75 gal brewpots: what am I forgetting?

[kjlonghill]

I've been brewing 10 gal batches for a couple years now and have a couple 75gal stainless barrels I've been using for collecting sap. I've had the welds checked, they look good. Now I'm ready to buy propane burners. I'm thinking several banjo burners but how many? And how to chill 50gal of wort? Immersion or plate chiller? Are 1/2" fittings going to be big enough or do I need to upgrade and what about pump size? Just a lot to think about going 5x bigger. Also, I'm thinking of using my arch and pan as a preheater. The system is going in my sugarhouse since most of the year it sits unused. Any ideas would be appreciated-- thanks

 

[camiller]

For the clubs 100 gallon kettle (85 gallon nominal batch size) we use three burners like these but I kind of wish they were higher BTU as it takes us awhile to get to boiling. For a 50 gallon batch you could probably get by with two banjos but three might give you more even heating and you could turn them down lower. We gravity drain the kettle through two counter flow chillers basically the hose from the kettle goes to a "Y" then to the chillers then to two individual club members fermentors for a maximum of 17 five gallon splits.

 

[Cape Brewing]

My rig uses a 45 gal HLT and 45 gal BK... and while there has been much heated debate on this site about them, I use 32 tip NG jet burners and love them.

For chilling, I use a 32 plate chiller... boil to about 100 is REALLY fast and then, simply because I am just using "hose water" to the chiller, the 100-70 drop takes a bit longer.

 

[mrbowenz]

+1 on the 32 tip jet burners , I use LP gas, but they are 275,000 btu's and heat 55 gallons fast.

 

[Cape Brewing]

(LOL... mrbowenz... my brother in arms in the "YES YOU CAN ADJUST THESE BURNERS!" fight).

 

[mrbowenz]

(LOL... mrbowenz... my brother in arms in the "YES YOU CAN ADJUST THESE BURNERS!" fight).

Mrbowenz has your back too!... Cape Brewing

 

[ptra1004]

Not sure about the burners, but I would definitely say use a plate chiller. And then look up the DIY glycol system, especially if you are looking at batches over 50 or 60 gallons, a two stage chiller (h20/glycol) is way more efficient and uses 1/2 the water. My cousin has one although he (and I) is on a well, making for super cold chilling water in December (big storage tank).

 

[Cape Brewing]

The glycol comment rang a bell... How are you going to ferment such large batches? I have a few 15 gallon sankes and three fermentation fridges (and a walk on cooler) that I can temp control ferment. With batches that big, if you ferment all in one huge fermenter, that thing is goin to toss a ton of heat.

 

[kjlonghill]

Thanks, all, for your help-- I'm just doing 5gal fermenters as they're easier to lift (I use plastic-- bad, I know, but still waiting for some proof)-- transferring into sanke's for the secondary and final. Wonder about mounting 3 burners and propane use? Any thoughts? Also, copper-welds in the plate chillers supposedly break down from the acid in the beer. Are some not copper welded? Thanks again for any ideas

 

[Cape Brewing]

I'm no expert but I'm a bit skeptical on the "break down from acid in the beer" part. I'm sure someone will hop in an disagree with me but I've been using my plate chiller for about a year and a half, it has copper welds (my whoel rig is hard-plumbed with copper) and I've never had a problem with it.

you're not leaving beer in it for extended periods of time. When I'm done chilling, I pour off into my fermenter, dump the hot/cold break from my BK, give the BK a quick scrub and then run one or two series of hot water and Oxy through the plumbing and chiller to rinse it out. Lastly I'll run some regular cold water to flush the system completely... so... like I was saying, you're not going to have beer in the chiller that long.

 

[ptra1004]

That's a lot of 5gallon tanks! Why not look for more SS drums if you are going to put the "dough-in" to the rest of the system? Not criticizing, just asking... Also, I've not heard of the acid/copper issue, but I'm a PoliSci guy not Chemistry. KegWorks.com has had some good plate chiller info on the site lately.

 

[camiller]

Copper is only a concern after fermentation is done. The trace amounts of copper in the wort from either passing through copper plumbing/plate chiller or from contact with an immersion chiller are consumed by the yeast and are in fact good for yeast health.

 

[Mike3701]

How fast are the the 32 tip burners heating 55 gallons? Has anyone used the 42 tip or is that overkill? If that's possible.