Anyone using a range hood over boil kettle?

[Rob2010SS]

I went and purchased a range hood to install over my boil kettle. I installed it last weekend and used it for the first time a couple of days ago. It works pretty well. Probably could have gone a bit more powerful but was trying to be budget friendly.

My issue: some of the steam seems to be condensing when it gets past the filters and touches the underside of the hood and the fan. It's condensing and collecting on the filters and I need to continually wipe them off.

After researching the topic, I've found that a condensate hood was probably better suited to brewing. However those are pricey and I know ive seen people on this forum with range hoods. So, questions...

1. Those with range hoods, how do you handle the steam condensing? Do you use the regular aluminum filters like what comes standard or do you use a different kind of filter that maybe absorbs better?

2. Anyone know of a source for a cheap condensate hood? All the ones im seeing are $1200 bucks or more and don't want to spend that much currently.

3. In general, what do you guys do about the steam when brewing indoors?

Thanks

 

[mongoose33]

Check out the Boil Kettle Condenser thread. I brew in my garage in the winter and I capture almost all the steam that way.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/...denser-no-overhead-ventilation-needed.636955/

That thread is massive; @BrunDog developed the method, and BobbyM at BrewHardware offers a device called the "Steam Slayer" that implements it at a reasonable cost.

https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/steamslayer.htm

Here's how I implement it:

 

[day_trippr]

That's way too handsome a solution to work

Not recommending this - to anyone - but out in the Rube Goldberg direction, I run a Dayton 800 cfm squirrel cage blower with galvy ducting positioned to suck up all of the steam from BK and HLT while catching most of the heating plume. The blower fires through a 3x10" duct straight through that interior plenum then through a 2' insulated overhang below the second story before turning straight down and exhausting a couple inches later into the great outdoors.

To keep the blower motor from exposure to heat/humidity I also ran some 4" AL ducting down near the floor level - its internal fan pulls the cool dry air up just fine - been running this setup for a few years now.

The velocity is high enough there's never condensation in the ducts, or anywhere else, while the blower isn't much louder than a pair of march 815pls. And it all cost way less than your range hood.

If I had a drain handy I'd consider the 'Slayer. But I don't, and I'm not running that condensate into a bucket inside the house while there's a Spousal Unit around

Cheers!

 

[sicktght311]

I've got a 250cfm Broan hood right over my BK direct venting out my basement window. I cut a panel to fit the window, and then cut a vent hole out to match the Broan's vent, and installed an exterior damper cap. Works great. I've never had any condensation issues when its on high and my basement humidity doesnt move a single percent during my brew day.

 

[brewbama]

There’s mine (bottom right):

 

[Rob2010SS]

I've got a 250cfm Broan hood right over my BK direct venting out my basement window. I cut a panel to fit the window, and then cut a vent hole out to match the Broan's vent, and installed an exterior damper cap. Works great. I've never had any condensation issues when its on high and my basement humidity doesnt move a single percent during my brew day.

This is kind of what I'm wondering if I should try next time, pull out the aluminum filters in my hood and just run it open bottom and see if that helps. The steam may be condensing on the filters themselves.

 

[Rob2010SS]

What also may be contributing to the difference between my setup having condensation problems and all of yours not is that you guys pretty much have your fans right up against a window, so it's a short ventilation travel.

With mine in the picture in my OP, it's maybe a 3 ft run up, a left turn, and then a 20 ft run to the nearest exterior wall. Got a little bit more distance to travel...

 

[sicktght311]

1) screens absolutely do contribute to moisture condensation since it’s another obstacle between the kettle and the exterior
But more importantly
2) if your run is that long, no range hood is going to be anywhere near strong enough. You need a heavy duty inline duct fan to get the kind of CFM you’re looking for.

 

[Rob2010SS]

1) screens absolutely do contribute to moisture condensation since it’s another obstacle between the kettle and the exterior
But more importantly
2) if your run is that long, no range hood is going to be anywhere near strong enough. You need a heavy duty inline duct fan to get the kind of CFM you’re looking for.

When you say no range hood is strong enough, what do you mean?

This one is 400 CFM and it was sucking up steam just fine. I went over to the side of the house and put my hand on the hole and it was pretty good force coming out. Like I said, it seemed to grab steam OK, my problem was the condensation...

 

[sicktght311]

Someone else can correct me if i'm wrong, but the longer the duct, adn the more bends, the lower your final actual CFM will be. The CFM rating on the product is for direct vent with no obstructions or length. The longer the run, the more opportunity for the air to slow down, and the cooler that air will be, so it is more likely to condense. Chances are even though you're feeling airflow on the other end, a lot of moisture is condensing inside that ducting

 

[Rob2010SS]

You're right about the bends, I know that. This particular fan said to limit it to 3 bends in the ductwork. However, length I'm not sure about.

I do know that I did angle the duct work down a bit towards the exit. So the highest point is right above the fan and from there, it starts to angle down towards the exit at the side of the house. The logic there was that if it did condense in the duct, it would still run towards the exit.

 

[Mike_kever_kombi]

You're right about the bends, I know that. This particular fan said to limit it to 3 bends in the ductwork. However, length I'm not sure about.

I do know that I did angle the duct work down a bit towards the exit. So the highest point is right above the fan and from there, it starts to angle down towards the exit at the side of the house. The logic there was that if it did condense in the duct, it would still run towards the exit.

All range hoods will come with install instructions, which will list recommended duct size and maximum duct length. Most will have you count an elbow at a certain number of feet, usually 5’. So if you have a five foot run, with one elbow, you would consider that a 10 foot run. You will need to use a booster fan if your total “length” exceeds the maximum length. In addition....

Duct size and elbows both create back pressure, which will reduce flow. Elbows also cause turbulence which will affect the way in which the air “flows”. It could just be “roiling” at a bend as opposed to exiting. A simplified way to visualize it is drill drill a 1” hole in a bucket, then fill it up with a garden hose. The 1” hole will no allow adequate drainage and eventually the bucket will overflow. You can see fan sucking up air (hose water filling the bucket) and feel the air exiting the duct (water coming out 1” hole), but eventually you cannot evacuate all the air (bucket overflows)

I am a contractor and build a lot of LEED/Energy star houses. As part of the program, we have to have the homes certified by an energy Rater. We need to have a minimum CFM, for kitchen vent systems (but not more than 400 cFM without make up air). The certified has special equipment that measures CFM directly at hood vent, as well as at the exit. Never have I seen a hood vent actually pull what it is rated at. Also the cFM at exit is lower than at hood. Logically you would think they would be the same, but real results differ.

You can always find documentation for your hood online.

 

[sicktght311]

Moral of the story for that long of a run with a couple bends, you might just want to remove the fan/gut the range hood, and then install a much more powerful inline duct fan in the space above the drop ceiling. Pull significantly more air. Just make sure you have the makeup air coming in

 

[Rob2010SS]

Moral of the story for that long of a run with a couple bends, you might just want to remove the fan/gut the range hood, and then install a much more powerful inline duct fan in the space above the drop ceiling. Pull significantly more air. Just make sure you have the makeup air coming in

I gotcha. That SOUNDS like a fairly simple solution. I'll do some research into that.

Thanks @sicktght311 and @Mike_kever_kombi

 

[augiedoggy]

Someone else can correct me if i'm wrong, but the longer the duct, adn the more bends, the lower your final actual CFM will be. The CFM rating on the product is for direct vent with no obstructions or length. The longer the run, the more opportunity for the air to slow down, and the cooler that air will be, so it is more likely to condense. Chances are even though you're feeling airflow on the other end, a lot of moisture is condensing inside that ducting

correct.. the condensation will sit in the ductwork rotting it and reforming to liquid in said ductwork and pooling wherever there is oportunity. and turning to a moldy mess.. been there. you need to keep the steam moving fairly quickly to help get around a lot of this but regardless your going to have water and mold on those pipes if theres anywhere for it to pool or collect. I arranged my brewing system to be in front of a window with a window fan in the top portion and a foamboard hood to capture the steam for the fan to pull it... it works very well but of course useless if your not brewing in front of a window.

 

[Wizard_of_Frobozz]

If you want to get really technical with duct sizing, you can use a duct calculator where you enter all the relevant info (# of bends, size, material, etc.) to determine what CFM you can get. Here's a link to an online one to give you an idea of what is needed: https://www.cdicurbs.com/ductcal

The big problem with a ventilation system is not the exhaust, it's the air that has to come in to the room to replace what you are exhausting. After all, if air is going out, it HAS to come in somewhere else. Ultimately, that air must come from the outside if you are exhausting outside. That's the big problem: conditioning the incoming air can be difficult and expensive.

For me, the biggest advantage of electric brewing is the ability to brew independent of the weather. If you live in a climate that is not too hot & humid in summer, and not too cold in winter, then a ventilation system might make sense. It seems to me that if you live in one of those areas, then the only real weather concern is rain, which can be negated by having a covered patio or similar setup, which would reduce the need for an indoor brewing space.

However, if you are like me and live in an area that gets hot & humid in summer, and cold in winter, alternative solutions like @BrunDog 's condenser are a great way to address the issue and remain relatively neutral with regards to air movement. I recognize that there is a downside to that too: You need a way to dispose of the water/condensate, so like most engineering solutions, you have to pick the one that best fits your needs and situation.

 

[mongoose33]

correct.. the condensation will sit in the ductwork rotting it and reforming to liquid in said ductwork and pooling wherever there is oportunity. and turning to a moldy mess.. been there. you need to keep the steam moving fairly quickly to help get around a lot of this but regardless your going to have water and mold on those pipes if theres anywhere for it to pool or collect. I arranged my brewing system to be in front of a window with a window fan in the top portion and a foamboard hood to capture the steam for the fan to pull it... it works very well but of course useless if your not brewing in front of a window.

I'm just going to toss a pic in here to give people an idea about what you're referring to.

I am now all-electric, using the steam slayer, but before that I did exactly what you describe above, i.e., draw out steam by a fan mounted in a window. The sort of "hood" or "ductwork" is designed to create a corridor of air movement, and the top part of the "hood" simply to ensure steam that's rising enters the airstream pulling that steam outside.

 

[RainyDayBrewer]

I had the same problem... my cheap solution was to clip a tea towel to drape down under the hood. The hood was strong enough to draw around and through the towel, but the towel catches a good portion of the moisture on the way up, and the drips on the way down- keeping them out of the kettle. The towel is easily swapped out when saturated. Binder clips keep it clipped to the grill. It’s much cheaper than all this condenser/ducting fancy stuff. Sometimes simplicity wins the day.

I went and purchased a range hood to install over my boil kettle. I installed it last weekend and used it for the first time a couple of days ago. It works pretty well. Probably could have gone a bit more powerful but was trying to be budget friendly.

My issue: some of the steam seems to be condensing when it gets past the filters and touches the underside of the hood and the fan. It's condensing and collecting on the filters and I need to continually wipe them off.

After researching the topic, I've found that a condensate hood was probably better suited to brewing. However those are pricey and I know ive seen people on this forum with range hoods. So, questions...

1. Those with range hoods, how do you handle the steam condensing? Do you use the regular aluminum filters like what comes standard or do you use a different kind of filter that maybe absorbs better?

2. Anyone know of a source for a cheap condensate hood? All the ones im seeing are $1200 bucks or more and don't want to spend that much currently.

3. In general, what do you guys do about the steam when brewing indoors?

ThanksView attachment 655281

 

[K_tile]

Good info on ventilation requirements from John Blichmann.

 

[gaviga]

I went and purchased a range hood to install over my boil kettle. I installed it last weekend and used it for the first time a couple of days ago. It works pretty well. Probably could have gone a bit more powerful but was trying to be budget friendly.

My issue: some of the steam seems to be condensing when it gets past the filters and touches the underside of the hood and the fan. It's condensing and collecting on the filters and I need to continually wipe them off.

After researching the topic, I've found that a condensate hood was probably better suited to brewing. However those are pricey and I know ive seen people on this forum with range hoods. So, questions...

1. Those with range hoods, how do you handle the steam condensing? Do you use the regular aluminum filters like what comes standard or do you use a different kind of filter that maybe absorbs better?

2. Anyone know of a source for a cheap condensate hood? All the ones im seeing are $1200 bucks or more and don't want to spend that much currently.

3. In general, what do you guys do about the steam when brewing indoors?

ThanksView attachment 655281

I have a setup similar to yours. I had to build a shower curtain around the kettle - I just bought a cheap clear plastic one from Bed Bath and Beyond, and built a shower rod out of 1" pvc pipe. It was easy. You will also need to add an inlet source for bringing in fresh air. Best if you can do this behind or next to your boil kettle, and make it closeable for cold weather when you aren't using it.
One last thing - you will need something to keep condensation from falling back into the beer. I use tge kettle lid at a slant plus I try to wipe off the range a couple of time during the boil. I also ket the fan run until brewing day is done so that everything is completely dry.

Good luck and happy brewing!