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GilaMinumBeer said:
BM_Front.jpg



My new diggs. Set to deliver in January.
thumbsup4kk.gif
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Ahh, what money can buy. Got to love it. Cheers and congrats!
 
thanks for the pic help.

I got my gas nipples adapted to the wardflex with a monstrous line of adapters, but it should flow gas.

I also got parts to build a return nozzle into the lid of the hlt that will help turn it, so I can use one pump to keep the hlt fluid moving (more even temps). Also, a built-in-under-the-lid sparge setup for the blichmann. It should thread through the lid, and like the hlt return, have a male qd showing above the lid.

Also my hoses arrived... really I'm missing just the pumps and some odds and ends.

Next big step will be to electrify the hlt.
 
the one barrel setup is a trip. Where do you find one barrel kegs?
 
I don't know where you would find them commercially. Thankfully, I have a relative who worked for the company that made them (now out of business...) He scarfed up any extras laying around for scrap price and the "test" barrels, which were dropped filled and pressurized....there was little damage, other than the top skirt, which we pounded out. They are really heavy duty...weigh about 70 lbs empty.
 
sleepystevenson said:
I don't know where you would find them commercially. Thankfully, I have a relative who worked for the company that made them (now out of business...) He scarfed up any extras laying around for scrap price and the "test" barrels, which were dropped filled and pressurized....there was little damage, other than the top skirt, which we pounded out. They are really heavy duty...weigh about 70 lbs empty.
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60 gallon SS primary? You don't mess around.
 
Well, my brother and I brew together...so, we split everything.

When we started, we were each brewing 5 gal batches separately, but at the same time. It didn't make much sense that we were both working on doing the same step of the process at the same time independently. SO, when we went to all grain, we went to an IceCube cooler MLT and 1/2 bbl. keggle that allowed us to do 10-12 gals and therefore work together. Didn't take long for us to find out that we had to brew pretty regularly to keep us "in beer".

So, when we were lucky enough to come across those one barrel kegs, we decided to go for it. Course, it took about a year to scrounge all the parts. Our system is still all "hands on", with no automation. With two guys, it isn't that hard to keep up with the process. The 60 gal fermenter (pics in my gallery) allows us to do back to back batches and ferment in one vessel. It's not exactly a conical, but the rounded bottom has worked pretty well for yeast collection. It is basically the size/shape of two 1 bbl kegs on top of each other, almost 6' to the top. I gotta say, though, it is pretty sweet to have to use a step ladder to access your fermenter!! Has been a lot of fun, but only 2 brews on it so far, so we are still learning, for sure.
 
sleepystevenson said:
Well, my brother and I brew together...so, we split everything.

When we started, we were each brewing 5 gal batches separately, but at the same time. It didn't make much sense that we were both working on doing the same step of the process at the same time independently. SO, when we went to all grain, we went to an IceCube cooler MLT and 1/2 bbl. keggle that allowed us to do 10-12 gals and therefore work together. Didn't take long for us to find out that we had to brew pretty regularly to keep us "in beer".

So, when we were lucky enough to come across those one barrel kegs, we decided to go for it. Course, it took about a year to scrounge all the parts. Our system is still all "hands on", with no automation. With two guys, it isn't that hard to keep up with the process. The 60 gal fermenter (pics in my gallery) allows us to do back to back batches and ferment in one vessel. It's not exactly a conical, but the rounded bottom has worked pretty well for yeast collection. It is basically the size/shape of two 1 bbl kegs on top of each other, almost 6' to the top. I gotta say, though, it is pretty sweet to have to use a step ladder to access your fermenter!! Has been a lot of fun, but only 2 brews on it so far, so we are still learning, for sure.
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That is friggin sick man. Do you keg into cornies or 1/2bbl's? 60 gallon batches. Nuts. That's almost a microbrewery!
 
my pumps haven't arrived yet, but I'm using the stand today. My hlt is nice, mixing a whole batch worth of water at once (distilled and well water) was great. boiling in the keg without worries of boilover is nice too.
With no pumps I'm heaving the kegs up higher onto my upturned blichman for height. I fill my cfc and lines with sanitizer in reverse pumping from my starsan keg, and let it sit until time to rip. Then it siphons fairly nicely and my cfc my brother made for me got me to 61F with everything running full-bore. With pump control I'll be able to control the flow for lager temps more easily.

if you don't have one, find a friend with a wire-feed welder (by the time I was done I found 3) and get to work. It seems overwhelming in the begining, so just take it one step at a time and you'll be cooking!

btw, my aluminum top buckles in the heat. I will cut slots for the hold-down bolts to lessen it a bit, but it can lift a full keg and tilt it about a half inch. freaky. but it doesn't effect performance.
 
blaze379 said:
Still working on it

Brewstructure2.jpg


Burner.jpg
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OK, so I'm thinking of doing a system similar to your but, want an all natural gas setup.

Looks like many of you guys are using the Huricane Burners like the one at this link. NORTHERN BREWER: Burners (bottom of page for $33.99). They say these can only be used with propane but I was thinking I saw someone mention using that brass valve (also on the same page of that link) to turn the burner into a natural gas one.

Is that all there is to it? Do I have this correct? What exactly would I need between my natural gas hookup and the burner beside a valve?

Thanks,
Tim
 
Decided to go with a wood frame after seeing the other one on this thread. Just finished testing it - no major issues. Brought about 7 gallons up to boil, added some Star San, and started pumping it through everything. I used 1/2" Hardibacker to protect the wood from the heat. Seems to work well, there is about a 1/2" gap between the Hardibacker and wood so there will be little conductive heat to the wood. I integrated a CFC below the table on which the cooler is placed. There are three sets of fittings at the front, those are CFC water in/out, pump in/out, and CFC wort in/out. All the hose is 1/2" silicone with QD's on everything. I have a water hose hookup on back that is plumbed to the valves on the far left and right.

Things left to do:
-Install sight glasses on both kegs.
-Install valve on upper rightmost keg to regulate wort coming out of the CFC.
-One more strip of Hardibacker to protect the front "counter" from the burners.
-Replace some of the nozzles with screws on the 23-tip burners.
-Polish kegs.

Comments/suggestions/questions are welcome.

Can't wait to brew a batch on this!

018.JPG
 
c-note said:
Can't wait to brew a batch on this!
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That's really nice. I dig the way you have the QD's going through the wall, and the hidden cfc. That makes for a really clean install and I'm sure it'll make your brewing easier. The middle work surface is nice, too. You'll be able to take the MT off once you're done and use it to lay out your hops, recipes, etc. while you're boiling. Great job!:mug:
 
The keggles are resting on angle iron. I bought it at HD - its their stock 1 1/4" stuff. The picture above doesn't show it too well, I'll post another pic tonight.
 
Here's a side view of one of the burners. The Hardibacker does a good job of keeping heat away from the wood. I made straight cuts through the angle iron and notched the wood. Haven't seen any sagging so far.

I do need to block off some of the tips in the burner - the flame is hard to control with all 23 tips on. I keep getting a small flame in the base of each tip where the air is supposed to be mixed with the gas and it starts burning yellow. I think enough of the gas is combusting in the base of the tip to make the mixture at the output of the tip too "lean" and causing the yellow flame. Blocking off some of the tips should increase the pressure and prevent the flame at the base of the tip. I've seen the thread about blocking off some of the tips and will try that.

005.JPG
 
I finally had time to take some pics

full_system.JPG


Electric heat exchangers plumbed directly to March pumps.

Upside_down.JPG


Holds temps within .5 degrees of my set temp at the mash outlet.

Mash_Temps.JPG


Linc
 
Seabee John said:
Hey - is your top tier a portable toilet of some sort? it looks like something I once saw in a nursing home visit
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thewurzel said:
yes it is
i was in a motorcycle accident last year and they sent me home from hospital with it. But it never got used as i was able to make it up the stairs.
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Talk about convenience in brewing.... I like to brag about the ability to take a leak outside my garage on a brewday... but this takes it to a whole new level!
 
thewurzel said:
yes it is
i was in a motorcycle accident last year and they sent me home from hospital with it. But it never got used as i was able to make it up the stairs.
Click to expand...

You better not ever, ever, EVER make a bad batch or your buddies are going to have a field day with you on how "****ty" your beer was. ;)
 
I started off with a $20 Clearance Turkey Fryer kit from Dick's. That was great, I was able to do almost full boils for extract, and was able to do it outside. Then the AG bug hit. I don't have the means for the uber sculpture that I want now, so instead I contracted my buddy to help build the uber burner stand.

So here it is a lot higher than it was, not painted, and thinking the tank would look cool underneath it:

stand1.jpg

Painted now, and structurally sound with obligatory puppy pose:

stand2.jpg

Then after loads of beers, the MIG welder got fired up and we decided to make a nice side cart so to speak for the CFC:

stand3.jpg

Needs some more paint and some finishing touches like hooks for my stirring spoon etc, and I'm thinking maybe another small side cart to put **** on would be nice, who knows at this point.

And yes, the CFC is lopsided....made that druck, need to make it look straight
 
This is my new brew stand. I haven't used it yet but will this weekend. I built it for around $100 and coated it with lacquer to make cleanup easier in case of a spill or boil over.

Brew Stand.jpg


Brew Stand side.jpg
 
98EXL said:
I started off with a $20 Clearance Turkey Fryer kit from Dick's. That was great, I was able to do almost full boils for extract, and was able to do it outside. Then the AG bug hit. I don't have the means for the uber sculpture that I want now, so instead I contracted my buddy to help build the uber burner stand.

So here it is a lot higher than it was, not painted, and thinking the tank would look cool underneath it:

View attachment 9083

Painted now, and structurally sound with obligatory puppy pose:

View attachment 9084

Then after loads of beers, the MIG welder got fired up and we decided to make a nice side cart so to speak for the CFC:

View attachment 9085

Needs some more paint and some finishing touches like hooks for my stirring spoon etc, and I'm thinking maybe another small side cart to put **** on would be nice, who knows at this point.

And yes, the CFC is lopsided....made that druck, need to make it look straight
Click to expand...

What was the design philosophy behind making it so tall?
 
The Pol said:
What was the design philosophy behind making it so tall?
Click to expand...

once the keggle is full, I don't have to lift/move anything except for a full carboy. I wanted to be able to go straight from keggle, to CFC to carboy all gravity.
 

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