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I have the inexpensive one that's the third link you posted. I brew mostly small batches, 2-3 gallons, with a very occasional 5 gallon batch. I enjoy using this small distiller and it reduces my well water to an excellent base for brewing. The crap left behind is... astonishing.

I keep a 5 gallon water cooler jug and numerous 1 gallon plastic jugs around, and I usually will run the distiller til they're all full. I use the water for brewing, but also in the room humidifier that I keep with my guitars.

I think others will tell you it's inconvenient, but at the scale I brew, I am happy with the simplicity of this product. No hookups, no filters, just a coffee machine-like gadget that gives me a gallon at a time.

Hello McKnuckle,

Thank you for the post. I have been reading reviews about the unit you have. Did you notice a strong plastic smell / taste when you first started using it?

Do you think it will last awhile or does it seem cheaply made?

Thanks!

-Altrez
 
Altrez sorry if I missed it (this thread is getting long!) but did you say what your water source is or if you've gotten a water report? Just wondering if you know for sure that you need the RO system or distiller. Worth finding out if you don't know, you might get lucky like those in my area and find your tap water is pretty much like RO.
 
Altrez, I think you need to invest in a whole-grain setup and some nice 6G fermentors (I recommend better bottle - plastic PET is safe, but glass has some advantages too). Mr. Beer fermenters are horrible - they don't seal well, you can't see the beer well, no easy way to monitor fermentation process, etc.

Our of curiosity, how much $ have you spent on equipment thus far?

(I am doing the same calculation for myself - I started with $30 kit, scaled up to maybe $300-400 in purchases in my first year, but kegging and bar setup and scaling up to 10+ kegs and 8 taps made me spent another $2,000 or a bit more.)
But I also brewed 200+ gallons of beer over a little over a year, and I keep brewing at 10-20 Gallon rate per month.
 
The first one is overkill I know however I like the fact it can churn out 8 gallons a day.

Any feedback would be great.

Thanks!

-Altrez


Go big or go home man. You'll need that extra capacity once you start doing those 10 gallon batches. :rockin:
 
Off Topic:

Guinness Nitro IPA is some of the worst beer I have ever had. I powered down the six pack but damnnnn it is terrible.

:off:

-Altrez
 
Altrez sorry if I missed it (this thread is getting long!) but did you say what your water source is or if you've gotten a water report? Just wondering if you know for sure that you need the RO system or distiller. Worth finding out if you don't know, you might get lucky like those in my area and find your tap water is pretty much like RO.

We get our water from the sub division and they get it from the city. It's not bad however I do not think it tastes good. I would like to start with a source that I make and build on that.

I have not got a water profile yet.

-Altrez
 
Altrez, I think you need to invest in a whole-grain setup and some nice 6G fermentors (I recommend better bottle - plastic PET is safe, but glass has some advantages too). Mr. Beer fermenters are horrible - they don't seal well, you can't see the beer well, no easy way to monitor fermentation process, etc.

Our of curiosity, how much $ have you spent on equipment thus far?

(I am doing the same calculation for myself - I started with $30 kit, scaled up to maybe $300-400 in purchases in my first year, but kegging and bar setup and scaling up to 10+ kegs and 8 taps made me spent another $2,000 or a bit more.)
But I also brewed 200+ gallons of beer over a little over a year, and I keep brewing at 10-20 Gallon rate per month.

Hi 55x11,

It is hard to say how much money I have spent for brewing as everything I have bought I can use with other things. I have spent around 2 grand after I got my first $20 kit.

Everything I have purchased is being used for beer brewing atm.

I am planing on buying this fermenter after I reach my 100 gallon goal.

http://www.ssbrewtech.com/collectio.../chronical-7-gal-fermenter-brewmaster-edition

-Altrez
 
Hi 55x11,

It is hard to say how much money I have spent for brewing as everything I have bought I can use with other things. I have spent around 2 grand after I got my first $20 kit.

Everything I have purchased is being used for beer brewing atm.

I am planing on buying this fermenter after I reach my 100 gallon goal.

http://www.ssbrewtech.com/collectio.../chronical-7-gal-fermenter-brewmaster-edition

-Altrez

7 gallons only? pfff....

As long as you are bypassing $30 glass or PET fermenters, I would think you should go for something like this instead:

http://www.psychobrewllc.com/tanks/fermenters/10-bbl-jacketed-fermenter.html

Go big or go home.
 
About the distiller... It had a slight off odor for the first gallon or so, then that disappeared and the product is clean since then. I estimate that I've distilled about 50 gallons so far. It's good to drink also.

A bit hard to tell though, since the deposits left from the well water are foul smelling. So I can't be sure it was ever the distiller itself.

Is it a quality unit? I figure if it gets through 100 gallons it has paid for itself and proven the concept to me.
 
After a bit more googling I think this fermenter looks pretty good at 20 gallons and I can make a nice Fermentation Chamber for it as well.

http://conical-fermenter.com/20-Gallon-Conical-Fermenter-with-Thermowell-and-Thermometer.html

Anyone use theses?

-Altrez

I never understood ss conicals on the home brewing level
It's 90% bling. 10% function
Speidel fermenters will serve just as well and u can put two of the square 15g ones in a stand up freezer for 1/3 of the price
I push my beer out of mine with co2 and everything.
 
I never understood ss conicals on the home brewing level
It's 90% bling. 10% function
Speidel fermenters will serve just as well and u can put two of the square 15g ones in a stand up freezer for 1/3 of the price
I push my beer out of mine with co2 and everything.

Hello Jwin,

Could you please post some more information about the fermenters and co2 hookup?

Thank you!

-Altrez
 
Update:

A few things I have noticed is that when I open the Fermentation chamber there is a very strong smell of sweet yest. Also the temperature is harder to control with the LBK's in full beer making mode.

I checked with my fluke IR meter and even the walls of the fridge have gone up a degree.

Interesting.

-Altrez
 
Update:

A few things I have noticed is that when I open the Fermentation chamber there is a very strong smell of sweet yest. Also the temperature is harder to control with the LBK's in full beer making mode.

I checked with my fluke IR meter and even the walls of the fridge have gone up a degree.

Interesting.

-Altrez

Yep, more than co2 gets blown out during active fermentation. And those little yeasties are giving off heat doing their thing.
 
Update:I checked with my fluke IR meter and even the walls of the fridge have gone up a degree.

Interesting.

-Altrez

Oddly, this is likely a function of the thermal mass involved with your smaller volumes and probably large, frost-free refrigerator. Just like with a regular fridge, the more you have in it, without blocking airflow, the more stable the temp.

Start putting 40-100#'s of wort in there and as long as you anticipated the temp rise and start a little low, you will see very stable temps...especially if you can unplug the defrost timer in your model fridge (should technically not affect a fermentation chamber but some click in regardless based on time).
 
I understand wanting to make a good product( I've been striving for 8 yrs to continually improve my results. That said as many suggest, Rdwhahb,( Relax don't worry have a homebrew. )There is no doubt that my results have improved greatly since i started, the enjoyment is the same as when started. The part of your brain where you feel stress and anxiety is a different place than where you are when engaged in a task. In the early days, home brewing got me through some challenging times in my life. Since then I continue to get fulfillment and satisfaction from creating a product that is on par or better than something i can get at the store (and far exceed any thing I can get from Miller/Coors or Inbev. No matter the quality of your efforts there is great satisfaction in the fact, " I made this" and if your results are less than desired it is a great motivation to learn and improve.
 
A distiller seems like overkill. RO filtration will get your water pretty damn near distilled purity but faster and a lot cheaper. Also, it looks like those distillers are like filtration pitchers in that you'll constantly have to empty the distilled water into a tank or jug of your own and fill the reservoir of the distiller to keep water flowing. Seems like a whole lot of unnecessary hands-on time for what you're trying to achieve. Given the choice between running your brewing water from a filtered tap or filtering it all through a Brita pitcher, which would you choose? If you buy one of those smaller distillers, it appears that you're essentially choosing one or the other.
 
A small distiller is nice because there is no waste water used. You put in a gallon of crap water, and out comes a gallon of distilled water. You rinse the chamber and start again. You decant the freshly distilled water into a jug or your mash tun.

RO units have a waste factor, and are usually permanently or at least intrusively hooked up to plumbing. Plus there are filters to replace. Nothing wrong with that, but it's not for everyone.

Anyway, if you need tens of gallons at a time, a small distiller is not practical. I need between 3-8 gallons for my brews, so it's perfect for my needs.
 
A distiller seems like overkill. RO filtration will get your water pretty damn near distilled purity but faster and a lot cheaper. Also, it looks like those distillers are like filtration pitchers in that you'll constantly have to empty the distilled water into a tank or jug of your own and fill the reservoir of the distiller to keep water flowing. Seems like a whole lot of unnecessary hands-on time for what you're trying to achieve. Given the choice between running your brewing water from a filtered tap or filtering it all through a Brita pitcher, which would you choose? If you buy one of those smaller distillers, it appears that you're essentially choosing one or the other.

Hi FatDragon,

I think short term the basic model has a place as I am only doing 1 gallon and 2 gallon brews. However when I move up to 10 plus gallons a week or more I do not want to spend 3 days distilling water.

The big issue is do I just go ahead and buy all the stuff to make the big batches now and save money.

-Altrez
 
Of all the advice and banter on this thread, I would just say this:

Don't go big till you are able to reliably and predictably make decent beer and have a handle on things. Ten gallons (or even five) of lame beer is just a waste. You won't want to drink it. But it will be too much to dump, so you'll keep it around and choke it down, then eventually dump it anyway.

I actually think your initial setup with very small batches is a perfect stepping stone and NOT wasteful in terms of gear investment. You will always be able to use 1-2 gallon brewing gear. Even some day when you're brewing 10 gallons at a time, you'll be able to experiment and do test batches with the small stuff.
 
Update:

Batch three is in the books! I now have 6 gallons fermenting in the chamber. I brewed the Mr. Beer Oktoberfest tonight. I tasted a sample and it did have that classic taste to it and was not bad at all.

All three of my Mr. Beer kits have had the same OG of 1.042. I took a sample vile of B3 and will cross check it with my digital refractometer.

-Altez
 
Of all the advice and banter on this thread, I would just say this:

Don't go big till you are able to reliably and predictably make decent beer and have a handle on things. Ten gallons (or even five) of lame beer is just a waste. You won't want to drink it. But it will be too much to dump, so you'll keep it around and choke it down, then eventually dump it anyway.

I actually think your initial setup with very small batches is a perfect stepping stone and NOT wasteful in terms of gear investment. You will always be able to use 1-2 gallon brewing gear. Even some day when you're brewing 10 gallons at a time, you'll be able to experiment and do test batches with the small stuff.

Yeah that is kinda what I am thinking. Once I can get 1 or 2 gallon batches constant and repeatable then I can start going bigger.

I love the idea of tying 3 or 4 different 1 gallon brews, getting them just right and then going up to 5 gallon. Once I got the beer good at 5 gallons I can move up to 10.

And while I am fermenting 10 gallons. I can start working on new batches of 1 gallon recipes.

:tank:

-Altrez
 
Hello Jwin,

Could you please post some more information about the fermenters and co2 hookup?

Thank you!

-Altrez

I just modified mine by adding a ball lock post to a solid cap for the fermenter
I replace the air lock with it when I cold crash and apply 1-2 psi for a couple days. I just swell the lid 2-3 timea a day. No suck back that way
Then, open the valve and push to purged kegs at 2-3 psi.
The only oxygen ever introduced is when I pull the air lock, which is totally negligible
 
Hi FatDragon,

I think short term the basic model has a place as I am only doing 1 gallon and 2 gallon brews. However when I move up to 10 plus gallons a week or more I do not want to spend 3 days distilling water.

The big issue is do I just go ahead and buy all the stuff to make the big batches now and save money.

-Altrez

The biggest distiller you linked is still a manual-fill and will take three days to distill enough water for a ten-gallon batch, albeit with less hands-on time than the smaller distillers. RO is already an excellent base water for a fraction of the price and less time invested. Distilling just doesn't make sense to me.
 
The biggest distiller you linked is still a manual-fill and will take three days to distill enough water for a ten-gallon batch, albeit with less hands-on time than the smaller distillers. RO is already an excellent base water for a fraction of the price and less time invested. Distilling just doesn't make sense to me.

The big one does 8 gallons a day.

Durastill 8 Gallons per Day, Manual Water Distiller. Good for second homes, cabins, apartments or rental home situations where connection to a water line is not possible or desirable. Includes a 4.5 gallon reserve tank. Made in USA.

-Altrez
 
The big one does 8 gallons a day.

Durastill 8 Gallons per Day, Manual Water Distiller. Good for second homes, cabins, apartments or rental home situations where connection to a water line is not possible or desirable. Includes a 4.5 gallon reserve tank. Made in USA.

-Altrez

Gotcha, so if you transfer the distilled water to a secondary holding vessel and refill the distiller's reservoir once in the morning, once in the evening, you'll collect just about enough water for a ten gallon batch in two days with a total of four dump-and-fill trips.

Don't they make whole-house RO systems with bigger filters for higher throughput and big tanks so you've always got ample RO water on hand? If I were in your position I'd be looking for the most hands-off solution, and unless you're running a distiller that auto-fills and has a big reserve tank for an ample supply of distilled water, RO seems like the easier solution, and it's almost certainly much cheaper than distilling.

Then again, I don't really understand the benefit of distilled water versus RO for building a water profile, as RO seems to be the standard most of the water chemistry brewers here start from. Perhaps one of our resident water chemists can chime in here.
 
I don't really understand the benefit of distilled water versus RO for building a water profile, as RO seems to be the standard most of the water chemistry brewers here start from.

There's no benefit in the composition of distilled vs. RO in any practical terms. Composition is not the reason why brewers seem to use RO more often.

It is more about the method by which each is procured. You can go to the store and buy either one in some places. Distilled comes in one gallon jugs. RO, when available, comes in those machines I keep hearing about (but have never seen in my area).

For those preparing these waters at home, the devices are different: RO is passive filtered in-line with plumbing, requiring no power, so in theory it can be continuous and endless in supply. Distilled water is boiled, so that is a major limiting factor in the volume that can be produced with 110V power.
 
There's no benefit in the composition of distilled vs. RO in any practical terms. Composition is not the reason why brewers seem to use RO more often.

It is more about the method by which each is procured. You can go to the store and buy either one in some places. Distilled comes in one gallon jugs. RO, when available, comes in those machines I keep hearing about (but have never seen in my area).

For those preparing these waters at home, the devices are different: RO is passive filtered in-line with plumbing, requiring no power, so in theory it can be continuous and endless in supply. Distilled water is boiled, so that is a major limiting factor in the volume that can be produced with 110V power.

Thanks, that's pretty much in line with what I believed but the idea that someone would prefer to use a distiller rather than an RO system at home gave me pause and made me wonder if there were some reason distilling would be worth the hassle and expense considering that a home RO system is cheaper and requires less hands-on effort.
 
Update:

Batch from last night is fermenting away just fine. Every batch of Mr. Beer I have made so far has acted the same way at the start so it seems consistent.

Looking forward to trying one in a few weeks!

-Altrez
 
Hello All,

I have a question. I took a sample of my brew from last night. It's a Mr. Beer Oktoberfest with a booster pack. I tested the sample with my Refarctometer and it read 12.6

I went to this website that I have read has the best calculator to use for conversion:

http://seanterrill.com/2012/01/06/refractometer-calculator/

The calculator says my final ABV should be around 9.9 and that seems really high to me. I calibrated the meter twice and ran the sample at room temp. Last night I also took a reading with my Hydrometer as well.

Does that sound right based on my readings?

:confused:

-Altrez

oktomrbeerkit01.jpg


oktomrbeerkit02.jpg


oktomrbeerkit03.jpg
 
No that doesn't sound right. If your using a Mr.Beer kit unaltered your ABV should be whatever the kit is telling you it will be.
To calculate your own ABV you need original gravity - final gravity * 131 = ABV.
So you need to know your starting brix then convert to SG then your final brix and convert to SG. THEN take your (OG-FG)*131 to = ABV.

I think by default the undoctored mr.beer kits come in around 4.5ABV.

Hope some of this helps
 
That site wants refractometer readings from before and after fermentation. You're showing us hydrometer readings for OG and current SG (possibly FG if it's finished by now) and one refractometer reading. You can't use that calculator without two brix values, so what numbers did you plug into that calculator to get your 9.9% ABV estimate?

Your hydrometer reads on the Specific Gravity scale, while your refractometer reads Brix (which equates almost 1:1 with the Plato scale that pros typically use and that I use because I broke my SG hydrometer and Plato hydrometers are easier to find in China). However, when I convert the OG reading on your hydrometer to Plato and put it into the calculator as the "Original RI" variable and use your refractometer reading as the "Final RI" variable, it tells me your brew has a negative value of alcohol. What that tells me is that there's something wrong with your refractometer reading. Your OG equates to roughly 10.9 Plato/Brix, while your FG reads as 12.6. I know alcohol in solution throws off refractometer readings (hence the calculator), but even with the correction factor your refractometer reading is telling us there's more sugar in your wort than there was before it fermented, which doesn't mesh with your hydrometer readings in the slightest.

My guess is that your refractometer is improperly calibrated or you somehow used it wrong. Going by your hydrometer readings your beer appears to have gone from 1.044 to 1.014, for an ABV of approximately 3.9%. That's a reasonable FG for a kit like this but might still be on the higher end of the range, so it's possible that you'll see it drop another couple points if you let it sit for another week or two, especially if you let it warm up a bit.
 
That site wants refractometer readings from before and after fermentation. You're showing us hydrometer readings for OG and current SG (possibly FG if it's finished by now) and one refractometer reading. You can't use that calculator without two brix values, so what numbers did you plug into that calculator to get your 9.9% ABV estimate?

Your hydrometer reads on the Specific Gravity scale, while your refractometer reads Brix (which equates almost 1:1 with the Plato scale that pros typically use and that I use because I broke my SG hydrometer and Plato hydrometers are easier to find in China). However, when I convert the OG reading on your hydrometer to Plato and put it into the calculator as the "Original RI" variable and use your refractometer reading as the "Final RI" variable, it tells me your brew has a negative value of alcohol. What that tells me is that there's something wrong with your refractometer reading. Your OG equates to roughly 10.9 Plato/Brix, while your FG reads as 12.6. I know alcohol in solution throws off refractometer readings (hence the calculator), but even with the correction factor your refractometer reading is telling us there's more sugar in your wort than there was before it fermented, which doesn't mesh with your hydrometer readings in the slightest.

My guess is that your refractometer is improperly calibrated or you somehow used it wrong. Going by your hydrometer readings your beer appears to have gone from 1.044 to 1.014, for an ABV of approximately 3.9%. That's a reasonable FG for a kit like this but might still be on the higher end of the range, so it's possible that you'll see it drop another couple points if you let it sit for another week or two, especially if you let it warm up a bit.

Hello,

I understand now. I have not taken a FG reading yet. The pictures I posted was of my OG and Starting brix.

Thanks for the help!

-Altrez
 
Hello,

I understand now. I have not taken a FG reading yet. The pictures I posted was of my OG and Starting brix.

Thanks for the help!

-Altrez

The first picture certainly appears to be an FG reading, or at least a reading late in ferementation. I guess that's another brew, then?
 
The first picture certainly appears to be an FG reading, or at least a reading late in ferementation. I guess that's another brew, then?

They are all test samples taken before pitching. The first picture is the Brix reading on the Hydrometer.

-Altrez
 
When I was right out of high school I worked in a feed testing lab. We used RO water for everything except gas spectrometer testing. RO water is consider pure and is far less cost to obtain. Unless you plan on a whole house RO system the amount of waste water is negligible. I back flushed the filters at the lab once a month and we used over 1,000 gallons of RO water per month.
 
I have finished testing the new fermentation chamber and it works great! So tomorrow I am going to brew a one gallon NB test batch. I am thinking about starting with Zombie dirt. Here is a pic of the data logging I did for the temperature.

-Altrez

chfpic.jpg
 
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