My (Re)Build Thread - Kal Clone-ish

Don't worry SilverZero, you didn't break any promises. Life gets in the way sometimes. All you can do is the best you can in this world and keep your head up. Looks like a new job, a new house coming soon, an excellent start on a awesome electric brewery which will get done when it gets done, is all good stuff brother! The birth soon of your fourth child, that is the most important thing!!! And being a great dad! The rest takes a back seat. But once everything settles down and you finally get in that new house and brew on your new rig, you will enjoy it all the more. Lots of luck brother!

John

Got my camlocks and some other hardware last week. I'm really happy I ordered high flow everything (camlock female barbs and larger stainless barbs with 1/2" ID) because there will be no restriction at any point that I can think of. I still need tubing, but I ran out of hobby funds for the month.

I'm currently cutting slots in my copper manifolds I'm installing in my MLT and BK. It's always a huge pain because there's really no other way besides a hacksaw. I'm tired of sawing for now, might get some more done tonight. I'll post a picture of them later.

If I get moved into the new house next week I'll hopefully get my electric run by next weekend. If I can do that, and get a few last pieces gathered (tubing or LocLine for the sparge and whirlpool returns on the kettles) I think I just might be brewing by mid-October. Barely enough time to get a batch done in time to host Thanksgiving!

Well, new job, new house, new baby, new year... and I'm finally getting back to this build. I haven't done anything for months, but I'm determined to get brewing before spring hits. The last things on my list are to get tubing and LocLine purchased, install the 240v circuit in my garage, and get a grain mill purchased and installed in my brewery (motorized). If I can I'll also run a water line to the brew area and put it on a spray arm. It's still a fair bit of work but I can see the end from here!

Hey SilverZero, glad to see your back at it! I finally finished mine and brew day number two is coming up next week. Happy New Year and keep us posted on your progress....

John

Ha, yea i did the same type of thing..marriage, baby, new house all in 1 year...god it was busy...cant wait to see the finished product.

It lives!

Only took a bit of troubleshooting to get it all spit-spot. I had my element lights reversed, and I was getting some voltage to the panel even with the main keyed switch off, figured out it was from the wiring to the meter going straight off the main power input before the contactor, and it was drawing power and feeding the rest of the components. Quick fixes for both, and it seems I escaped any damage.

The timer was the biggest hassle. I originally had it wired how I guessed it would work. It wasn't. My trouble was in how to wire the reset and gate circuits so it would be paused when I power the panel on, and reset with my big red button. I need to add a switch to actually start the timer when I want to count down, but that should be easy. I'm going to look for a combination momentary+latching switch so I don't have to add a new hole. Maybe.

But it works!

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SilverZero said:

It lives!

Only took a bit of troubleshooting to get it all spit-spot. I had my element lights reversed, and I was getting some voltage to the panel even with the main keyed switch off, figured out it was from the wiring to the meter going straight off the main power input before the contactor, and it was drawing power and feeding the rest of the components. Quick fixes for both, and it seems I escaped any damage.

The timer was the biggest hassle. I originally had it wired how I guessed it would work. It wasn't. My trouble was in how to wire the reset and gate circuits so it would be paused when I power the panel on, and reset with my big red button. I need to add a switch to actually start the timer when I want to count down, but that should be easy. I'm going to look for a combination momentary+latching switch so I don't have to add a new hole. Maybe.

But it works!

Click to expand...

It looks like your using the same timer I have. The way I wired it is when you hit the reset button it will start the clock. Either that's how the directions told me to wire it or I have it wired incorrectly.

Edit: Never mind, I got it going. Disregard this post.

Hey Rockn_M, Would you mind posting your wiring?

This is an Inkbird timer, IDT-E2RH B2E. Sestos ripoff, I think, but from what I can tell the gate has to be maintained to run the timer. It starts right at power on and pauses when (and while) gate is grounded, or starts paused and runs when gate is maintained grounded. Reset circuit is momentary, that's no problem, but I think I need a maintained switch for the gate.

I ran my electrical line and installed a spa panel today. Control panel fires up as it should, so all's well on the electrical front.

I also ran hot and cold water lines tapped from my water heater, pretty easy project and now I've got water right where I need it. Once I mount my control panel, pumps, and C-HERMS coil I'll be just about ready to give it a test run.

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SilverZero said:

Edit: Never mind, I got it going. Disregard this post.

Hey Rockn_M, Would you mind posting your wiring?

This is an Inkbird timer, IDT-E2RH B2E. Sestos ripoff, I think, but from what I can tell the gate has to be maintained to run the timer. It starts right at power on and pauses when (and while) gate is grounded, or starts paused and runs when gate is maintained grounded. Reset circuit is momentary, that's no problem, but I think I need a maintained switch for the gate.

Click to expand...

Its not really a sestos rip off it is made on the same line as the ones sold as sestos and is identical in function. inkbird is just another brand like setos or aubrins.. sestos never made them to begin with as far as I know. If you have $1000 to spare you can order them with your name on the front too if you want from alibaba... Thats how it works in china. if you go on newegg you can find those mypin pids being sold as apgtek brand pids..

I see you figured it out but I use a momentary switch to reset my timer... you need a maintained one for the pause feature though.

augiedoggy said:

I see you figured it out but I use a momentary switch to reset my timer... you need a maintained one for the pause feature though.

Click to expand...

Thanks friend, and yeah, I have to install a maintained switch for the timer gate. It all makes sense once you figure it out.

Back from the dead! I finally put my hoses and power cords together and did a test run! Got a few dripping fittings but otherwise things are pumping and heating correctly. This weekend I'll tune my PIDs and do a water-only run to iron things out. Hoping to brew a batch before May hits!

That's great! Good luck on the maiden voyage and keep us posted!

John

You're my rock, jcav. Thanks buddy!

SilverZero said:

You're my rock, jcav. Thanks buddy!

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Anytime brother!

I finally had my first brew day with the new system this weekend! It went pretty well. My recirculation got stuck once or twice so I had to stir it up to get things flowing, and I don't really trust the mash temperature as every thermometer or probe I used gave me a different number in a different spot, so I'm just hoping for the best on conversion. I got 79% overall efficiency on 12 gallons, so I'm thinking it was okay.

The counterflow HERMS coil worked great for heating and chilling. I put 15 gallons in my HLT and my BK the night before, treated the water, and let it sit. On Sunday morning I had to be gone until noon, so I just set the HLT to 155 and ran it one way through the coil, and circulated the water in the BK the opposite way to heat on its own (so both could get up to temp while only having to set and fire the HLT). According to my logging software it took about 1 hour to get the HLT up to temp with the BK trailing about 10 degrees until almost an hour after that. Probably a wash in terms of time, but I was gone all morning anyway so it was ready when I got back.

After the boil I was able to get the BK down to 150F in about 5 minutes using the coil as a chiller with groundwater running through it, did a 30 minute hop stand, and then I got it to 65F in 25 minutes after that.

Draining the BK with the copper manifold I built was really slow, but it came out pretty clear. I think I'll replace with just a dip tube and a strainer of some sort and see if it's any better next time.

12 gallons of pale ale is in my fermenter, pitched about 12 hours ago. Now it's up to BrewPi.