3-in-1 "Boil Kettle, Jacketed Chiller, Conical Fermenter" by Brewha

[KIAKillerXJ]

I REALLY, REALLY want this!

What do organs go for these days? 3k? I don't really need BOTH kidneys, right?

 

[KIAKillerXJ]

Here is a question I've been having though, what is the actual mashing capacity? The conical is 20 gal, the colander is 15. I was trying to calculate out what kind of high gravity 10 gal batch I'd be able to do. My barleywine recipe is 54 lbs, but I currently do it in my 25 gal kettle.

 

[MeetsCriteria]

Here is a question I've been having though, what is the actual mashing capacity? The conical is 20 gal, the colander is 15. I was trying to calculate out what kind of high gravity 10 gal batch I'd be able to do. My barleywine recipe is 54 lbs, but I currently do it in my 25 gal kettle.

I'd recommend contacting Nathan at Brewha via their website...I'm sure he could tell you what sort of efficiencies he's getting which would help you figure out how to adapt your recipe to the BIAC.

 

[Jimmy82]

Wouldn't the limiting factor still be the size of the conical portion? So it would be the same as doing a 10g BIAB in a 20g pot? I could be off on that logic, but I'm thinking the limitation is the amount of space that the water + grain will take up in the conical before it overflows.

If you add a "sparge", then your capacity limit would likely be the size of the colander (the amount of grain the colander can actually hold).

 

[KIAKillerXJ]

Wouldn't the limiting factor still be the size of the conical portion? So it would be the same as doing a 10g BIAB in a 20g pot? I could be off on that logic, but I'm thinking the limitation is the amount of space that the water + grain will take up in the conical before it overflows.

If you add a "sparge", then your capacity limit would likely be the size of the colander (the amount of grain the colander can actually hold).

I guess thats the portion I'm trying to wrap my head around. There is obviously more dead space in the conical portion, not allowing full use of 20 gal. But then the colander is taller than the conical.... Think I could figure it out with it in front of me, but having a hard time visualizing how all the water and grain finds a equilibrium through the two separate pieces.

 

[Jimmy82]

I guess thats the portion I'm trying to wrap my head around. There is obviously more dead space in the conical portion, not allowing full use of 20 gal. But then the colander is taller than the conical.... Think I could figure it out with it in front of me, but having a hard time visualizing how all the water and grain finds a equilibrium through the two separate pieces.

I'm thinking it would still be the 20g. You can't have anything higher than the height of the conical itself, otherwise the liquid will spill out between the colander and the conical.

 

[KIAKillerXJ]

I'm thinking it would still be the 20g. You can't have anything higher than the height of the conical itself, otherwise the liquid will spill out between the colander and the conical.

Thats what I'm thinking too. Except it wont be 20 gal, since the colander can't go all the way to the bottom of the conical. So I'm not sure why the colander sticks up so much higher than the conical, except for the tri-clover fitting attached to it.

 

[Boar Beer]

While the kettle may be 20-21 gallons you will need to save a 1/4 of it for head space in the conical. So you biggest batch should be about 15 gallons. If you put in more you just blow the excess out the blow off tube.

Still even if you get 12 gallons of beer it is replacing two 6 gallon carboys

But i still need a HLT to do a proper sparge

 

[KIAKillerXJ]

While the kettle may be 20-21 gallons you will need to save a 1/4 of it for head space in the conical. So you biggest batch should be about 15 gallons. If you put in more you just blow the excess out the blow off tube.

Still even if you get 12 gallons of beer it is replacing two 6 gallon carboys

But i still need a HLT to do a proper sparge

Yes, that's true. Understand that for fermenting volume. Was merely trying to figure out mash capacities with the BIAC setup. I do true full volume BIAB now, with some pretty massive quantities. So, I'd need to scale back, but not sure how much smaller I'd have to go in my downsize.

Current Setup: 25 gal kettle, and full to the brim!

 

[Jimmy82]

Thats what I'm thinking too. Except it wont be 20 gal, since the colander can't go all the way to the bottom of the conical. So I'm not sure why the colander sticks up so much higher than the conical, except for the tri-clover fitting attached to it.

I think it would still be 20g though, because as you add grain, it's going to raise the water level. The only other factor is the amount of water that the colander would displace.

So in the end, what you're looking at is the amount of space that the water + grains + colander displace - all of which combine inside of the 20g capacity of the conical. The extra space on the colander is likely there for convenience (so if you've got a full mash you're not right next to the rim, so you can add the triclover, and for handles to remove it from the conical).

If your concern is that the water level isn't going to be high enough to saturate all of the grains, I don't think it will be an issue. A 10g no-sparge will likely take ~15g of water, filling the conical 3/4 of the way and adding grain will only make that level rise higher.

 

[67cougargt]

If you are recirculating the mash shouldn't the space under the colander not be an issue. I think you could also use a hoist to raise and hold the colander providing space for sparging.

 

[Jimmy82]

If you are recirculating the mash shouldn't the space under the colander not be an issue. I think you could also use a hoist to raise and hold the colander providing space for sparging.

Yes, you can sparge. There's a 2nd set of handles on the bottom of the colander that actually sit on top of the conical so you don't have to keep it lifted..the handles hold it there for you.

 

[67cougargt]

Nice!

 

[Jimmy82]

They just released a couple videos of the BIAC in use:

Full Video
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ojtYKokOD8[/ame]

Short Version
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKdYpaL3a-Q[/ame]

 

[Jimmy82]

My BIAC is shipping next week

MeetsCriteria, have you been brewing much with this? How's the temp control been working out? I'm likely going to have to lower temps, but don't really want to hook it up to a faucet that's always on (would prefer closed loop). Have you been chilling during fermentation? What have you been using?

 

[MeetsCriteria]

I have not had to chill during fermentation yet.

My theoretical solution will be to either use my same temp control system but intermittently putting frozen jugs of water in the 5 gal cooler, vs. finding a cheap / used marine fish tank cooler similar to this (but cheaper):

http://www.jbjchillers.com/contents/en-us/d760.html

If the temp in the basement is still cool enough, I may go ahead and use the water faucet solution...just am not wanting to use a lot of water to do it. I like the closed loop idea the best, for obvious reasons.

I'll probably brew again this weekend, I'm thinking.

Can't wait to see your set-up!

 

[Jimmy82]

My biggest concern with the water faucet solution is coming home to a leak that's been running all day. At least with the closed loop you're limited to the volume of liquid in the circuit.

 

[MeetsCriteria]

My biggest concern with the water faucet solution is coming home to a leak that's been running all day. At least with the closed loop you're limited to the volume of liquid in the circuit.

Yes, that would be a bummer. Only if you had a drain in the floor could you ever feel really safe in that situation.

The closed loop system is low pressure as well. Without a flow restriction I can't imagine it leaking. The ice in the water jug is probably easiest, as you probably would only need it for the first few days of fermentation (depending on ambient temps of course).

 

[cerevisiae33]

I had all but decided to get a 10 gallon setup from stout tanks but after seeing this thread and looking at the BIAC I'm really liking the idea of it. Thanks for sharing your experiences with the Brewha equipment and keep updating us on how its working out.

 

[MeetsCriteria]

Caught a break and got a window of time to brew today.

The idea is a clone of alesmith X. Since I didn't have much to go off of other than the number off Alesmith's website and having tried the IPA and X side by side, I used the widely published Alesmith IPA recipe and backed off on the gravity, as well as using slightly lighter malts (lighter munich and crystal 15L vs. 20L).

In any case, for once I didn't have efficiency issues (which has nothing to do with the 3-in-1, though perhaps has a little to do with the fact that my system has been modified overall)

In any case, I finally hit my numbers spot on. I used the 3-in-1 to preheat my mash water and sparge water. I decided to get the total volume of water to a relative strike temp such that when I added the grain with the herms on, the overall system equilibrated at my mash temp. So for me that was 156 for 11.5 gal (4.5 gal mash tun, 7 gal HLT), which worked great as the system settled at my mash temp of 151.

Thus today, really for the first time, I was fully able to appreciate the experience with the 3-in-1. Deleting the transfer step between the boil and fermentation is such a time saver.

 

[davehenry]

Great thread! I was just able to view the biac last week up close. I'm sold in the idea but since I brew outside on my deck, I'm not sure where I would store the unit. I'd have to be able to lift it up a couple of stairs to get it inside and then down a couple of more to get it to my fermenting area. This has me looking at their jacketed brew pots.


Brewing up a storm in Langley, British Columbia

 

[Jimmy82]

 

[MeetsCriteria]

Congratulations!!! You're going to love it!

 

[MeetsCriteria]

I just saw this...not something I'd be interested in...but being able to directly and easily convert your fermenter to a still? That is pretty amazing! They aren't selling the condenser column yet...but it's coming!

 

[Jimmy82]

I just saw this...not something I'd be interested in...but being able to directly and easily convert your fermenter to a still? That is pretty amazing! They aren't selling the condenser column yet...but it's coming!

Very neat indeed!

 

[cerevisiae33]

Ordered my BIAC today. Next batch will be shipping in August. Can you tell me what the dimension is on the the inside of the mash colander from the triclamp to the other side. Want to get a sparge arm like this http://conical-fermenter.com/Sparge-Arm-10.html to replace the hose but don't know whether to get the 10" or 12".

 

[MeetsCriteria]

Well maybe Jimmy82 can weigh in on this. I don't actually have the BIAC myself. Alternatively, I would think brewha would be able to answer your question?

That is an interesting solution. If you go that route, please be sure to post results!

 

[Jimmy82]

Ordered my BIAC today. Next batch will be shipping in August. Can you tell me what the dimension is on the the inside of the mash colander from the triclamp to the other side. Want to get a sparge arm like this http://conical-fermenter.com/Sparge-Arm-10.html to replace the hose but don't know whether to get the 10" or 12".

Mine is 17" from the inside triclover to the wall of the colander.

 

[sabitu]

I was checking the 3-in-1 out and saw that ground shipping to the U.S. is over $400. Is this accurate?

 

[cerevisiae33]

Yes. When I placed my order shipping was $475.