abracadabra
Well-Known Member
Hope this gives someone a chuckle
Comedy of Errors
After 2 failed attempts to get the counterflow wort chiller not to leak I decided I’d slap together an emersion chiller this past weekend and do an all grain brew or bust. First while putting the tubing in the mash tun I noticed that the store bought false bottom had a different diameter than what I had installed in the mash tun. Sure did look like the same size until I tried to get the hose over it. So off to Home Depot, 3 year old child in tow at 8:00am back home by 9:00 and am dumping the strike water by 9:30 I hear a popping sound as the mash tun expands from the heat then it starts to leak. I had forgotten to test the newly installed connector. Luckily I had a spare 5 gallon Igloo cooler so I dumped the mash in it. And proceeded to try to get the mash tun to stop leaking. Finally success the mash tun was no longer leaking. So I dump the contents of the 5 Gal. igloo back into the mash tun and get ready to sparge. The homemade sparge works less that spectacularly but it works. So as I fill up the boil pot I see Uh oh I forgot to install the valve and forgot to sanitize it. Now I can't remember if I washed it or not so I wash it and as I'm wrapping the teflon around it I catch a stainless steel frag in my finger, now I'm bleeding like I just went to the doc. So I think well can't have this, I need to file this sucker off then rewash and sanitize again no problem. All the while the boil pot is filling. Finish with the valve now I noticed wort is coming out of the boil pot. Oh S---- so I try tilting it backward where's the damn teflon tape? This ain't working. I spot a 1/2' barb connector and put that in, hold my finger over it till the boil pot stops sloshing back an forth. Finding the teflon tape I wind it around the nipple as I start to thread it I realize I've wound it backward for what seems like the 5th time. Back in goes the barb connector . Finally success I've got the valve into the boil pot. By now wort is all over the boil pot, burner and everything it's sitting on.
No problem I'll wheel it out and hose it off. On the way back in the boil pot falls off the burner. I manage to catch it with no more that a 2/3 gallon lost I think. At this point I'm thinking this beer is gonna suck. Why waste the yeast? But during the baby's nap I figure what the Heck so I flame up and start the boil all goes well and now I'm ready to start cooling with my emersion wort chiller only unlike the counterflow unit I had failed to test this one. Thinking no problem this is simple stuff. Guess what, it leaks but I see them before I put it in the boil pot and get them fixed pronto. It's working great the water is wanm coming out; So I go back to stir then I notice an unusually strong current well after I stop whirling the chiller. Pulling the chiller out I see it gushing water. So now I'm wishing I had not popped the yeast pack that I had originally forgotten about. Oh well plenty of commercial beer in the fridge. Thank goodness for sam adams. But I give up on the chiller it’s fairly cool now and dump it in the primary. Ended up with 4.5 gal where I should have had 5 no telling how much leaked from the chiller.Happy to report despite all this and the too cold temp it's bubbling away. I’m in the process of getting the temp where it should be and am thinking I’ve had some horrible home brews before surely this can’t be worse that those.
Comedy of Errors
After 2 failed attempts to get the counterflow wort chiller not to leak I decided I’d slap together an emersion chiller this past weekend and do an all grain brew or bust. First while putting the tubing in the mash tun I noticed that the store bought false bottom had a different diameter than what I had installed in the mash tun. Sure did look like the same size until I tried to get the hose over it. So off to Home Depot, 3 year old child in tow at 8:00am back home by 9:00 and am dumping the strike water by 9:30 I hear a popping sound as the mash tun expands from the heat then it starts to leak. I had forgotten to test the newly installed connector. Luckily I had a spare 5 gallon Igloo cooler so I dumped the mash in it. And proceeded to try to get the mash tun to stop leaking. Finally success the mash tun was no longer leaking. So I dump the contents of the 5 Gal. igloo back into the mash tun and get ready to sparge. The homemade sparge works less that spectacularly but it works. So as I fill up the boil pot I see Uh oh I forgot to install the valve and forgot to sanitize it. Now I can't remember if I washed it or not so I wash it and as I'm wrapping the teflon around it I catch a stainless steel frag in my finger, now I'm bleeding like I just went to the doc. So I think well can't have this, I need to file this sucker off then rewash and sanitize again no problem. All the while the boil pot is filling. Finish with the valve now I noticed wort is coming out of the boil pot. Oh S---- so I try tilting it backward where's the damn teflon tape? This ain't working. I spot a 1/2' barb connector and put that in, hold my finger over it till the boil pot stops sloshing back an forth. Finding the teflon tape I wind it around the nipple as I start to thread it I realize I've wound it backward for what seems like the 5th time. Back in goes the barb connector . Finally success I've got the valve into the boil pot. By now wort is all over the boil pot, burner and everything it's sitting on.
No problem I'll wheel it out and hose it off. On the way back in the boil pot falls off the burner. I manage to catch it with no more that a 2/3 gallon lost I think. At this point I'm thinking this beer is gonna suck. Why waste the yeast? But during the baby's nap I figure what the Heck so I flame up and start the boil all goes well and now I'm ready to start cooling with my emersion wort chiller only unlike the counterflow unit I had failed to test this one. Thinking no problem this is simple stuff. Guess what, it leaks but I see them before I put it in the boil pot and get them fixed pronto. It's working great the water is wanm coming out; So I go back to stir then I notice an unusually strong current well after I stop whirling the chiller. Pulling the chiller out I see it gushing water. So now I'm wishing I had not popped the yeast pack that I had originally forgotten about. Oh well plenty of commercial beer in the fridge. Thank goodness for sam adams. But I give up on the chiller it’s fairly cool now and dump it in the primary. Ended up with 4.5 gal where I should have had 5 no telling how much leaked from the chiller.Happy to report despite all this and the too cold temp it's bubbling away. I’m in the process of getting the temp where it should be and am thinking I’ve had some horrible home brews before surely this can’t be worse that those.
