As they say: another BRUTUS is born!

[Yankeehillbrewer]

That's a thing of beauty.

What size are those pots?

 

[jcaudill]

I like the burner adjustability. Smart thinking. I have the Sabco brew frame. Made my own controller. The sabco is sealed for wind blockage I guess, but it's difficult to get enough air in there.

I got it tuned in, but it wasn't easily adjustable like yours.

You'll get some heat patina, but won't worry much because you'll be relaxing and having a homebrew!
Nice job.

Much appreciated thank you! I don't expect much in the way of patina unless it's on the pots which is ok. The stand is ceramic coated so it should not discolor. Either way - I certainly understand it's not going to look as nice as it does now in the long run so it's cool ;-)

 

[jcaudill]

That's a thing of beauty.

What size are those pots?

Thank you! They are 80 qt pots - the same one as Northern Brewer and More Beer sell - Update International SPS-80's with custom fittings. Much much cheaper to do it this way.

 

[Waunabeer]

Ok, it looks awesome, but when are we going to see it in action? Keep us posted on the results.

 

[jcaudill]

Ok, it looks awesome, but when are we going to see it in action? Keep us posted on the results.

LOL talk to USPS, UPS and Fedex about that please! I am waiting for some of the key electronics parts. I also have a minor issue in that my fermenters, grain mill and mash paddle are about 200 miles from here ;-) Hoping by the end of the month or so I'll have everything in place.

 

[jcaudill]

Ok it's been a while since I've updated this thread. There's been a lot of waiting for stuff to arrive more than anything but there are some accomplishments at least!

The control panel lives - the enclosure is a simple security box that has been drilled and milled for the various components. This is a Brewtroller 4.0 Pro setup.

Here's the outside:


Untitled by brewerJP, on Flickr

And inside (this photo was taken before I was completely finished):


Untitled by brewerJP, on Flickr

I wired the probes up to test and it works brilliantly.

I don't have a picture, but because of the leveling feet additions to the brewstand, the 2 wheel approach to moving the stand isn't practical because of the angle it has to be lifted to move it. So I purchased these and am REALLY happy with the result: http://footmasterusa.com/products/detail.asp?bic_code=Leveling&small_code=GD&p_name=GD-40S. I'll be using them on my Keezer as well.

I added a couple spigots to the garage:


Untitled by brewerJP, on Flickr

These are both Moen spigots - one is pure cold and the other mixes so I'll have hot water to clean equipment readily available.

This is my spunding setup:


Untitled by brewerJP, on Flickr

I plan to naturally carbonate all my beers this way.

Finally - this is my Keezer build in progress:


Untitled by brewerJP, on Flickr

I have another thread going on this one I'll link to later. For now, it looks just as you see it and I'm building the collar now.

 

[jcaudill]

Hard to believe it's been 8 months since I've updated this - and haven't finished it! But - things are progressing well and I have a tentative brew day planned for Easter weekend. Here are some updated pics:


photo 3 by brewerJP


photo by brewerJP


photo by brewerJP

CIP for Brewhemoth

photo by brewerJP


photo by brewerJP


photo by brewerJP

CIP lid for kettles

photo by brewerJP


photo by brewerJP


photo by brewerJP


photo by brewerJP



The CIP nozzle I can switch between whatever I'm cleaning - will design one for Corny's soon. Also had to swap out the standard clamp bolt for a simple SS wing nut and washers because the standard clamp won't fit in the Brewhemoth

photo by brewerJP

Simple adjustable lid vent - currently on the BK only to help control hot break

photo by brewerJP

Tomorrow I am hoping to passivate the kettles and then I only have some basic wiring to do before I water brew. More to come soon.

 

[wizardofza]

Gonna try to revive this thread...but have you brewed on this thing yet? I'm curious about the burners you have and their efficiency. I currently use the jet burners on my rig and as everyone that has them know, they serious soot at low flame. Are you happy with these burners? I see they're only about $13.00 at Agrilsupply!

 

[jcaudill]

Excellent - I need the kick in the a** because I really should have posted back here months ago! I'll post up a catch-up thread here shortly - and yes it definitely has seen some action. Stay tuned!

 

[wizardofza]

Awesome. I'm really interested in how you like the burners and where you got the pilot igniters. I'm planning on putting in some upgrades on my brutus and the burners is where I want to start.

Looking forward to the updates! Kick-ass rig BTW.

 

[Tomtanner]

Wow. Great stuff man!

 

[jcaudill]

So the reality is I could probably write a novel since my last post! Let me start with a few more recent pics:


photo by brewerJP


photo by brewerJP


brew3 by brewerJP, on Flickr


brew2 by brewerJP, on Flickr


photo by brewerJP, on Flickr


photo by brewerJP, on Flickr


photo 1 by brewerJP, on Flickr


photo 1 by brewerJP, on Flickr


Untitled by brewerJP, on Flickr

... continued on next post

 

[jcaudill]

I am three brews deep now. The first brew was every bit of the pickling brew I was hoping it wouldn't be. I learned a lot of lessons including:

- Enlarging the gap on the Barley Crusher - the grist was way too fine and kept clogging my recirc - mainly from the influence of the grain bed pressure. Also tossing in rice hulls helps.
- My water/grain ratio was was too low - so I've adjusted that up to a minimum of 1.5qts/lb.
- Use lots of thermal paste in the wells! My variance was pretty high. I'm down to about 2.5-3 degrees now.
- The 110v solenoids worked great - but when my pilots kept going out in the wind I had gas pouring out. I brew outside so that's not the end of the world - but it did make me feel pretty uncomfortable.
- Fermentation was a disaster. I was trying to make a lager - and I thought I could somewhat manage temps using a bucket of cold water from the keezer running through the Brewhemoth's immersion chiller. I was wrong. I couldn't get it much below 65. Pretty much dampf bier!

So I made adjustments for the re-brew. Some I described above already (such as the water/grain ratio, the mill gap, the rice hulls). But I also did the following:
- Converted over to Honeywell VR8200a gas controls. Had to add a 24v transformer to the panel for those.
- Built stainless wind screens for the burners to help keep my pilots lit!
- Bought a dedicated glycol power pack for the immersion chiller.

All these combined I ended up with a great second brew. The day went smooth, and the fermentation even smoother. The glycol power pack was the best money ever spent. Only downside is the ambient temperature in my garage goes up at least 5 degrees when that thing is running! But I have no issue getting down into the 40's now and honestly I could go a lot lower if I wanted.

The only problem I had, and still have, is with burner output. The addition of the Honeywell controls really substantially reduced output. I have a much much cleaner flame now - but heat ups can take a while. So I will be drilling out the orifices to get more gas into the burners and I think this will solve the problem. I just haven't got around to it yet.

The brew kettle I just have a simple adjustable regulator to control the flame. I have had no issues getting to a boil with that. I get better output out of that - but it's not quite as clean. I may need to drill that one too. They are after all low pressure burners. But - overall I'm very happy with the decision to use the 6" ring burners. They are very efficient burners and I don't waste a lot of gas. I also have no soot anywhere and I have not had any scorching issues. For up to 15g, I think they are perfectly fine.

I did a third brew on Memorial day - a Koelsch that went smooth as well. Just got it out of the fermenter a few days ago. I'm on break for a bit while I do some traveling but I'll be hitting it hard in August.

I'm sure I'm missing a lot. I haven't even talked about whirlpooling, chilling, aerating, the keezer, CIP, tubing, yada yada. But as much as anyone wants to know just ask!

Oh one more thing: the ceramic coating is holding up absolutely perfect. I even had my stainless grates ceramic coated. They are holding up too - although they are showing a bit more signs of wear from the direct flame. The coating is rating to 2000 degrees.

 

[mkirkland]

No recent updates?

 

[jcaudill]

Hah, well actually quite a bit has changed since this initial posting. But I have been so focused on working out kinks and brewing that I've neglected updating the thread. So give me a little time and I will post an update!

 

[jcaudill]

I promised an update - so here it is!

Since the original system I've upgraded darn near everything with exception of the pumps, control panel and stand. Boy have a learned a lot. Here are some more recent pictures:






So here a little synopsis of where this beast stands now:

- 3 x 30-gallon Brewer Hardware EC passivated and polished kettles with sanitary ferrules. I had quite a bit of customization to them, including custom sight glasses with returns to the kettle.
- Manifold with 2 x 3-way valves gives some flexibility to move liquid around as I see fit.
- Upgraded all tubing to Novatech 3/4" ID brewer's hose. I got tired of worrying about pressure/temp issues.
- MLT/HLT are controlled by VR8200's now. MLT runs a 6" BG-12 clone, HLT runs a 10" BG-14 clone (both true low pressure) and the BK runs a 4" high pressure cast burner that puts out some serious BTU's. I'm usually at boil in a few minutes as I'm heating up during lautering.
- Upgraded to a 30 plate chiller (yes I went from 50->30 and it is an upgrade). Learning fast 50 is way too big for my incoming flow and it's too hard to clean.
- Still have inline aeration.
- Run 2 Brewhemoths, both controlled from the aforepictured glycol chiller. I built a manifold with two valves and use two controllers for monitoring the fermenters.
- Naturally carbonate through a homemade spunding valve (check my threads and you'll see that project).
- Grain mill gap I've been actually coming back down on. Previous recirc issues were mainly due to pulling too fast. I think I'm down to around .9mm now.

As for dispensing, built a 4-way manifold so I can maintain 4 pressures inside my keezer. This really has helped when I have a weizen and some lower carbonated on.

The last area I'm trying to improve is heat up. I'm building a 55-gallon polypropylene tank with a 4500w element and an Auber PID. Night before the brew I'll filter water in, set mash temp and let it heat up. This saves me about an hour+ of brewday time and lets me have additional water on tap for cleaning without wasting propane.

I'm not sure how many brews I've done but it's been quite a bit. I'm to the point I've about got it figured out and brew days go pretty smooth.

 

[30Bones]

Super impressive! I'll try to read through this thread later tonight.

Thanks for all the help on propane. I'm about ready to brew after a vacation and some warmer temps.

 

[jcaudill]

Super impressive! I'll try to read through this thread later tonight.

Thanks for all the help on propane. I'm about ready to brew after a vacation and some warmer temps.

No problem!

 

[PLOVE]

What do you mean by 4-way manifold? Do you mean you have separate pressure gauges you can set for each keg?

Just want to make sure I'm not missing out on anything. I have a 4 gang-valve manifold setup, but I'd need to spend $$$ to independently set each keg to a different pressure.

 

[jcaudill]

What do you mean by 4-way manifold? Do you mean you have separate pressure gauges you can set for each keg?

Just want to make sure I'm not missing out on anything. I have a 4 gang-valve manifold setup, but I'd need to spend $$$ to independently set each keg to a different pressure.

Yes I have 4 secondary regulators feeding off a main primary/secondary on the tank and inside the keezer I split the 4 into 8 so I can maintain 4 pressures over 8 kegs. The manifold says outside the freezer so the readings aren't affected by temps.

 

[byrone]

Awesome rig! You've done an amazing job. A quick question if you don't mind, I've been looking at upgrading my kettles with ones from brewers hardware. Would you mind giving your thoughts on them?


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[jcaudill]

Awesome rig! You've done an amazing job. A quick question if you don't mind, I've been looking at upgrading my kettles with ones from brewers hardware. Would you mind giving your thoughts on them?


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Thanks!

I love the kettles. I have not had a single issue with them. And Derrin has been great to work with. What I particularly like is he knows what the hell he's doing when it comes to working with stainless! Of course I can't speak to the threaded kettles only the sanitary. Anything you need to know in particular just let me know.

 

[byrone]

That's awesome. I appreciate this very much


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