• Please visit and share your knowledge at our sister communities:
  • If you have not, please join our official Homebrewing Facebook Group!

    Homebrewing Facebook Group

120V Dual Element Brutus 20 Style Build

Homebrew Talk

Help Support Homebrew Talk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Wait! I stand corrected after seeing the second pics, that is different than mine... mine are the topsflo style with coated impeller and the tan 12v ones also FDA approved with the coated impeller.
 
Man those Topsflo ones are still like ~$70. I really want to try out some of these smaller pumps because I think bigger is overkill, but at that price I believe I'd rather just do a $100 Chugger I know will last.

I'll just keep an eye out for some deals I suppose. Hard to tell a difference between all of these small identical looking ones, makes it tough.
 
Man those Topsflo ones are still like ~$70. I really want to try out some of these smaller pumps because I think bigger is overkill, but at that price I believe I'd rather just do a $100 Chugger I know will last.

I'll just keep an eye out for some deals I suppose. Hard to tell a difference between all of these small identical looking ones, makes it tough.

Have you tried these? They work great also.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Solar-12V-2...t=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item43bd118cda

I have 2 24v would be stronger. I have 12v version.
 
@nab911 - Looks like the wort is creating a lot of bubbles coming back into the boiling kettle... you may want to 'soften' that a bit or you risk oxygenating it at those temperatures which could lead to off flavors.
 
Looks like the wort is creating a lot of bubbles coming back into the boiling kettle... you may want to 'soften' that a bit or you risk oxygenating it at those temperatures which could lead to off flavors.
I've read Budweiser does this on purpose something about it helping to release compounds
Maybe I'm mistaken though.
 
@nab911 - Looks like the wort is creating a lot of bubbles coming back into the boiling kettle... you may want to 'soften' that a bit or you risk oxygenating it at those temperatures which could lead to off flavors.

I have a 90 elbow and 3" extension I am putting on at an angle to start whirlpooling.
 
I have a 90 elbow and 3" extension I am putting on at an angle to start whirlpooling.
One thing I found is the smaller pumps arent very good for whirlpooling if you use a 90 degree elbow at the end. I tried an open 1/2" elbow with no other restrictions and it dramatically cuts the flow down.
I actually use a clip to attach silicone hose to the inside of my bk now at a 75 degree angle or so to whirlpool and its much more effective.

This is really the only restriction I have found with the smaller pumps. Otherwise they flow great and are more than enough for transfer and mash/sparging.
 
Well i got it rewired. Used crimped spade connectors to clip on the prongs of an adapter and wrapped each terminal in electrical tape. I also cut out a few wires in the shelf (still structurally sound) to mount the control panel. Came out really clean. Everything works great.

Biggest concern will be where to mount the pump and figuring out what to do with all of the fluid that will get trapped in the hoses and chiller.

265BFE98-CBAE-425E-87E3-E234B9CF0250_zpsd2wxoqln.jpg


17513997-9628-4D81-8B1E-5E9099985508_zpsu0zdivyf.jpg


1A6097EF-53BB-4BC2-A02E-E3584C5E7B2B_zpscsoufkzp.jpg
 
Did another brew yesterday of Yoopers Dogfish 60 clone and everything was going perfectly up until sparge time...

It seems as though my manifold go knocked loose because I was going to do a recirc sparge and a ton of grain came from the outlet and poured in the kettle. About 10 seconds later the pump clogged. Ended up shutting everything off, draining the kettle, filling with 5 gallons of new water, getting up to 170 and pumping it up clean for a batch sparge but I still lost a lot of efficiency. Draining the tun ended up being my autosiphon down into the kettle. 13lbs of 2 row netted me about 1.044 SG so I am going to have a light but very hoppy beer.

I think the problem was the link from the manifold to the valve was the original PVC screw on and connector instead of the CPVC (slightly larger OD) and was just too loose. I now have a ton of stock I need to drink before I brew again but it will give me some time to refine the system and plan better.
 
Haha, You could have sparged again for a small beer or a three gallon batch! I never get poor efficiency, just more beer!

It's looking real good! I know how hard it is to put together a semi mobile brewery that works well. Look like you have a good working system there. now you just need to learn the new system as you work out the kinks. FOR THE SAKE OF CONSTRUCTIVE PROGRESS YOU MUST BREW MORE BEER! (Possibly my favorite excuse to brew)

Sent from my SCH-R970 using Home Brew mobile app
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Yeah read a few posts earlier. The amazon listing says that but there are many ebay listings of the exact same one that are 0-100C. Just poor details.

As for brewing more, I really can't wait to but I know have like 3 cases plus 3 half full kegs I need to finish off before I have more bottles/Kegs/Reasons to brew another batch. Ill take this time to correct all of the issues in my notes and document out a better brew day process.
 
Sorry, I missed the earlier post about the temp. I guess for $18.00 it's worth a try. I'm curious to see how it holds up. By the way, nice setup.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Home Brew mobile app
 
Yeah. Ill upgrade to a real pump eventually but trying to restrict my brewing spending for now.
 
Back
Top