Blichmann BrewEasy

Yeah the cable is very poorly designed. With heavy duty cables everywhere else on my 240v system this thing is a dainty PITA!

 

Yeah, definitely a bit of a learning curve. Glad you found Dana's videos. He's been a pioneer on this system. Background: I've got the 5 gal system, but principles should be the same.

1. The size orifice you use for draining after the mash should have zero effect on how much is left in the mash tun. Blichmann publishes dead space numbers for the kettles ( for the 15 gal kettle, .17 gallons). My mash tun is the 7.5 gal kettle, published as .1 gal dead space. This being said, I know I have at least a pint (.12 gal) left after the mash. You can start maybe at 1 qt. in your planning and adjust as you see fit and gain system experience.

2. I recently replaced my silicon tubing, but it was too long. Longer silicon has higher resistance and lower flow rate, thus if the tube between the kettle and pump is too long it'll be hard to prime. Also, and more importantly, I've found that if the pump output valve is closed and the kettle valve is closed, open the kettle valve first (blichmann says 3 full rotations of the laminar flow value will have it full-open), then open the pump valve. The pressure from the kettle should then push any air in the line between the kettle and pump right out. Then turn on the pump. This has worked for me when I mess up the ordering and get air trapped in the line. Let me know if it works for you.

3. I typically just fill my mash tun with enough water for the mash. So 1-1.5 qt / lb of grist. (at 1.25 qt/lb ona 12 lb grist batch, that'd be 3.75 gallons in the mash tun). I'm usually between 3-4 gallons of water prior to dough in, with another 4-5 in the mash tun (need at least 3.5 gallons in my 10 gal kettle to cover the boil coil), so usually this is not a problem. If you're doing smaller batches, you can also try mashing with a lower water/grist ratio (1 qt / lb for instance). That should help consistently keep your boil coil in good shape. Also, setting the autosparge properly for this target volume after dough-in helps!

4. Yes, the "Reset" position on the TOP module turns off the boil-coil completely. The green heat light on the PID will still indicate on, but with the switch in the "Reset" position, the element will not fire.

5. You should have no problem getting to a boil. What is the amperage on your 240v outlet?

6. As for chilling (again), you may have gotten a clog in your chiller. Be careful to follow blichmann's instructions for chiller cleaning, and also be mindful of how you are filtering your hop material in the kettle. Are you using any kind of hop or kettle strainer?

Cheers!

Jeremy

 

I could see how this would clean off the boilcoil (time + heat seem to be the solution), but you still have all of that particulate flowing through the system. How do you remove your PBW solution without all of the particulate getting stuck to the sides of the vessels?

 

Has anyone used a BIAB bag for their mash tun before? I just drop the grains straight into the vessel, but I'm wondering if there is a way to work a bag into the system for easier clean-up...

 

Jeremy: Thanks very much. Good stuff.

Gonna jump in and brew Sunday.

#1- This was just water, and the drain just seemed to come to a halt. Could just need to get used to equipment.


#4- Ah, got it. Thanks. The light staying on had me confused.

#5- I have a 230V outlet with 30 amp breaker. Don't get me wrong, it heats very nicely, and boils. Didn't get big, rolling boil.

#6- This was a run with just water. I think hose was too long, and I got a good amount into fermentor. I have the hopblocker installed, and plan to use hop bags.

Thanks again!

 

I tried mash in a bag with about 4 batches when first using my BE, but once I tried it normally, I think it's a push on cleanup. I figured I'd just use it normally from then on and cleanup is not that bad. I discussed this with John Blichmann at the BNA11 party and he didn't feel that'd be any better than normal.

 

I have the 5 gallon electric BE.

I was also concerned about inadvertently dropping the level below the heating coil. The level column works well but I needed a bigger visual impact to alert the level is too low. On the boil kettle, blue painter's tape was applied next to the level column at the heating coil level and at the temperature measurement level. The mash kettle got the same tape at the temperature probe level.

So I can monitor that the level is "OK" quickly and from a distance.

 

I just pump it out and down the drain. I use a brush or rag to wipe down the kettle as it drains, then fill it with clean water and run that out to rinse everything. Then if there's any particulate left in the kettle, I just rinse. Usually there isn't anything left at that point.

 

Huh. 30 amps should be plenty to run that coil to a vigorous boil. I'd be in touch with Blichmann on that if you haven't already.

Remember the hop blocker requires a post-boil whirlpool to be effective prior to draining...see recommended process on the "features" tab here: http://www.blichmannengineering.com/products/hopblocker

I didn't use to whirlpool but have lately, even after I unstalled the hop blocker! I may reinstall it now and see how it works with the recommended whirlpool.

Cheers!

 

I have the hop blocker too and have to say, it works much better than I thought it would than from just looking at it. I recently installed a recirculator arm. https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/spincycle.htm I had to drill a hole in my larger boilermaker kettle, which was very nerve wrecking, but turned out much easier than I thought.

I also used a hop spider with with the BE and think the hop blocker with the recirc arm is much easier and that was with 9oz of hops for a 5gal batch between boil and whirlpool hops.

 

Added a spin cycle whirlpool tube to my BE BK... I run one hose from the TOP 3-way to the MT and the other to the whirlpool on the BK. then the hose that was on the MT goes to the plate chiller, and the BK hose from the 3-way goes to the plate chiller output (eventually).
Not sure this saves me a lot of hose swapping but it works for me.

 

BTW, this is how dirty my BK is after an hour of hot PBW recirculating and a bit of brushing, then hot water rince and towel dry. a little cleaning around the rim/waterline still needed...

 

Yeah looks like mine post pbw also. Good times.

 

Had my first all-grain brew day today on my BE (240V 10gallon):

All in all, it was a great brew day, the system performed very well, definitely makes the brew day a lot more fun than it used to be.

My efficiency sucked (I'm new to AG, and not great with calculating efficiency), but Brewers Friend has me at:

Conversion: 68.7%
Pre-Boil: 65% 23.6 ppg
Ending Kettle: 68% 24.8 ppg
Brew House: 49% 17.9 ppg

My pre-boil gravity was 1.036, OG= 1.044

Pretty sure I didn't boil off enough, I did a 90 minute boil, but has almost 9 gallons left end of boil (7 gallon batch).

Anyway, I got 6+ gallons of 1.044 pale ale wort (Simcoe/Amarillo/Citra/Conan yeast) fermenting now @ 66-67. Not too bad for 1st time, look forward to getting the hang of it, again the BE was a pleasure to use. Should have a tasty 5% APA! Not a bad thing.

Random thoughts-

Thanks every (especially Dana) for this thread and video. Basically copied his process. Water chemistry (mash ph was 5.36), ran boiling wort through pump and chiller to sanitize, etc.

Had my mash temp way too high to start (160+), used some cold water to get it back to 150, once I got temp stabilized, it held the temp right there whole time, with little effort. Very nice. Basically just sit back for 90 minutes, (or start cleaning).

Boil coil kicks ass. Heats water quickly, has a real nice boil going. One thing- My brewometer on the BK never seems to indicate a temp over 208, even when I have a big, roiling boil going.

Therminator is worth every penny. Awesome.

Does everyone spill wort on the floor? Lol. I'm thinking that is just part of the deal (changing hoses, wort in hoses/chiller, etc)

 

All,
Great Fermenations is putting together a quick disconnect kit for the Brew Easy. I spoke with Bryan at GF yesterday and they're in the process of getting this on the site for easy ordering. However, they can still place the order if you don't want to wait for it to be formally posted online. Call GF and ask for Bryan he'll get you squared away with all you need for quick disconnects. I've ordered mine and can't wait to get those bad boys on the system for my next brewday. Cheers!

 

Nice! Post photos of the order/set up once it's in!

 

How many lbs of grain have folks successfully brewed with in a 5-gal breweasy setup (7.5 gal mash tun)?

Blichmann's site lists the following stats. Wondering how far I can push it for a high-grav brew (Bell's 3rd coast old ale clone ~= 21 lbs grain for 5.5 gal. batch). I'd rather not run a significantly smaller batch just because... ;-)

I need to do more research into how the higher concentration at the stated 18 lbs == 1qt/lb wort-to-grain ratio will effect my mash times/process & efficiency. Using an "out-of-box" breweasy without the RIMS Rocket / any other extra sparge water or techniques. efficiency has been in the high 60's...

Anyone have experience pushing beyond 80% [implicit recommended maximum] capacity/concentration?

Would >80% capacity begin to interfere with the autosparge's flow rate / operation given the length of the float arm? I know they sell a longer one, but not a shorter... or degrade the benefit of the inch+ of wort above the grain bed and increase any channeling problems, reducing efficiency even further, etc...?


Maybe it's time to design and 3D-print a different "collar" so I can put a 10-gal MT on top of the 10-gal BK...???


7.5 gal mash tun grain capacity (lbs approx.) at 80% full

1.00 qt/lb: 18
1.25 qt/lb: 15
1.50 qt/lb: 13
1.75 qt/lb: 12
2.00 qt/lb: 10
2.25 qt/lb: 9
2.50 qt/lb: 9
2.75 qt/lb: 8
3.00 qt/lb: 7

 

What are you folks getting away with for hose lengths? The setup we got has two short hoses that I fear will keep the Towah of Powah too close to the burner. I'd like to separate things a bit, but don't want to overwork the pump.

 

I have the 5 gallon breweasy.

I don't have the auto temp control option on my breweasy setup. I find I can easily maintain mashtemp manually but hitting mashtemp quickly after dough in has been a challenge.

Using the Beersmith 5 gallon breweasy equipment profile and the BIAB full volume mash profile, can I rely on the beersmith calculated strike temp to nail my mash temp right on on the money after dough in?

1. Continuously recirculate during heating to beersmith calculated strike temp. Using largest mashtun drain orifice.

2. When strike temp reached, shut off heat and close the mashtun drain valve. Switch out orifice to 0.5gpm. Top off mashtun.

3. Dough in and allow autosparge to fill mashtun as grain absorbs water.

4. Stir mash.

5. Open mashtun drain valve and allow to circulate.

With no extra heating, in a few minutes, the proper mash temp will be achieved.

Does this sound correct? Can proper mashtemp be achieved this way?

Thank you.... hoping to hear from the experienced breweasy users...

 

Hey all! Been a while since I've been active on this thread, but for those of you who found my videos on the BrewEasy helpful, I just made one on the QuickCarb. Hope you enjoy! [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j258UV8mbjM[/ame]

 

I put 31lbs of grain into the tun on my 10 gallon BE today, and I was able to get about 7 gallons of 1.068 wort into fermentor.

Target OG was 1.076.

Started with 14.5 gallons of water.

Pre boil gravity was 1.058.

My efficiency has been between 40-49% for 5 batches. Where am I going wrong here? Am I not converting? Or do I just have a ton of loss?

I treat the water.

Thoughts are appreciated!

 

Any 20g owners out there that are regularly doing 10.5g batches? I'm thinking about a propane system. Instruction manual says min of 20lbs of grain for a 10g batch in a 20g system. I think I can live wih that restriction unless it means I have to do 90 min boil, and have to stare at the water level in bk to be sure I don't carmalize my wort.
I will be doing 10.5g batches with 20-30lbs of grain 80% of the time and need to know if the 20g gas system is a good fit. Thanks!

 

I've done just over 17 lbs but efficiency suffered (mid 60s). There was a great brewing network podcast (think it was an episode of brew strong) with John blichmann talking about doing a double mash with the 5 gal brew easy. John Palmer did some quick calcs and they confirmed the accretive effect of using wort as mash water in the second mash. I've been wanting to try it for an imperial stout or barleywine but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Let us know what your experience is with the heavier grain bills!

 

Check 1) grain crush. Make sure it's on the fine side with intact husks. 2) I've found mashing out combined with using the smallest flow piece for draining the mash tun to be helpful in getting those last 2-3 pts of gravity, as danam404 has mentioned.

Cheers!

 

Also.....how do you FWH with BE?

 

Well, I bought it.

 

Just throw your hops in through the hole in the collar before / as you drain the mash tun.

Also, wow! Did you have that collar custom made? Id love to upgrade my 7.5 mash tun to a matching 10 gal kettle!

 

This is the 20gal gas turnkey system. In the 20gal system both kettles are 30gal of stainless heaven. :rockin:

The ring is standard for this system

 

oh, i see! geez. that's big. also awesome. Wish they had a choice on mash tuns for the smaller systems!

 

When raising your mash temp manually via the pid as a planned step or maybe just trying to recover from unexpected temp drop in mash .....what's the highest temperature that you would set the pid or allow the wort to reach at the pid sensor?
I can imagine the temptation to jack the pid to a ridiculous number of 180 or even 200 in the hopes of reducing the time to raise the mash temp but I would think that if you ever set the pid above 160ish you are probably risking denaturing enzymes. This would hurt efficiency.
I've read to adjust flame such that you ramp at about 1.5 degrees per minute so maybe this rule exists to prevent this....assuming you follow it and don't outsmart the pid and crank up your burner at the same time you crank up your pid?

Thoughts? am I thinking about this correctly?

 

I understand the temptation. But if the PID is tuned well it should be able to reach the set point in the fastest time possible without excessive overshoot. A PID's tuning is valid only for a given system, which includes burner output. You could possibly speed up time to reach equilibrium by stirring the mash and grant wort, but even that is a "change to the system" the PID was tuned for and could cause overshoot.

 

Ok so the Blichman ToP says to have flame turned down so that the "wort" ramps no more than an average of 1.5F/min over 20-30min. I guess the pid was factory tuned for this amount of burner output. Does anyone know if this is specifically the "wort" as it passes the pid sensor or is it the actual mash bed temperature?
Im getting ready to to use this for the first time and have done a lot of reading. A couple suggestions have been to set pid higher than desired set point and got me thinking. I don't think I'll follow this particular advice and instead be patient and trust the pid. I think for my first use I may purposely mash in at 125f and immediately set pid to 155f in order to dial in my burner output. If the burner output is based on "wort" passing the pid sensor then I would prefer to do this tuning with water and not mess with my beer.
I think my OCD has just kicked in.....

 

I think most of the advice to set the PID higher than the desired mash temp is based on experience that the mash temp is actually like 2 to 4 F lower than the wort temperature (not to speed up equilibrium). I've generally experienced this too, but I also think that even with the recirculating, the mash is not totally consistent throughout - so it might depend on where you measure. I'd say don't sweat it on your first try.

I will add that a key to staying reasonably close to the mash temp is to start with the right strike temp. If you're off by too much initially it can take a few minutes to get on target and in that time some conversion is already happening.

 

Got it ..thanks..

I'M coming from a 10gal cooler MLT. Just finished a 10gal wee heavy recipe with 42lbs of grain. I'm going to like 30gal of MLT capacity....:rockin:

 

The PID controller is very capable, but Blichmann doesn't provide any of the custom setting within the menu... I chose to let the controller Auto Tune, and I choose a +2 degree offset, as that was my temperature loss. As a result my mash temps all read the same on the PID and analog mash brewmometer - it's a beautiful thing. Also, my mash out ramp time from 154 to 170 is only about 8 minutes. The analog is slow during the first 5 mins, but it soon catches up.

 

Last brew day... 152 mash temp

 

It looks like you're electric and indoors? You can probably count on a consistent offset. I'm on a gas system in a garage in MI so not sure I would have same results. I'm not overly concerned about pid and brewmometer matching. Should I be?
how big is your system?

 

+3F until the temps get close, then setting to the desired temp seems to work well for me. If you go for the desired temp from the start, half an hour later, you're still waiting.

 

Is that when heating strike or during a step mash or at mashout? Gas or electric?
On my gas system Im thinking there is no point in using pid to heat to strike...crank up the flame and let it rock. Once at strike then turn burner down and let pid control mash temp. Set the pid 2-3F above your desired mash temp.
If my burner is adjusted corecctly For a 1.5F/min increase then getting to mashout is 20min tops...less if I turn burner up a little which I wouldn't think would be an issue for mashout...maybe not recommended for a step

? Am I thinking about this correctly?

 

Gas system, 5 gallon.

To start, I put the water in the kettle, and put the lid on, and fire off the burner. This time of year at least, by the time I finish measuring out the grain and hops, It's still 20F under my strike temperature. Once it gets about 10F from strike temp, I take the lid off, add the collar and mash tun, and begin recirculating without the restrictor in place. This is where I run at +3F until I'm close to my strike temp.

I haven't bothered with a step mash yet.

For mash out, I have been running at +5F, and with a full pot, it takes about half an hour to hit the desired temp.