I'll take a few of the easy ones and let the heavies handle the rest.
1A the two elements add up to 1600W. You run the smaller one when mashing and both when ramping temp up or boiling.
2 The check valve is above the ball valve. It closes when the hose is disconnected to prevent spraying hot water or wort into the air.
3 The pump inlet filter is there to prevent the pump frpm being clogged by solids.
7. It is easy enough to create a whirlpool with a large spoon. Not as convenient as recirculating through a whirlpool port as I do on the primary brew rig, but doable.
8. The CFC is plenty large enough. The problem folks appear to have when chilling is insufficient flow into the chiller due to clogged filters (or, sometimes, a clogged check valve). I have not experienced these issues so can not address them.
1A the two elements add up to 1600W. You run the smaller one when mashing and both when ramping temp up or boiling.
2 The check valve is above the ball valve. It closes when the hose is disconnected to prevent spraying hot water or wort into the air.
3 The pump inlet filter is there to prevent the pump frpm being clogged by solids.
7. It is easy enough to create a whirlpool with a large spoon. Not as convenient as recirculating through a whirlpool port as I do on the primary brew rig, but doable.
8. The CFC is plenty large enough. The problem folks appear to have when chilling is insufficient flow into the chiller due to clogged filters (or, sometimes, a clogged check valve). I have not experienced these issues so can not address them.