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Can aluminum pipe be used with duotight fittings? I read that copper can be used, so aluminum seems possible. I need 1" to connect a spunding valve to a ball lock. I don't wanna pay $10 shipping for a 95 cent tube, Plus I like the idea of a rigid pipe connecting the two so it doesn't flop...

I just picked up a 15.8 Gal Ferment King Unitank since there was a huge sale. I have a SS 1/2 BBL conical, but I wanted to try pressurized fermentation (plus I really miss seeing what's going on during fermentation). I am debating on fitting with a 2" Tri-Clamp elbow and butterfly valve, or...

For the last 10 years of my almost 40 year long homebrew history I have been brewing only big beers, 1.090 to 1.100 O.G. (with a few even higher, all the way to 1.130). I pretty much always do a yeast starter, and most of the time, a two step starter. I have done maybe 10 batches where I used...

I am building a chiller for my 17 Gal conical fermentor. It seems that most DIY builds involve chilling a thermal glycol/water reservoir to something well below target fermentation temperature, and then cycling flow of the coolant through the fermentor when needed. I would think a better...

I am awaiting delivery of a 17 Gal SS Brewtech Chronical 2.0 and want to have my cooling system in place when it arrives. I searched the many cooling threads here, but haven't found some of the information I am looking for. Sorry for the background detail - my ultimate questions follow that...

I did a Thomas Hardy Ale clone all-grain recipe 4 weeks ago. O.G. was 1.130 and pitched a starter of White Labs WLP004 Irish Ale yeast. Fermentation was at 64 degrees F and active, as usual. By day 4 my Tilt was reading 1.054. After 2 weeks I racked to secondary (which I normally don't do)...

Does anyone know the absolute max grain capacity for the Brew Boss 20 Gal COFI Basket? Hoping to avoid any surprises on my first brew day with it doing a 1.090 to 1.100 O.G. Wee Heavy. Thanks, -G

I have an idea for twist on the traditional PID algorithm used in homebrewing. I have designed adaptive, second order loops in the past, which are particularly suited for controlling slowly responding systems such as heating hundreds of pounds of mass. For example, to avoid overshoots as well...

I'm trying to add a "boil detector" to my homebrewed electric controller. The reason for this detector is so the controller can precisely drive the heater to maintain a desired boil level - e.g. slow rolling boil vs vigorous boil. Temperature is useless for this type of detection (it's pretty...

For those of you who have built controllers with DIN Rail circuit breakers... do you cut a hole in the panel so the breaker sticks out (like a normal breaker panel), or leave it all enclosed - in which case you need to unscrew a panel to reset the breaker? Personally, I find breaker trips -...

I am in the middle of designing a DIY Brew Controller for my new Electric BIAB setup. I believe am incorporating a few features that I have not seen in the commercial units. Please let me know your thoughts and ideas. My initial idea was a WiFi based controller using an ESP8266 that I would...

I am about to convert over to an electric brewing system. My normal brew for the most recent decade has been a double batch (2 kegs plus some extra so I can age bottles for a couple of years, so about 13 to 14 gals at start of boil), and always a big beer (1.080 to 1.120 OG). I would also like...

I've been using a converted mini-fridge as my fermentation chamber for years. It's about 18"x18"x30" high, I built a simple 5 sided-box out of 3/4" thick insulating board (that's a box with one side open) that I butt up against the fridge (fridge door and hinges are removed). The box is the...

I need some opinions on an equipment purchase. I am converting to electric brewing and will be buying a single 5500W vessel for my HLT, HERMS and BK. I use a 120 Qt cooler for my mash MLT. My single heater approach is this: Heat mash strike water in BK, then pump to MLT. Heat sparge water in...

I figured I'd post my solution to the frost build-up problem I have had with my kegerator. I have an Edgestar Kegerator and despite rarely opening the door, I would wind up with up to 2 inches of ice build up on the rear evaporator coils/plate over time. Besides making the fridge compressor...

My last two brews were extracts using 9 pounds of DME and steeping about 2 pounds of grains. Both were partial boils, about 3 gals, in a 4 gal pot on my gas cooktop. Both had messy boil overs when I took my eye off the pot at a bad time (probably 35 to 45 mins into the boil). My last batch...

Finally go back into homwbrewing after a looong hiatus... First two brews were Belgian Quadruples extract recipes, 1.088 OG both times, using Wyeast 3787 Trappist high gravity smack packs. Both times I did not use a starter - just left the pack out for 3 to 5 hours before pitching. Both times...

Just got back into brewing after nearly a decade off. Previously, I never did a secondary fermentation/conditioning. My priming bucket has a spigot about two inches up and I used that to drain the primary directly into kegs. That always left the trub pretty much intact in the primary. The...