NattyBrew's Electric Brewery Build

[NattyBrew]

Kal,

I had the same concerns as you. I will be extending a four inch diameter vent pipe through the dryer vent block, removing the louvers which come stock on the unit, and then adding a 90 degree elbow upwards. I plan on playing with the actual amount, but will be adding maybe another foot of pipe up and one more 90 degree to the right to finish it off with a screen on the end of the pipe.

Essentially I am mimicking the "periscope" design seen with the exhaust of high efficiency furnaces which allow the hot exhaust to vent up and away from the air intake which is usually located right next to the exhaust. Hopefully this will eliminate the recirculation problem. I plan to dry fit the outside pieces so I can play with different lengths and decide how to best balance the height of the "periscope" with the reduction in CFM of the Vortex fan the extra length will bring fan preventing circulation back in through the window vent. I drew up some plans in another thread which I can drag over here once I have real computer access to give you a better idea of what I was thinking.

Matt

 

[kal]

Essentially I am mimicking the "periscope" design seen with the exhaust of high efficiency furnaces which allow the hot exhaust to vent up and away from the air intake which is usually located right next to the exhaust. Hopefully this will eliminate the recirculation problem.

Excellent. That should work fine. Not even sure how high you'd need to go given that high efficiency furnaces don't exhaust as much heat as a brewing setup like this (which is the whole point of an hi-eff furnace!).

There's a not of moisture generated with my brewing setup so even just having a small 90 elbow pointing down on the intake may be all you need. As long as the in and out aren't completely hidden in a window well or something you shouldn't have air pooling going on.

I drew up some plans in another thread which I can drag over here once I have real computer access to give you a better idea of what I was thinking.

No need - found it!: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f170/electric-brewery-ventilation-question-229091/

Kal

 

[greaper007]

Thanks! I was super pumped when my realtor showed me all the extra rooms that came with my brew room. Apparently it was part of some "housing package" special that they were running. I guess the deal was if you bought a brew room it came with three bedrooms, a bathroom, and even a kitchen! Pretty nice arrangement if you ask me

On a side note, anyone had experience learning how to solder copper plumbing on their own? I got a quote for what amounts to a 5 foot or so run of pipe so I can have a hose spigot for water in my brew room and it came out to $250-$300. I know the price of copper is super high, but for that much I think I might try and tackle it myself. Any advice from you DIYers out there??

Sweating copper is super easy. The hardest thing about it is getting the water out of the lines that you're sweating. I finally learned an old plumbers trick to help with that. Stick a piece of bread in the pipe and shove it up a few inches, it will soak up the water while you're heating the pipe and later disintegrate.

Otherwise the process is the same as any other soldering. Use flux and heat the pipe to the point that it melts the solder, not your torch.

I learned how to sweat pipes while working a construction job in college. We had a few carpenters that liked to use Columbian marching powder for workplace motivation. I was a glorified delivery driver, but I was often the only person on the job. When one of them went nuts with the nailgun and put a nail through a pipe, it was my job to learn how to solder a new piece in place. Luckily, the process was as easy at it looked.

 

[NattyBrew]

So a quick little update for everyone on the build. Progress has been slow but steady as I've tried my best to balance other pre-move in projects in the new house with progress on brewery. To be honest I keep finding myself coming up with reasons to to switch back to brewery....weird right? I don't know where my priorities are at.

Anyway, I got all the new electric run today for the brewery which was a royal PITA thanks to my finished basement. Super glad I have the extra downstairs space but damn, fishing wire through a finished ceiling is some super finicky work. I was able to get it run after a couple of hours struggling with some steel fish tape and some ingenuity and scrap wood I had on hand. Here's the 10/3 wire waiting for some conduit be run!

I also went with the Shark Bite fittings as a solution for running a cold water line to the new wall in my brew room. Honestly these things were hands down the simplest thing I've ever done. Gotta love inventions like which make projects SUPER simple!

Here is a shot of the new wall which I built, anchored to the concrete floor via wedge anchors which will provide some separation between the utilities and my brew room. You can also see a little bit of the water line rough in completed.

I will be covering the wall with 1/2" plywood sheeting and then some simple paneling I got for free from a friend who had some leftover from another project. It isn't the prettiest stuff, but it will work for now.

A close shot of the Shark Bite Drop Elbow and hose bib temporarily attached for testing purposes. I will be drilling a hole on the plywood/paneling and attaching the hose bib permanently once both layers of wall coverings are on.

A shot of the Shark Bite "T" fitting I used to tap into the existing cold water line and PEX tubing used to run the water.

One more shot of the plumbing rough in:

And now, for the brew stand and vent hood!

I didn't mention that is wasn't built yet did I? Oh well. More to come this week hopefully, including covering the separation wall, finishing of the electrical, and hopefully some ACTUAL progress on the brew stand.

As always, stay tuned and thanks for following!

Matt

 

[NattyBrew]

Another update with some Saturday progress made on my build. I am officially moving into the new house this coming weekend, so most of the build stuff will be put on the back burner this week with all the packing and moving prep work I will have to do. Moving sucks, you don't know how much crap you have until you have to pack it all in boxes

Anyway, here are a couple shots of the brewery with the new wall and electrical completed. The 10/3 wire was run in PVC conduit on the wall, which ended up being a royal pain without wire pulling lube. I thought I could get this ~10 foot run without the lube cross, so was not the case. You'll notice I changed hose bibbs to a ball style, quarter turn which I though would be easier to use than the one I had on. I know I take WAY too many pictures but I figure its better to document the build well so anyone out there interested can have all the looks they want.

 

[NattyBrew]

I also was able to get started on the stand build today, which despite a few horrible measurements on my part (carpentry is NOT my number one skill) came together pretty well. I think my main problem tends to be that whole measure twice, cut once mantra. I tend to eyeball, cut, curse when it doesn't fit, then re-cut. Not the most efficient, I know!

Here is the wood for the stand all pre-cut and waiting to be assembled:

And here is a shot of all the major components put together, minus the slats for the shelving of course. Even considering this thing will be holding several hundred pounds of liquid and grain, this thing is built like a tank.

Here is my Kal-esque build shot, though since my build was going down at 9 am it doesn't involve a beer but rather a starbucks coffee. Wait a second, beer would have been fine after 9....what was I thinking?

And of course the completed product in its new home!

My plan for the conduit run went nicely, the electric ended up right where I wanted it with the brew stand tucked in against the wall. You can also see the water tap with easy access for filling the HLT which will be the pot on the far left on my stand. It will be really nice to have a fill tap right there for the brewery, even though I am not including a sink due to space in my room.

 

[NattyBrew]

And the last chunk of my picture dump update....

With the electric all run, and brew stand built I finally have a temporary home for my control panel. Here she is plugged and and fired up for the first time. I had a small issue with the Amp and Volt meter tripping my GFCI constantly so ignore the numbers displayed as they aren't properly hooked up for now.

Shot of the bottom with the temp probes plugged in for programming and calibration purposes:

And here she is all lit up! Such a dorky/awesome moment to hear the "clunk" of the relay and watch all the lights come on.

And lastly I had a little time to plumb the March Pumps up. I didn't have the motivation to struggle with the Chinese Finger Trap braiding for the cord and plug, so I left that for another time, but here are a couple of shots of the pumps with the QD fittings and ball valves.

Again, sorry for the picture bombardment, I just had a lot of catching up to do! Happy brewing and look for more to come!

 

[kernal74]

Another update with some Saturday progress made on my build. I am officially moving into the new house this coming weekend, so most of the build stuff will be put on the back burner this week with all the packing and moving prep work I will have to do. Moving sucks, you don't know how much crap you have until you have to pack it all in boxes

Anyway, here are a couple shots of the brewery with the new wall and electrical completed. The 10/3 wire was run in PVC conduit on the wall, which ended up being a royal pain without wire pulling lube. I thought I could get this ~10 foot run without the lube cross, so was not the case. You'll notice I changed hose bibbs to a ball style, quarter turn which I though would be easier to use than the one I had on. I know I take WAY too many pictures but I figure its better to document the build well so anyone out there interested can have all the looks they want.

Not to rain on your parade but pulling romex through pvc is not the proper way to run it. Should have use stranded 10 g wire. Easier to pull and more "to code".

 

[rico567]

A great job, and impressive documentation. I'm to the point where it would be really nice to get out of the garage and off propane, and I've got a basement available. Running a water supply and a 240V circuit hold no terrors for me, as I've done both before, and the actual electric element in a pot is simple. But, sadly, the controls and all the rest of it are just too much -whether I go DIY or boughten- for someone who does <100 gal. per year.

 

[starrbrew]

Again, sorry for the picture bombardment, I just had a lot of catching up to do! Happy brewing and look for more to come!

Keep the pic dump comming! Looking good! :rockin:

 

[NattyBrew]

Not to rain on your parade but pulling romex through pvc is not the proper way to run it. Should have use stranded 10 g wire. Easier to pull and more "to code".

Well according to the NEC code, it actually is. Not trying to come off as "high and mighty here" but I did a good chunk of research on code before tackling this project to make sure I am at least attempting to make my wiring code compliant and I am pretty sure I did good!

Here is the section on exposed wiring in conduit, in unfinished basements:

334.15 Exposed Work. In exposed work, except as provided in 300.11(A), cable shall be installed as specified in 334.15(A) through (C).

(A) To Follow Surface. Cable shall closely follow the surface of the building finish or of running boards.

(B) Protection from Physical Damage. Cable shall be protected from physical damage where necessary by rigid metal conduit, intermediate metal conduit, electrical metallic tubing, Schedule 80 PVC conduit, or other approved means. Where passing through a floor, the cable shall be enclosed in rigid metal conduit, intermediate metal conduit, electrical metallic tubing, Schedule 80 PVC conduit, or other approved means extending at least 150 mm (6 in.) above the floor. Type NMC cable installed in shallow chases in masonry, concrete, or adobe, shall be protected and covered with plaster, adobe, or similar finish.

(C) In Unfinished Basements. Where cable is run at angles with joists in unfinished basements it shall be permissible to secure cables not smaller than two 6 AWG or three 8 AWG conductors directly to the lower edges of the joists. Smaller cables shall be run either through bored holes in joists or on running boards. NM cable on wall of an unfinished basement shall be permitted to be installed in a listed conduit or tubing or shall be protected in accordance with 300.4. Conduit or tubing shall be provided with a suitable insulating bushing or adapter at the point the cable enters the raceway. The NM cable sheath shall extend through the conduit or tubing and into the outlet or device box not less than 6 mm (1&#8260;4 in.). The cable shall be secured within 300 mm (12 in.) of the point where the cable enters the conduit or tubing. Metal conduit, tubing, and metal outlet boxes shall be connected to an equipment-grounding conductor.

Thanks for all the post guys, more to come. :rockin:

 

[Sparky]

NB,

Sorry, but you should have run single, stranded (THWN) through that pipe, not romex.
Take a look at the code again, look at the marking on your romex, and then you will know why.

Also, you should have run EMT, not PVC in the exposed area. I won't go into all the reasons why EMT is used, but not sure why you used PVC? Even then, your PVC would need to be schedule 80 for your use.

Also, is flex (plumbing) allowed? Not in my area... in yours?

Panel and other stuff looks great. Ventilation will be important!

 

[NattyBrew]

Well I stand corrected, without having to crack open my copy of the NEC, what's the reason/section for pulling stranded wife through the conduit and not Romex? Wouldn't the wire be "extra" protected inside the romex jacket? To fix could I pull the wire back the wire back out of the conduit, remove the sheath, and re-feed?

I went with PVC because I figured it to be a little easier to work and to be honest I kind of liked the look better than shiny EMT. The PVC I used is schedule 80, so assuming there are any really back effects from not using EMT, I hope I would be ok there.

Thanks for the insight Sparky, the NEC code book is huge and I thought I had cited the right section for my setup. Obviously I need to read back up! Thanks for keeping me straight and sorry to the previous poster it sounds like you were right!

Matt

 

[Sparky]

Hi Matt,

Thanks for your post and looks like you have a great build!

The romex-in-conduit issue has to do (mainly) with heat. Romex is typically a couple single coated wires, with a paper wrap, AND the outer sheath - containing all the wires.

The (main) issue is that while running romex through conduit adds an extra layer of protection, it restricts the romex another layer. Depending on the size of the conduit, the romex may be more or less restrictive (air space around the wire). Wires do produce heat, depending upon the size/length/amps, etc. That heat can cause issues such as degradation of the system, in various ways.

Other reasons are the sheath & wire ratings of the romex, etc. Sometimes these are in wet locations and that romex paper sheath turns into a soggy, degenerating clump.

But, you should be fine since it is indoor and not a big run + (wow!) you used schedule 80 (not cheap!).

I hope I did not sound snarky in my earlier response and I look forward to more pictures of your build!

 

[milldoggy]

Edit - nonsense, sorry.

Sparky, what about derating? Is that only when you have more than 3 current carry wires?

 

[Sparky]

Sparky, what about derating? Is that only when you have more than 3 current carry wires?

Yes! Quite a few derating factors:
- more than 3 current conductors
- conduit fill
- wire type
- run length
- loads
- etc.

So many things to consider. But, overall, proper grounding goes a long way.
"Ding-ding, time for show-and-tell"

Okay, speaking of safe electrical practices, here is a photo of a cheap GFCI outlet, that was wired properly (breaker did NOT trip), getting too much condensation:


Okay, I'll probably get banned for going OT or drinking martinis (again).

 

[NattyBrew]

I hope I did not sound snarky in my earlier response and I look forward to more pictures of your build!

No Sparky, not a problem at all. I am by no means a professional electrician, and do not assume I know all the rules. I am glad to get corrected from someone who knows better than me about this stuff. Like I said, my intentions are there in terms of reading the NEC code book and trying to keep things to code, but obviously I am not going to get everything right.

Considering that I used Schedule 80 PVC, I think I am going to go ahead and leave the Romex run through the conduit unless anyone else harps in and says this is a big time danger thing. The run is short (less than 10 ft. in the conduit) so I hope the heat issue you spoke of won't be a big problem.

For my future knowledge, and in case I choose to re-run this, I would need to do the following:

1) Terminate the Romex wire in a PVC junction box.
2) Tail in four individual strands of 10 AWG THWN with wire caps in the junction box.
3) Proceed to run the stranded wire through the conduit to my outlet.

Am I correct here? Thanks as always for the advice Sparky, and everyone else for that matter, keeping people safe!

Happy brewing and more to come!

Matt

 

[milldoggy]

Is your entire run of cable in conduit? if not, I thought conduit and romex is safe and in code.

if it makes you feel better, I ran 8 gauge romex in 1 1/4 pvc(gray stuff, think it is 80) for 18 feet. I brewed twice and no fire. the conduit stays cool.

 

[NattyBrew]

No, the entire run is not in conduit. The total run length from panel to my outlet is right at 50 feet of wire, with the final 10 feet or less being in the conduit seen in my pics above. I think I am going to leave it the way it is for now, romex in the schedule 80 PVC since it's such a short run. I know that it probably falls a little short of code, so a small slap on the wrist for me there.

Thanks for all the insight Sparky and Mild, it's much appreciated! I really enjoy how much people with the right knowledge look at for others on this site most of the time. Good stuff!

Matt

 

[Feurhund]

Does this 10/3 wire need to be in a conduit running inside a wall or under the floor joists in an unoccupied crawl space. That would be my path to my brewing wall from the laundry room dryer outlet on my first floor. Thanks and sorry for piggybacking, but it is in the same vein.

 

[milldoggy]

Since it is not the entire run, I think it is fill factor that does not matter, not romex, but my uneducated guess is you are fine.

 

[NattyBrew]

Just a quick update for those of you out there interested. It sounds like the section of code I quoted before applies to "sleeving" Romex cable for protection purposes which is allowed under a grey section of the NEC.

I called city of Cincinnati inspection office and was told that sleeving romex wire is allowed as long as the run is short, and indeed not a completely enclosed conduit system. I was told this is used a lot in basements where wire is run in the joists of the ceiling above, to a wall, and then down the surface of a concrete wall to a surface mounted outlet and/or switch. The guy I spoke to on the phone said that it depends on what inspector you would get as to whether sleeving would get picked on or not. He said that personally in my situation, he would rather see the Romex cable sleeved in the proper conduit than simply run down the wall to my receptacle unprotected.

So it sounds like as long as I am using the proper conduit, EMT or Schedule 80 in my case, and I am adhering to the conduit fill guidelines (which I believe I am with one 10/3 romex wire in my conduit), and securing the wire within 12 inches of the entrance into the conduit sleeve I should be a-ok.

Matt

 

[milldoggy]

Btw, what size is that conduit? 1 1/4 inch?

 

[NattyBrew]

It's actually only 1/2" conduit, which after some worried research today I think is too small. I found that the cross sectional area of 10-3 romex is supposedly .1399 square inches with a max fill rule per NEC at .161 square inches based one one wire, at 53% fill. This is also using the assumption that:

A multiconductor cable of two or more conductors shall be treated as a single conductor for calculating percentage conduit fill area. For cables that have elliptical cross sections, the cross-sectional area calculation shall be based on using the major diameter of the ellipse as a circle diameter.

Per the numbers it looks fine, but I can't confirm the cross sectional area of the romex anywhere else.

At this point I am seriously considering taking down my work and re-running with all the points that have been brought up. If I did that I may end up going with EMT of the proper size, THHN connectors in the conduit, etc. and just get this thing right on code.

 

[trevor_b]

Wonderful build! Subscribed.

 

[phidelt1499]

Great build! I have one question though, if you have ran 10/3 wire to your outlet, how are you grounding the 240V? With 10/3 you would have hot/hot/neutral, right? I thought grounding through the neutral was a no-no anymore...

The reason I noticed this, is that I'm building an electric setup myself and in my old (built early 70s) house, I have a 50A 240V outlet already in the garage, but it's the old NEMA 10 outlet, not the NEMA 14 (clothes dryer), thus I'm missing a ground and contemplating a re-wire with 10/4 wire.

 

[NattyBrew]

10/3 wire is the common name for wire with 3 conductors and a ground wire. Its a pretty common confusion because the "3" refers only to the conductors and doesn't count the ground. So in my application, my 10/3 romex actually has four wires: red (hot), black (hot), white (neutral), and bare copper (ground).

Matt

 

[milldoggy]

Great build! I have one question though, if you have ran 10/3 wire to your outlet, how are you grounding the 240V? With 10/3 you would have hot/hot/neutral, right? I thought grounding through the neutral was a no-no anymore...

The reason I noticed this, is that I'm building an electric setup myself and in my old (built early 70s) house, I have a 50A 240V outlet already in the garage, but it's the old NEMA 10 outlet, not the NEMA 14 (clothes dryer), thus I'm missing a ground and contemplating a re-wire with 10/4 wire.

You might want to check your garage plug. Shut off the power and open it up, you might find the fourth wire, ground, tied to the box.

 

[milldoggy]

It's actually only 1/2" conduit, which after some worried research today I think is too small. I found that the cross sectional area of 10-3 romex is supposedly .1399 square inches with a max fill rule per NEC at .161 square inches based one one wire, at 53% fill. This is also using the assumption that:

A multiconductor cable of two or more conductors shall be treated as a single conductor for calculating percentage conduit fill area. For cables that have elliptical cross sections, the cross-sectional area calculation shall be based on using the major diameter of the ellipse as a circle diameter.

Per the numbers it looks fine, but I can't confirm the cross sectional area of the romex anywhere else.

At this point I am seriously considering taking down my work and re-running with all the points that have been brought up. If I did that I may end up going with EMT of the proper size, THHN connectors in the conduit, etc. and just get this thing right on code.

No where close to an expert, but I think fill does not apply since you are using conduit for protection. Did you fish the wire through or push it? How many 90's you have. Again no expert.

 

[phidelt1499]

You might want to check your garage plug. Shut off the power and open it up, you might find the fourth wire, ground, tied to the box.

Yeah, I did that at first. No ground. Just two hots and a neutral. I have a friend who is a licensed electrician so we'll probably just run new wire.

 

[NattyBrew]

No where close to an expert, but I think fill does not apply since you are using conduit for protection. Did you fish the wire through or push it? How many 90's you have. Again no expert.

Mild you absolutely beat me to the punch! I have been WAY over researching this thing and found that like most codes, there is a ton to learn. To the best of my research, my system is technically a "sleeve" for protection of the NM-B cable, and not a conduit system since it does not run completely between one electrical box to another. There is nothing I can find in my 2008 NEC handbook that prohibits Romex from being run in conduit, and I can only find confirmation that Romex should be protected with a sleeve of conduit in exposed locations where the wire could be damaged via 334.15.

I also found verification that conduit fill rules do not apply to my setup in Chapter 9, Table 1, Note 2 that:

Table 1 applies only to complete conduit or tubing systems and is not intended to apply to sections of conduit or tubing used to protect exposed wiring from physical damage.

So as far as my reading of the NEC, my protective sleeve is not required to meet NEC fill rules, even though by my calculations above it does and just barely! I have been wrong before, and I still may be here, but I think with the amount of research and reading I've done with my copy of the NEC I am confident my setup is very safe and 99% within code.

I think I will stop beating Barbaro here (too soon?) and move on to more of my build!

 

[milldoggy]

that sucks, but having a friend that is an electrician is a a good friend to have.

 

[Sparky]

Hi guys,

Sorry to chime in, but I could not resist....
First, let me stipulate your installs will (most likely) be fine and all is okay. I just want to clarify on the code issues and experiences.

(1) Romex run through conduit: For heat, fill, pipe size, run length, etc. reasons mentioned in your other post on a different thread. Then, there is the entry/termination of romex in conduit which comes into play. If we ran ANY length of ANY romex in conduit, the inspector would walk out (San Francisco Bay area). I think your local inspectors are thinking about shorter (6') runs.

(2) Wire fill. I know of no section in the NEC that shows wire fill calculations of ROMEX for any pipe of any size. Conductors (single) - yes, but a sheath romex? Where?

But, cramming a 10/3 romex in a 1/2" PVC pipe is not good. At least give it a little more space. And, I am more worried about the entry and termination, with good ground, bonding, and access to both points. But, I like your protection as long as the drywall hooligans do not pound screws/nail through the PVC.

(3) Wire fill AND de-rating. Ahh, there is also the point in 310 about de-rating 50% of the fill. Gets back to the temperature issue listed above. How do I know? Since the San Francisco inspector COUNTS the wires in the pipe. Think you can cram (18) 12 THWN wires in a 3/4 EMT conduit? Make that (9) wires + ground.

Look, the point of this is not for me to be a pee-pee face, but just that there is lots of gray areas and "street smart" issues with the code. I spend endless days with State Engineers going over the nuances of the code and interpretation. I just want to shed some light on these areas.

 

[NattyBrew]

Sparky,

As always, your insight is awesome. I did my fill interpretation from the note in Table 9 of the NEC which states that a multi conductor cable of two or more conductors shall be treated as a single conductor for calculating percentage conduit fill area. For cables with elliptical cross sections, the cross sectional area calculation shall be based on using the major diameter of the ellipse as a circle diameter.

Taking the dimensions of 10/3 Romex at 422 mils got me to my Cross Sectional Area of .1399 I mentioned before, which if I was referencing the right table kept me under the 53% fill rule for my PVC.

With your suggestion of bigger PVC I may just take it down and run a complete conduit system with two boxes and THHN wire running in between. I obviously am not trying to cut corners here, just trying to work through code and bounce my thought processes off you while I can.

In short: to run a completely code system I would need a j box to terminate the romex with a proper clamp, and then conduit containing THHN run to my outlet box on the wall, and to be safe using 3/4" schedule 80 or EMT? Is there a code preference for using sweep versus pull elbows? And per my understanding wire inside a complete conduit system need not to be clamped as it enters my outlet box correct?

Sorry for the bombardment of questions here, just trying to get it right!

 

[Sparky]

NB, I would leave it up. Just make sure
- the pipe is not cutting into the romex where it enters (like a friction point).
- it is grounded in the panel and box
- do not exceed the load of 30amps and preferably not exceed 24 amps
- it is a GFCI circuit

Again, I apologize if I am being over-the-top. I see too many issues out in the field! But, I like your number crunching.

 

[NattyBrew]

Alright sounds good, thanks again for the insight here Sparky. Awesome help you've provided. Any craft beer here in the Ohio/Michigan area I could send along as a thanks?

I currently have a 1/2" plastic bushings on the end of the PVC where the Romex cable enters the conduit to protect against any sort of damage to the cable sheath. Assuming that should be the proper protection for the cable at that entry point? I do have the 10/3 wire properly connected to the ground bus bar at the circuit breaker panel and at the outlet point. I confirmed proper grounding at both points via my multimeter, and confirmed that I indeed have 240 volts across both hots and 120 volts across either hot and the ground or neutral.

I am building a near 100% copy of Kals build which never pulls more than 24 amps per his experience, so I should stay within the 80% rule on draw capacity here. If I can finally get my Amp meter to cooperate on my panel, I will be able to confirm and monitor my amp draw on my outlet at all times to make sure I indeed stay within my goal of 24 Amps. Hopefully that will limit some of the concerns with heat build up and the like.

Finally moving into the new house this weekend, so this whole week is full of packing. Honestly is there anything worse than having to pack all your crap in to boxes? Going to be a long week. Hopefully I can get back to the important stuff next week!

Matt

 

[NattyBrew]

Another HUGE update for all the viewers out there. The project is moving along quite nicely this week as I've had more time to focus on the brewery build with less unpacking and organizing to do. Now that I am pretty much settled, its time to dive head first into the last half of my build!

Was able to finish the build of the March Pumps by adding the flexible wire guard and replacing the stock three prong plugs with the Leviton 120V locking plugs needed for connection to my control panel. Here they are all cleaned up and ready for their pump stand.

Next up was a quick and easy build of the pump stands, I just copied Kal's design here as I liked the idea of using the extra piece of stainless steel from the Blichmann Boilermakers as a sort of splash guard for the pumps. I haven't received the kettles yet due to the backorder at Blichmann but I went ahead and built the stands to proper specs to use the metal once it arrives.

 

[NattyBrew]

I got a nice little package of goodies from More Beer this week which allowed me to tackle the next piece, the plumbing of the counterflow chiller:

Plumbing up the counterflow chiller was quick and painless, just added a couple of fittings, a stainless "T", and a thermometer to monitor your wort temperature and you're done!

While I was in the plumbing mood, I went ahead and did a quick assembly of the silicone hoses. Here are all five hoses assembled and ready for use.

 

[NattyBrew]

After tackling some of the simpler projects, it was time to move on to more of a challenge and the last piece of wood working in my brewery build. I decided not to go the stainless steel hood route and just build my own out of a wood lined with several sections of FRP panels. The 4x8 sheets of white FRP I bought from Lowe's is an extremely common wall covering for bathrooms because of it stands up to tons of abuse and is suitable for wet conditions.

I think it will work well as a interior lining for my hood, will help protect the wood from all the steam and condensation which will be produced by the boil. First step in making the hood was to create a box shape which will be the frame of the hood. In an attempt to match the brew stand I went with two rectangles made out of 2x6 wood, stacked on top of each other to give my my 11" deep hood.

Here is the first square put together:

I used the same lag screws I used when building the stand to secure the box on the front side of the hood, again in an attempt to match the way my brew stand is built.

No need for the lag screws on the back side because you won't see them and I want the hood to be pressed right up against the wall to prevent any steam from escaping around the back. Just used wood screws here.

And here are the two rectangle stacked to show you the end shape I am am aiming for.

I was able to prop up the top section of the hood so I could mark where my floor joists are located. I have access to four floor joists above the span of my hood and will be tapping into all four to help carry the load of the hood.

 

[NattyBrew]

After marking where my floor joists were located, I took the top piece down and attached 2x4s across the top of the hood, so that I could use "L" brackets to attach the hood to each of the four floor joists. The 2x4s also serve as a method to attach the plywood which is laid into the bottom of the box. The two rectangles are attached to each other via 2.5" wood screws.

And here is the hood with the plywood sheathing installed and attached to the 2x4s seen in the picture above.

After assembling the hood frame, it was time to prep the hole where my 6" PVC exhaust tubing will enter the hood. I usually suck at cutting holes with a jig saw, but this ended up with a perfect fit!

Here are my two color options for staining all the wood involved in my brew stand, pump stand, hood, and mounting plate for the control panel.

My first option, and my favorite, is "New Redwood" from Cabat Stains