Electric Pilot System

Alright, for one reason or another my friend has asked me to piece together, price out and hopefully build a small pilot system in the vein of Kal's. It will use old 1/2bbl kegs and the control panel will be purchased directly from Kal as I have no intention (or ability) to design my own. Most of the system will be DYI as I and the guy funding this are quite handy.

I will be posting updates and pictures as they come in but I wanted to get everyone's input on the cost of the build. The link is to a spreadsheet where I have laid out all the costs I can think of as pertains to simply building this thing so please look over it and let me know what I left out and if my cost estimates are too high or low.

Let the dialogue begin!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Al2cbHiLEcZ0dEoxWmEta2xtMm9ncHRqbHBZWGtySlE

A little bit of an explenation... My friend wants to start a brewery within the next few years as wants to get started working on recipe formulation. He wants a system that can brew 5-10 gallon batches with great consistency and repeatability. I went with Kal's control panel and setup because I think this is going to get me the most consistency for the money.

Investing in water filtration, ph tester and water treatment as well as a good mill are some of my priorities. Fermentation temps will be controlled by a chest freezer that can house 3 fermenters and building a custom ferm chamber is certainly not out of the question.

That's all I have for now. He is looking for a space to brew and I have given him some ideas of what i would need so we will see. Please fire away with questions and input as I am going to be the guy that builds and brews on this if it happens. Cheers.

Just remembered that I need to add aeration to the list. Anyone have a good, cheap, consistent method? I've heard some people use small o2 cartridges from home improvement places...

Your numbers look way low to me especially if you plan to go the route of a kal build. Most everything seems too cheap to me. I would start pricing things out at stores online and put them in your sheet for a better price feel.

I don't see anything for the cost to add elements to the pots, for a herms coil or anything like that. All the stuff as you list it, in total could easily be 50% or more than the cost you posted. Looks like you underestimated and excluded tax and shipping as well. All that will add up and really throw your estimate off.

For my pots including the insulation and elements, wire, ball valve, weldless fittings etc. they probably run about $400+ a piece (BK + HLT) and MT is maybe 600+). A herms is essentially $400-500 once you factor in cost of fittings and coils with hoses if you go stainless/weldless.


A few examples being:
Pots: What are you using for pots? And what kind of fittings Brass/stainless? That seems super low including all the hardware you list.

Pumps + hoses and fittings seems low, depending on how you were planning to build it and stainless vs. brass, etc.

Ventilation is low unless you are using a couple box fans (not really a great in the winter solution).

6 gallon better bottles are $20 each? That seems way too low.

"Packaging and Serving: Co2 tank, kegs and growlers $200"

That alone could be a thousand bucks + depending on setup and how many kegs. Most kegs you can get now are $50. If he wants to brew 50 10 gal batches he will need a lot of kegs. A two body regulator is 100+.

CidahMastah said:

"Packaging and Serving: Co2 tank, kegs and growlers $200"

That alone could be a thousand bucks + depending on setup and how many kegs. Most kegs you can get now are $50. If he wants to brew 50 10 gal batches he will need a lot of kegs. A two body regulator is 100+.

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I have a regulator and the plan on brewing is quick turnover, brew day to growler should be no more than 4 weeks which means I only need 8 legs max and already have 3. The growlers are going to be filled and given to friends with the intention of having them returned quickly. I figure 100 growlers will give us plenty of serving capacity.

Bottom line, I need to go through and price everything in a more detailed fashion, and really think through fermentation and kegging. Thanks!

flanneltrees804 said:

I have a regulator and the plan on brewing is quick turnover, brew day to growler should be no more than 4 weeks which means I only need 8 legs max and already have 3. The growlers are going to be filled and given to friends with the intention of having them returned quickly. I figure 100 growlers will give us plenty of serving capacity.

Bottom line, I need to go through and price everything in a more detailed fashion, and really think through fermentation and kegging. Thanks!

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Yeah not trying to discourage, just think there is a lot of cost you are missing. I mean 100 growlers would cost well over $200 alone. And your growlers would have to be drank relatively quickly as they aren't a long term bottling solution. Sounds like you are going to turn the neighborhood into drunks! ha

CidahMastah said:

Yeah not trying to discourage, just think there is a lot of cost you are missing. I mean 100 growlers would cost well over $200 alone. And your growlers would have to be drank relatively quickly as they aren't a long term bottling solution. Sounds like you are going to turn the neighborhood into drunks! ha

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When can the neighborhood get a taste ?
I'm in Beverly.

mux said:

When can the neighborhood get a taste ?
I'm in Beverly.

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Probably not for 4-6 months but there will plenty to go around. I'll keep everyone updated but it looks like our budget is 6-8 grand.

flanneltrees804 said:

Probably not for 4-6 months but there will plenty to go around. I'll keep everyone updated but it looks like our budget is 6-8 grand.

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If you need help with the electric pm me. Your close to Beverly?

mux said:

If you need help with the electric pm me. Your close to Beverly?

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I'm downtown at Chicago and Ashland.