45L batch brew machine

I will here open a new thread for my own purpose about my new brew kettle.
Its a 50L stainless kettle that I modified. I bouhgt 2 external double cookstoves that I instantly demolished. Then I welded a ring of stainless sheetmetal as a foundation for the kettle. Each one of the coocking plates are 1000W, so I will use 2 different fuses. Here we have 230 volts and 10 amps on each fase.

I did cut a hole for a stainless circulation pump. Im gonna circulate the wort up through the malt bed. Just like the principal of braumeister. I really like that, because all the malt is gonna be exposed to the wort at all times.

Im not finished yet, and need more ploming. The inner kettle is a stainless kettle of 25 litres.

There will be more pics later and more info how I plan to operate it. But I think I only need one PID and a pt100 sensor for this. later to make it more automatic, Im gonna need more advanced electronics.

This looks pretty damned cool! I'll be following this thread.

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Sorry I have not come up with updates yet. But Im still looking for fittings. And since Im not working close to home, I dont have much time in my garage. But in the next few weeks I think its time for a brew. Im just gonna solder the tubings and seal the fittings.
But I still need to build a brewing bench for this kettle. My wife dont like the idea of using the kitchen chairs.
Sorry for a bad focused picture

What pump is that? Looks pretty sweet!

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Nice!

Looking good... I'll be following.

super subscribed

That's a really interesting approach to an electric system. You see lots of people using hot water elements, but very few using cook stove elements. It will be less efficient than the hot water heater-style route, but it also doesn't involve putting a big a$$ element in your pot.

I'm interested to see where this goes, if nothing else to watch the build. The craftsmanship is fantastic. Well done sir.

Thanks for alll the kind words. The pump is a standard stainless circulation pump for heating water. Any one would do. I choose this heating source because i use in my present boiler two 2300w water boiler elements. But i have some caramellisation and they tend to be hard to keep clean. I use them in a plastic fermenter bucket. Its cheap and easy to build. But not lasting. This is one of the reasons im building this. Nr two reason is that i want the benefit of braumasters principal of reversed circulation during the mashing. Number three reason is to prove that something a little more advanced than a cooling box can be built quite sheap. And there is an impression factor when other brewers come and visit. Ha ha

Im still have to modify some fittings and manufactor a part before i can explain how this damned thing will work.

Sub. Great thread

is this a single vessel all grain system? How does this work... sorry if thats a dumb question.

It looks sweet, you do great work!

There are no dumb questions in a thread like this. Its the stupid answers that make people wonder. He he. Well i plan to pump the wort into the bottom of the inner kettle were the malt is during the mashing and let the wort flow over the edge down into the big kettle again. Just like braumeister. But when draining i just lift it up and let it drain. And then when sparging i just let a hose take hot water from an external kettle an spray it over the mash. But how that works will come with better pics later on.

scaryeyes said:

...Nr two reason is that i want the benefit of braumasters principal of reversed circulation during the mashing...

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Can you explain this a bit more? Is that the reason for the 25 ltr inside the bigger pot, are you pusshing the wort up through the wort and then overflowing over the top of the 25 litr pot to recirc?

looks really cool, i'll be interested to see where this goes! cheers.

I see that Firebird/TA in the background.

You're in Sweden and driving American muscle? You get on of these: :rockin:



Oh yeah, and nice setup.

mattd2 said:

Can you explain this a bit more? Is that the reason for the 25 ltr inside the bigger pot, are you pusshing the wort up through the wort and then overflowing over the top of the 25 litr pot to recirc?

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Yea exactly. But then i will start recirc from the top during mash out. Just to clear the wort. I cant say that this will work the first time. I hope it will

_JP_ said:

I see that Firebird/TA in the background.

You're in Sweden and driving American muscle? You get on of these: :rockin:



Oh yeah, and nice setup.

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Oh yes. And cadillac sts during winter and monte carlo when im in mexico. He he

Im gettin closer. Im gonna circulate the wort after boil through the heat extchanger (how do you spell it?) and back into the kettle for wirlpool. Then I should get the coldbreak to settle, I think?

The inner kettle still needs some work. In the lid Im gonna put a manifold-like tubing to spread the wort over the maltbed when circulating from the top during mas out and sparging. In the bottom I just put a garden hose male fitting, that fits into a female fitting I made in lathe. Very simple.
Just need to shorten the brass fitting there

Looking good! I have a concern though: How much heat is going to radiate off of those elements and how are you protecting the electronics/pump that are positioned next to them? Have you test fired the elements yet and measured the temperatures? Is the temp not a concern? Thanks!

The heat is a big concern. Im gonna cut a lot of vent holes to get the heat out from the under side. Im not gonna use all 4 of the cook plates during boil, just in the heating fase. Maybe thats gonna work. Otherwise I have to put a heatshield around the pump. I have catalysator heatshield material to use.
Thers a lot of maybes and hopes when building a prototype.

Edit. Well... The pump isnt that close in real. It sure looks very close on this crappy mobile pics. Cell cameras show a little what they want.

scaryeyes said:

The heat is a big concern. Im gonna cut a lot of vent holes to get the heat out from the under side. Im not gonna use all 4 of the cook plates during boil, just in the heating fase. Maybe thats gonna work. Otherwise I have to put a heatshield around the pump. I have catalysator heatshield material to use.
Thers a lot of maybes and hopes when building a prototype.

Edit. Well... The pump isnt that close in real. It sure looks very close on this crappy mobile pics. Cell cameras show a little what they want.

Click to expand...

In the event that the cookplates are too close/hot you can always move to an immersion element, it would surely be more efficient as far as power is concerned. 4500W should be plenty for your batch size, 5500W would get you to boiling faster.

That was my first option. But after a little thinking, I didnt want an element inside the kettle. But sure, i didnt try this one out yet. maybe its crap. Maybe it works as I hope. No one knows yet. But by next week I hope to try boil some water

scaryeyes said:

That was my first option. But after a little thinking, I didnt want an element inside the kettle. But sure, i didnt try this one out yet. maybe its crap. Maybe it works as I hope. No one knows yet. But by next week I hope to try boil some water

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I look forward to the results of your first test! Cheers!

Anyone who have an idea how to make a beersmith equipment profile from this setup? How many kilos of malt would be maximum in a 25 litre kettle? The wort is pumped througt the maltbed from beneath so its not the same ratio as konventional mashing i presume? Any ideas?

You will almost always end up mashing with your full volume, unless you sparge in which case you will mash with your full volume less whatever you want to sparge with. Accounting for grain absorption of course. I'd setup Beersmith with one of the BIAB profiles and tweak from there.

Now I have brewed the first one. Works just fine. Sorry for a crappy pic and unoganized bathroom

A testrun with PBW just for testing.

scaryeyes said:

Now I have brewed the first one. Works just fine. Sorry for a crappy pic and unoganized bathroom

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I want more details! I'm glad everything went well, she is a thing of beauty! How was the heat below the skirt?

Hi
It worked just fine, exept for some minor drawbacks. But not as bad it couldnt be fixed.The heat under the skirt was not a problem at all. I think I have some energy loss with this setup, but I dont care if I loose one dollar or maybe two in electrical power. Its a very smooth process. But its little heavy to lift the malt pipe when i start recirculate from the top. I think I need to build a small crane for lifting. Some kind of telfer. And a filter on the pipe that takes the wort from the bottom inside of the kettle can be a good idea. I had an hour of work cleaning the cooler of some malt that accidently got out from the malt pipe and into the kettle and hop pellets. Im gonna use a hop bag next time. But that setup with a plate heatexchanger when I transfer the wort back inside is very good. I then create a wirlpool at the same time I cool the wort.

Very nice, I love these integrated units.

I have now modified it a little and Im gonna brew next week again. I have a family, so im not very fast when I do things. Familys dont like hobbies.
I now on to another thing thats not very liked at home.... Bottlefiller. Last time there was blood everywere! But my wife is going home to mexico for a month......
Its gonna be an automatic counterpreasure bottlefiller. Dont we all want that??????

Better start a new thread for that one!

Yea. Think so.....

I'm intrigued by the stainless steel bling on the... toilet. Sad, I know, but that is something new. (that's not your mash tun? Fly sparging from the tank?)

Wow, this is awesome. I love some of the sweet DIY projects that people make happen.

passedpawn said:

I'm intrigued by the stainless steel bling on the... toilet. Sad, I know, but that is something new. (that's not your mash tun? Fly sparging from the tank?)

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fun