BigDubz Big Basement (e)BIAB

[bigdubz]

First a little about the space. The basement is about 700 square feet, and was originally all one room. The idea is to have a multipurpose room that will house my three hobbies, brewing, woodworking and home theater. Here is a Sketchup of the what I hope the final product will be.

So far in the transformation to semi-finished (no drywall on the foundation walls or ceiling installation) I have added a partition wall and door to separate the laundry and mechanical areas, painted the floor joists above flat back, installed can lights and installed a basic projector screen/home theater setup.

On to the brewing setup!
I've been a BIAB propane-turkey-fryer brewer for 3 years now, which worked fine and I brewed some good beers and had a lot of fun.

What got old about it was the noise of the propane burners and being at the mercy of the weather. I made the decision to go indoors and e-brew a while ago but this fall I finally tossed the rusted out propane burner and committed.

I was gifted a control panel box from friend who works in HVAC and since it's on the bigger side (16 x 20 x 6) and I might go 3-vessel one day, I decided on the DIY kit from electricbrewsupply.com. Following the schematic and borrowing tons of information from this forum, I got the panel built. Before anyone says it, yes, I did mistakenly use the red spade connectors on the 14 gauge wire to the switches and lights. And yes, I did re-terminate all of them the other night with the correct size connectors.

In progress picture:

Last night I installed the solder on tri-clamp element fitting from brewhardware.com. It went together just as Bobby describes in his video. I had trouble getting the pot to conform to the fitting at first and was able to reheat it a second time after re-positioning the clamp for a better fit. The end result is pretty sweet and will allow for easy clean up.

I really liked that I was able to get the ripple element (5500w) really low in the pot so that it sits maybe 1/2 inch up from the bottom. With a 20 inch diameter pot, this is crucial for allowing me to do both 5 and 10 gallon batches.

I also two punched 7/8 holes in the pot for the drain valve and re-circulation port.

That's where it stands this far. Next up is finishing the kettle plumbing and running the 30amp 220v and 20a 120v circuits tonight.

After all that, I kicked back to enjoy the view with a Founders Expedition Stout. Odd thing, building a machine with fuzzy-logic and high voltage while watching a movie about machines that subjugate humanity and use us for batteries.

Cheers

 

[huntb]

Looks like it's going to be quote the basement. You and I, we think alike. I'm also building eBIAB in my basement and will be putting in a projector and a ferm chamber. Did you draw that with sketchup?

 

[bigdubz]

Sketchup indeed, I find it's an excellent tool for getting ideas out of my head and sanity checking them.

I checked out your build thread, very excellent stuff so far.

As for my build, I had a bit of setback with the kettle. I was pulling dimples for 1/2 SS couplers and the one for the drain valve split the pot a bit. I messed with for a while trying to "fix it", but ended up only burning and flaying myself in the effort.

I eventually ordered up another 1.5" TC solder on fitting and punched out the damaged section of the pot. Also ordered some hardware to make the valve work but we'll see about that. It was late and I was tireddrunk and frustrated when I pieced it together.

After putting the kettle down, I did start work on the brew space. I mounted the TV arm and control panel on the wall and installed electrical boxes and conduit for the two brewery circuits.:rockin:

The wires are about halfway to the house main panel, should be finished up tomorrow.

 

[bigdubz]

Small update, POWER!:rockin:

Everything checked out with a meter, with the only problem being that the element firing light is on constantly and flashes brighter when the SSR fires. I'm guessing it's the voltage leak from the SSR I measured (3-4v).

 

[bigdubz]

First Brew is in the Bag!

Here's the whole setup put together before starting yesterday, right to left: Make the wort, ferment the beer, serve the beer

Flipped the panel on a started heating to strike temp at 4:30pm. Water had been filtered and treated the night before.

Had to bring out the bungee cords to secure the bag high enough to keep it off the element and away from the pickup tube. The return port at the top of the kettle makes this a little tricky, but I think getting a long enough cord to go all the way around would work.

After a long mash, 100 minutes in total, the re-circulation did it's thing. I was able to get dinner cooked and eaten with the kids while I mashed. Checked on it every 20 minutes or so, never more than .7 degrees away from the set value. So cool.

Pulled the bag after wheeling the cart out from under the fan. Basic pulley setup worked well with the 14.5 pound grain bill. For 10 gallon batches I might need a compound pulley setup or a helper.

Boil went real smooth. Brew buddy came over to help and we watched some tv. Completely different experience than freezing/sweating in the garage (never just comfortable for some reason).

The final result, a Rye Saison with Saaz hops with a 1.074 OG. Pitched two packs of Bells Saison dry yeast at 9:45 after everything was cleaned up and it was bubbling away this morning.

Thanks to everyone who has posted and shared, without that information and advice I never could have completed this build.

 

[mwill07]

this eBIAB business just looks too easy. how long does it take you to brew, from filling the pot to wort into the carboy and final clean-up?

 

[30Bones]

Nice setup. So you are recirculating during the mash (which I always did on my old propane single tier), but how do you keep from burning the bag with the element in there?

I am this close to going eBIAB but using induction, no panel to control the temp is my thoughts and moving to the basement. I have a 10 and a 17 gallon kettle I could use on moderate gravity 5 or 10 gallon batches still......I think.

My space is really limited. My 15CF keezer/ferm chamber is in the back left corner now and a utility sink will be going in near that main drain line. So you see I have very limited room to have friends over for brew days which I guess is rare.

 

[bigdubz]

this eBIAB business just looks too easy. how long does it take you to brew, from filling the pot to wort into the carboy and final clean-up?

Last night it was 5 hours and 15 minutes from turning on the panel to cracking a victory brew. I did have the grain weighed out (crushed right after started heating) and all 9 gallons of water in the kettle from the night before the brew.

I did get distracted while the heating to strike temp, so that may shorten the brew day by about 15 minutes and it was a 100 minute mash so 40 could be shaved off that.

I'm thinking 4 to 4.5 could become the new normal for me.

 

[bigdubz]

Nice setup. So you are recirculating during the mash (which I always did on my old propane single tier), but how do you keep from burning the bag with the element in there?

Yup, recirculating throughout the mash. To prevent the bag/grains from touching the element there are three things at play.
1. The element is really low in the pot, maybe 3/8 of inch off the bottom. brewhardware.com tri-clamp solder on fittings make this possible with a ripple element.
2. For a 'False Bottom' I'm currently using a 18 inch Weber grill grate. It fits loosely so there is room for the bag to slip around it. I'll be looking for or making something that fits much tighter to the kettle walls.
3. To combat the gaps in #2, I pulled the bag up so that any excess gathered on the outside of the kettle. This prevents any extra material from being available to touch the element.

All that said, I've read that having the bag on the element isn't a big deal. After watching the PID behavior controlling the element, firing for a second every 4-8 seconds to maintain temperature, I think the bag would be fine.

For an induction setup, that may be a problem if the heat used to keep the mash temps is applied constantly. In any case, you'll need something in the pot to keep the pickup tube or valve free. When I first did recirculating biab on propane as you do, I had trouble with the bag getting sucked into the pickup tube until I put the bag into the steamer basket that came with the pot.

 

[bigdubz]

My space is really limited. My 15CF keezer/ferm chamber is in the back left corner now and a utility sink will be going in near that main drain line. So you see I have very limited room to have friends over for brew days which I guess is rare.

Hmmmm... Maybe build a fold down table for the brewing setup or brew right on the chest freezer and then throw some chairs along the long wall on the right side for

Alternatively, turn the CF so it's along the short wall in the back and then the brew setup can go where the CF is now.

I played around with layout for a while in Sketchup and originally had it backwards and sprawling into a different area.

Good call on the sink. There will be a sink to the right on my brew kettle soon under the window. I was luke warm on the idea (mostly b/c of where I have to run the drain pipe), but after a few dozen trips into the laundry room to use the sink I'm convinced it's gotta happen soon.

 

[30Bones]

Yes, suspending the bag somehow is needed either way, sounds like you have a solution that works.

I have furnace runs along the ceiling below the keezer and future sink. So brewing would need to be on the opposing wall. I have a sump pump in the corner behind that Yakima Skybox (in the garage now) and a floor drain where I am taking the pic from more or less. Punching a hole to the outside to vent shouldn't be a huge issue. I have PEX water lines, but need to run electrical from the panel in the garage. This is a year or more out at this point.

 

[jeffmeh]

Try no-chill if you want to shorten the brew day even further.

 

[30Bones]

Try no-chill if you want to shorten the brew day even further.

Did that on a few small batches and noticed zero noticeable differences. One was even a fairly hoppy fresh squeezed clone

 

[bigdubz]

I like the idea of no-chill, especially if I wanted to do back-to-back batches and get the kettle cleared of the first brew asap. Right now I have a 50 ft immersion chiller that fits beside the element and with the 45 degree tap temps we have, I got down to 66 in about 12 minutes.

Just to update the brew session, I think I did something right since I've never had such an aggressive and quick-starting fermentation. Pitched at 9:45 Wednesday night as picture previously. Here is 8am the next morning, star-san bubbling out of the air lock.

Added a 1/2 inch blow off tube before leaving for work, came home to find this, only 20 hours after pitching.

Still chugging away this morning. Might be the bells saison yeast is just a monster, might be the longer mash at 148 has made a really tasty bunch of ferment-able sugar for the yeast. In any case, I'd like to be able to repeat it since my previous fermentation MO was 24ish hours until krausen and only about 50/50 on reaching desired FG.

Can anyone tell me what I may have hit on that I should add to my normal process?

thanks and

 

[LandoLincoln]

I saw this picture and thought that you had a window in your basement to an in-ground pool and some guys were having a gun fight underwater. "Wow! That's pretty badass!"

Alas. It's just a TV.

 

[bigdubz]

Going to add Window-to-Underground-Gun-Fighting-Pool as a phase 2 project.

 

[augiedoggy]

Maybe it doesnt matter much if its not sunlight but I thought its always a good idea to cover the carboys with a dark tshirt of something if they are going to be left in the light?

 

[bigdubz]

Maybe it doesnt matter much if its not sunlight but I thought its always a good idea to cover the carboys with a dark tshirt of something if they are going to be left in the light?

I've read in a few places that sunlight specifically can cause the hop materials to decompose, causing "skunky beer". I threw up a sheet of cardboard over the window and turned out the lights. That brew is sitting on top of the chest freezer I use for fermentation, but since its a saison, it's been living next to the furnace since it came off the blow-off tube.

Speaking of said saison, pulled a sample on sunday, about 3.5 days after pitching the yeast and it had gone from 1.074 to 1.013. Brew buddy and I both agreed it tasted amazing. Even got my wife to try a sip out of the hydrometer tube... which was a stretch, and she liked it:rockin:

Sunday I brewed up an approximation of Ed Wort's Robust Porter which came up to 1.081 and then brewed again yesterday since the FedGov closed and gifted me a snow day. I made an IPA based on the grain bill of Stone's Arrogant Bastard (2-row, caramunich, special B) since it's what I had left and it came out to 1.055. I'll probably dry hop it up with a few ozs of centennial.

I did change the system a bit, I added a mesh circle that sits on top of the grill-grate. I wanted to ensure that there was no way for the bag to get in contact with the element or the pickup tube. It worked ok, had a "stuck sparge" right after doughing in, but I think that had to do with the flaked barley and oats combo in the porter getting mashed into the bag. I'm considering ordering a custom false bottom down the road.

So yeah, three brews on the new system in its first week, I'd say it's working for me.

 

[Rivenin]

I saw this picture and thought that you had a window in your basement to an in-ground pool and some guys were having a gun fight underwater. "Wow! That's pretty badass!"

Alas. It's just a TV.

you know you have a homebrew addiction when you notice the homebrew equipment and everything else secondary....

because i thought the same thing.... hahaha

 

[sar_dog_1]

sweet!

 

[inhousebrew]

awesome post and setup man. I'm moving into my GF's place in the fall and have been eyeing up her unfinished basement as a potential mancave/brew cellar (of which she is all in favor of) and loved the sketchup. I've just been sketching layouts on paper for a rough idea and might have to actually get a 3D picture rolling along after viewing this thread.

I think I maybe see something in one of the pics but are you running anything for ventilation? That's one aspect I haven't really begun to plan out yet for my much smaller 2.5 eBIAB setup.

 

[bigdubz]

The current ventilation setup is a 6 inch inline fan hung above the kettle that blows out of the one window in the basement. It's similar to the one shown at thelectricbrewery.com and I've got a stainless mixing bowl serving as the hood for now.
It's got a variable speed switch on which I recommend since it's the loudest part of the brewery. I use it at about 2/3 speed during the boil and maybe a quarter speed during mash and cleanup (to dry it out).

 

[inhousebrew]

Cool deal, seems like I'll be able to rig something up pretty easily. Just sitting back now brewing up a black rye IPA. Can't wait to get a dedicated brewing area setup

 

[Michigan_Wolfman]

Looks like a great setup. :rockin:

 

[brettwasbtd]

The current ventilation setup is a 6 inch inline fan hung above the kettle that blows out of the one window in the basement. It's similar to the one shown at thelectricbrewery.com and I've got a stainless mixing bowl serving as the hood for now.
It's got a variable speed switch on which I recommend since it's the loudest part of the brewery. I use it at about 2/3 speed during the boil and maybe a quarter speed during mash and cleanup (to dry it out).

Really nice setup!

I just had my first indoor brewday and I was noticing some condensation dripping from the fan on the side where the black plug box is. I sealed the inside of the box where the wires come in with silicone, but I think the hole out of the fan is where it is dripping. I have mine mounted in almost the exact orientation as yours. Do you have any drip and if so where does it come from/how do you handle it?