Can anyone tell me what the deadspace (under the basket) of the 11g kettle is?
0.83 gal
Can anyone tell me what the deadspace (under the basket) of the 11g kettle is?
I'm super excited! The 120v system is finally back in stock and I ordered mine today (20A controller and 2 2000w elements). Do you guys know what the Steven's typical turnaound time is? I guess I'm not the patient sort...
Congrats. And let us know if you have any questions leading up to brew day.
Well, a little update on a beer I made on this system. I just found out I won a local pro am competition and my beer is eligible to be made and distributed as a special release! How cool is that! It was a Belgian Tripel.
Well done and congratulations sir! A good Tripel is on my to-brew list. Is that award winning recipe top secret or might you share?
Well, a little update on a beer I made on this system. I just found out I won a local pro am competition and my beer is eligible to be made and distributed as a special release! How cool is that! It was a Belgian Tripel.
Way to go TW!
Very cool! Congrats!
My 10g system was finally delivered today!:rockin: Imagine my disappointment when I found it was sans temp. probe. I am correct in my assumption that this was supposed to be an included part right? It's not some ridiculous add-on? Also, does anyone else find it a little troublesome that there is one and only one email address on the website? General inquiries, in-stock notifications, pricing quotes, order status/ issues, all the same email address. Seems a little odd.
While waiting for the missing temp. probe to arrive I decided to go ahead and do some cold water tests with my system. (For the record I ordered the 2x2000w setup with the 11g pot.) My results were pretty impressive I've got to say. The following is for 5 gallons:
0 min - 72°
5 min. - 100°
10 min. - 125°
15 min. - 175°
20 min. - 193°
25 min. - 206°
27 min. - 212°
I'm sure that when I'm doing a full 7g boil it will add some time but even if it's 10 minutes I'm still way ahead of the times I was getting with propane.:rockin: I did notice something that was surprising and slightly disappointing. To maintain what I would call a gentle rolling boil I had to have 105%-110% power. (One element on full blast and the controller linked element between 5% and 10%.) Is that what you guys have been finding? I thought I had read that around 60%-70% would maintain a boil.
Another thing I found is that just over a gallon of liquid stays in the pot below the drain. So, I decided to ditch the bazooka tube and put in the dip tube from my keggle. It has served me well for a while and leaves hardly anything behind when the keggle is drained. Now if I can just figure out how to operate this PID I'll be all set. (Anyone have a everyday language operator's manual?)
Now if I can just figure out how to operate this PID I'll be all set. (Anyone have a everyday language operator's manual?)
Ah, so I am not the only one who finds the box less than fully intuitive.
The manual seems to focus a lot more on wiring it up and a lot less on actual operation.
After watching several videos on YouTube about the 120V 15amp 5 gallon Unibrau system, I'm leaning towards pulling the plug and making the jump from extract to E-BIAB with one.
Just thought of something I'm trying to figure out. Do you still have to heat your strike water to 160 degrees or so in order to compensate for the temperature drop from adding your grain bill, or do you just set the controller at mash temp and dough in from there?
Whereabouts in Jackson do you live? My mother still lives in VCL, though I left in 1971 when I graduated HS.
Yes, you should heat your strike water to some temp higher than your desired mash temp. If you don't do this the temp in the grain bed sags and takes a long time to recover, effectively making a good portion of your mash at a lower temp.
The temp you heat your water to is dependent on the grain bill, which determines your starting volume, and your desired mash temp. 160F might work for some beer recipes, but not others.
Yes, you should heat your strike water to some temp higher than your desired mash temp. If you don't do this the temp in the grain bed sags and takes a long time to recover, effectively making a good portion of your mash at a lower temp.
The temp you heat your water to is dependent on the grain bill, which determines your starting volume, and your desired mash temp. 160F might work for some beer recipes, but not others.
I have not timed it, but I don't think it has taken temps very long at all to recover when I've made my mash temp my strike temp.
I have not timed it, but I don't think it has taken temps very long at all to recover when I've made my mash temp my strike temp.
Have read the entire thread and am becoming very interested in the system. Have been doing BIAB for about 18 months. I like to do 3 gal batches to the Keg. Maybe 5 gal kettle at end of boil. I assume that the 5 gal kit would be plenty big for brews this size - including higher gravity ones.?
Next time you brew you should measure the grain bed temp. I think you'll be surprised. I've done several step mashes and it takes a good 15 to 20 minutes to go from 146F to 158F, depending on the grain bill.
Have read the entire thread and am becoming very interested in the system. Have been doing BIAB for about 18 months. I like to do 3 gal batches to the Keg. Maybe 5 gal kettle at end of boil. I assume that the 5 gal kit would be plenty big for brews this size - including higher gravity ones.?
I'm not sure how much water you need to cover the elements.
It would be plenty big for 3 gallon batches, even high gravity ones. However, I'd email Steven and ask about min batch size. I have the original 36 quart system and it will do a smaller batch. Now it's a 44 quart, so I'm not sure how much water you need to cover the elements.
My last batch had 12 lb of grain and with all water required in the kettle and it came to 8.5 gal. With dead space I transferred 4.1 gal to the fermenter.
The mini comes std with. 6 gal kettle and 9 gal kettle option which I would certainly need. It would still have just one element though. Would this be plenty power for boiling 5 gal wort?
All questions I should email the company with, but I thought the brain-trust here might chime in first with experience.
Most likely, the price savings between a Mini with a 9 gal kettle vs. a 5 gal kit with a 11 gal std kettle (two elements) would be very little if any.
My last batch had 12 lb of grain and with all water required in the kettle and it came to 8.5 gal. With dead space I transferred 4.1 gal to the fermenter.
The mini comes std with. 6 gal kettle and 9 gal kettle option which I would certainly need. It would still have just one element though. Would this be plenty power for boiling 5 gal wort?
All questions I should email the company with, but I thought the brain-trust here might chime in first with experience.
Most likely, the price savings between a Mini with a 9 gal kettle vs. a 5 gal kit with a 11 gal std kettle (two elements) would be very little if any.
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