My BIAB, RIMS, E-Brewery-In-A-Can

Sippin37 said:

Do you think that the basket goes low enough into the pot with grains to do 2.5 gal BIAB batches as well? Figure probably about 3.5 gallons of water pre-boil or so.

Thanks! I think I am going to make this exact build instead of dropping the money on the Braumeister. As sweet as that thing looks, I just can't get myself to spend that much money.

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The basket rests 3 inches above the bottom, it's about 1.5" per gallon so you"ll have 2 gallons below the basket. Add your mash in volume of water to that and you"ll have an idea of what will be available for the bag. I'm inclined to say it will work with a 2.5 gallon batch because you'll mash in with around 4 gallons of water, and the grain will displace a good bit of that. If you need more water above the bag, you could put a couple of water filled jars in the bottom or some kind of clean river rock, marbles, etc. to displace some of the water. Keep in mind it's going to heat a lot faster and you'll have to lower the heat quite a bit when boiling if you're using manual mode on the PID.

thanks for the info. I will be doing this soon and I am not very good at soldering. If you have time could you give a nice description of how to solder the spud with tinning? I looked up tinning copper but that was on a flat sheet of copper with a special tool that was heated up in a furnace. Not quite sure how to do it on a spud

ekjohns said:

thanks for the info. I will be doing this soon and I am not very good at soldering. If you have time could you give a nice description of how to solder the spud with tinning? I looked up tinning copper but that was on a flat sheet of copper with a special tool that was heated up in a furnace. Not quite sure how to do it on a spud

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Start with this thread:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/soldering-stainless-steel-155782/

Clean the entire back surface of the spud where it will be soldered. Use some coarse wet/dry sandpaper or a coarse Scotchbrite pad or similar. when the surface appears matt, wash it with some soapy water and then wipe with solvent.

When it's dry, brush on some flux and heat the spud with a propane torch by applying the flame around the inside of the threaded hole. Do not apply the flame to the flux. As it warms up and you see the begin to flux boil off, remove the torch and rub the solder on the spud. If it's hot enough, the solder will melt and begin to coat the surface of the spud, if not, re-apply the heat. The "heat, dab-dab" test process should only take a second or two. Once it's up to temp, it will only take a little heat to maintain the temp to finish coating the surface with solder.

Wash & clean the flux off the spud once it's tinned.

Thinking about it, you could probably set the spud on an electric stove burner and heat it up that way.

Clean the hole in the pot in a similar manner, flux around the opening of the hole & flux the spud. Be careful fluxing the pot, if the flux is allowed to dribble down the sides, it will discolor it a little if that matters to you. Set the fluxed spud on the opening and make sure the pot is blocked up level & so it won't roll.

Heat the spud from inside its threaded opening. Don't worry about heating the pot, try to avoid that. As the spud comes up to temperature, the solder you tinned it with will begin to melt and that will transfer heat to the pot. When you see the spud set down flush at the top & bottom, begin to apply solder to the sides to fill in the remaining gap. Watch your heat, the spud will be plenty hot which will give you enough working time without having to keep the flame on it constantly.

Don't go too crazy with the solder, strive for a meniscus around the edge. Too much and it will dribble and run down the side of the pot.

By not applying the flame directly to the pot, you avoid introducing heat distortion. On heavier pots or keggles that may not be a problem.

awesome that makes sense. Basically it just replaces the wraps of solder around the spud and probably makes the heat transfer more uniform?

ekjohns said:

awesome that makes sense. Basically it just replaces the wraps of solder around the spud and probably makes the heat transfer more uniform?

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Yep and it guarantees a bond to the spud. You could tin the pot as well but you'd run the risk of heat distortion and end up with a warped surface.

I can't believe I didn't see this before. Your panel is exactly the same I want. PID to maintain mash temps, and PWM for boiling. Have you finished up and added the PWM yet?

Antler said:

I can't believe I didn't see this before. Your panel is exactly the same I want. PID to maintain mash temps, and PWM for boiling. Have you finished up and added the PWM yet?

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I've added the PWM but I haven't brewed with it yet, been working too much. As soon as I get a weekend free, I'll be able to put it through it's paces. Kegs are empty

On another note, I'm working on a conversion project. Basically using my existing pot as is and adding some more hardware to convert it into the equivalent of a Spiedle Braumeister. I've been gathering up parts and I've built 'matho' 's Braumiser Arduino control. When I get it all pulled together, I'll post the details.

CS223 - Perhaps a silly question, but I can't tell from the pics.

You use a ripple element. It looks like your welding spud is pretty low on the pot. How did you negotiate screwing the element in w/o the ripple hitting the bottom of the pot & essentially negating your ability to screw that element in?

CS223 said:

I've added the PWM but I haven't brewed with it yet, been working too much. As soon as I get a weekend free, I'll be able to put it through it's paces. Kegs are empty

On another note, I'm working on a conversion project. Basically using my existing pot as is and adding some more hardware to convert it into the equivalent of a Spiedle Braumeister. I've been gathering up parts and I've built 'matho' 's Braumiser Arduino control. When I get it all pulled together, I'll post the details.

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Have you used the system with the PWM yet?

lot of good info on this build that i will be taken into mine. just hope i can have mine looking as good

After seeing the price of a Braumeister I made this. Wanted it made of steal because that's what I have laying around but made it really strong. Every thing is in metal outlet 4x4 or 4x6 boxes. I use a pizza pan for a strainer to protect the bag. It really brews great. I usually get around 83 to 85% eff. I use a 5 gallon pot to make 3.5 gallons of wort to the keg. I just set the temp at 154 for a 30 min mash. I them raise the temp to 170 to mash out. Takes about 30 mins to bring it up. I set the bag on a strainer that fits on top and push down with the lid to squeeze it.

Beautiful work, man!

Beautiful work. I just upgraded my pot. Maybe over the next year I can make this happen and get off propane as well. I really like the small footprint and storage as well!

Deacon.

That is awesome. I'm also space-limited, so this is appealing. I love how you've combined the pump and plate chiller within a portable stand. I've already built my control box, but I can see making something like this for the pump and chiller. I take you fabricated the steel box yourself? Do you have any plans? Thanks!

Thanks I'd like to make all the hoses out of copper. Also I think I would like to get a new pot and solder the fittings. That's why I'm fallowing this post.
O I'm guessing you want to know if I have any thing on paper. No I just started welding. I would recommend using a cheap 110 volt welder because my 220 tried to melt the steal any chance it got. The wood (particle board) has another glued to it so it will fit real tight and pops right off. After I clean the lines I just leave it facing face down and let it drain for a few days. Still a work in progress but ain't everything.

DrinknBuddy said:

After seeing the price of a Braumeister I made this.

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Very nice job! I haven't had time to improve mine yet, I have the Arduino (Braduino) control setting on the bench. I need to learn a little more about programming to customize the code. I really like how your integrated it all into the base, If I can ever get out from under my work load, I think I'm going to do something similar except put it on a roll around cart.

Tagging for the PVC element design.

Wow I really like your brewery in a can! Very efficient use of space

Sorry if I missed it, but do you have a wiring diagram?