Final fittings installed, two cycles of PBW run through the system and everything is ready to go! I need to make a few little changes and get a couple more fittings to make everything as I'd like it but it's functional. I also found out that I need to get a different brand of remote switches. One of the switches works great, the other turns both pumps on. I can turn pump 1 off after the 2nd switch turns it on but it's a pain in the ass. The only other thing that I'll want to do is to mark the volume graduations on the boil kettle dip tube.
The HLT is just about perfect. The pick-up tube sucks all but about a half-cup from the keg.
The MLT needs a bit of work. I have a mash-recirculation hole and the sparge ring. I wasn't thinking clearly when I drilled the hole for the recirculation fitting and it's directly in-line with the ring so I need to come up with a work-around for that. If I have to make a 2nd ring, I am going to put half of the holes into the top of the ring and the other half to the inside so that they all point toward the center of the keg. Also, I mis-located the hole for the MLT spigot - it's too high. I need to get a "taller" dip tube. I don't know where things went wrong there, I put a quarter-inch spacer under the tube, marked a hole and drilled. Oh well.
The boil kettle should be good. the pick up tube leaves about two pints of liquid in the keg and the recirculation tube works pretty good. I may have to point it more toward the bottom of the keg as I don't weather or not it would work with a 5 gallon batch. I thought it would put more of a spin on the water but we'll see how that works out once I have hop and hot break material to deal with.
I hope to run the first five gallon batch through it tomorrow - unless I get a fire under me and run to the LHBS to get another round of ingredients to go 10 gal.
I think I'm going to get a plastic oil-pan thing to catch the liquid when I disconnect the quick fittings. This system will create a much bigger mess than my old one.
This is the sparge ring when I had the valve on the pump most of the way open. When I dial it back, it slows down to a perfect trickle. I think I'm going to like this.
If any of you are doing this project, let me give you a few tips that I wish I would have had.
1. Don't use a regular angle grinder brush on stainless steel.
2. KNOW where you want the holes in the kegs before drilling them.
3. Put the thermometer on the right of the spigot on the HLT, above it on the MLT and to the LEFT of the spigot on the boil kettle.
4. Get two different brands of remote switches.
5. Set up the system to do 5 and 10 gallon batches - thermometer holes that are too high do you no good for smaller batches.
to be continued.