Installing an outdoor hose?

Does anyone know whether this is possible, and if so, how easy it is?

To clarify, I live in the second and third floor of a triple decker in South Boston (think Good Will Hunting/The Departed, and you'll know what I'm talking about). We have a deck of the third floor which is fairly sizable, but there are no outdoor hose faucets.

I would like to be able to use an immersion chiller outside. We are having a contractor in to do some work on the place and I am wondering whether it is possible to "install" a garden hose on the deck.

Does anyone know if this is possible?

Sure it's possible, but it might not be affordable. I have an old log home and it's very difficult to have work done on it that involves plumbing and electrical due to the 13 inch thick logs.

All I've done is buy a waterbed filler set up for a hose, and then run that hose through the patio door onto the deck. But then I just let the emptying water out on the lawn. What would you do with the water that is leaving the chiller?
When I brew inside (most of the time, I hate brewing outside), I just do the same thing and drain the water to the kitchen sink.

Edit- I just had another thought. You could use a pump and fill a cooler with water and ice and just pump that through. I know there are people on water restrictions that do that, but I'm not sure of the details.

Is there a kitchen or bathroom near where you want the faucet? If so, it's just a matter is some pretty simple soldering. Just make sure to put a shut off valve on it so it doesn't freeze and go bad in the winter

YooperBrew said:

When I brew inside (most of the time, I hate brewing outside)...

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I would love to brew inside, but I don't think I'm going to be able to do things like full boils on my stove. I was under the assumption that a burner would require a basement (which I don't have) or outdoor space.

rdwj said:

Is there a kitchen or bathroom near where you want the faucet? If so, it's just a matter is some pretty simple soldering. Just make sure to put a shut off valve on it so it doesn't freeze and go bad in the winter

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NOt really, but two massive air conditioning units (ours, and the one that services the first floor and basement condo) sit on the deck. I know nothing about AC units, but it seems like they should have a water intake pipe someplace.

Boston Brewer said:

I would love to brew inside, but I don't think I'm going to be able to do things like full boils on my stove. I was under the assumption that a burner would require a basement (which I don't have) or outdoor space.

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Oh, yeah, I have a big professional stove type thing. I can easily boil 7 gallons (probably more but my pot's not much bigger than that) on my stove. I have a big kitchen, so my mash tun is on a stool, some stuff on the island, the brewpot on the stove and some stuff on the floor, so it's kind of a makeshift 3 tier system.

You've definitely got to use the burner outside or someplace with excellent air exchange, no doubt about that. I was just saying that the kitchen sink works ok for the hose, if you don't want to do any work on the house. I don't know how your house is set up, so I was thinking up some options.

I added an outside hose spigot for brewing purposes last spring. In my case it was run through the unfinished basement and came out at ground level. Your case is just as doable, the only question would be how much the interior walls would need to be cut up and repaired to run the pipe to the correct place.

If the wall that it is going on is well insulated, then you can use a 'frost free' hose bib which can be used year round. However these need to be installed correctly (tipping downward slightly) and never leave a hose connected to it in freezing weather.

Nope, no water intake on the AC units. The easiest access is always from an unfinished basement but it doesn't sound too hopeful in your situation.

YooperBrew said:

Oh, yeah, I have a big professional stove type thing. I can easily boil 7 gallons (probably more but my pot's not much bigger than that) on my stove. I have a big kitchen, so my mash tun is on a stool, some stuff on the island, the brewpot on the stove and some stuff on the floor, so it's kind of a makeshift 3 tier system.

You've definitely got to use the burner outside or someplace with excellent air exchange, no doubt about that. I was just saying that the kitchen sink works ok for the hose, if you don't want to do any work on the house. I don't know how your house is set up, so I was thinking up some options.

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Thanks much. I sincerely appreciate your brainstorming with me.

You know, perhaps my burners could support a larger boil. Without having tried it, I probably shouldn't comment. My basic problem is still my ability to chill a larger boil. All my faucets are totally wonky and don't seem to support adapters for a wort chiller. I'll have to post a pic later so that I can explain.

Just a question...do people (honestly) produce good tasting beer just using partial boil extract w/ steeping grain methods?

Bobby_M said:

Nope, no water intake on the AC units. The easiest access is always from an unfinished basement but it doesn't sound too hopeful in your situation.

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I guess I'll keep my day job and not venture into the world of HVAC maintenance then...

I would suggest getting a sump pump and a bucket. I bought this one from Harbor Freght.

Put pump in bucket, fill bucket with water (just regular cold water to start). Hook pump up to chiller and turn it on. Since you won't have new water running through it to begin with, the water in the bucket will start to heat up fairly quickly. You can either, start replacing the hot water coming out with buckets of fresh cooler water, or adding ice into the bucket. You will go through a quite of bit of ice though.

You could use the hot water coming out to fill up any dirty pots you have from the brew and use it to clean with.


Another idea is to move the hot wort (very carefully) back inside and hook the chiller up to the faucet in your kitchen sink.

you might want to look at an aquarium pump and the recirculating method, I saw it in a thread here a little while ago
edited sorry I didnt read the whole thread

Boston Brewer said:

Just a question...do people (honestly) produce good tasting beer just using partial boil extract w/ steeping grain methods?

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Yes, there are even some brewpubs who brew extract beers.

Still, anyone who brews AG will tell you that their beers definitely improved. You can compromise, and go PM if you want. A partial mash will still allow you to do smaller boils if you need to, but allow you to mash some grain for a fresher taste as well as use grains that can only be mashed. That may be the direction to head if you're unable to go AG at this time.

YooperBrew said:

Still, anyone who brews AG will tell you that their beers definitely improved. You can compromise, and go PM if you want. A partial mash will still allow you to do smaller boils if you need to, but allow you to mash some grain for a fresher taste as well as use grains that can only be mashed. That may be the direction to head if you're unable to go AG at this time.

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You may be right and that may be the right approach for me. My understanding (correct me if I am wrong) is that PM is not that must more difficult than steeping grain.

Boston Brewer said:

You may be right and that may be the right approach for me. My understanding (correct me if I am wrong) is that PM is not that must more difficult than steeping grain.

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Right. My first PM was a kit from austinhomebrew.com and it was exactly like steeping grain except there was more attention paid to the temperature of the steep (mash) and the time. I did it right in my brewpot with 2.5 gallons of 155 degree water for 45 minutes.

Then, my second PM was done in my bottling bucket with a big grain bag lining it. I wrapped the bucket with a sleeping bag to hold the temperature.

There are lots of ways to do AG and PM and very few of us have an ideal setup. You can definitely think of ways to work around your home's limitations.

do you have a washer and dryer in your unit

if so you can hook up a garden hose to the hose to the washer

YooperBrew said:

Edit- I just had another thought. You could use a pump and fill a cooler with water and ice and just pump that through. I know there are people on water restrictions that do that, but I'm not sure of the details.

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Yoop has your answer. Recirculate cold water through a pump.

if theres a will theres a way. as long as u have a cold pottable water line runnin anywhere in the house your good to go. brick will take a lil more time, rent a hammer drill etc. but all it is, is a small hole on the outside, cut in on teh inside, throw in the frostproof spiguit, and connect with some pipes...easy! lil better than runnin hoses throughout the house.

i dont know how to delete this post....sorry

just ask the contractor what he thinks about a spigot and report back to us. If he tries to give you a pile of BS, we'll be able to tell ya.