So after about a year and a half of searching and purchasing materials we have finally begun to build our 1.5 BBL system. Most of my ideas have come from right here on homebrew talk so I thought I would return the favor and give some of you out there a chance to see my progress and pick my brain.
First of all I was able to purchase five (5) 55 gallon SS drums in near perfect shape. They came from South Carolina so for a home brewer like myself in Miami, Fl. this was great since the shipping was much lower than if I would have found them elsewhere.
After sourcing the barrels it was time to purchase fittings and all of the other goodies. I bought most of my fittings from barginfittings.com go figure.
I got my false bottom from NorCal brewing, the FB is awesome I had a small issue with the stand that I purchased with it and after not being able to get an answer from them as to what to do, I had to take matters into my own hands. In NorCals defense it was the holidays and I am sure that they were busy.
Now I had all the pieces of the puzzle but was a little overwhelmed with doing the work, so I just sat in limbo reading the forums looking at other peoples systems brewing as much as I could with my smaller 5 gallon system. This was a blessing because I did not just start drilling holes into these perfect pieces of steel and later regret my lack of patients. I also was able to get an understanding of what works for me and how I personally wanted my system to work.
Finally last night the fun began and we did a lot in 1 night compared to the year worth of just waiting. The barrels were drilled using a unitbit step drill bit with 3 level 1/2'' holes. The top and bottom had a 3 piece ball valve installed with weldless bulkhead fittings. The middle has a thermowell with thermometer. A straight dip tube is connected to the bottom valve which passes through the false bottom. I had to drill this hole in the FB.
My original plan was to place the FB higher than the bottom valve eliminating the dip tube. However once you place the false bottom on the stand I purchased the FB was not sealed along the edges of the barrel as well as if I dropped the FB down 2''. So I scrapped the stand, placed a thermo hose around the bottom of the barrel and sat the FB right on top, and it fit like a glove.
I have attached pictures and would love to help anybody out that has questions.
First of all I was able to purchase five (5) 55 gallon SS drums in near perfect shape. They came from South Carolina so for a home brewer like myself in Miami, Fl. this was great since the shipping was much lower than if I would have found them elsewhere.
After sourcing the barrels it was time to purchase fittings and all of the other goodies. I bought most of my fittings from barginfittings.com go figure.
I got my false bottom from NorCal brewing, the FB is awesome I had a small issue with the stand that I purchased with it and after not being able to get an answer from them as to what to do, I had to take matters into my own hands. In NorCals defense it was the holidays and I am sure that they were busy.
Now I had all the pieces of the puzzle but was a little overwhelmed with doing the work, so I just sat in limbo reading the forums looking at other peoples systems brewing as much as I could with my smaller 5 gallon system. This was a blessing because I did not just start drilling holes into these perfect pieces of steel and later regret my lack of patients. I also was able to get an understanding of what works for me and how I personally wanted my system to work.
Finally last night the fun began and we did a lot in 1 night compared to the year worth of just waiting. The barrels were drilled using a unitbit step drill bit with 3 level 1/2'' holes. The top and bottom had a 3 piece ball valve installed with weldless bulkhead fittings. The middle has a thermowell with thermometer. A straight dip tube is connected to the bottom valve which passes through the false bottom. I had to drill this hole in the FB.
My original plan was to place the FB higher than the bottom valve eliminating the dip tube. However once you place the false bottom on the stand I purchased the FB was not sealed along the edges of the barrel as well as if I dropped the FB down 2''. So I scrapped the stand, placed a thermo hose around the bottom of the barrel and sat the FB right on top, and it fit like a glove.
I have attached pictures and would love to help anybody out that has questions.