Rate my ventilation idea - diy hood

[macebrew]

I am in the process of building out my basement to brew electric. We will be brewing 5-10 gallon batches on a spike system. Figure about 1.5 gallon boil off on average.

I am looking for advice If this hood/ vent idea would work. I have attached a couple pictures of the space.

NOTE THE CARDBOARD IS JUST FOR MOCK UP PURPOSES. The hood would be framed with wood - and then painted or stainless panels.

My question is - if we place the boil kettle directly in front of the window And install a window fan, box fan.. blowing out would that be enough? Or do I need to go with duct work and in-line fans and all of that stuff?

My thinking is the hood traps the steam right above the kettle and just not sure if those household style window fans would work.

 

[day_trippr]

When I first set up my new brew space at the beginning of the boil on the first outing I discovered my ventilation blower motor had a thermal cutout switch. My work-around that day was to stick a 20" box fan in front of a window roughly 8 feet from the boil kettle and open another window roughly 8 feet on the far side of the hlt. The cross ventilation was adequate enough to get through the day.

With your window being smack at the back of the bk I expect a box fan would work quite well.

The hood mock-up seems like it stops short of the hlt (I presume that's the hlt at the right end). Before I started pre-boiling my brew day water that would have been fine but since then I need the ventilation at that end of the rig to be almost as effective as over the boil kettle end as I split the total volume between the bk and hlt for the pre-boil, then shift excess bk volume to the hlt before strike...

Cheers!

 

[Gameface]

OP are you aware of the steam condenser option?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/...denser-no-overhead-ventilation-needed.636955/

 

[macebrew]

Thanks for the response. Yes I am not sure how wide I want to make the hood. I figured the wider I make it the less effective the box fan - hood right over the kettle becomes. More room for the steam to move around vs. going outside.

I have read that the hood really only needs to be BK? I’m open to making it wider if it provides more benefits.

What do you mean by pre- boiling brew day water?

 

[macebrew]

OP are you aware of the steam condenser option?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/...denser-no-overhead-ventilation-needed.636955/

Yes I have read about 1/2 that thread so far. Looking for the cliff note version! Ha. That requires me drilling a new hole into my kettle correct? I wasn’t able to find a parts list or where to buy or cost yet in the thread.

I figure this hood / box fan would cost me under $80 ( I have a fan)

 

[day_trippr]

[...]
I have read that the hood really only needs to be BK? I’m open to making it wider if it provides more benefits.
What do you mean by pre- boiling brew day water?

"Low Oxygen Brewing" (aka LoDO). I pre-boil the brew day water to knock the oxygen out of it to cut down oxidative effects on the mash. I split the total volume between the bk and hlt for speed, boil them up, then shift water from the bk to the hlt to get down to the needed strike volume and end up with the needed sparge volume in the hlt, respectively.

Which means there shall be steam emanating from the hlt, something that wasn't really an issue before the LoDO practice, so I had to improve my eventual ducting to take that on. If you aren't planning on following that practice then the ducting requirement for the hlt end are greatly reduced...

Cheers!

 

[Elky]

Yes I have read about 1/2 that thread so far. Looking for the cliff note version! Ha. That requires me drilling a new hole into my kettle correct? I wasn’t able to find a parts list or where to buy or cost yet in the thread.

I figure this hood / box fan would cost me under $80 ( I have a fan)

Clifnotes version: Uses less power to boil, lose less volume to boil off (less strike water, quicker temp ramp), works great and you already have a sink next to your BK which is ideal.

Buy it from Brew Hardware https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/steamslayer.htm

or

Buy it from Brew-Boss https://www.brew-boss.com/Condenser-Boss-Boil-Kettle-Condenser-p/cb-bb-apmount.htm

 

[Brewbuzzard]

Ok Macebrew, here is what I have found. I have a 240 sq ft brewery in my back yard. I was going to install a large venthood and was using a fan mounted to the top of the doorframe until I installed the hood. I have 27 gal kettles and it worked fine except we kept having to duck everytime we went in and out the door. If you get a strong fan that moves a lot of air it should work just fine. Also, the air moving across the bottom of the hood should give the venturi effect and draw all the steam out. As for the Steam Slayer (condenser), it works great for me. I had to recalibrate my system because I went from 14% evaporation rate to 4.5%. I mounted mine in the lid so I have the same starting volume. You also need less power or heat to maintain a good boil. I keep a lid on my HLT and there is no noticeable steam in the building.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I brew with a fan in the window behind my brew kettle without a hood and I am satisfied. I suggest you try boiling with just the fan and see if your pleased...

A box fan moves a lot of air.

 

[haeffnkr]

I vote for Box Fan as well..... it works. I have tried to make hoods in the past, condensation dripping back in the BK, it was a mess. Go simple, go with what works, box fan on high will work well for you in that setup.