My E-BIAB Setup

[meshbackhats]

This is my setup for 3 gallon BIAB batches. I use an electric heating element and a controller with a PID. I also use a small pump to reticulate during mash. I recently moved into an apartment and could not bring my all grain brewing equipment. This setup has made me fall back in love with brewing. It is so simple to brew and hit all your numbers… it is super consistent and easy to clean. I honestly am not missing my 5 gallon setup.

 

[craigmw]

This is my setup for 3 gallon BIAB batches. I use an electric heating element and a controller with a PID. I also use a small pump to reticulate during mash. I recently moved into an apartment and could not bring my all grain brewing equipment. This setup has made me fall back in love with brewing. It is so simple to brew and hit all your numbers… it is super consistent and easy to clean. I honestly am not missing my 5 gallon setup.

Looks like a great setup! Are you using a 120V element, or do you have access to a 220V? Is 120V sufficient to bring a 3g batch to a boil in a reasonable time?

 

[meshbackhats]

Looks like a great setup! Are you using a 120V element, or do you have access to a 220V? Is 120V sufficient to bring a 3g batch to a boil in a reasonable time?

Yes, I am using 120V 15 amps. I am using a 1500 watt element which draws a bit less than 15 amps. I only have 15 amps to work with in my Apt. I've been brewing a finished 3-3.5 gallons of beer and have had had no issues with boiling the total column. I have boiled up to 4.5 gallons of wort with no issues. It does not take all that long to get up to to mash temp- it also does not take long to get from mahout to boil. I have about 6 brews under my belt and I am really enjoying it. It also gives me an excuse to brew more and play with new recipes. I love the fact I can just set the mash temp and not worry about anything- really takes the stress out of brewing.

 

[Woodbrews]

I also use a small pump to reticulate during mash.

I noticed what looks like a camlock fitting on your lid; how are you recirculating the wort during the mash? Do you have a hose or some sort of spray nozzle on the inside of the lid?

Thanks -- love the setup!

Woodbrews

 

[meshbackhats]

I noticed what looks like a camlock fitting on your lid; how are you recirculating the wort during the mash? Do you have a hose or some sort of spray nozzle on the inside of the lid?

Thanks -- love the setup!

Woodbrews

I use a hose:

 

[Woodbrews]

Wow, that looks eerily similar to my setup (see pic). I'm about to punch a hole in my lid for wort recirculation. My fitting is a standard bulkhead with female 1/2" threads. I'll put a male camlock on top (female camlocks on both ends of my hose) and maybe a hose barb and short length of silicon hose on the inside of the lid. Do you have any kind of speed control on that pump? Thanks!

 

[meshbackhats]

Wow, that looks eerily similar to my setup (see pic). I'm about to punch a hole in my lid for wort recirculation. My fitting is a standard bulkhead with female 1/2" threads. I'll put a male camlock on top (female camlocks on both ends of my hose) and maybe a hose barb and short length of silicon hose on the inside of the lid. Do you have any kind of speed control on that pump? Thanks!

Nice Build!! I just adjust the valve to set the flow of the pump. I have not had any issues with that method.

 

[eonsend]

Awesome build! Did you build the controller yourself or did you buy it from somewhere?

 

[meshbackhats]

Awesome build! Did you build the controller yourself or did you buy it from somewhere?

I got it from electrichomedistillery.com
it works well.

 

[eonsend]

Thanks! This controller may make it feasible for me to add recirculation to my own eBIAB rig!