33 gallons of fermentation space!

[Huaco]

Yes, I don't see why it wouldn't work. This functionality is what I had in mind when I put it all together. Right now, I have a glass carboy laggering at 38 and my Dus Alt is in active fermentation being held at about 56 or 57. The heat wrap really doesn't even cycle as much as I thought it would. The tape doesn't get NEAR as hot as I thought it would. I have something like 90 watts using the length (4 ft). Don't think 90 Watts of light bulb heat. There is WAY more surface area on these wraps than a light bulb. You can put your hand on the tape and leave it there for as long as you want. It is more just a gentle heat. I don't have any worries about heating the plastic drum with such a gentle heat.

 

[Varmintman]

Say Huaco I am wondering if you have tried to empty them yet with water and what kind of pressure it took. I would think that once you got a siphon going that would take care of it until the levels equaled and then you would have to keep on increasing the pressure until empty.

 

[Huaco]

Yeah, I noted my "Proof of concept" in post #16.
The idea is to be able to rack to a keg with no exposure to Oxygen. If you just got the flow started and shut off the gas, it would soon stop flowing because it is a closed system.

 

[fc36]

Can this set up lager a beer at 38 degrees F and have an ale fermenting next to it at 65 degrees or even higher like a saison? I am wondering how the reptile heaters against the plastic would handle the extremes- for instance would the tape become too hot over prolonged exposure and damage the malt bins that are being used as fermentors.

I love this set up and thanks for the great step by step of your process.

I can't speak for the system being able to hold two beers side by side at such differing temperatures, but I can tell you that those plastic barrels are extremely durable and have very thick sides. As a chemical engineer and a former lab chemist who worked with them time and time again, I can tell you that we would routinely store highly flammable chemicals in them in the back of our truck and it would easily reach temps of 130F and higher during the summer with the sun beating down on the metal roof of the truck's cargo area. Also, my company would store these outdoors in huge rows sometimes double and triple stacked right next to >400F distillation comlumn ducts and piping and we had no problems or leaks beside the occasional worker running a forklift's forks through the sidewall and puncturing them. They are sturdy, strong, heat and cold resistant, food safe, and chemically inert. I'll let Huaco handle the temperature differential question.

 

[Roadliner]

So there is no issue with the co2 stirring up the trub? I love this idea... Trying to think of how I can talk the SWMBO into letting me revamp everything again to allow 11 gallon batches lol.

 

[JoseLima]

One thing about brewing.... Your always learning!

 

[Huaco]

So there is no issue with the co2 stirring up the trub? I love this idea... Trying to think of how I can talk the SWMBO into letting me revamp everything again to allow 11 gallon batches lol.

Nope... should not be. The gas is being pushed into the carboy by the top bung opening, not the bottom of the racking cane. It pushes into the carboy also pushing down on the beer, creating head pressure and forcing beer out of the racking cane, just like if you had started a siphon.

 

[Huaco]

One thing about brewing.... Your always learning!

Man... ain't that the truth!

 

[Huaco]

Started on my Triple STC-1000 controlled box yesterday evening. The start of something fun. Cramming all this stuff in one junction box...
[caveman hands not good]

 

[Roadliner]

What size freezer is that? Have you thought about putting a keezer collar on there to give yourself more headspace for an airlock?

 

[Huaco]

What size freezer is that? Have you thought about putting a keezer collar on there to give yourself more headspace for an airlock?

It is a 15 cu. ft. (I edited the first post to include that... sorry)

Yeah, I had thought of adding a collar to it when I first got it because I was going to make a serving/cellering chamber out of it.
You can see the barb elbow does quite well at venting the gas down to the blowoff bucket. I have SOOOOOO much head space in the drums (4 gallons), I don't see any issues with the blowoff tube getting krausen in it. No collar required now... it all fit!

 

[breckenridge]

Do the vessels open up for cleaning? What's your setup for that?

 

[Huaco]

Do the vessels open up for cleaning? What's your setup for that?

No, they do not open up. They do have a 2" bung that I insert a keg cleaner in. I will be getting a proper drum cleaner nozzle to place on the pump output riser soon.

You can find details on how to build the keg/carboy/drum cleaner here.

 

[chadillac7819]

Subbed. Huaco you are the man! I have a similar setup with a mini-fridge and converted 48" cabinet for a ferm chamber so this would be perfect. After breaking two glass carboys recently (one empty and one full of IPA) I was going to buy some of those Speidel 60L fermenters from More Beer but this may be easier and cheaper. Thanks!

 

[Roadliner]

wow.. I've never seen those containers in real life.. but seeing it on top of a 5 gallon bucket really puts it in perspective how large they are.

 

[steber]

I have one STC1000 now, I plan to cannibalize that controller and incorporate it into an 8x8x4 PVC junction box I got today from the electrical supply store. I will have 3 hot/cold switched receptacles in the panel. The coldest fermentation will be controlled with the "master" controller and it will control the chest on and off. The other two controllers will heat the other two malt drum fermentors with reptile heat tape. Each of these drums will have a wrap of Reflectix to keep the heat reflecting into the vessel.
This will all be written up here in this thread once I can document it with pictures...

I'm interested in how you get this to work.. right now I use my freezer as a ferm chamber with the stc1000. I just got into kegging and would like to be able to keep a keg or 2 at serve temp and still have a fermenter in at 60-65 degrees.

 

[Huaco]

I'm interested in how you get this to work.. right now I use my freezer as a ferm chamber with the stc1000. I just got into kegging and would like to be able to keep a keg or 2 at serve temp and still have a fermenter in at 60-65 degrees.

Well, it apparently worked out very well. I checked the gravity last night on my first batch to ferment (Dus Alt 7C) and it attenuated 77% to 5.1ABV. Right where I had expected it to be. :rockin: I think I need to adjust the temp offset on my controller though, because the sample I pulled was a few degrees higher than my set point. Beer still turned out great though.

 

[mmeadows24]

Huaco, you ever get the pics on the epic 3 stc 1000 junction box build!! I am looking to do this setup myself.

 

[Huaco]

Huaco, you ever get the pics on the epic 3 stc 1000 junction box build!! I am looking to do this setup myself.

The temp controller I ordered for it got used to build a buddy's single temp controller he needed for his super bowl bash. I had to order one more for mine. It just came in Saturday, so I will be finishing it up soon. Hope to have pix up some time this week.

 

[mmeadows24]

Nice, I really want to do that build but I have no idea how I want to setup the box. I really want something clean looking but not drop a ridiculous amount of money on a box to put it in.

 

[Huaco]

Put some more hours into this build this evening... Not quite finished. Probably another hour of work on it and it will be done. (I suck at soldering)

 

[Huaco]

Do the vessels open up for cleaning? What's your setup for that?

No, they do not open up. They do have a 2" bung that I insert a keg cleaner in. I will be getting a proper drum cleaner nozzle to place on the pump output riser soon.

You can find details on how to build the keg/carboy/drum cleaner here.

I just took delivery of this beast of a CIP ball... It won't fit into carboys but it sure will make cleaning these drums MUCH better!

 

[Huaco]

Decided to go with crimp-on pin terminals... Just ordered them on ebay. I am having a HECK of a time getting the 14ga stranded wire to stay in the terminals. I crank down on them till they are really tight, then a little later if I bump the wire, it comes out of the terminal. I initially tried to tin the ends and they were really too big then to fit into the receiver. So... I guess I won't be finishing my multi-temp controller until those come in the mail... Crud...

Better to be safe than sorry right? Let me tell you, it is getting CROWDED in the box with a 3-gang old work box, three STC-1000's, three inline fuse holders, six "cool and heat" pilot lights AND three mono headphone jack receptacles for the temp probes.

 

[Huaco]

Updated the first post with link to my 3 Temp Ferm Controller. Also in Sig Line.

 

[kerschup]

This project is awesome. I like the system you have setup for transferring beer from vessel to vessel at the different stages of the process. I was wondering about having multiple containers in the same space at such different temps. It seems you done it and it works, but i wonder how it affects the efficiency of the freezer. You have such a large thermal mass at 38 and one at 57 it seems like they are going to fight each other to maintain temps. Have you noticed if the freezer cycles more if you are trying to maintain two temps on two containers than if you are just trying to maintain on temp in one container?

 

[Norie_]

UPDATED:
Updates start HERE with the thermowell build.

Thermowell installation and Heat Tape install.


Pressure-Racking Assembly

Pressure-Racking installation and testing.


3-Way Fermentation Temp Controller 1 Chamber

Original Post:
Today I went to my LHBS and picked up (3) 15 gallon malt drums he had been saving for me. I was not sure if all 3 would fit in my 15 cu. ft. chest ferm chamber because I had laid them out with cardboard last week and it looked like they would over lap and be too tight with three drums in there. Well... to my surprise, they all fit in there with no shoving. I plan to pump directly into the sanitized fermentor from my chiller so I will NOT be lifting these drums over the top of the chest. Likewise, I plan to push the beer out with CO2 when racking to kegs. I need to pick up a bung wrench to remove the large bung plugs.

The way I figure it, if I brew 10.5 to 11 gallon batches, I can ferment all in one container. I will have to run blow-off tubes all the time because I don't have head space above the tops of the containers.

Wow. Two weeks ago I also was given these same malt drums from my LHBS! I was thinking of fermenting in them. Then I come across this thread. Awesome.

 

[GrogNerd]

Wow. Two weeks ago I also was given these same malt drums from my LHBS! I was thinking of fermenting in them. Then I come across this thread. Awesome.

just the opposite for me

was reading this thread earlier today and was going to ask my LHBS about them when I went in this afternoon

he just had one float, was sitting next to the checkout counter

I asked him what he was going to do with it, he said I could take it if I wanted it.

not sure if I will ever do a 10 or 11 gallon batch. I just made it up to full boil with my 5 gallons. I would have to get a bigger boil kettle

 

[Leadgolem]

just the opposite for me

was reading this thread earlier today and was going to ask my LHBS about them when I went in this afternoon

he just had one float, was sitting next to the checkout counter

I asked him what he was going to do with it, he said I could take it if I wanted it.

not sure if I will ever do a 10 or 11 gallon batch. I just made it up to full boil with my 5 gallons. I would have to get a bigger boil kettle

Or do multiple boils.

 

[GrogNerd]

Or do multiple boils.

or this, yes. but then I couldn't justify getting a bigger BK

also have to consider doubling up on bottling. kegging is waaaaaaaay down the road

 

[BetterSense]

Have you considered insulating your 2 higher- temp vessels? I have a similar setup but with corny kegs instead of drums. I have done it with the heated keg uninsulated and can't say i've had a problem, but now i have a layer of reflective insulation wrapped around it.