30 Gallon BIAB System

[Buxsquad]

I wanted to get some opinions on building a 30 Gallon BIAB system. My initial thoughts were to do a Stout tank with single 5500w element, but the more I have read the more I think that 2 - 5500w elements are the way to go? I am going to fabricate a brew cart with some sort of hoist (maybe electric gantry type hoist) to lift spent grains! I have heard that some of the custom made brew bags are very strong and can hold the weight of doing large batch (looking for 15g yields), but also considering making some type of steamer basket that can be lined with bag to ensure no broken bags. I am planning on doing recirculating system which I assume is probably going to be essential with such a large brew? Finally, I am planning on using the following kit as basis for my control panel (http://www.ebrewsupply.com/shop/ebrew-kits/pid-2-element-2-pumps-50a-kit.html).

I would really appreciate input on this build. I was originally planning on a 3 vessel herms system, but everything I have read about BIAB makes me think ts may be the way to go!

 

[skunkfunk]

I am going to fabricate a brew cart with some sort of hoist (maybe electric gantry type hoist) to lift spent grains! I have heard that some of the custom made brew bags are very strong and can hold the weight of doing large batch (looking for 15g yields), but also considering making some type of steamer basket that can be lined with bag to ensure no broken bags.

How would you lift the bag with a hoist without a basket?

 

[mb82]

How would you lift the bag with a hoist without a basket?

My bag has handles sewn in. That would be possible.

 

[BrewHaas]

I built a similar system with 2, 5500w elements in a 25 gallon pot with an inner basket and hoist. It worked fine but for the addition of a big cooler to batch sparge in and some plastic buckets to hold the first runnings I can brew 20 gallons instead of 10.

 

[kzimmer0817]

How would you lift the bag with a hoist without a basket?

Just as it doesn't make sense to put together a setup consisting of 3 5-gallon vessels in order to perform 2-3 gallon brews, it makes me wonder if the intended goal should inform the method.

When one is considering 20+ gallons and doesn't wish to perform traditional 3-vessel brewing, i would suggest modifying the process. This is where I would strongly consider a 2-vessel process:

1. either one uses a large, bag-lined kettle exactly as the usual BIAB but, instead of hoisting a bag of hot wet grain, one simply drains from this vessel into a boil kettle. The bag would make the mashtun easy to clean.

2. or one adopts a Brutus 20 (Brutus 2.0) system as explained in several threads in this forum. Grain is mashed in a bag-lined kettle with appr half of the total volume of water while the other half is kept warm in the 2nd kettle. After mashing, a continuous cross-sparge is performed between the two kettles until equilibrium is reached. Then one drains all the wort into the boil kettle to finish the process.

Respectfully,
Keith

 

[iijakii]

There's also more traditional 3 vessel setups using coolers instead of a more complicated HERMS setup. I know there are people on here that do large BIAB but it's a real pain. I'm a big fan of the 2v rigs but I think on 20gallon setups I would insist on batch sparging for efficiency. An extra pound of basemalt is fine in small batches, but how much would you need for larger ones? That'd bug me, but I understand if you want time/simplicity over efficiency for sure.

 

[Buxsquad]

Thanks for the responses. My goal is to keep this relatively simple and BIAB seems to provide that simplicity! I hadn't looked at the 2 vessel systems and was hoping to only have to buy one large pot as mentioned, but I will take a look at these systems.

 

[kzimmer0817]

Thanks for the responses. My goal is to keep this relatively simple and BIAB seems to provide that simplicity! I hadn't looked at the 2 vessel systems and was hoping to only have to buy one large pot as mentioned, but I will take a look at these systems.

I think that this is a great idea to consider, though. I looked at the Bayou Classic website and see kettles at 122, 142, and 162 qts (30.5, 35.5, 40.5 gal) with their requisite baskets. Given the fact that many folks have abandoned recirculation for mash temp control, I would think that the huge mass of grain and water for a 30 gallon brew should hold temp quite well.

If your ceiling height is adequate, and electric hoist to lift the basket/bag/grain combo would be great. Then you could perform a single fly sparge with a few gallons of water with the basket/bag of grains suspended directly above the kettle.

That would give you a large capacity single-vessel system.

Keith

 

[schwartzr33]

Yeah, the basket is key if you want to recirculate. I destroyed several bags before I switched to a SS basket d/t bag suckage and melting. It took awhile, but we have our system dialed-in for 6 gal batches, with very solid temperature control during the mash. We haven't done a double batch yet, but that is the plan. Ironically, we drain all the wort temporarily into our old 15 gal. pot so that we can press the heck out of the grain bed, then pump back into the eBIAB for boiling. I guess technically we have a 2-vessel system.