Sink Size

Not sure which forum this should go in so mods feel free to move if this is the wrong place for this.

The wife has agreed we need a sink in our garage for my homebrew and her craft projects. Since my kettles will likely be the largest objects getting cleaned I am in charge of sink dimension research.

Any suggestions from the HBT community on sink size? Currently I BIAB with a 15 gallon kettle.

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

I would roll a kettle & carboy or something the size of them into Lowes and pick out one of those rubbermaid sinks unless you're hunting for something like stainless.

I need one as well, but I use a 30gallon crawfish pot filled with hot water from the chiller. I would like to have a sink in my basement, but there is no drains that I can use easily.

Post back what you find, I'll be following in your footsteps soon.

Also, hello from Cullman!

Ken

 

Take the dimension of your kettle and make sure that it can fit inside your sink, whether upright or on its side, with a few inches on each side at a minimum. It doesn't have to be completely submerged in the sink, thought that would be best, of course. And I would also suggest getting a sink with a sprayer, or, even better, a coil spring faucet.

 

This is what I got, depends on how big of a space you have to work with but I really love the size of this. Makes cleanup a breeze. Comes with the sprayer, p-trap, etc:

http://www.riverbendhome.com/rbhitem/459796*1

 

The key to a useful sink, IMO, is that you have a sideboard on which you can lay a keg or boil kettle or carboy on its side and squirt water into it to rinse and have it drain into the sink. You would also, again IMO, want it to be side and deep enough to put your equipment into and wash or soak.

Here's what mine looks like:



You can just lay a towel down and it supports whatever is laying there. Now, in my case, I don't have a sprayer, and it's not a very deep sink. I use the sink in our kitchen for many cleaning chores, as I can lay any fermenter or kettle on its side and use the sprayer to rinse it out.

I've been half toying with replacing my setup with a stainless sink if i can find a decent used one. I think I'd want one with sideboards plus a good faucet and sprayer.

Something maybe like this:



or this:

 

I'm in agreement with Mongoose. I was able to get an industrial SS sink with 2 bays and a sideboard off of Craigslist. The sideboard is a must if you're planning to use keggles. Otherwise they're so tall you can't put them in the sink and get your arms in.

It's so big I had to install it in my garage. For the winter I just isolate and drain the water lines. During brew day I just hook up a garden hose to the faucet and go directly to my HLT.

 

I also got one of those plumbed in yesterday. The size is fantastic for Bayou Classic 10g/44qt kettles, cornies, etc. But people should be aware that the faucet and drain it comes with are junk, and that you should spend another $40 on a proper metal faucet and proper drain pipes, particularly if like me, you have to pay a licensed plumber to fit it.

 

The sprayer is junk, there is no question. I had visions of replacing it with one of those awesome overhead sprayers you see in restaurants. But you know, I've been using it frequently for over a year, and it is very serviceable and hasn't broken, so it's not necessarily a deal-breaker.

 

I keep looking for threads on installing a restaurant sink. I have a 3 bay version I got cheap at auction. The issue is my H/C water is low by the drain and not horizontal coming out of the wall. Looking for tips on what I need to assemble this. I know I need 90d fittings, and they need to be threaded. Just looking for someone who's done this before