Electric BIAB Basement Brewery aka Lone Wolf Brewing

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wyowolf

wyowolf

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About half way done and thought I would show some pics. I have a pretty big basement that will evenutally be a HT/Bar , One big bedroom, and the brewery area and another common open area.

1800 sf total with 9 ft ceilings.

I bought a 20 gal BIAB system from Colorado Brewing. I plan on building a BCS 460 controller for it and the one pump. I will rig up and re circulation method of some sort inside that basket.

So far I have the tub and the sink pump and lines run. Electrical lines run but not yet installed. The space is appx 6x14 and will be vented to the outside wall right next to it.

If anyone has built a BCS 460 with just one element and one pump I would be grateful for pics or schematics.

used 1 inch foam board around the concrete walls and then bought a spray foam kit to spray the rim joist and the one outside wall. Concrete is 12 inches thick and 9 ft tall.
 
pics

brewery1.jpg


brewery2.jpg


brewery3.jpg


brewery4.jpg


brewery5.jpg


brewery6.jpg


brewery7.jpg
 
Man, what I would not do for that amount of unfinished space....good luck on the project
 
looks like you are finishing the basement walls off the same way i did my basement a couple years ago: rigid xps foam on the walls with closed-cell spray foam in the joist cavities. i would have loved to spray the entire wall but it just wasn't cost effective. your post mentions 1" foam but the photos show 3/4"? should be fine, looks like you are in the atlanta area. i used 2" on mine but the winters in central wisconsin are a touch colder than those in georgia. :)

you should consider housewrap tape or caulk at the panel seams. the foam provides insulation but also acts as a vapor barrier. the barrier properties are compromised at the seams. i used tape on mine, went up super fast. also take a look at your fireblocking where the walls meet the ceiling. in case you aren't familiar with fireblocking, diychatroom has a nice thread on it, with page 2 specific to basements.

http://www.diychatroom.com/f98/how-fireblock-framing-37190/index2/

looking good so far!:mug:
 
Yes your right its 3/4 mostly for vapor barrier. But it has made a huge improvement in the temps/humidity down there.
 
wyowolf said:
Yes your right its 3/4 mostly for vapor barrier. But it has made a huge improvement in the temps/humidity down there.
Click to expand...

no doubt. my basement has poured concrete walls as well and the difference once i put the foam up was incredible. the foam is vastly superior to simply throwing some poly sheeting between the concrete and studs. and in cold climates, it doesn't really work as expected. true, the poly prevents moisture from the concrete getting through to the basement but provides no thermal barrier. moisture in the living space eventually condenses on the living-space-side of the vapor barrier and if there is fiberglass batt insulation in the stud cavities, now that moisture is in the insulation. not a good situation, perfect for mold growth. with the foam, the dew point is inside the foam, which means moisture from the concrete will not condense on the 'cold side' of the foam and moisture from the living space will not condense on the 'warm side' of the foam.

also note that to comply with building codes, the foam is not meant to be left exposed. it needs to be covered with a 15 minute fire barrier e.g. drywall. obviously it will be exposed during construction but really shouldn't be left exposed for months on end.
 
itsnotrequired said:
no doubt. my basement has poured concrete walls as well and the difference once i put the foam up was incredible. the foam is vastly superior to simply throwing some poly sheeting between the concrete and studs. and in cold climates, it doesn't really work as expected. true, the poly prevents moisture from the concrete getting through to the basement but provides no thermal barrier. moisture in the living space eventually condenses on the living-space-side of the vapor barrier and if there is fiberglass batt insulation in the stud cavities, now that moisture is in the insulation. not a good situation, perfect for mold growth. with the foam, the dew point is inside the foam, which means moisture from the concrete will not condense on the 'cold side' of the foam and moisture from the living space will not condense on the 'warm side' of the foam.

also note that to comply with building codes, the foam is not meant to be left exposed. it needs to be covered with a 15 minute fire barrier e.g. drywall. obviously it will be exposed during construction but really shouldn't be left exposed for months on end.
Click to expand...

Yes it will be covered soon. I am installing a two ton mini split this weekend so that should help too. Humidity is a real problem in Ga.

Got my GFCI outlet and 5 weather resistant outlets I will install today. Maybe overkill but they were only 5 bucks each and was worried about water getting on them...
 
Anxious to see you final result. I got the 15 gal eBIAB from Colorado Brewing Systems recently and am meeting with a contractor in a couple days to work out the plan for my unfinished basement.

One question...how are you going to cool the wort? I'm going to use a counterflow chiller, but I wonder if the pump from the utility sink needs to be temp rated pretty high to handle the initial runoff. Same question if I ran the runoff to the sump pump.
 
any decent utility sink and sump should be able to handle the hot water temps but it is worthwhile to check. some of the cheaper plastic sump pumps max out around 110 degrees or so. that's at the pump though so by the time the hot water gets through the pipes, dilutes in the cool water already in the sump, etc., it may not be an issue. good idea to look though!
 
stmicbarr said:
Anxious to see you final result. I got the 15 gal eBIAB from Colorado Brewing Systems recently and am meeting with a contractor in a couple days to work out the plan for my unfinished basement.

One question...how are you going to cool the wort? I'm going to use a counterflow chiller, but I wonder if the pump from the utility sink needs to be temp rated pretty high to handle the initial runoff. Same question if I ran the runoff to the sump pump.
Click to expand...

I have a plate chiller i use.
 
The utility pump was one of the pricey options...but will look into it just the same...Liberty 404 pump.
 
stmicbarr said:
Anxious to see you final result. I got the 15 gal eBIAB from Colorado Brewing Systems recently and am meeting with a contractor in a couple days to work out the plan for my unfinished basement.

One question...how are you going to cool the wort? I'm going to use a counterflow chiller, but I wonder if the pump from the utility sink needs to be temp rated pretty high to handle the initial runoff. Same question if I ran the runoff to the sump pump.
Click to expand...

How long did you have to wait for your system? I am still waiting :( but its been about 2 weeks...

I am considering tile for the walls as well, I am already doing the floor, concrete, appx wall is 14x9

hopefully I can check out water. Will be a bit difficult to hook up because its a wall mount faucet... but once i know water and sewer are good I can put up the drywall and mount the panel.
Do you go straight from the Spa Panel to the Main panel? I see some use a dryer cord. But since the Spa Panel already is a disconnect just wondering.
 
wyowolf said:
How long did you have to wait for your system? I am still waiting :( but its been about 2 weeks...
Click to expand...


It took about a month after placing the order, longer than the 3 week period stated on the website. Granted, much of the extra wait time was self-inflicted due to some changes I asked for mid-process that were modifications from the "off the shelf" version.

I will say that Tim at Colorado Brewing Systems was patient with me and offered excellent customer service, and I peppered him with questions. I'd do business with him again in a heartbeat.
 
It was really pretty easy to do once I got the vac pump and gauges. The rest was simple. It really took the humidity out of the basement... down 9 points in an hour or so.... 1800 sf using 2 ton unit. and SUPER quiet...
 
All wiring done. All GFCI w 12 gauge wire with weather resistant outlets. Checked w gfci tester all good. Hooked up faucet last night...slight leak :( but better now the when drywall goes on. Panel parts arrive tomorrow! !!!
 
wyowolf said:
All wiring done. All GFCI w 12 gauge wire with weather resistant outlets. Checked w gfci tester all good. Hooked up faucet last night...slight leak :( but better now the when drywall goes on. Panel parts arrive tomorrow! !!!
Click to expand...

is this a circuit for the brewing area or the basement in general? i wired all my basement receptacles for 20 amp. it only added about $75 to the total build out, money well spent.
 
This is separate 20 amp for the area. But plan to run 12 2 rest as well...really only the bedroom and bar area. Panel is on its own 50amp circuit
 
I probably went overboard with water proof outlet and gfci but its only one circuit...and other than exhaust fan and maybe a mill or stirplate not sure what eill be on there
 
All leaks checked in water lines, so far so good. I like to wait a couple days to really make sure...

Then drywall goes up, then tile the floor. Thinking also of tiling the back wall about 90 sf... will check on that... not sure what else to put there...
 

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