Upgrading Equipment and Planning Ahead

Have been making 5g AG batches for about 2 yrs with a 5g igloo mash and 7g turkey fryer.

I am slowly accumulating better equipment to allow for higher gravity, larger batches and just more simplicity and fun.

So far I have upgraded to a:

- 10g igloo beverage cooler to use for mashing and just got a

- 15.5g sanke with welded in bulkhead. I bought some ss ball-valves and read some threads about the cam style locks and silicone tubing so got some of that too to set up as Bobby_M describes.

Multiple questions have came to mind as I am planning to try and use my new equipment and also think to the future of some day having a pump and brewing structure.

1. From what I have read about the march type pumps is that flow can not be restricted on the inflow side. How can you prevent this if recirculating your mash and then pumping into the boil kettle? Won't the grain bed filter restrict the inflow??

2. Because of the above I thought I should still gravity feed into the boil kettle (thinking ahead as I don't have a pump or structure), but just realized I would also need to gravity feed to the fermenter so my boil kettle would need to be ~3 feet off the ground, making my mash HLT/MT ~6 feet off the ground. At that height I wouldn't be able to work very well. For those with a 2 tier gravity system, am I missing something in the process?

Pictures of 2 tier systems I have seen only seem to have the base of the top tier a few feet high.

Thanks ahead for sharing any tips and pearls so I can avoid running into problems.

1. It's not the pump that is the problem, but the silicone tubing is only rated for low PSI. It's after the pump you shouldn't restrict. So, coming out of you MLT is fine. I have a ball valve directly attached to the pump. You can use that to restrict but you don't want the tubing taking the pressure.

2. Gravity systems require height to work....you got a pump. Go single or a mixture.

Thanks for the reply.

Today I wanted to try my keggle but since I don't have a pump I had to lift it on to my burner that was elevated on cinder blocks.

The brew day was a little disappointing because the keggle is pretty heavey full of wort, the immersion chiller doesn't fit very well, I couldn't get a good whirlpool because of the chiller fit, and the dip tube clogged with hops when i started to drain into the fermenter.

All said everything seemed to take longer than it should. To get the cooled wort out of the fermenter I scooped 2 qts at a time out and poured through a stainer/funnel then dumped the remaining amount through (and all over the porch) once I could lift it. Was still able to collect close to my target volume in the fermenter. May have contaminated by using poorly sanitized equipment in a rush to get the wort into the carboy.

On positive I hit the exact target mash temp and OG. I think it will ferment out okay (fingers crossed).

I may wait to use the keggle again until I can get a proper set-up. A pump and larger chiller with whirlpool arm should do the trick.

Others on the forum say they don't need a hop filter in the kettle if a proper whirlpool is achieved. Is this all most people do to prevent clogs? What else should be done to keep the hops out of the dip tube?

One more thing. How can you tell if the wort is boiling when making 5 gallons in a 15 gallon kettle? All i could see was steam.

A bright flash light should help you cut through the steam. I use pellet hops and never had a problem with my 1/2" ball lock clogging up. Now whole hops is another story.

It seems like you have several issues that you need to work out but the most important thing is you should plan your assemble before piecing it together. I have had several situations when I wish I had thought out the build before jumping into it and realizing there was a problem. In fact it took quite a few lumps before I realized my system was going to continue to have problems until I sat back and drew everthing out. First off if you don't have a pump then you are going to need another way to heat your initial sparge water then using your boil kettle. Unless you have two burners which you probably don't. Consider using your older Brewpot to heat your sparge water on the burner then once you gravity drain it refill it for your strike water. You don't have a pump so you can't recirc with your setup. Use the tried and true vorlauf method and keep that boil kettle in one spot close to your burner. Save your back man! Once you have your 6.5 gallons then move the boil kettle to the burner. I agree with Hammy71 a good flashlight will cut throught the steam but you could also use a thermometer hanging on a string and pull it out periodically to check your temp for a boil. Eventually you will want one welded to your kettle. To be perfectly honest a new pump or a HLT would probably cost you around the same amount so you could go either way with your setup. A pump has it's advantages but so does an HLT. Heat up the water, pour it in the cooler and have it ready to add for batch sparge. Then you could use as your container vorlauf with. Again, this is something you would want to draw out and figure out which one will work better for you. Finally, a hop bag will work and if you use a big enough one you will get all your alphas. Then you won't have to worry about clogging your dip tube. Good Luck!

Hammy71 said:

It's after the pump you shouldn't restrict.

Click to expand...

I always thought the output of a March pump was magnetic drive and was designed to have their outputs restricted and if you restrict the input you cause the pump to cavitate.

Maybe Sawdust. I was always worried about the silicone tubing psi. I have a ball valve on the outlet of my pump but try not to restrict anywhere else down stream. Bargain fittings has a warning on their silicone tubing.

http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=122

Probably my paranoia, but wow what a mess that would make if it burst.

I went from this:



To this:



To this in about 7 months:



Wish I would have bought the pump 6 months ago.