2 vessel all grain system help

[Heitdj22]

Hi all, I am currently in the market to upgrade my brewing to a 2V all grain setup. I am having trouble deciding port locations on spike kettles. I made a diagram on my phone and wondering what I am missing or need to implement into my brew system. This is the setup I was thinking.

MT
Bottom drain port
Temp/ possible whirlpool port
Sparge port

BK
Bottom drain port
Whirlpool port
Top recirculation port

2 pumps
1 rims tube
2 thermowells (1 at the rims tube, and 1 at the pump nearest the BK).
The red t is possibly thinking a 4 way valve.

Is this seeming logical for 3 ports on each kettle?
any advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[McKnuckle]

It seems like overkill to me, but I tend to be a minimalist, since I would rather clean fewer things and have less wort sitting in hoses that I have to recover.

On the mash tun, you need a drain under the false bottom, and a way to recirculate. Recirculation can be as simple as something that hangs over the kettle rim, passes through the kettle side near the top, or passes through the lid. So that's 2 ports max on the MT. There's no need for a whirlpool on the MT.

On the BK, you need a drain at the bottom, and a whirlpool port is nice to have. There's no purpose in a separate top recirculation port.

Also, with 2 vessels, you only need one pump. You should have quick disconnects to easily reconfigure the flow if needed. If you are able to direct fire the MT, you don't even need to do that, but it's a nice option at least. Your only critical flow will be when you lauter from the MT into the BK. If you want to heat strike or sparge water in the BK, you could pump that over to the MT, reversing the flow. This is nice for underletting the mash.

 

[mpdog]

Adding on to the above, definitely can use one pump. I'm building something similar with an oversized mash tun that can hold the full water volume. Plan is to turn off recirculation of the MT at the end of the mash, pump the remaining sparge water from the BK to the MT, then slowly pump back (so clear water is gradually moving down through the grain). With a T at the pump inlet and a T at the rims outlet, I will be able to pump from either to either. Pumping sparge water through the rims has the added bonus that you clear out usable wort from the rims into the MT at the beginning of sparge.

 

[mpdog]

Adding on to the above, definitely can use one pump. I'm building something similar with an oversized mash tun that can hold the full water volume. Plan is to turn off recirculation of the MT at the end of the mash, pump the remaining sparge water from the BK to the MT, then slowly pump back (so clear water is gradually moving down through the grain). With a T at the pump inlet and a T at the rims outlet, I will be able to pump from either to either. Pumping sparge water through the rims has the added bonus that you clear out usable wort from the rims into the MT at the beginning of sparge. View attachment 713175

Note: by "T", I really mean three-way valve.

 

[Genuine]

I don't know if this will help however here's my system that's based on your idea, with just less equipment. I use gravity to drain from the mash tun instead of enlisting the use of another pump, plus it's less to clean. I'll be making a video walk through of mine and I'll let you know when it's posted.

My brew kettle has 2 ports, one out let and one for the WP. My mash tun is the same except I have the Blichmann Autosparge so that I don't have to mess with the pump to get a correct flow rate. Once it's going I can completely walk away while it's mashing without of the fear of my heating element in the kettle to run dry.

I'm using the hotrod heat stick from @Bobby_M in my kettle since it allows me to quickly and easily take it out of the kettle for cleaning. Since my pondering of adding a steam condensor to my set up, I've been thinking about adding a triclamp bulkhead for the element to be installed in the kettle however that's neither here nor there right now. I have 3 hoses, one going from the kettle on the left to the bottom of the pump (it fills the pump completely so I can use it immediately when needed) and the pump pushes it to the top of the mash tun. Then from there it drains from the mash into the kettle via gravity so I'm not worried about a pump pulling pressure on the mash bed and potentially causing a stuck or compacted mash. I built the controller myself, just need to put some vinyl decals on.

 

[Heitdj22]

Thanks for the replies! feedback is very helpful. Honestly think you guys are convincing me to be more minimal! If anyone here is married, you KNOW what I'm talking about. LOL. Less equipment, less money, and wife is happy.

My thoughts on this: I love the idea of only 1 pump. Makes life easier. Less hoses to worry about.

@McKnuckle do you have any pictures of your setup?
I am currently only brewing 5G batches, but want to be able to brew larger grain bills, and larger sized batches.
I have 2 7G SS brew Buckets. So, I can definitely brew up to 12 G batches at once. Should I stick with MT and BK at 15G or up to 20G if I want to do smaller batch sizes?

Not complicating things would be nice. What type of efficiencies would you expect getting with this type setup?
Also, With increasing kettle size, I will need to beef up my cooling process after the boil. Any Recommendations?

@mpdog
I like the 3 way valve. That seems like the best option to me.

@Genuine
Do you like the autosparge?

 

[Genuine]

@Genuine
Do you like the autosparge?

Absolutely love it. Prior to having it, I could fiddle with my flow rate however I could never be beyond eyesight of the kettle to be sure that the element wouldn't run dry. With it, I can have the pump valve fully open if wanted, and the auto sparge regulates the rest for me. I usually keep the pump valve half open during the mash and I don't have to worry about a thing. I consistantly get 72% efficiency with mine, 70% or so for high OG beers. I just upgraded to the 20 gallon kettle and the thing you have to be careful of is the amount of liquid you need in the kettle to be sure the element is covered. I did a water test run on mine with an amount I'd usually use for a 5 gallon batch and it came super close in the 20 gallon kettle. In my 15.5 gallon keggle, it wasn't a worry whatsoever. I'll be doing a 10 gallon batch this weekend and I'll report back. I'll make a brew day video of that as well.

Also, in my above picture, the thermometer is finally submerged in liquid at the 6-7 gallon mark...so if it's below that, it's useless.

For cooling, I use a Counterflow Wort Chiller which will chill the wort down to pitching temps in one pass, especially this time of the year for me. Ground water for me is in the 50 degree range during the winter so it does a great job. Summer months it takes a bit longer so I just slow down my pump rate. I can usually chill a 10 gallon batch and into the fermenter in about 20 minutes or less.

 

[McKnuckle]

This is the only pic I could find, sorry, it's quite cluttered looking! My brew room is also my workshop.

I brew 2.5 gallon batches on this pictured setup.

On the left is a Clawhammer 10.5 gal kettle, employed as a mash tun with the pump hooked up in recirc mode. It's feeding through the kettle lid to a spray nozzle on the inside.

On the right is an SS Brewtech 5.5 gal kettle used for boiling. All connectors are quick disconnects, so I will heat strike water in the smaller kettle, then pump it over to the mash tun. After mashing, it's easy to just move the output from the mash tun lid to the boil kettle. I can either connect it to the ball valve or just hang it over the opening, perhaps into a filter.

 

[Toto's]

No need of 2 pumps unless you decide to brew 2 beers in a row.
Can not recirculate MT and whirlpool the BK at the same time.
I usually brew 2 or 3 beers in a row and whirlpool delay my production with only 1 pump .

 

[Genuine]

The advantage I have with the HotRod Heatstick is that I can transfer it from my kettle during the WP when I no longer need heat...and start heating up the water in my mash tun if I'm doing back to back brew days.

 

[50calshooter]

Take a look at High Gravity Brewing two vessel systems, The prices on their turn key packages save bucks and you get everything you need. I have the 10 gallon/240v/2V system in my Brewpub

 

[Heitdj22]

Hey, Been pretty busy lately.

Things I have decided on is 2 vessel 1 pump rims tube and k-rims hybrid setup.

My kettle port locations are below.
I am going to be doing a electric setup.

In the BK, I will have a 5500W 240V element.

I will place the rims tube with a 1600W 120V element and flow from the BK to MT, which will help maintain consistent temps during the mash.

I will provide flow diagram soon.

Thoughts?

 

[Heitdj22]

this will be process