Steam hood thoughts

mrlisk · Jan 8, 2011

I eventually will be running an all grain electric setup in the workshop area of my barn and will need to get the steam out somehow. Given the availability of 30" standard range hoods on craigslist, I was considering purchasing a couple of them and putting them together to make a steam hood, probably using pop rivets or machine screws, which would give a total length of ~60".

I was thinking I'd gut the built in fan/motor and install a 6" metal duct through the top of each, connect them at a wye and have a single duct running through a 6" vortex fan and out of the building.

What do you think?

bf514921 · Jan 8, 2011

you mean something akin to this

works well for my electric so far, condensation will build up on the range hoods some but not bad.

mrlisk · Jan 8, 2011

exactly what i was thinking. only thing different i'm looking to do is pair up two hood and have them meet with a wye before the fan. Do you see any way of collecting the condensation, or are the angles on most hoods not really suited for doing so?

bf514921 · Jan 8, 2011

angles of the hood arent the greatest, but i actually mounted mine a at a little of an angle, it actually slants to the left a little bit, if i did it again i would but a biger angle on it

kernal74 · Jan 8, 2011

mrlisk said:
I eventually will be running an all grain electric setup in the workshop area of my barn and will need to get the steam out somehow. Given the availability of 30" standard range hoods on craigslist, I was considering purchasing a couple of them and putting them together to make a steam hood, probably using pop rivets or machine screws, which would give a total length of ~60".

I was thinking I'd gut the built in fan/motor and install a 6" metal duct through the top of each, connect them at a wye and have a single duct running through a 6" vortex fan and out of the building.

What do you think?

That's a nice idea actually. I am also building a brewery in my barn here in CT and bought a vortex fan recently and just picked up the duct work from HD today. I am going to build a hood out of wood and cover it with shower board so it is cleanable and protects the wood. Someone else mentioned doing this same thing and covering the wood with a water sealer of some sort. Your way seems cheap and easy.

Dgonza9 · Jan 9, 2011

It's possible that the steam hood is not necessary, IMO. I'm doing 10 gallons batches with just an increaser on the end of my ducting. No moisture issues at all. Then again, I'm really only heating strike/sparge water and boiling in the far keggle, so my ducting is quite close to the moisture source.

Still, my feeling is that a large enough fan is changing the air out the room at a pace that does not require a hood.

Am I wrong about this?

devilbrewer75 · Sep 24, 2011

I thought about getting a large rubbermaid container cutting it short and hanging it. I bought a speed controller and it says not for use with brushless motors. How do I know if the vortex is brushless?

bullywee · Sep 26, 2011

I do 20gal batches and use almost the same vent set up as above - I have a 8" Active Air fan (720CFM) and some 8" ducting over my BK. The fan is a beast no condensation issues whatsoever it doesn't have a chance to collect, for the $$$$ the Active Air fans are great.

IMO you don't need a hood you really only need to vent the BK, the HLT and MT can have lids on. But if your set on a hood with the right fan I don't think condensation will be an issue

zacc · Sep 26, 2011

Here's my steam hood. It's made of 1"x2" for the frame and 2' square plastic light panels. I stained the wood and spray painted the panels then used ducting tape along the seems. This was a pretty cheap build, maybe $30-$40.

kal · Sep 29, 2011

Dgonza9 said:
Still, my feeling is that a large enough fan is changing the air out the room at a pace that does not require a hood.

It really depends on the airflow in the room (from the make-up air entry to the exhaust), to fan placement/speed, etc.

I tried without a hood in my original brewery setup and I was getting condensation on the walls in the corners without the vent hood.

So I had a vent hood built.

Kal

slakwhere · Sep 30, 2011

zacc said:
Here's my steam hood. It's made of 1"x2" for the frame and 2' square plastic light panels. I stained the wood and spray painted the panels then used ducting tape along the seems. This was a pretty cheap build, maybe $30-$40.

is the box on the wall with the dimmer for the fan speed? that is a spectacular build, really beautiful and CHEAP! :rockin:

zacc · Sep 30, 2011

slakwhere said:
is the box on the wall with the dimmer for the fan speed? that is a spectacular build, really beautiful and CHEAP! :rockin:

Yeah I got the design for the dimmer box from Kal. I love the SS hood he has but it was out of my budget for this project so I had to come up with something else. My design turned out better looking than I originaly pictured and works perfectly. :mug:

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