About Time To Document This (Strut/Penrose/BCS-460 System)

[hyperboarder]

Eric, 4 SSR's on the system, one for each pump and element. 3 mechanical contactors, one for main power and one for each element. The water pump SSR does seem to be borked.

Unrelated, why the hell are you checking HBT from Mexico?

 

[ejluttmann]

Cause I still get up too damn early in the morning ... Nothing gets going around here till after 9am ... Nightlife doesn't start till 11pm, so that might explain why

I'm planning my next brew for when I get home, I've got Thursday off so ...


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[hyperboarder]

SSR swapped and the second pump is working great! First brew is tomorrow, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone. I'll post updates as I can.

 

[hyperboarder]

First brew is on the books! The mash was educational, had some trouble with pulling air through the MLT sight glass. Solved it temporarily by jamming a pencil eraser in there, but if anyone else has some advice (brew hardware sight glass FWIW), I'm all ears. I want a temporary solution so I can still use it for measuring strike water.

I think I need some priming valves on the front of the pumps as well to burp them and keep them flowing well. And some caps for the cam locks on the chiller to keep them covered when not in use.

All things considered though, not bad at all. Hit my numbers pretty much dead on and had a good time with it. Silence through the boil was nice, I forget how loud those damn propane burners are. Hoping to get the pieces I need this week and brew again next weekend.

 

[ChuckO]

The mash was educational, had some trouble with pulling air through the MLT sight glass. Solved it temporarily by jamming a pencil eraser in there, but if anyone else has some advice (brew hardware sight glass FWIW), I'm all ears. I want a temporary solution so I can still use it for measuring strike water.

I use a PVC cap that fits tightly over the sight glass to solve this problem. Once I have finished the dough in I put the cap on before I start the pump. I think that the cap came off a shipping tube for a specialty drill or end mill, don't remember exactly.

 

[hyperboarder]

I use a PVC cap that fits tightly over the sight glass to solve this problem. Once I have finished the dough in I put the cap on before I start the pump. I think that the cap came off a shipping tube for a specialty drill or end mill, don't remember exactly.

I'm thinking one of the little white caps from a carboy cap may work too, that's what Bobby suggested. I'm going to swing by my LHBS today to get one, see if it fixes it. Picked up the items needed for priming the pumps too, should be here Wednesday. I've got a KBS clone on deck for brewing next weekend.

 

[hyperboarder]

Some random pics from yesterday:

Heating strike water (computer is hiding off to the right on a table):


Chilling:


Another shot of chilling:


I took a video of the boil too, I'll see if I can get that uploaded as well.

 

[hyperboarder]

Weirdest fermentation on this beer. Took forever to get going, just now starting to ramp to high krausen. I apparently have the blow off tube in there weird too, no stream of bubbles, more like a big belch every 15 seconds or so. I know the mash was hotter than I wanted, we'll see how it turns out.

 

[Thonz]

which yeast did you use?

 

[hyperboarder]

US-05, relatively fresh pitch too. I was lazy and didn't rehydrate.

 

[hyperboarder]

Fermentation came back to life and looks to have finished out fine. Hydrometer sample this weekend will confirm. Dry hopped yesterday.

Put on some pump burp valves today which should help get everything flowing easier. Unfortunately one of the Chuggers is sounding a bit broken, very little use but I've had it long enough that I'm sure warranty is a no go. Oh well, I'll keep using it until it quits. Got a cap for the sight glass too, for anyone looking you can get a 3 pack of 1/2" screw caps at Lowes for $0.92, they fit great.

Burp valve pic:

 

[ejluttmann]

I need to add a burp valve as well ... Did you add those at the input or output side of the pump? Looks like the input I'd guess. Let me know how they work.


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[johns]

Which pump is burping? I think its the bottom one. I read somewhere (I think here) that there is a right way and a wrong way to in stall the pumps. Try to put the bottom pump in the same position as the top pump and then please post here.

 

[day_trippr]

^ That's true, the bottom pump in the picture has the inlet above the outlet which makes it more likely to cavitate...

Cheers!

 

[hyperboarder]

I need to add a burp valve as well ... Did you add those at the input or output side of the pump? Looks like the input I'd guess. Let me know how they work.


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Inlet, borrowed from MoreBeer: http://morebeer.com/products/march-pump-assembly.html

Which pump is burping? I think its the bottom one. I read somewhere (I think here) that there is a right way and a wrong way to in stall the pumps. Try to put the bottom pump in the same position as the top pump and then please post here.

^ That's true, the bottom pump in the picture has the inlet above the outlet which makes it more likely to cavitate...

Cheers!

Both have burpers now. The pump bodies are in the same position, the heads are rotatable at 90 degree intervals. The bottom one has actually been working better and is the quiet one, I might swap the head position on the top one to see if that helps.

 

[hyperboarder]

Brewed this today. Went ok. Programs all worked well with some tweaking. Need lids for the HLT and MLT to hold heat in better but all else is solid. Even the noisy pump calmed down a bit. Still working out the best way to sanitize the plate chiller too.

That particular recipe posed an interesting challenge. I've brewed a regular breakfast stout clone before on propane and had no issue with the chocolate melting and mixing. After I drained the kettle into the carboy today some of the chocolate was left in the bottom unmelted, I guess if they're far enough from the direct heat of the element they just don't melt. I'll toss them in a hop bag or something in the future. Also my OG didn't hit the 1.092 in that thread but Beersmith estimated it much lower (1.079). I was at 1.076.

 

[hyperboarder]

Brewed again today, pilsner this time. 90 minute mash, 90 minute boil. I've discovered a new issue, this system is so automated that it's a bit boring to brew . Watched some Breaking Bad, played some video games, etc. It went well, though I've found I'm coming up a bit shy on the OG's. Pre-boil estimate was 1.037, hit 1.036. OG estimate was 1.049, hit 1.045. I can't quite understand it, any insights?

I did have a rather successful IT evening. I was running the BCS on a separate network on an old WRT54G. Tonight I flashed it to DD-WRT and set it up as a wireless bridge, meaning it's now on our normal wireless so I can dick around on the internet while napping through 90 minute mashes/boils .

Big IIPA planned for next weekend (should be more data for the low OG issue) and hopefully 10 gallons of a sour stout the weekend after. I think that will fill every fermenter I have.

 

[HDDSlinger]

Great build hyper! I am building a Kal clone now. One of the things that seems to come up as a common issue is pulling air in the sight glass causing cavitation. The common cause is not using a loose crush. Kal recommends .45 for the gap. Since you are reticulating you do not need a fine crush to get good efficiency. The loose crush will help the water recirculate through the grain bed and avoid creating suction under your false bottom. He runs his pumps wide open during the mash without suction issues due to the loose crush.

 

[hyperboarder]

Update: Slow summer of brewing for multiple reasons, but back at it. I brewed 10 gallons of IPA last weekend, pitched half with Belgian yeast, half with east coast. I was much closer on numbers, over a bit in fact. I added a tap in the house water line before the softener but after the filter, seemed to help a good deal. Checked temp consistency too, it was within a degree or so of what the BCS claimed. Still having cavitation in the mash tun though, which causes an odd stop/start pumping. I recently rebuilt my mill and set the gap at .036", I may open it a bit to see if that helps. That said I'm pretty happy with things right now.

I also picked up another kettle so I have a complete gas system as well. Hoping to do some double batches soon side by side.

 

[hyperboarder]

For anyone interested I've put this up for sale along with a 4 tap kegerator and a ferm chamber. Please shoot me a PM if you're in the area and interested.