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I collected anything and everything I thought might be useful for a couple years while I was building my electric control panel. The result is I have a bunch of leftover stuff. I intend to use any money or trades to improve my wort separation/chilling equipment. All of these are used but were...

I think this is the best point I have read in this whole thread. Whatever system your local suppliers use is the one you should use. Any recipe you have can be converted using software. Arguing about the benefits of each system is a waste of time.

I mounted my old IC in a lid with compression fittings. I had to reform it a bit and didn't do a great job, which is why the coil looks crappy. I also mounted a stir motor i picked up from ebay for $15. This way I don't need two pumps to keep both the HERMS and kettle water flowing. I still...

@JuanMoore: Can you give some details on your connections from the keg to that elbow?

Usually at the end of the mash I raise the HLT temp to 175 for sparge while still recirculating. This starts denaturing the enzymes while the sparge water is getting ready. It usually only takes my system 10 min to raise from mash to sparge anyway.

Yep. Going to brew a german pils tomorrow and I plan on using this method.

I am trying this out today. Seems to be working fine, just taking longer than I'm used to due to the added volume. Also it took me a while to balance the valves to keep the levels constant. Would be nice to have one of those blickmann float valves right now.

I guess you could do that with the BK and HLT. That would make sense. The MT will need to be empty to receive the grain and water, wouldn't it? Unless you just add the grain to your full volume of strike water. I usually mix it in as I fill the MT. Not sure my way is any better than any...

What you listed above for the process steps is exactly what I do (except step 1, not sure what you mean by recircing strike water through the MT). Here are my steps: 1. Heat the strike water in the Bk then pump to the MT while mixing in the grains. 2. Refill the kettle with the sparge water...

Right. I use a rubbermaid cooler for HLT since you don't need active heating and it is only used just prior to sparge. It was much cheaper to do it this way and that's exactly why I chose this path. If you use a standard stainless compression fitting (like swagelok), there is a metal ferrule...

I was planning on doing the same thing for my kettle that kal did for his HLT at theelectricbrewery. It is basically the same thing you are talking about. I think cleanup would consist of a soak in PBW. You could make it easier to remove by replacing the metal ferrule with silicone o-rings...

I remember being in those shoes. I wanted everything all at once, but of course the money wasn't there so I had to piece-meal it for the last 6 years. One mistake I kept making was buying stuff that is cool but didn't really make my life easier. I did something just recently that I wish I had...

Tapped the keg today. It tastes great. I fermented a little lower this time (66-67F) and I saved some of the Mt Hood for late hopping at 5 min boil. You can definitely taste the difference. I think I was a little happier with the first batch, but this one might be a bit closer to the...

This is an interesting idea, but I am having trouble picturing the setup. What is the rain barrel exactly? Is it one of those 55gal heavy plastic drums? Would the CO2 tank fit inside also? I think the shank you showed would work fine if I am picturing it correctly. Also, is the wall rigid...

I like your block idea. It's simple and you don't have to risk messing up your element. I just can't think of what else I would trust using other than some kind of metal. Stainless would be kind of pricey. All that being said, as the previous post mentions, many here have successfully bent...

Maybe hook it up to a light bulb instead of the element and operate the low voltage side manually to ensure that the SSR is good. Could be you got a bad part.

I just brewed this again last month on my new electric system. I am actually transferring to the keg tonight. I can't wait! Where is the LHBS going in Manassas? And when? That will be awesome.

Most of the selector switches I found were rated for 10A, like this one: http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7&products_id=236 So what I ended up doing was using a contactor or relay in conjunction with the switch...

I am considering the same issue. I just switched to electric brewing but I like to decoct for weizens and pils. I think the grains would burn onto the element if you tried to do it directly in the BK. The double boiler idea above might work. I am thinking about getting a single burner...

I finally completed work on my system. I made a few changes from the previous posts. I decided to run 4-wire from the panel to the GFI Spa Panel. I split off the dryer from there to it's outlet, then wired a GFI protected outlet in the GFI panel box. A 20' 10/4 cable connects the GFI...