BIAB Keggle Build

I got the keg back with most of the welding done (how does it look?), including an electrical box on the bottom to cover the wires to the element. The bottom nipple is not completely welded because he couldn't get between it and the rim. I've cut a section of the rim out and will send it back tomorrow, I also realised that I would need to do this to get the ball valve screwed on. I also tested the chiller for leaks, which it doesn't. And I went over the keg with a flap disk, so now you can see all the dents in all their shiny glory. By the way, no it was not purged with argon, before anyone asks.

got a small amount of work done on the keggle this weekend, mounted the castors and made a pickup tube from the keg spear. the pickup tube fits into the nipple in the bottom of the keg, it has an o ring that sits in a groove in the tube for a good seal. still waiting to get the welding finished.

Have you tested this with water in it yet? I am really curious about the stability with your uni-strut legs. I am considering something similar, with a propane burner mounted below the keg, rather than electric. Do you know what gauge uni-strut you used? Do you plan on anything larger than a 5 gallon batch in here, and how well do you think the legs will hold up?

moclamd said:

Have you tested this with water in it yet? I am really curious about the stability with your uni-strut legs. I am considering something similar, with a propane burner mounted below the keg, rather than electric. Do you know what gauge uni-strut you used? Do you plan on anything larger than a 5 gallon batch in here, and how well do you think the legs will hold up?

Click to expand...

It's 41mm square unistrut, I believe. It feels pretty sturdy, over engineered for 5 gallons if anything. I will soon be testing it for stability and leaks with at least 5 gallons, as I now have the welding complete! I don't think that I'll be doing anything bigger than 5 gallons any time soon. I don't really see the point as there's not many beer styles that I don't like, I think its better to make lots of varieties in small quantities.

I got the leaks sealed up and the chiller installed. I also angeled out the legs a bit and turned the castor brackets around for a wider base. I have 2 castors and a fixed wheel, I may replace the fixed wheel with another castor, it doesn't move about very smoothly as it is. It's very slow to empty through the chiller, about 10 mins for 5 gallons by my estimate, which leads to a question:

Do I risk infection by taking a long time to fill my fermentor?

triskelion said:

Do I risk infection by taking a long time to fill my fermentor?

Click to expand...

Not a problem in my opinion...10 minutes is fine to fill your fermenters...take reasonable precautions, but this is only beermaking, not sterile open heart surgery...

I would suggest running a bit of the boiling runnings through the chiller and back to the kettle to heat sanitize the chiller prior to running cooling water and finished product.

wilserbrewer said:

10 minutes is fine

Click to expand...

...actually 30 minutes appears to be a more accurate estimate. lol

I can see myself getting a pump in the near future. Either that or cut the CFC in half, it get's 99oC water down to 14oC, same temp as the water supply. I was not expecting it to be quite 100% efficient at cooling wort.

When running through your chiller are you using tubing on the outflow down to the bottom of your kettle?

If not, this would likely increase flow.

wilserbrewer said:

When running through your chiller are you using tubing on the outflow down to the bottom of your kettle?

If not, this would likely increase flow.

Click to expand...

I have a 1/2" ball valve on the bottom edge of the kettle (not a full bore), there's a pickup tube on the inside of the ball valve, leading to the bottom center of the kettle. The inside of the CFC is 10mm copper tube.

It's the CFC that made the difference somehow, even though the inside diameter isn't any smaller than the ball valve. It drains probably 5 times faster without the CFC. I wonder if there could be something stuck in the copper tube, like solder, that would explain the restricted flow.

Oops, I meant tubing to the bottom of your fermenter?

A long length of tubing will restrict your flow as well.

Tubing on the outflow of the chiller will increase drop and flow.

its worth a try, on the bright side my wort will be pretty well oxygenated, it comes out of the CFC like a sprinkler!

just ordered a pump

Just came across this thread - great build!

Have you ever thought of fermenting in the keg as well? With the CFC it seems you could even control fermentation temperatures...

sikkingj said:

Just came across this thread - great build!

Have you ever thought of fermenting in the keg as well? With the CFC it seems you could even control fermentation temperatures...

Click to expand...

Yes. But the main problem I see would be cleaning out all the debris from the mash and boil before fermentation. Other than that it might work. The lid would form an airlock like a coopers fermenting bin.

triskelion said:

Yes. But the main problem I see would be cleaning out all the debris from the mash and boil before fermentation. Other than that it might work. The lid would form an airlock like a coopers fermenting bin.

Click to expand...

It should only be the hot break and some hop dust - I don't think that would be a whole lot. Once you keg a good cold break should be able to clear things up for you.

However it would tie up your rig while you waited for the wort to ferment - that's a downside.

pump plumbed in, just need to wire it. water comes out of the kettle about four times faster than it did, which will do perfectly well.

The control panel is hopefully finished now. That's one thing done at least. Switch is for the pump. Anyone know why these pumps don't run in reverse? I presume that there are some diodes inside it to prevent me from running it backwards.

triskelion said:

The control panel is hopefully finished now. That's one thing done at least. Switch is for the pump. Anyone know why these pumps don't run in reverse? I presume that there are some diodes inside it to prevent me from running it backwards.

Click to expand...

They're centrifugal - the way the impeller is shaped it will only move liquid in one direction

Been a while since I updated. I've got my sight tube put together. its made from threaded polycarbonate. I have enough tube left for another 3 sight tubes, so I might sell a few.

finally got brewing with the keggle:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/heres-how-my-first-all-grain-brew-day-went-424881/#post5403985

awesome job triskelion! Now that you have a pump, have you thought about cutting the legs shorter? Have you noticed any stability issues with the current set-up?

I thought that it would be less stable when filled but it's actually easier to move around. I think the weight stops any of the wheels lifting off the ground as much. I can't make it any lower with the current chiller, I wouldn't get the fermentor under it. I could probably change the chillers shape and then lower it. It's length is a bit overkill, half as much copper pipe would be enough.

Awesome Keggle mate, few questions - how did the Burco element perform? is it still going after x-amount of batches. is it easy to clean, does it scorch? etc..
cheers

It's still working great after maybe 10 batches. It's no longer got a nickel finish, it's been coated with copper, by electrolysis from the copper pipes I assume. It is a pain to clean. If I built it again, I'd make it so that it comes apart easily, quick disconnects on the pipes etc.