Hidden Creek E-brewery build

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TrainSafe

Well-Known Member
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Location
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Well, the madness has finally begun. I got clearance from SWMBO to begin my e-brewery build. The timing couldn't be better. I'd like to have it done in a couple months so that I can use it when the cold weather set's in. Right now I've been using a keggle and cooler MLT setup.

The plan is to do most of a Kal clone, with the following changes:
  • 50A panel - to allow for back-to-back brews if needed
  • Using the 50A kit from www.ebrewsupply.com
  • Home-built vent hood
  • a few other minor adjustments along the way

I'm not great at photos as I tend to just git-r-done more than I take photos. I'll try to post updates on a regular basis. It might be slow going for a few weeks as I'm committed to putting hardwood flooring in the living room and adding a shower to an already finished bathroom during the same time that I'm building this. (Don't ask - some things you just do to maintain a great marriage.)

This is going in my basement in my workshop. One of the biggest challenges is going to be moving my woodworking tools and figuring out how to utilize an already tight space for two purposes.

My order from http://www.ebrewsupply.com arrived quickly and was well packed. Included were several large format color wiring schematics. I had a question about the purpose of some 'extra' indicator lights so I emailed Ryan. He replied within a few minutes on a Sunday afternoon. I'd say he's off to a great start in business. I can't say enough about my experience there.
 
I picked up a couple March pumps from midwest supplies this weekend and got 10% off in honor of Woman's Equality Day. I wasn't previously aware that this holiday was created, but I'll take the savings and brew a beer in honor of the great women in my life.
 
Yesterday was like Christmas. No. Better than that. I came home from work and found that UPS and Fed Ex had filled my porch with boxes. All my Blichmann stuff arrived just two days after ordering. I got my pumps,a bunch of stuff from Amazon, and a couple of wine kits that I snuck into my order.

I opted to use the stainless immersion chiller from Midwest Supplies as my HERMS coil. It beats trying to bend something myself. Previously I attempted to build one myself and it ended in kinked disaster.
 
I'm just up the street from you in Menasha. I've been gathering the parts for a Kal clone since Christmas, and hope to finally start building it in the next month or two. I'll be keeping an eye on your build to see if I can steal a few tips.

I'm pretty much following Kal's design (original 30A), with the exception of using Bayou Classic kettles, a Jaybird false bottom, and a homemade CFC. The system will probably live in the garage for a while before moving it to the basement, so the vent hood will be on hold until the brewing room gets built.

Good luck on your build! Maybe our paths will cross at some time... :mug:
 
I finished punching and cutting the panel cover tonight.



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I'm definitely watching too, I like ebrewsupply's 50A kit idea and pricing, and I am definitely going with 2 5500W elements firing at same time for quicker brew days. Good Luck.
 
I also started assembly on my temp probes tonight. I really like Kal's concept for using two layers of the braided sleeve. That is, until I started feeding the second later on top of the first. It takes a little more finesse than I expected. After about three attempts I got the first probe complete.

I have a vacation day tomorrow and I plan on getting the vent hood built and installed along with the exhaust fan. That requires cutting the side of the house and doing some vinyl siding work. If that goes well and time remains, I'll start on the bench build.
 
On my day off, I managed to get the ventilation mostly complete.

Going into the project, I expected that building the hood would be the quicker task and that running the duct work and adding the exterior vent would be the more time consuming portion. It turned out to be the opposite. I got the big hole cut in the house and the siding work finished in about an hour. The biggest constraint was the tight joist spacing that necessitated the fan be mounted on about a 30* angle.

I still have some staining left to do on the oak hood. You'll notice that the front is stained, but the side isn't. I'm using up some leftovers from a previous project along with some virgin boards.

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Here's one more shot with the 20 gallon kettle in the picture just for perspective.

The black wire in the foreground is the supply power. I just landed the other end in the panel when I ran out of time and had to leave for the family weekend. Next task is to finish that.

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I'm having difficulty updating this thread. I normally browse HBT from my phone, but the application crashes every time I try to attach a photo.

I got quite a bit done in the last day. Power is connected and run. This set me back an extra $150. I had purchased a QO260GFI breaker from another brewer who wasn't using it. I've had it laying around for about six months in anticipation of this build. In fact, SWMBO created some grief when she say I bought a breaker that I didn't need (yet). I couldn't resist as the price was so cheap. Now I understand why. It is rated for 240V applications only. It lacks a neutral connection on the load side. The 120V loads in my build would trip the GFCI function immediately. So, I ended up buying a new breaker at retail pricing from Menards. Funny thing too - they charge $119 for the breaker installed in a non-metallic spa panel (out of stock) and $135 for the bare breaker. They only had one bare breaker in stock so I took it.

Accomplished tonight:
  • Breaker installed in panel
  • Feeder cable routed
  • Conduit and box installed
  • Outlet terminated
  • Made up a couple of hoses
  • MLT fittings installed; MLT complete
  • One pump is wired and plumbed - still needs mounting
  • HERMS Coil ready to install - see below

I purchased the 50' 1/2" stainless immersion chiller from Midwest Supplies to use for my HERMS coil. Last year I purchased 50' of stainless tubing and tried to bend my own. I learned some new vocabulary and ended up kinking it like crazy. It was never functional, and I ended up buying a plate chiller. Fast forward to this build. I knew I didn't want to mess around with bending so I bought this guy and cut off the ends. I installed two 90* compression fittings and everything is good to go. It was a little tricky to get the fittings on. The tubing bends out of round into an oval shape during the coiling. I had to use a channellock pliers to squeeze it back into round while sliding on the fitting components.

I'm waiting on my hole-saw to arrive from Amazon. Once that is here I'll be able to finish my BK and HLT.

Fun stuff.

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Wicked smart move with the 90• fittings. I know the coil pain well....barely salvaged mine once it started to kink or whatever.

I think this was the only point at which Kal' directions could use some improvement. Telling people to "reposition it into a smaller coil" is not so helpful. Anyway, I wil save that rant for another time.

I am at the exact same position with my build. Coil is ready to install as soon as the Greenlee knockout arrives.

I also experienced your pain with the out-of-round coil not wanting to fit into the compression fittings. I ended up using a couple of washers, a crescent wrench, a live center from my wood lathe with a cone shaped tip, and a lot of cursing to get them together. Now my biggest fear is that when I try to tighten the compression fitting, it will just pull itself off of the tube. How do I know it is working and the tube is through the fitting far enough? Maybe I will mark the coil with a marker next to the fitting so I know how much it is sliding, but that doesnt help me stop it from sliding...

Sorry to hijack your thread but it sounds like we are at the same critical spot.
 
NewBrewB said:
Wicked smart move with the 90• fittings. I know the coil pain well....barely salvaged mine once it started to kink or whatever.

I think this was the only point at which Kal' directions could use some improvement. Telling people to "reposition it into a smaller coil" is not so helpful. Anyway, I wil save that rant for another time.

I am at the exact same position with my build. Coil is ready to install as soon as the Greenlee knockout arrives.

I also experienced your pain with the out-of-round coil not wanting to fit into the compression fittings. I ended up using a couple of washers, a crescent wrench, a live center from my wood lathe with a cone shaped tip, and a lot of cursing to get them together. Now my biggest fear is that when I try to tighten the compression fitting, it will just pull itself off of the tube. How do I know it is working and the tube is through the fitting far enough? Maybe I will mark the coil with a marker next to the fitting so I know how much it is sliding, but that doesnt help me stop it from sliding...

Sorry to hijack your thread but it sounds like we are at the same critical spot.

I'm actually using a step bit instead of the punch on my kettles. I've found that the cheap Harbor Freight bits will deform the kettle (I did a test on another scrap stainless chunk) but my good Irwin bit cuts very nice holes.

Regarding the compression fittings,I haven't leak tested yet, but they seemed to fit very nice. I'm not worried, but you've given me something to think about.
 
More progress. HLT is complete. Everything holds water.

During the Packers game I got my temp probes mostly done. Boy, that braid is a big PITA but out sure looks nice when done. if I had to do it all over, I'd buy the completed ones from Kal.

To do:
Finish wiring control panel
Mount & plumb my chiller
Mount pumps
Solder the xlr ends
Build the BK
Brew
Drink
Repeat
 
NewBrewB said:
Wicked smart move with the 90• fittings. I know the coil pain well....barely salvaged mine once it started to kink or whatever.

How do I know it is working and the tube is through the fitting far enough?

Sorry to hijack your thread but it sounds like we are at the same critical spot.

How many of us have made that classic mistake?


As far as the compression fitting goes, I ran a garden hose into the top compression fitting once it was installed to see if I could see an visual leaking with the HLT empty. It turned out to have a small drip so I cranked the fitting on another quarter turn and the leak was fixed. Just one way to test you connection.

The build is looking good. You aren't far from brewing if time is on your side.
 
Yesterday I got some wiring done in the control panel. This part seems to take a long time and is very tedious. I generally spend a couple hours making connections, then test the work that has been completed.

I discovered an interesting problem. The LED display in the panel volt meter is installed upside down. I have it properly connected and installed, but the digits are inverted inside the meter. See the pictures. The came from eBay from a Chinese seller, so I'm not looking forward to waiting another 3-4 weeks for a replacement. I've sent them an email and we'll wait to see what they say.

Please don't pay attention to the messy array of conductors. That will get cleaned up shortly. I was in the middle of making connections and SWMBO called down and informed me that we were leaving for an event.

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TrainSafe said:
Yesterday I got some wiring done in the control panel. This part seems to take a long time and is very tedious. I generally spend a couple hours making connections, then test the work that has been completed.

I discovered an interesting problem. The LED display in the panel volt meter is installed upside down. I have it properly connected and installed, but the digits are inverted inside the meter. See the pictures. The came from eBay from a Chinese seller, so I'm not looking forward to waiting another 3-4 weeks for a replacement. I've sent them an email and we'll wait to see what they say.

Please don't pay attention to the messy array of conductors. That will get cleaned up shortly. I was in the middle of making connections and SWMBO called down and informed me that we were leaving for an event.

The sticker on the back is upside down on the meter. Just keep the connections the same and flip it around....problem solved.




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dburgette said:
The sticker on the back is upside down on the meter. Just keep the connections the same and flip it around....problem solved.

Thanks. I considered that option, but I guess I blew it off because I thought the text would face the same direction and the connections would be oriented the same. My conductors are going to be too short, so I'll need to rewire them if I flip it. I shared a multi conductor cable for the power supplies on both meters, so I'd need to redo both.
 
I got a bunch done this week. I think my first batch will be brewed in the next week or do.

The boil kettle is now done and leak tested.

Control panel is done except for the tags.

I just need to pick up a couple more fittings for the hoses and mount the pumps and that should be it.

I'll post more pics when I'm home again.
 

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