New house means new equipment.

wps-hbt
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
G

Grandmaster

Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2011
Messages
17
Reaction score
8
Location
Buckley
We bought a house and I get the garage. I wanted to brew indoors so electric was the way to go. I'm still setting it up but figured I would get a thread rolling. If you have any questions about the equipment I have, feel free to ask.

Nano Brewer from Colorado Brew Systems

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1442585716.320666.jpg
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1442585741.283775.jpg
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1442585759.662429.jpg

I looked into building my own but ended up settling on the system from Colorado Brewing. Could have pieced it together cheaper but in the end I just wanted to buy a system, so I could focus on attempting to organize and get the garage ready. Still working on that too.

Had the electrician over yesterday to wire it up. He didn't have a GFCI breaker so I won't be doing a wet test yet but it lights up pretty!

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1442586159.794984.jpg

For cooling I went with a ZChiller. Looks great. Fast turn around. Will know how well it works once I'm able to test it.

Super excited to get this rocking. I will add better photos once I get the area more organized.

Cheers,
Tim
 
Awesome! I'm looking at the same thing! Please keep updating this post with info and pictures. I just can't make up my mind.
 
Not sure what my first brew is going to be yet. Probably something cheap just incase it doesn't go as planned. I also have two 14g chronicals that I need to use for the first time too.

As far as the second pid. Ya I couldn't really commit to only one vessel forever so with this set up I can go back to standard 3 vessel if I want. Although I doubt I will want to.
 
Sounds great. We're on a similar track it sounds like - I just sold my 3v EHERMS setup to go a bit more simple. I just placed an order for the 15gal e-kettle from Colorado and will be building a simple BIAB panel. Also ordered two 12.5gal conicals.

Cheers!
 
I dig that sign above your control panel and your setup gives me a brewner.

Cheers and enjoy the new rig.
 
@huntb. You are right. I don't really know the difference. The one on the left is to control the boil.

I received my last package today. So once I get my 30 amp breaker swapped for a gfi one I will be good to go.
 
iijakii said:
So does your panel just future-proofing in regards to the second PID and element?
Click to expand...

Are you referring to the separate switches for the HLT/Mash and boil? I think those are standard for that model. I'm not seeing a second PID.
 
Very nice. You will enjoy the zchiller, very good product. I didn't see where you were located but I have had to add a pre chiller in the summer due to warmer ground water. However, the zchillers can literally knock the wort down to pitching temps quickly.
 
iijakii said:
Ah, looking back now I see that one is just a boil controller and not a PID.
Click to expand...

To be fair, they have a "down-under" and a "nano brewery modular" system that appear to be the same. But the modular system is supposed to be expandable for a 3v system even though the panel in the pictures seem identical. Might need to clarify with the manufacturer. Not to mention the "nano brewery dual" system that clearly seems to support two "down-under" systems with 1 control panel.

:drunk:
 
Ya the photos of the whole system show the same panel but if you look through the photo gallery of the nano you will see a different panel. Mine actually. Guess I'm the lucky first of the new version.

Got my last shipment today. Have a wedding to go to this weekend so I won't be able to get it all together. So it will be a few days before I get to update with anything new and exciting.
 
It will be interesting to hear how the pulley works on brew day. From the video it looks like it might be tough by yourself and I never have help when brewing.
 
Well been a busy week. No new photos yet but I did manage to get the ferm fridges moved into place. I also fired the system up for the first time to see how it runs and give it a good cleaning. This thing is sweet! Works great... so far.

As far as the pulley goes, I'm with ya on that. I will see tomorrow when I do my first brew on it. If all else fails I can just lift it out. Having a swing away arm would be a great improvement to the system.

So far I'm very happy with the system. It is everything I was looking for. No regrets. I look forward to using it for real though that's for sure. Looking like a pale ale will be ran through it tomorrow.
 
Nice system.

I am really liking their systems, but have a legit question (maybe stupid). So the 20 gallon "Pro Level" is $2600 and the EBIAB complete 20 gallon setup is $1100 with a basket, pump, etc. Other than ability for 2 pumps, possible expansion, a fancier control panel, stainless stand and pulley system what are you really gaining for that $1500 extra? In the end aren't they both 20 gallon EBIAB systems that are damn near identical?
 
I'm eager to hear how that first brew session goes. I'm close to buying one of these. One tip on the pulley is to use the lid upside down to hold the basket after most of it drips. I think that might help I if you need to get a better grip.
 
30Bones said:
Nice system.

I am really liking their systems, but have a legit question (maybe stupid). So the 20 gallon "Pro Level" is $2600 and the EBIAB complete 20 gallon setup is $1100 with a basket, pump, etc. Other than ability for 2 pumps, possible expansion, a fancier control panel, stainless stand and pulley system what are you really gaining for that $1500 extra? In the end aren't they both 20 gallon EBIAB systems that are damn near identical?
Click to expand...

"other than all this expensive stuff" -- lol!

But yeah, if you're not wanting to (or planning to) go to a multi-vessel setup then it doesn't make sense to do it over the BIAB rig.
 
one extra pump and a stand (albeit stainless) doesn't equal $1500, but maybe I am wrong. I do like the hoist system, but I planned to just use the garage ceiling and a small inexpensive winch
 
Ya the difference between the two now isn't much. The more expensive one gets a more fully loaded kettle, site glass extra port etc I believe. Both of which you really don't need. A better control panel with pump control, the cheaper one does not have pump control. And yes a very expensive but nice stand.

I was seriously thinking about going cheaper. Making my own stand. My own hoist and setting up a plug on a switch to control the pump but in in the end I just didn't feel like dealing with it!

Could have saved a chunk of money but I wanted the ability to expand if needed, granted will probably never need it. And a real nice setup that would just work out of the box, and look good.
 
30Bones said:
Nice system.

I am really liking their systems, but have a legit question (maybe stupid). So the 20 gallon "Pro Level" is $2600 and the EBIAB complete 20 gallon setup is $1100 with a basket, pump, etc. Other than ability for 2 pumps, possible expansion, a fancier control panel, stainless stand and pulley system what are you really gaining for that $1500 extra? In the end aren't they both 20 gallon EBIAB systems that are damn near identical?
Click to expand...

I think the standard options on the kettle are different but other than that you hit on most of the differences.

I think you might be under estimating the labor and maybe the parts. The pro system can probably be put together quickly compared to larger system. Not to mention it assumes you have all the tools to make the panel and steel frame. But if you did then it would take some decent amount of time to assemble it all. Now just figure what your time is worth and add that to the part list.

I'm sure someone also thinks the pro level system is overpriced. Shrug. It all depends on how handy you are and how much you prefer to do the labor yourself IMHO.
 
I was planning on building a nice wood table or buying a cheap stainless table. It doesn't need to be welding stainless tubing like a Brutus for example that's not seeing flames. I try to talk myself into spending more on the pro system, but keep going back to the cheaper model. We will see, I am not in a rush to buy more gear until after the holidays

For my pumps, I have always used a cheap Christmas tree light plug in remote key fob and just leave it in my pocket. No need to get up out of my chair :p
 
So I was able to get a brew in yesterday. Went just about as flawlessly as I think it could. Even the pulley setup that I was concerned about worked great. I was able to pull the basket to the side while I slowly let the rope out of my other hand.

The ZChiller was awesome too. I lowered the temp for a whirlpool and hop stand then once I was done with that pumped into conical at 65 degrees one pass, at full pump speed.

Overall very happy with the system. Need to figure out my boil off rate and how much I'm losing to hoses and chiller. And get my brew area actually set up. Way to crowded right now.
 
Grandmaster said:
So I was able to get a brew in yesterday. Went just about as flawlessly as I think it could.
Click to expand...

Awesome. Glad it all worked out. If you have any numbers to share on the grain/water amounts and/or efficiency numbers that would be interesting. Oh, did you keep track of the time from start to finish? Any issues with clean up?
 
pretzelb said:
Awesome. Glad it all worked out. If you have any numbers to share on the grain/water amounts and/or efficiency numbers that would be interesting. Oh, did you keep track of the time from start to finish? Any issues with clean up?
Click to expand...

Well although the brew went great the numbers are not the best. I calculate a 64% efficiency. I had 9.5 gallons make it in the fermenter. I did hit my gravity of 1.055 but the amount lost to boil off and hoses/chiller must have been much more than I anticipated. No doubt once I learn the system those numbers will go up.

As far as clean up. I just drained it. Rinsed it. Then with some of the water I saved from cooling I warmed up and did a PBW cycle. Followed by another rinse. Very easy but is time consuming. I probably took almost as much time cleaning as I did brewing. Was just letting the system run while I hung out with some friends.

Time? Well I flipped the system on at 5:40am, sober, and was 100% done with clean up and BS'ing with friends, no longer sober, by 1. Now the brew went much faster than that though. I didn't really keep track of a timeline too much.
 
Oh, grain and water? The recipe was a pale ale, 23 pounds of grain and 15 gallons of water to start. That did just about push the water/grain level over the top of the basket so I will have to mess with that also. When I pulled the basket it wasn't even half full.
 
Grandmaster said:
Oh, grain and water? The recipe was a pale ale, 23 pounds of grain and 15 gallons of water to start. That did just about push the water/grain level over the top of the basket so I will have to mess with that also. When I pulled the basket it wasn't even half full.
Click to expand...

Hmm, that is unexpected. I was thinking the capacity was larger. I need to go into Beersmith and see if I can simulate the capacity with some of my recipes. The biggest drawback that I can see is not having the room for large grain bills that might fit in a 15g 3v system.

Thank you very much for all the info.
 
So 1.055 or there abouts is the max you can get for a ~10 gallon batch? To do higher gravity you just need do 5-6 gallon batches. Seems fair, I don't want 10 gallons of high ABV anyway
 
30Bones said:
So 1.055 or there abouts is the max you can get for a ~10 gallon batch? To do higher gravity you just need do 5-6 gallon batches. Seems fair, I don't want 10 gallons of high ABV anyway
Click to expand...

10g of high gravity beer? Yes please! ;)

I'm getting greedy with my plans to upgrade. I certainly don't need that 10g of high gravity beer but I like the idea of having one batch to drink early and another to let age a long time. Probably not a good idea health wise but it would be fun.
 
I have to keep my sights at 5 gallons with 10 being a max is all. However I do like the idea of more options.
 
The pot is plenty big enough for a 10g high gravity beer. Would just have to incorporate a sparge or top up water of some sort. Which a sparge isn't a bad idea anyway.
 
Grandmaster said:
The pot is plenty big enough for a 10g high gravity beer. Would just have to incorporate a sparge or top up water of some sort. Which a sparge isn't a bad idea anyway.
Click to expand...

That is true. The only thing I don't like about that is having to change a process to fit a recipe. With a 3v system I think it would be hard to exceed the capacity of a even a15g mash tun due to the lower ratio of water to grains. I just have to decide if it's worth the extra expense and equipment.
 
I filled a keggle to the max on a RIS and that was not BIAB and a 5 gallon batch. Granted the OG was 1.10 or something super dumb
 

Similar threads

D
Requesting Picture of Colorado Brewing Nano Brewing 1BBL Frame
Replies
4
Views
304
delium55
D
G
Trying to narrow down options for a new AIO
Replies
7
Views
601
Bobby_M
Bobby_M
rmr9
Hefeweizen in Brewzilla
Replies
16
Views
398
rmr9
rmr9
wepeeler
Need to go electric...
2 3
Replies
107
Views
3K
wepeeler
wepeeler
David Coy
Power 1 and/or 2 Anvil Foundries at 240 from a 30 amp 240 spa panel
Replies
4
Views
636
David Coy
David Coy
InkBird 300

Latest posts

Back
Top