Three (almost) Finished Keggles

[bellecitybrewer]

I finally got my three keggles put together. I also completed my homemade sight glass! I still have to do a water test to check for leaks, finish my dip tubes, and finish the recirculation elbows, but I'm definitely making progress! Tell me what ya think...

 

[Jaybird]

Everything looks killer. The False Bottom looks like it will buckle under a full grain load but other than that ....Just kidding! That looks like a well thought out plan for a 3 kettle system! Well done. What does your stand look like?
I really was kidding!! Well Done!
Jay

 

[bellecitybrewer]

Haha yeah, i bought that false bottom a while ago before i knew about yours jaybird... My bad... haha Anyway, heres what my stand looks like. I still have to mounts the burners, pump, chiller, etc.... But at least you can get an idea on what she's like...

 

[Gunfighter04]

Stout! I like it. none of this maby-pamby wimpy brewing here.

 

[keeku]

Looks like you could rest a car on that beast. Awesome!

What part of town are you in? My parents are west of the I in Raymond.

 

[bellecitybrewer]

just east of the I and about a mile dead north of franksville

 

[Atl300zx]

Is this correct?

HLT (far left) - top elbow is for water in, bottom valve is water out?
MLT (middle) - top elbow to viewing glass is to see how clear ur wort is on recirc, bottom valve is the wort drain
BK (right) - nothing to explain here, wort out

 

[bellecitybrewer]

Yes, you are correct. I am planning on picking up another march pump soon so that i can recirculate both the mash and the hlt. I made a little stainless tee with a thermometer in it just like the ones on the original brutus ten, except mine is an analgog thermometer, not digital. Thats why i have upper ports on both the hlt and the mlt.

 

[bellecitybrewer]

And jaybird, my buddy has a false bottom of yours and I'm definitely wishing I would have bought one too. His seems alot better built than mine...dammit

 

[Jaybird]

And jaybird, my buddy has a false bottom of yours and I'm definitely wishing I would have bought one too. His seems alot better built than mine...dammit

LOL I was just playing around! But thanks for the complement. Your system looks killer! Well done for sure!!
Cheers
Jay

 

[atoyot]

Are those mig welds?

 

[bellecitybrewer]

I'm not quite sure. I took them to a welder and I'm not exactly sure what he did. Its amazing how fast these brewing setups grow. This pic is from my first brew, last October. All-extract basement brew. It's only been 7 months since then, and I'm now well on my way to a single tier system. Is that considered borderline obsession? haha

 

[Jaybird]

It's only been 7 months since then, and I'm now well on my way to a single tier system. Is that considered borderline obsession?

NOPE!! You are right on track!!! LOL

 

[tasq]

I'm not quite sure. I took them to a welder and I'm not exactly sure what he did.

This scares me, as I went the same route and got burned. It looks like bad mig welds to me as well. Have you left a kettle full of water overnight yet?

Watch out for rust.

 

[bellecitybrewer]

I'm planning on doing a full water test tomorrow. If for some odd reason they arent water tight, the welder said he would fix them. I hope It doesn't come down to that. Lol

 

[tasq]

I'm planning on doing a full water test tomorrow. If for some odd reason they arent water tight, the welder said he would fix them. I hope It doesn't come down to that. Lol

Hope you have better luck than I did. I ended up with 3 new kegs.

 

[Golddiggie]

Great inspiration for when I'm able to build up my 10 gallon batch rig... Only reason I'm not further along on it is due to an ******* landlord... BUT, I plan to change that in the coming months. Just holding off on moving until I know, exactly, what state I'll be working in. Looking to get a new job in Maine, or get transferred to Maine (and hired) by the company I'm contracting for right now. I'd be about 4 hours from Boston (NORTH BABY!!) and loving it... :rockin:

I'm still playing with the keggle vs kettle decision... Both have merits.

 

[bellecitybrewer]

I was back and forth on keggles vs kettles. In the end, it was the absolute tank like qualities of kegs that won me over. They're just so damn tough. You have to figure that kegs are built to be thrown around behind bars for 20 years and still be serviceable. Another thing is the fact that they're cost is soo low compared to stainless kettles. I got my from some college party in Milwaukee. Some guys were drunk one night and drilled holes in the top trying to attach a seat to them. Since it didn't work out, they sold em to me for ten bucks each! I figured since someone else ruined the kegs, i was in the clear for buying em... haha

 

[Golddiggie]

I'll have to weigh both options when it's time for me to get the new rig setup. With any luck (at all) I'll have access to either the kegs, or someone that can weld them for me.

Any new hardware I'm getting is geared with that goal in mind. Such as the new plate chiller I have on order (due in next week) the quick disconnects coming (some with the chiller, some from Austin HBS), etc... I even picked up more silicon tubing (1/2 ID) than I really needed right now (got 10' when I really only needed 2-3')...

 

[bellecitybrewer]

Yeah, slowly build up your stock. I tend to buy 10-20' of that stuff at a time. Totally unnecessary... What disconnects are you going with? I love my stainless camlocks!

 

[Golddiggie]

Ordered two pairs of these, one of these, and one of these. Plus, I have two sets made up of this and this... Figure it's enough to get my plate chiller setup and maybe a couple of other connections. Planning on getting to the point where all 1/2" tubing will connect via the SS QD's... :rockin: The 1/2" MPT threaded QD's are hard to come by. I want one on my kettle, so that connecting the tubing will be easier. If I need to, I'll get a couple more female barb disconnects. I'll probably need one more for the tubing to run into my fermenter (either the pony, 20L or 25L Sanke kegs)... LOVING fermenting inside Sanke kegs.

I'll probably be ordering more of the male MPT QD's over the coming weeks.

I did get the plate chiller that will be good for 10G and probably up to ~25G batches. Looking forward to giving it's first run next weekend.

I did look at the pony keg again... You're right about how solid they are.