Countertop Brutus 20

ksuil said:

Out of curiosity, how do you handle filtering hops coming out of the kettle after boil?

Do you do this after the CFC, before fermenter? have you modified the pickup in the kettle to handle a hob sock or filter of some sort?

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I use a hop bag for hops during the boil, but I do let whirlpool hops run "free". As I always use pellet hops, the pump has no issues circulating them.

IrregularPulse said:

So when you say you wait for gravity to equalize between the two pots, are you using a refractometer or taking hydro samples and taking the time to chill them?

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Because I know exactly the amount of water and grain in the system, I know the pre-boil gravity (assuming full conversion, of course). I could take periodic samples from the kettle to verify, but experience has shown me that 20-30 minutes of recirculation is plenty to reach the target pre-boil gravity.

jkarp said:

Because I know exactly the amount of water and grain in the system, I know the pre-boil gravity (assuming full conversion, of course). I could take periodic samples from the kettle to verify, but experience has shown me that 20-30 minutes of recirculation is plenty to reach the target pre-boil gravity.

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So you just do it for 30 minutes and call it done? That's good enough for me if it's reliable. I have a refractometer so the first few times I get this going I'll likely compare brix readings from both pots to get an idea, but once it gets going would be fine just saying, do it for 30 minutes and call it good.

IrregularPulse said:

So you just do it for 30 minutes and call it done? That's good enough for me if it's reliable. I have a refractometer so the first few times I get this going I'll likely compare brix readings from both pots to get an idea, but once it gets going would be fine just saying, do it for 30 minutes and call it good.

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That's exactly what I did in the early days of my system - test the kettle with a refractometer until it hit the target. Don't bother any more. 30 and call it good.

jkarp said:

I use a hop bag for hops during the boil, but I do let whirlpool hops run "free". As I always use pellet hops, the pump has no issues circulating them.

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I have made Amarillo IPA many times and have never put my pellet hops in a bag. Thats 4 ozs of hops. Just make sure if you are doing a late addition you dissolve it throughly before you turn the pump on or you might get a clog at the kettle outlet.

DrinknBuddy said:

I have made Amarillo IPA many times and have never put my pellet hops in a bag. Thats 4 ozs of hops. Just make sure if you are doing a late addition you dissolve it throughly before you turn the pump on or you might get a clog at the kettle outlet.

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So have I. My process is a matter of preference and less hop material finding its way to the fermenter.

I'm hoping to get a copy of this put together next week while home from work. I don't know if I'll get everything into a bucket just yet, but hopefully a workable setup. I'd love to brew towards the end of the week before heading back to work.

IrregularPulse, How do you have 21,000 posts? That's just crazy!

Simple, 18.57591623 posts a day for 1,146 days as a HBT member.
This or slip a moderator $100?

even simpler....TapRoom

Got my mash tun to finally hold a seal for this last night. I forgot what a PITA weldless fittings are. Gonna head to Lowes after bit to pick up some more fittings.

I'm just sitting here waiting for my wife to finish cleaning out my boys room so I can put him down for a nap and run to Lowes Hoping to get the MLT and BK mostly done tonight. I'll have to likely order a 2000W element and nut

I have a question on your outlets jkarp, or anyone else that wants to chime in. You're using 15A outlet/switch combos. you're using a 2000W element. This doesn't add up. Are you not worried about over powering the outlets?

I know my rig isn't a copy, but I used 20amp rated components and wiring throughout the 20amp circuit. I would suggest doing the same. Although, I am sure the 15amp rated stuff would be fine for the relatively light duty this stuff gets.

I used 15A outlets. Figure if US electric code allows it, it's good enough for me.

jkarp said:

I used 15A outlets. Figure if US electric code allows it, it's good enough for me.

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Yeah but any electrician will tell you all that stuff is really only rated to handle 80% of the maximum load.

Also 2000w/120V = 16.7A so you are over even the maximum rating for that equipment.

Meh, I figure if jkarp has been running his rig successfully this long with the 15A outlets it's good enough. I know I know, electricity kills and blah blah. I'm comfortable enough with it all and I also understand the difference between real world, "cover your ass" equipment ratings, and theory. If I feel it's getting too hot, I'll switch it out.

weirdboy said:

Yeah but any electrician will tell you all that stuff is really only rated to handle 80% of the maximum load.

Also 2000w/120V = 16.7A so you are over even the maximum rating for that equipment.

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Sorry, we're not beating this dead horse again.

If you're really curious, research exactly what 80% means and where it applies.

I really didn't mean to turn your build thread into this discussion. I should have just kept it to PMs. My apologies.

jkarp said:

If you're really curious, research exactly what 80% means and where it applies.

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This. That's why I said the 15A stuff is just fine for what we are doing. Save money and prosper.

Got my control box wired up. I just need to mount the PID and thermocouple QD. But I got it all powered up. Next thing to do is tackle the PID programming. I'm taking it to work to have the PID mount milled out and thermocouple QD mounting hole milled out. Then I can work on programming the thing.

I found the auto tune did a pretty fair job on my PID. Only had to bump Kd up a bit to smooth a slight overshoot.

How critical is a sight glass if your recirculating the entire mash volume during the mash? I got my ball valve and heating element installed tonight and did a leak test. All is well. Then I realized I didn't drill a hole for a sightglass. Then I wondered why it's needed other than initial water volume.

IrregularPulse said:

How critical is a sight glass if your recirculating the entire mash volume during the mash? I got my ball valve and heating element installed tonight and did a leak test. All is well. Then I realized I didn't drill a hole for a sightglass. Then I wondered why it's needed other than initial water volume.

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I find it handy for monitoring levels during recirculation, but it's not a must.

I guess I'll go ahead and add it. Might as well. I have the sight glass kit. Was just being lazy last night after I did the leak test for the drain and element and then noticed I forgot the sightglass. After that's installed, I'm down to building the chiller/pump bucket and I'll be all set Brewing with the old setup Sunday for hopefully the last time.

I've decided to simplify this a bit more and take it no chill. I'm just waiting on the new style bulkheads to return to stock at bargainfittings.com to place and order, and then I can do my autotune and start using this thing.

I see a lot of people saying they've made clones, but not too many links! I'd love to see everyone's version of this.

Here is a pic of my original CB20 when I had it set up like JK:

Wanted to give a thank you to jkarp...after over a year and a half of planning and changing my mind on what I wanted to do I brewed on my rig for the first time yesterday.



It's ugly. I used leftover wood to build it and after all the previous ideas I had planned and scrapped, I built it on the fly during a previous brew day. Since there's no recirculation (as of yet), the PID has a hard time hitting temperatures accurately. I have to "babysit" it as it approaches strike temps, so I doubt it makes my brew day shorter or much easier. Essentially, it uses the CB20 "guts" in a three tier system, with propane still heating the BK. I suppose I save some propane not using it to heat strike or sparge water.

My advice for future DIYers:
Take the time in advance to decide what you want out of your brew rig and make sure the system you design can accomplish that. I originally started building a Pol-esque HERMs, but scrapped that idea. I had already built a single tier stand, which turned into my garage workbench. Then I went with a countertop CB20-type, but decided I still wanted to be able to do 5 gallon brews. I was stuck in no-man's-land with a fair amount of money already invested in random parts. This was my solution to utilize as much as I could of what I had already purchased.

Maybe some day I'll add a pump and try to integrate some type of recirculation.

I've been tinkering with my PID a good bit lately, possibly with the goal of writing an article on tuning them specifically for home brewers. Our requirements are quite a bit different than those seen in industrial PID applications.

Has anyone built a system like this using a 220 - 4500 or 5500 watt element that will do 10 gallon batches? I was about to build an electric 220 3 vessel brewery, this has me thinking.

There are a ton of electronic 3 vessel systems here on the forums. If you want to see one of the most documented (and one of the prettiest) check out Kal's system here. He has his entire build process shown with part lists. http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/

I use a 240volt system much like Jkarps, for 5 gallon batches. I have a 5500W element in mine. It reaches strike temperatures from cold Denver tap water (around 40 degrees up to 179ish) in roughly 18 minutes. Though the wife laughs at my long extension cord running from the dryer outlet over to the kitchen. a 120v system would be easier for me to run.

Does 5500W give too much of a boil for a ~7 gal boil?

I'd love to see a picture of your setup.

Nah, with the PID, I set the element to about 37% utilization and it keeps a nice pretty rolling boil. About a gallon per hour boil off.

Next time I brew, I'll have to take some pictures. It's pretty ghetto. But it makes beer, so I cannot complain.

jkarp just wanted to say thanks for coming up with this system. It was easy to do with all your instructions and pictures. The hardest part for me was putting the CFC togather. Drinking buddy is my dad he built one first then I just kind of followed what he did. Thanks again.. here is mine doing a robust porter.

still have not figured out my mac yet to post pictures but its in my profile pic

Looks awesome cheapsk8!

I am getting ready to start work on this finally. I have the brew kettle done but element. One question I have is how do you drain the countertops chiller completely into the kettle after the mash? I have not used a pump and the posts say you shut off and open all shutouts and let it drain into the kettle.

Thanks in advance

JDL said:

I am getting ready to start work on this finally. I have the brew kettle done but element. One question I have is how do you drain the countertops chiller completely into the kettle after the mash? I have not used a pump and the posts say you shut off and open all shutouts and let it drain into the kettle.

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I don't drain the chiller / pump until the wort's completely chilled. That way you don't have to worry about losing prime on the pump. I start recirculating back to the kettle about 10-15 minutes before "flameout" to get the pump and chiller sterilized. Then as soon as I kill power to the element, I toss in any whirlpool hops and put the lid on the kettle. After my chosen whirlpool time, I turn on the chiller water and let it get to work. Once chilled, you can lift the chiller/pump bucket above the kettle for a minute to allow it to drain or do like I do and pull the return hose to the kettle and blow in it to push the wort back to the kettle.

Jkarp,

What about before the boil to get it all in the kettle after the recirculation of the mash?

Thanks

JDL said:

What about before the boil to get it all in the kettle after the recirculation of the mash?

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Not necessary IMO. Any wort in the CFC gets sanitized in the last 15 minutes.