ANVIL FOUNDRY ALL-GRAIN BREWING SYSTEM

My first brew from my 10.5 AF is carbing and I have some questions about changes prior to the next brew:
1) What size screw protectors should I look for?
2) Is there a way to adapt camlock fittings to the Anvil pump? Those smooth surfaces do not look inviting.
3) How much trouble is it to replace the valve with a camlock butterfly?
4) What is a good stand to get this off of the floor and make the control panel more accessible? How tall is too tall for the stand? I don't really want to have to stand on a stool to get the basket high enough to rest on the ring.

I was very unimpressed by the immersion chiller and am thinking about working my plate chiller into the game. I already have a Chugger pump with camlock fittings, but I'd ratrher use the smaller and quieter Anvil if I can get it fitted.

 

been using this unit for a year in my garage. summer, fall, winter brews, not problem with stablw temps with this running on 120

 

What are your winter time garage temps? How long does it take to get to a boil at 50F room temp?

I'm looking at purchasing a Foundry because of the 240v option. But if it will work at 120v, all the better.

 

What size and type are the threads on the foundry spigot?

 

1/2" Garden hose.Put a couple extra wraps pipe tape on then 1/2' NPS will work. Like camlocks.

 

Camlock is exactly my plan. Thanks for the tip on the tape. So these are not quite NPT threads?

 

It uses the Blichmann Quick Connect system.
http://beersmith.com/blog/2017/04/0...-quick-connect-npt-fittings-for-home-brewing/

 

They are the same threads but NPT are tapered. Spigot threads are stright

 

All I ask is that my newly ordered camlock fits.

 

Mine fit well. I had a very slight leak (an occasional drop) when I only used two or three wraps of Teflon tape but when I cleaned that up and used six or seven wraps it worked great.

 

What do all of you see as the max capacity of this setup? Any problem getting six gallons to the keg(s)? I want to fill a pair of three gallon kegs and get to about 5.5%. Will 65% efficiency get me there? Too brain-dead with this cold to do any math this morning.

 

How much do you loose in fermentation? What size batch would you have to brew in order to get 6 gallons out into the kegs?

Whatever the max capacity is, if less than what you need, you could in theory just top off to get to your necessary fermentation volume that yields a net of 6 gallons kegged.

if it’s capable of that volume without top off then even better.

 

Have done two brews on the anvil 10.5g with slow trickle recirc and a wilser bag inside the malt pipe. Considering trying ditching the malt-pipe and just using the bag to sit on the bottom without recirc. Provided I shut the power to element OFF I think it should be fine. Anybody here try this? Just trying different hot side processes to see which method I like best. Thanks.

 

How are you going to maintain the temp if the element is off?

 

It is double walled so simply considering putting a sleeping bag over it and forgetting it kind of like the more basic setups do. (That’s not intended to ding anyone doing this because it’s simple). Simple can still be very effective. I recognize some temp stratification will occur but just considering diff processes is all

 

Sure no problem. Just wondered what your solution was.. worked for BIABer's for years possibly decades!

 

Great to try new things but why would a bag be better than the basket? You could use the basket and keep the burner on without a recirc without the need for a sleeping bag. I find the basket easier to clean than a bag. Just hose it off and I also soak it in PBW inside the boil kettle using hot chiller water that I keep.

 

Appreciate the input for sure. Not necessarily saying bag is better than basket or vice versa. Ive only done two brews on the foundry: both NEIPAs with oats/wheat etc. Both I used the wilser bag inside the malt-pipe with slow recirculation. First brew, grains were milled at 0.036 (a tiny bit of flour but good crush overall) and mash efficiency (according to beer smith) was 68%. Second brew, I milled at 0.034: more flour for sure but husks still looked decent and not shredded: mash efficiency was 53%. I'm thinking I got a "pseudo" stuck mash where the mash got sticky but since I had the bag inside the malt-pipe, the water flowed more between the bag and malt-pipe (because there are no grains there so less resistance) and exited the bottom/bottom side of the malt-pipe. The malt-pipe never overflowed Im sure because there was space between the bag and malt-pipe to flow. So given the tall nature of the vessel, I will certainly open the grain mill up to 0.038ish for my next brew and try again with same setup so that the water can better flow through the grains. I have used rice hulls in both brews too and both brews were identical grain bills.

The alternative that I posed earlier was to ditch the malt-pipe, not recirculate, "set-it and forget it" approach which would allow me to have an even finer grain crush because the full volume of water is in contact with all of grain and wouldn't be worried about stuck mashes. Im sure I will also experiment with ditching the bag and mash in the malt-pipe alone as it was intended to be used. I'm really not married to one method or the other, but one thing that I really liked with the foundry is that it appeared flexible enough for me to experiment with different approaches too. I do agree the attractive part of the anvil foundry is to be able to use the "built-in" malt-pipe and ring stand to let the grains drain which has worked nicely the first two brews where I did sparge. Once I settle on a method that I like, then I'll worry more about cleanup and overall brew day efficiency i.e. total time to brew and clean uo. IMO, both the bag and basket are both super easy to clean out so I won't base my decision on that.

 

Yes, it is a great setup and always good to try things. I started with the bag inside the basket as well but have gone back to just the basket. I do not think there is very much if anything to be gained from using both. As you stated, maybe something lost as the bag allows for liquid to bypass the a lot of the grain bed and still exit the basket.

I have also resigned myself to accept lower efficiency numbers with this type of unit. I do a no sparge approach and am happy to buy a little more grain for the convenience of not sparging. But yes, if you want complete set and forget, dropping a bag in and pulling it out can not get any easier!