.

This will exhaust out of my dryer vent I have in the same room. With the 400+ CFM fan I have read condensation is not a problem at all so I was not worried about a lip for condensation drip.

So overall cost will be roughly $110 or so with the connector and hose I still have yet to buy. I also trolled craigslist for some range hoods and found one similar to your first link that someone was trying to get rid of for $100 but they were 3 hours away so I didn't jump.

Hope this helps at least to give you ideas of outside the box hoods.

Window fan. $20.

brewmcq said:

Window fan. $20.

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Window fans work at taking some of the moisture out of the room, but not before it rises to the ceiling and condenses there (at least in my house). Having air move across the top of the kettle made a huge difference.

IME, window fans work well if they can be placed above and directly behind the brew kettle.



A window fan across the room will likely result in some condensation on the ceiling. Using the collected wisdom and data, I think the OP needs a window fan at the top of the double hung window across the room, and a small desktop type fan on top of the kitchen cabinet adjacent to the brew kettle.

Comes down to owners preference and budget. If you were brewing everyday, a permanent hood would seem justified, but to brew every couple / three weeks I'm not sure it's worth the expense and structural altering of the kitchen???

Sometimes an open door just seems to let cold winter air in and not remove any moisture and odor. A window fan will exhaust the house nicely while you still brew in comfort on a hot or cold day FWIW.

Looks to me that the ceiling joists run perpendicular to the proposed duct run, so hiding the ductwork in the cieling would be difficult. The stainless hoods linked are very nice, but if they cant be installed, ducted and look finished and professional, it kinda is a deal breaker for me anyway.

Perhaps a 20" box fan in the window would get enough air moving to eliminate any ceiling condensation, those things move a lot of air....might be all you need....but I do agree w/ AnoldUr, you need some movement of air in the room to intercept the kettle plume.
http://www.staples.com/Lasko-Premiu...t_366657?cid=PS:GooglePLAs:366657&KPID=366657

Regardless of budget...this is a tough install to look finished and proper in the given location.

I used an inline fan at 720 cfm. I think it was $90 at the time from some hydroponics store. Though I'm undoubtedly now on some list of potential "growers."

Sounds like some people have good luck with fans in a window or blowing towards an open door. If you have a window nearby you can run the duct to the window and thru a piece of rigid foam insulation. That's how mine works. I put an increaser on the end near the keggle. You can't see it that well, but it's adjustable and gets the job done.

If this is in your kitchen, you may want something that looks a bit nicer, but I personally prefer running the vent to the outside rather than near a window or door. Not that it doesn't work the other way. A lot of people report good results. But the last thing you want is warped joists or other very costly issues.

Careful using window fans for a high humidity condensing situation like this. You're basically using a window fan as a stove hood fan, and they're generally not rated for use with condensing steam. You could short something out, causing safety issues, etc.

To the OP: I know you asked the same question on my forum, but I thought I'd post it here too for others:

Ignore any CFM numbers from the manufacturers when comparing different hood fans as they're meaningless and not really comparable as you have no idea how they were calculated. All of the fans have fairly high rated CFM values.

If any of them have squirrel cage motors I would go with that one as it will have much better static pressure which means that the CFM will stay higher when you hook up duct work/bends/etc. (It's not easy to tell from the descriptions which if any have squirrel cage fans).

Good luck!

Kal

kal said:

Careful using window fans for a high humidity condensing situation like this. You're basically using a window fan as a stove hood fan, and they're generally not rated for use with condensing steam. You could short something out, causing safety issues, etc.

To the OP: I know you asked the same question on my forum, but I thought I'd post it here too for others:

Ignore any CFM numbers from the manufacturers when comparing different hood fans as they're meaningless and not really comparable as you have no idea how they were calculated. All of the fans have fairly high rated CFM values.

If any of them have squirrel cage motors I would go with that one as it will have much better static pressure which means that the CFM will stay higher when you hook up duct work/bends/etc. (It's not easy to tell from the descriptions which if any have squirrel cage fans).

Good luck!

Kal

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Hey Kal, thanks for all the inspiration (not to thread jack) I took a play from your book and fabbed my own hood for condensate at a local metal shop for a third of what it cost to purchase. This is just a 4x8 sheet of stainless with a top center hole for venting and an inline fan from amazon (I think vormetric... 800cfm) it moves some air and keeps everything relatively cool on even double batch brew days!

Looks really nice marcb, if I can find a solution like that for under $300 I may go with that even though I'm still not huge on punching a hole to the outside in my kitchen. This townhome is a stepping stone, I expect to only live here for another 5-7 years. Also thanks again Kal for the advice, always appreciated.

Luckily in southern california I never have to worry about it being too cold outside so 90% of the time I can leave windows and doors open. I have a sliding glass door straight across from my kitchen door about 40 feet away so the cross breeze is great but unfortunately it blows in the wrong direction and would carry the steam further into my kitchen and right into my living room.

I should be getting the final pieces this week so I can hopefully do a test run with water and really see how steam flows and what the cross breeze does to it.

Ok, maybe in sunny breezy low humidity SoCal you can just open a few windows and doors and brew. That is a much different scenario then 10 degrees, or 90 with 90 humidity ... Cheers!

Most of these vent systems are required because of two different indoor and outdoor climates,

Probably setting a box fan at the downwind door and opening a few windows would flush the place out pretty well for like 25 bucks.