1 BBL Brewery Build ( Brutus Inspired)

[Jaybrinks]

You have chick hands or was that your wife's hands?

These are the hands of creation!!! Don't you have some kegs to clean?

 

[TeeJ911]

Let's not fight in public it is not professional



I spit in your beer

 

[Jaybrinks]

All for the love of beer! Well done man! Well done!
Cheers
Jay

Thanks man!

We had our first test burn this past weekend.

By the way.....soap bubbles filled with propane scare the crap out of you when they ignite!!! All leaks were found and fixed........only lost one eye brow.....

Time to wire up the stand.

 

[Jaybrinks]

So, after getting the propane all plumbed in...we got all the valves, ignition modules and pumps wired up. I am dressing up the wire and making a harness with a quick connect so all the power for everything will come down from the control panel in one wire harness. I will post up some pics once I have that part done.

We have also switched gears on the temp control part of the system. We decided to go with the BCS module instead of the Love contollers. The flexibility, expandability and data logging lured us that way.....It is here, just waiting on the relay board to arrive...as well as picking up switches, wire, etc. I should be starting on the control panel by next weekend....if the relays show up!!

The control panel will include 3 position toggle switches (Manual/Off/Auto) for the 2 pumps, MLT and HLT burners.....and a master kill switch for everything. All with LED indicators......Right now, the Boil Kettle is lit and operated manually.

Onward!

 

[Jaybrinks]

We got the control panel cut and painted.....and installed the switches and LED's....still have all the internal components and wiring to do. This is a simple, straight forward panel to house the BCS, relays, etc...and to provide manual override and control for the Main Power, Pumps and Burners.

I used 1/4" RCA Jacks for the temp probe inputs.

Almost there!!!

 

[Jaybrinks]

Ok...went back to the welder for a little while. I wanted to put some "stops" on the grill tops. They serve 2 functions. They keep the kettle centered and from getting knocked off the back of the rig....mainly for when they are empty....and they keep the grill tops in place.

They are made from 1/4" round bar stock from the hardware store.

Man...I am ready to brew on this thing!!

 

[Jaybrinks]

Got most of the wiring done in the control panel....still have to wire up the temp sensors, fuses, etc......clean some things up and make the end connector for the wiring harness that will connect to the stand.

I broke an LED so am waiting for the replacement to show up as well...arrgh.

We are close to firing this thing up!!

 

[imperialipa]

I will be following your build closely. We have been considering a similar set up.

 

[Jaybrinks]

Well....I got lazy! Sorry...haven't posted any updates. I have had some major "life" stuff to deal with. I am now happy to get my head back in the game though!!

The maiden voyage on the new system was about the worst brew day either TJ or I have ever experienced. Boil over's and a clogged chiller made for an extremely difficult day for us!!! Some how, we still ended up with beer...it wasn't bad...but it wasn't a typical Soos Creek Brew...but as we kept at it...and got the kinks worked out....we are now exceeding our previous standards....and with 2 new 2bbl fermenters set to arrive in Dec. We look forward to improving once again.....can't wait!!!

We now have about 20 brew sessions on the new system under our belt...and it is dialed in!! Structurally, it is very sound. No flexing at all...very solid. The design and flow of work during a brew session works extremely well and we are very happy with the system as a whole. We still have some additions to make in the form of Quick connects etc. We are also switching from whole hops to pellet hops....so will need to make some adjustments to our boil kettle.

The BCS has become less of a player...we have reduced it's role to a few simple tasks.... and it has become more of a remote monitoring system so we can do other things while water is heating etc. The manual thermometers work wonderfully....and during a brew session, it is much easier to flip toggle switches on the control panel...than click with the mouse.

We originally designed the mash to recirc like the Brutus 10....but found that with the probe on the outlet, and the constant recirc...we had wild temp fluctuations which caused the burner to fire irradically...and also caused the grain bed to become compacted....even with a very slow trickle for the recirc. We now just let the mash sit as is..with an insulation wrap...and let the bcs fire the mash at specific times through out the mash process....simple man....love it!!

The burner set up has worked very well. We are running 10 psi High Pressure propane to 3 hurricane burners. Each one with a grill top between the stand and the kettle to allow completion of combustion. That is working very well, and water is heating rapidly. The use of the spark igniter modules with a separate low pressure manifold has been completely bullet proof so far....works great and safe!! Thank you KLADUE!!

I will try to post some actions shots soon.

 

[Jaybrinks]

Looking good, I am working towards a similar sized system, but probably using a hybrid gas/electric setup for the hlt at least (propane costs add up quickly for me). How well does your stand design support the weight of the kettles? Have you filled them up to test yet? Any bowing in middle? Thanks for the help and documentation!

Rock solid man....no measurable bowing.....very solid!!

 

[Jaybrinks]

This build is very interesting and I am loving the progress. I was thinking about picking up the 210,000 btu hurricane for a 55 gal boilermaker. I would love to hear how it works on your system.

We are very happy with the performance of the high pressure hurricane burners.

As I have learned about heat transfer from Kladue.... the 210k btu is not realistically attainable. not with out 2' high flames and melted thermometers. : ) I believe we are between 60 and 70k btu transfer to the kettles. We are able to heat the strike water for a 1bbl batch in 35-40 mins, and bring the full 35 gallons of wort to a boil in about the same time...maybe 45-50 mins....

We actually do a pre-boil half way through the sparge. We bring 50% of the wort volume to a full rolling boil before we continue sparging....this has had a enormous positive affect on the protein break.

 

[JoshuaWhite5522]

Good to know! I recently acquired a blichmann burner rated at 70k btu i believe, and it is total overkill for my 10gal batches. Should be good to see it in action on a 1 bbl batch. May have to switch to NG as it can kill a 5 gallon LP tank in about 2 or 3 brews if i run it full open

 

[hs0656]

Where did you buy the enclosure for your control panel? This is what I've been looking for.

 

[JohnSand]

Interesting, thanks for sharing!

 

[globetrekker]

Got most of the wiring done in the control panel....still have to wire up the temp sensors, fuses, etc......clean some things up and make the end connector for the wiring harness that will connect to the stand.

I broke an LED so am waiting for the replacement to show up as well...arrgh.

We are close to firing this thing up!!

The Rig looks great! Aren't you setting up PIDs on your panel?
One more question where did you find the electric gas valves?
Thanks

 

[globetrekker]

What BCS are you using? Love to get one of those but then my budget has limits.

 

[missiletech]

Are you still using this?