Basement Electric Brewery

[kchomebrew]

Staining the vent hood today. Made out of oak. Polyurethane coating tomorrow and then will cut in the 6' dia. hole on the back side (where ducting will insert). After that, I'll be adding in the stainless steel accents to the hood vent and lining the inside with sheet metal.

 

[kchomebrew]

Ended up finding a tabco stainless steel sink 24" x 24" at a local restaurant supply store. Also found a pre-rinse faucet for a good price. Plumber is coming out tomorrow to finish up the sink line hot/cold connection and attach the garbage disposal to the sink and drain lines. Have a 2nd cold water line that will be installed with a 1/2" stainless steel ball valve with male barb disconnect attached. I have 2 hoses built with female quick disconnects. One will run from the ball valve to the HLT and the other will attach to the counterflow chiller. Once these items are set up, all plumbing work will be completed. Drywall priming is done, so I need to paint the ceiling and walls. Lots of work to do.

 

[kchomebrew]

Good amount of progress over the last few days. All electrical outlets and switches are installed and completed. Only thing that's incorrect is that duct blower outlet has a on/off switch hooked up to it instead of a 3 speed dial. Looks like the electrician made an error on that, so I'll have to have them come back out. GFI switches were added to the breaker box for the 30A electric control box and 2 GFI's attached for the breakers that power the outlets in the room. I painted the ceiling and walls and then installed the can light baffles. Hopefully, and according to UPS, the glass block window I ordered from Home Depot should be arriving today and installed tomorrow, which will allow me to install the hood vent/duct blower/and ducting. This weekend I'll be working on tiling the sink area so the plumber can come back out and finish up the water/drain lines. I'm also having them put a "t" on the cold water line and running 1/2" stainless ball valve with quick disconnects on it whereby I can run a hose attachment to the HLT and also run a hose attachment to the counterflow chiller. Here's some photos:

 

[kchomebrew]

Working on tiling the area where the sink is going to go. I found a large stack of white subway tile in the basement when I moved in. Decided use the re-claimed tile to tile in the sink area. Thing is, I didn't have enough tile to file the space....so I figured out a good use for bottlecaps I've been saving. Once the adhesive dries, I'm going to pour epoxy over the bottlecaps. I'll be grouting tomorrow and then setting up the stainless steel sink.

 

[kchomebrew]

Also have to put a second coat of beige paint on the walls today/tomorrow. Thought I'd also attach a photo of the stained and finished oak wood vent hood I build. It has the 6" duct vent hole cut in. Anchoring to the ceiling on Mon. when the final window gets installed and then hooking up the duct blower system.

 

[kchomebrew]

Sink area tiling is done.

 

[kchomebrew]

Hung the vent hood today. Bummed out. I mis-measured. The window bay where the duct blower sits doesn't have enough room to sit up flush with the hood vent. Oh well. You can see that I black markered in where I need to cut into the hood into a square shape to fit the duct blower now. What I figure I'll do is make a box around the duct blower that will fit it into the hood vent. Hey...nothing's perfect...but this will do.

 

[kchomebrew]

Probably going to have to rethink how to mount the duct blower tomorrow. I'm sure there is a way to mount it to the back of the actual hood vent....just need to do some more thinking. That way I can probably remove the wood blocks it's standing on.

 

[kchomebrew]

Got everything figured out. Drilled holes in the fan "in" side of the blower and placed in screws to mount the fan on the back side of the vent hood. Really sucked doing this and hard work to get it back up on the ceiling again. But everything looks real good now. Also got a 5 amp rotary switch to run the blower. Plumber finished the sink install. I have a quick disconnect ball valve cold water line. I'll run quick disconnect hoses to the HLT and chiller. Also found some stainless steel lag screws to bolt the sink up to the wall to keep it steady. Need to re-paint walls, paint the window bays, tile the floor and then I'm ready to get the brewing equipment into the room. Hopefully all ready by some point in Jan.

 

[kchomebrew]

Added in the condesation edges to catch moisture drip. Floor will get tiled this week and then I can start adding brewing equipment.

 

[kchomebrew]

 

[kchomebrew]

Tile and baseboard are installed with some minor touchups, etc. that need to be finished. Basically, this means the room itself is done....which now means it's time to start bringing in some furniture/equipment before I get all of the brewing equipment installed. Looking back, the remodel started right around Halloween weekend and just finished this past weekend.

I've got a 2 stainless steel tables that will be going into the room. My current project is I am painting my old beer fridge with rustoleum flat black paint (old fridge was white/tan color and had rust spots and looked pretty bad, this ought to touch it up and make it look nice). After that, I'll be painting a chest freezer the same color and converting it into a 4 tap keezer. I'm planning to paint the top of the keezer with chalkboard paint so I can chalk in what's fermenting and what's on tap. I am also planning to convert the closet in the room into a fermenting/bottle aging closet. Lastly, need to build a grain mill out of an old cabinet and put it on caster wheels. I figure this ought to take most of Jan. Once I have these items done, I'll start putting together the electric brewery. All said and done, I really hope to have a system in place by late Jan./early Feb. and hopefully have some beers ready to enjoy by St. Patricks Day. Attached are some photos of the complete tiling and baseboard. Also a couple of photos of painting the beer fridge with the flat black paint.

 

[kchomebrew]

Moved in some equipment, tables and shelves. Will start work on the keezer soon. Also realized I need to build a mounted shelf area under the table for the march pumps. Will start on that soon also.

 

[ScotBrew]

Not sure how I've missed this thread but it seems to me that you've turned a pretty small space in to a proper functional space fit for brewing! Will look good once it's all finished!

 

[kchomebrew]

Have a question if anyone has some ideas. Have a look at the stainless steel table that will hold the kettles in the photos above. Any suggestions or ideas on how I might mount 2 march pumps under the table ? I guess I was figuring I'll get 2 6in. "L" hinges to attach to the underside lip of the table on each side that would hang down and then attach in a thin piece of plywood and then secure down the pumps and build the stainless steel veils to go over the top of the pumps ? Anyone have any better ideas/suggestions ? Seems the like convoluted counterflow chiller I have is going to mount underneath just fine since it has brackets built in.

Also, came to the conclusion that since the remodel cost several grand more than I had planned to spend (remodels always do !), that I'm a bit over budget with everything and need to put some of the items I wanted on the back-burner. Specifically, I'm going to put the brakes on the keezer build till probably March or April. Also, I probably won't start on the grain mill cabinet build till summer/fall.

 

[heckels]

Have a question if anyone has some ideas. Have a look at the stainless steel table that will hold the kettles in the photos above. Any suggestions or ideas on how I might mount 2 march pumps under the table ? I guess I was figuring I'll get 2 6in. "L" hinges to attach to the underside lip of the table on each side that would hang down and then attach in a thin piece of plywood and then secure down the pumps and build the stainless steel veils to go over the top of the pumps ? Anyone have any better ideas/suggestions ? Seems the like convoluted counterflow chiller I have is going to mount underneath just fine since it has brackets built in.

Also, came to the conclusion that since the remodel cost several grand more than I had planned to spend (remodels always do !), that I'm a bit over budget with everything and need to put some of the items I wanted on the back-burner. Specifically, I'm going to put the brakes on the keezer build till probably March or April. Also, I probably won't start on the grain mill cabinet build till summer/fall.

I believe the March pumps come with mounting holes. If possible, i'd mount them directly to the wooden leg. If the leg isn't wide enough for that I would get a couple U-bolts, put one pump on either side of one leg and use the U-bolt to secure.

 

[kchomebrew]

I believe the March pumps come with mounting holes. If possible, i'd mount them directly to the wooden leg. If the leg isn't wide enough for that I would get a couple U-bolts, put one pump on either side of one leg and use the U-bolt to secure.

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Thanks. Good advice. I suppose that makes best sense. I actually went ahead and purchased 2 of the Chugger SS Inlet pump and can see from the photos where the mounting brackets are.

 

[kchomebrew]

Also purchased a whole bunch SS hardware fittings from morebeer.com, mcmaster-carr, and adventures in homebrewing. Also purchased a Blichmann 20 gal mash-tun kettle with false bottom from Adv. in Homebrewing. Free shipping for the kettle, which seemed to be something the other vendors weren't offering. Starting to put together the silicon hoses with quick disconnect fittings this week and then will work on mounting the pumps and chiller.

 

[kchomebrew]

also ordered 2 of the pre-built 5500W heating elements from Spike Innovations through www.electricbrewery.com.

 

[kchomebrew]

Need to make a decision on what brand of HLT and Boil kettle I'm going to go with Considering the 20 gal Stout Tanks or Blichmann. Really, both seem comparable for the HERMS set up on the HLT, only difference is you can purchase the Stout Tanks HLT with all HERMS fittings and SS coil pre installed and ends up about being what it costs to buy a Blichmann and DIY for a HERMS HLT set up. The boil kettle seems to be the same, only difference being that you get trip clamp fittings with the Stout Tanks. If you have any opinions on either, let me know. I'm sort of at a crossroads about what to do. Next thing I'm pondering is building a Kal clone control box and ordering the DIY kit from Spike Innovations, actually buying the pre-made and tested control box from Spike Innovations, or going with the EBC III controller from HighGravity. Obviously there are less options/flexibility with the EBC III. But, at $800, if it does the trick, it's a heck of a value. Of course. $800 is a lot of money and this is a once in a lifetime purchase...so I'm contemplating the Kal kit at $1400 or the pre-assembled at $2150. I've never built any electrical control boxes or done much electrical work. Just worried at $1400 spent and not being able to do the work correctly. $2150 for the pre-assembled really breaks the bank and I might have to wait a few months to even buy one of those. Any suggestions/ideas are welcome.

 

[nhwrecker]

Glad I found this thread - you're doing a great job with your brew room. Two suggestions from my end - first, regarding the pumps and the brew table, I'd recommend putting a full shelf under the table - you can put both pumps and your CFC under it, and/or use it for some storage - you may also want to put some drawers right under the table top - for some of the smaller tools that you will be using on a regular basis.

I'd also recommend making the brew pots out of 1/2 barrel beer kegs if you're interested in saving some money - assuming you can get used kegs at a reasonable cost, you can get either weldless fittings, or other options to turn them into keggles pretty easily. And at 15 gallons, they'd give you the option of 5-10 gallon batches.

Keep up the good work - you're keeping to a great time schedule - best of luck with brewing in time for St. Patty's beers!

 

[kchomebrew]

First of 3 kettles arrived. Will be working on installing fitting and hardware next 2 weeks. Ordered the pre assembled heat elements from spike innovations on www.electricbrewerycom. waiting on my greenlee knockout punches to arrive. Will post more when everything arrives. Went with ebc 3 control box to run the system.

 

[PJoyce85]

Where did you get that little stainless cart with the wheels and the basket?

 

[kchomebrew]

Where did you get that little stainless cart with the wheels and the basket?

Found it on craigslist for $50.

 

[kansas_cty_shfl]

Nice work so far. Out of curiosity what made you go with the EBC III controller? I'm also curious about the size of that room. The wife and I are looking at houses now and room for a similar build in the basement is a necessity.

 

[kchomebrew]

Nice work so far. Out of curiosity what made you go with the EBC III controller? I'm also curious about the size of that room. The wife and I are looking at houses now and room for a similar build in the basement is a necessity.

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Went with the EBC III because it was the cheapest option for a pre assembled box. I didn't want to spend $1400 on a DIY kit (control box kit on www.electricbrewery.com) and have problems putting it together (I've never done something like that). The EBC III doesn't have as many options/flexibility...but if I ever do want to expand the options/functionality of the box, I can use the guts of the box to build my own custom control box in a couple of years. It only controls one heating element and one pump. I'm going to hook the other pump in my brewery up to a separate outlet with an in-line on/off switch (no big deal ...sure it would be nice to run both off the same box...but who cares in the long run). With the EBC III box, when you need to run the boil kettle, you have to unplug the HLT element and then plug in the boil kettle element. Aside from that, it does most everything that all other electric control box builds accomplish.

There aren't many reviews (actually, I couldn't find any...just a few posts from people noting it's a sound working piece of equipment) of the EBC III out there. I'll post some once I get a chance to use it.

 

[fhhobbies]

I went with these guys.... http://www.mashinganddistillerycontrols.com/ cant beat the price for what you get imo.

 

[kchomebrew]

I went with these guys.... http://www.mashinganddistillerycontrols.com/ cant beat the price for what you get imo.

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Wow. Nice. I've been hunting around for pre-assembled control boxes and have never crossed over that website. Interesting. $1500 for a pre-assembled brewery control box is pretty reasonable ! Still more than I spent on the EBC 3, but definitely a good value when you compare to others out there. Thanks for sharing.

 

[kchomebrew]

Have a friend who knows how to do quality carpentry and he is going to install a maple wood shelf under the stainless steel table top so I can mount the chugger pumps and counterflow chiller. Also, the closet in the room will be getting maple wood shelves as well. Plan is to install 4 levels of shelves for bottle aging and bottom section of shelving to the floor will have room for 3 to 4 fermenters. Should have this installed by mid -point this week.

 

[Rami]

If you have an iphone or smartphone with a panaromic app, you should take a picture. Keep up the good work.

What are you brewing first? Basement Brown?