Best ways to move mash basket?

[milo_leon]

Odd question but BIAB related- how do you guys move the mash bag/basket out of the way when the mash is done?

We are doing 20g eBIAB in the basement so right now we have a pully system bolted into a rafter, and we have the brew kettle on a stand with wheels. We roll the kettle under the pully system, lift and let basket drain, and start heating to a boil. When we are close to the boil temp, we push the kettle back so it’s under the vent hood, then lower basket into another bucket to collect the last few drops.

Right now our process is functional, but it can get messy with the basket dripping and trying to move brew kettle backquickly enough so we can lower the basket. Ideally I don’t want to move the brew kettle but the vent hood prevents us from installing a pully system there. Even if we could leave the kettle in one spot then what’s the best way to (smoothly/easily) move the mash basket out of the way? I thought about some sort of wall mounted heavy duty hinge like a cantilever hoist but those can be expensive (and over-engineered for my needs), or maybe adding a 2nd pully system so can lift with two sets, and lower one side to swing the basket over.

What are your methods? Any thoughts and ideas would be greatly appreciated!

 

[myndflyte]

Why not just put a cheap 5 gallon bucket under it from a store like Home Depot? Or maybe the basket will be too big? For my BIAB setup, I actually mash in a converted 10 gallon cooler, mainly because I used to use it for traditional mashing, so I have it laying around but also because I don't have to mess with keeping the temp regulated. Once I'm done dumping it into my pot, I just put the mash tun back under the bag and lower it into it until I have time to clean it up.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Best method is to mount a track or uni strut to the ceiling that accepts a roller hanger trolley to give your pulley attachment point horizontal movement.

Easiest is to have a large oversized Rubbermaid like tote immediately adjacent to the kettle on the floor, so you are either dripping back in the kettle or the tote.

Red neck version of a track mounted pulley is to string a cable between 2 rafters several feet apart, then hang the pulley on the horizontal cable and you can slide the pulley along the cable from kettle to receiving bin.

I can see with 20g batches and a low ceiling, swinging the bag horizontally can be tricky.

A length of uni strut mounted to the ceiling and a trolley

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00K...obile_aax_0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2ZANZX0RHL3OT

 

[milo_leon]

Best method is to mount a track or uni strut to the ceiling that accepts a roller hanger trolley to give your pulley attachment point horizontal movement.

Easiest is to have a large oversized Rubbermaid like tote immediately adjacent to the kettle on the floor, so you are either dripping back in the kettle or the tote.

Red neck version of a track mounted pulley is to string a cable between 2 rafters several feet apart, then hang the pulley on the horizontal cable and you can slide the pulley along the cable from kettle to receiving bin.

I can see with 20g batches and a low ceiling, swinging the bag horizontally can be tricky.

A length of uni strut mounted to the ceiling and a trolley

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00K...obile_aax_0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2ZANZX0RHL3OT

We will check into the track mounted into the ceiling. We brew in the basement of a old house so we have pipes/wiring that could get in the way (dangling/hanging below floor joints). Could we mount the track on one floor joint or do we need to mount it perpendicular to the floor joints to spread the weight?

Also the vent hood would still be in the way of the track. One idea that occurred to me is we could mount vent hood to the track so we could move both vent and pulley but at that point I would start to wonder if we are over complicating things lol

What about a heavy duty hinge or some sort of arm that can swing side to side? Most cantilever hoists I’ve seen are for 1k+ lbs, I would just need something for 100-150 lbs at most since our biggest beers are 40# of grain plus water weight while we drain. Is this something that would need to be fabricated?

 

[milo_leon]

Why not just put a cheap 5 gallon bucket under it from a store like Home Depot? Or maybe the basket will be too big? For my BIAB setup, I actually mash in a converted 10 gallon cooler, mainly because I used to use it for traditional mashing, so I have it laying around but also because I don't have to mess with keeping the temp regulated. Once I'm done dumping it into my pot, I just put the mash tun back under the bag and lower it into it until I have time to clean it up.

We do have a old 3g brew pot from our extract brewing days. it’s not as big as the mash bucket but we can angle the mash bucket into the pot and let it “sit” with support from the pulley so it drains into the pot.

 

[IslandLizard]

We do have a old 3g brew pot from our extract brewing days. it’s not as big as the mash bucket but we can angle the mash bucket into the pot and let it “sit” with support from the pulley so it drains into the pot.

Like you said, hoist the bag and hang some sort of wide plastic tub under the basket to catch the drippings. Then roll the kettle stand back under the hood. Using a vapor condenser instead of a hood, as it has no ductwork attached, may give you some extra flexibility by "swinging" it in place once the bag hoist has been trolleyed off. They work really well from what I've read.

But yeah, you are pushing some limits with that size BIAB.

Why do BIAB at that size? How is your mash efficiency? You don't sparge. There must be a considerable amount of preboil gravity wort trapped in there.
Wouldn't a mash tun, pump and eRIMS system be easier to handle and perhaps even more efficient?

One of my brew friends uses a 3 kettle 15 gallon system (20 or 30 gallon kettles) with an eRIMS in a small 1 gallon pot with a short (6') wort coil in it. The pot is filled with water heated by an ordinary water heater element controlled by a PID. Response is fast that way, keeps the mash at the right temps, while it's super easy to do step mashes.

 

[milo_leon]

Like you said, hoist the bag and hang some sort of wide plastic tub under the basket to catch the drippings. Then roll the kettle stand back under the hood. Using a vapor condenser instead of a hood, as it has no ductwork attached, may give you some extra flexibility by "swinging" it in place once the bag hoist has been trolleyed off. They work really well from what I've read.

But yeah, you are pushing some limits with that size BIAB.

Why do BIAB at that size? How is your mash efficiency? You don't sparge. There must be a considerable amount of preboil gravity wort trapped in there.
Wouldn't a mash tun, pump and eRIMS system be easier to handle and perhaps even more efficient?

One of my brew friends uses a 3 kettle 15 gallon system (20 or 30 gallon kettles) with an eRIMS in a small 1 gallon pot with a short (6') wort coil in it. The pot is filled with water heated by an ordinary water heater element controlled by a PID. Response is fast that way, keeps the mash at the right temps, while it's super easy to do step mashes.

We have a Colorado Brewing system - we went eBIAB due to cost/space, as we don't have the budget to go full eRIMS with multiple kettles. So far we do like the system, and our efficiency is about 68%. We probably will adjust our grain mill to boost that, and we may start doing a quick rinse at the end to flush out more sugars.

The only times we wish we got a bigger system is when we try making 10 gals of a big beer, seems we are able to brew a 10g batch up to about 1.070ish, and anything higher we will need to do a 5 gal batch.

Also following up - I finally understood what you meant about using the plastic tub. I thought you were talking about leaving the tub on the floor and moving the basket over. Never occurred to me I could put another basket under the mash basket, and move it all together to reduce the dripping.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Perhaps a big part of your problem is your using a 3 gallon kettle to catch the run off from a 20 gallon basket lol.

I have used a Rubbermaid 12O qt plastic tote, or I have also used a 55 gallon drum cut short to about 24”.

And I meant to put the tote, or tub on the floor adjacent to the kettle.

99% of drips will go in one or the other.

 

[RM-MN]

our efficiency is about 68%. We probably will adjust our grain mill to boost that, and we may start doing a quick rinse at the end to flush out more sugars.

The only times we wish we got a bigger system is when we try making 10 gals of a big beer, seems we are able to brew a 10g batch up to about 1.070ish, and anything higher we will need to do a 5 gal batch.

With that efficiency it is no wonder you have difficulty with a big beer. Tighten up your mill to raise the mash efficiency and add a sparge step to collect the sugars that you otherwise are throwing away and big beers will now fit.

 

[bgmac]

I second the large rubber made tote to catch the drippings. I commonly make 10 gallon batches with 22-25 or so Lbs of grain. After sparge, I raise it high enough with a fourfold purchase block and tackle to clear the kettle and swing it into a tote as I lower it. It is a little tricky but only end up with a few drips outside of the kettle or tote. Luckily my garage ceiling is like 14 feet high so I have plenty of room to work with. What I don't like is after sitting in the tote for an hour or 2, there is always a inch or so of thick sweet wort sitting in the bottom. Waste of a gravity points. I actually took a hydrometer reading on the left overs one time and it was 1.090+. That would have helped with final efficiency. If I were more patient, I would let the basket hang above the kettle for longer to catch the last bit of sugars. But, I just want to get it out of the way to move onto the boil/hops steps etc...

 

[cyclonebeer]

If your vent hood is attached to the ceiling joists in the basement, why not just screw an eye bolt through the vent - into a joist? That's what I did. My pulley system is a game hanger I got for less than $10. It does not ratchet. I lash it off on a boat cleat to let the basket hang and drain. I set a utility tub on the floor next to my stand and just play the line out to lower the basket into the tub. Cheap, easy, elegant. Kind of like BIAB.