Kill-A-Watt Brewery Build Compilation

CornyKegs 728
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The goal is to get a nice whirlpool going and to stir the wort to aid cooling. You don't want to splash the wort back into the BK. It will aerate the wort and disturb the smooth circular flow. It needs to be below the surface of the liquid.
 
Thanks jfkriege and pickles. I love this setup and am just trying to understand it better. How would the Blichmann AutoSparge work here since there is no true "sparge"? Does it just cutoff the flow coming from the pump or is something more elaborate happening? It seems like that wouldn't be good for the pump...
 
The autosparge is only for volume control to make sure you dont overfill one tank or drop the fluid level below an element and burn it out. the rig in the second post of the link in my signature has another way to tackle this, gravity feed from a valve above the elements. You can never burn the elements out this way.

Joshua
 
jfkriege said:
The autosparge is only for volume control to make sure you dont overfill one tank or drop the fluid level below an element and burn it out. the rig in the second post of the link in my signature has another way to tackle this, gravity feed from a valve above the elements. You can never burn the elements out this way.

Joshua
Click to expand...

I really like the gravity feed idea. Easy to see how you won't burn out the elements. So the autosparge literally cuts off the flow coming from the pump if the level gets too high, but does nothing if it gets low? Is cutting off the flow bad for the pump?
 
I like the gravity system as well. It is simple.

If you are using a magnetically coupled pump like a March 809 or the LG 3-MD-HC then the autosparge doesn't do anything negative to the pumps. The only way it would get low when the autosparge is in there is if you cut off the pump or clogged a line. you are correct in how it works.

Joshua
 
Hello,

I work for BYO and WineMaker Magazines. This would make a great article for our Drool section. If you are interested let me know by dropping me a line @

[email protected]

Cheers!
 
On page one of this thread The Pol refers to a "Parts List" on page 61, does anyone know where that is posted as I do not see it on page 61.

The Pol, could you share (again probably, I know...)where you purchased the 1/4" Nylon material?
 
Hi!
Im a total newbie in this but am gonna build something like the Kill A watt.
Can anyone tell me how all is connected at the different brewing stages?
Some of it i know, but some i dont understand. Like sparging for example.
With this system you dont sparge? but there is a autosparge valve?
Also the Connection in between the cooling coil, what and when connects there?

Any ideas and tips is very very welcome.

Im sorry for being a newbie but i guess we all have been at the beginning. :)
 
Yep, search for brutus 20. I rocked a similar build for a while, before upgrading to a 3 vessel single tier herms. Too be honest,I sort of miss the simplicity.

Pol, didn't somebody buy that rig? Maybe they can comment on it's performance. The brutus is a tried and true design though, so I'm sure it works great.
 
Yes, it sold for $5k, but he was never a member here. Cardiologist from Boston.
 
Hi again,

ok, read a lot about the Brutus.
The rims is used only to maintain the temp for about 60min, right?
Then i guess there is no sparge? or do you sparge and in that case how is the rig connected at that time?
I dont understand the last step when recirculating in both the mlt and hlt/kettle. Do you have some good explenation how and why this is done?

Again sorry for being a newbie :)
 
Because you mash with say 1.5qt/lb, after the mash you recirc through the HLT which contains your sparge water and recirc between the two kettles for a period of time. Then, when the wort is homogenous, you send all of the wort to the HLT/Boil kettle.

Prior to the "sparge" the mash is recirculated through the 9000W RIMS heater. The entire system was controlled wirelessly through a PC.

The auto sparge arm was in the MLT in order to protect the system from overfilling the MLT during the recirc, so that the flow rates did not have to be precisely matched.
 
The buyer is still using the rig to this day. He recently moved to Nashville and hit me up for help to get it connected to his home network.
 
Could a similar build work without the RIMS, and instead using the HEX in the HLT/BK as a HERMS? Dough in the MT then heat HLT to mash temps. Recirc the mash through the HEX in the HLT, once mash is finished you "sparge" with what you have in the HLT and recirc and then dump everything back into the BK/HLT.
 

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