All Grain Setup Questions

[user 108580]

A friend and I are putting together a system for all grain brewing. We've pretty much bought everything we need to get this project done. One of the last things we need to do is build our stand to hold the 3 kettles we have purchased and, of course, brew.

Looking online I have seen 3 designs for an all grain set up.

Gravity setup:

Level setup:

And the sort of hybrid gravity/level setup:

Obviously the gravity setup uses gravity to move the liquids from pot to pot, the level setup uses a pump, and the hybrid set up a combination of both.

I was wondering what the pros and cons to each setup are. Does the efficiency improve with one version over the other? Does one option open up the door to broader ideas and brewing methods? Any input and suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Right now I'm leaning towards the level setup because having a pump would allow me to filter my beer without doing a keg to keg transfer and potentially use a plate chiller some time in the future.

Thanks guys and happy brewing

 

[PurpleJeepXJ]

Combine all 3. Do the tree set up in the 1st picture but use a cooler as your mash tun in the middle. That way you only need 2 burners and no pumps. If you have the money the level system with a pump is the way to go. But I use the tree set-up because it is the simplest and least expensive.

 

[Jamming]

I buildt a stand and bought one March pump, But may ad another in the future. One thing i have relized if you are Fly sparging and have a good Stainless keg for Mash Tun you dont really need But one burner, One is really all i use and i made a stand for three. I heat my tank to about 11-14 degrees above mash and transfer to Tun, And the Keg does a greatt job of holding temps. Better than exspected for sure.

 

[webgodhog]

^+1

Honestly, you are going to get all kinds of answers based on personal preference. I went with the 3 tier
gravity system and am extremely happy with it. I don't have to worry about any electrical setup. Since you already have the kettles, I would get some insulation to wrap your mash tun to hold in the heat. Good luck and let us know what you decide on!

 

[Polboy]

i have gravity setup but with relatively low ceiling in my garage my bk is not as elevated as i would like to, when put together with CFC i use for cooling transferring from BK to carboys takes 20-30min, im thinking about adding pump to my setup to speed it up and have a better whirlpool, may be one day, beside that im very happy with my setup (to kegs and one cooler)

 

[Pie_Man]

I was wondering what the pros and cons to each setup are. Does the efficiency improve with one version over the other? Does one option open up the door to broader ideas and brewing methods? Any input and suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Right now I'm leaning towards the level setup because having a pump would allow me to filter my beer without doing a keg to keg transfer and potentially use a plate chiller some time in the future.

Thanks guys and happy brewing

Efficiency in terms of the amount of sugar extracted from the grains won't be affected by the design of the brew sculpture, that's more of a mash tun and water related process.

I don't know if one option would open the door to broader brewing methods. Having a direct fire mash tun, or a recirculating mash are the two things that I can think of (my brewing setup is very simple at the moment, so I'm not an expert on these things). I would think a level system might be easier to setup recirculation with. Also, maybe I'm wierd, but I don't like the idea of really hot water and burners being above my head while I'm brewing, so again I think the level system wins there too. Good luck, you'll have to post some pics when you're done.

 

[tally350z]

What sizes kettles do you have? Or are you using keggles?

 

[user 108580]

What sizes kettles do you have? Or are you using keggles?

Two 15 Gal Polarware pots for HLT and Mash Tun and a 20 gallon Blichman Boil Maker for Boil kettle.

 

[user 108580]

Efficiency in terms of the amount of sugar extracted from the grains won't be affected by the design of the brew sculpture, that's more of a mash tun and water related process.

I'm still pretty new to brewing but what I meant when I said increased efficiency was like the options for whirlpooling and recirculating. With a gravity setup this wouldnt really be possible without utilizing a pump. But again, I'm a n00b and dont even know if processes like this do alter efficiency, or if they are done for another purpose.

Any links to a forum that explain different processes and what they do? ie fly sparging, whirlpooling, etc.

 

[Jamming]

Spend the money on a pump and fly sparge has improved every part of my set-up. I mash in a 15 gallon Keg and fly sparge from my 15 gallon keg with a pump and i always seem to hit my OG attempt. I mash and then sparge, then clean keg and use it for my boil, Because i only have two kegs and one has a pickup tube. One thing about the kegs is they will last a lifetime if cared for. Worth the asking price.

 

[kh54s10]

For cost and simplicity I have built a 3 tier (4 actually) gravity system. I used 2x4s and plywood. With 2 propane burners.

I started by figuring out the height of the boil kettle valve to drain into my Better bottle on the floor. Then the mash tun high enough to drain into the BK and finally the HLT high enough to drain into the MT. I have it set up on my porch. It is really nice to have a permanent set up.

 

[user 108580]

What about the beer pumps. I want to sparge slow and drain my wort slow to the boil kettle. Like 14 gallons over the course of an hour. Can these pumps be choked back enough to pump that slow without damaging the pump?

 

[webgodhog]

They sure can. You put a ball valve on the OUT port of the pump and use that to limit the flow. It's very specific, if you limit the flow on the input, you can hurt the pump since you do not want to run them dry. So you would open the valve from the mash tun full open to the pump and limit on the output side.

 

[user 108580]

So I decided to go with the Hybrid set up. The Mash Tun and the HLT will be raised and the boil kettle will be lowered. We're currently having a friend of ours weld up the stand. I will show pictures and (maybe) a video if people would like to see the set up.

 

[user 108580]

My friend who's welding up our brewing stand stopped by to check all the measurements before he made the final welds. Everything fit on the first try! Now he'll make the final welds and well be one step closer to our all grain set up!

 

[user 108580]

Got the stand back from my welder friend. Time to mount the burners and gas lines and paint it!

 

[user 108580]

Mounted the burners and the heat shields today.

 

[user 108580]

Got everything mounted today!

Heres a shot of the pump and switch:

And heres a shot of the whole thing:

Now it's time to tear it all down, wire wheel the hell out of it and throw some paint on it!