Blichmann top tier + march pump + therminator configuration help!

[SuperSpy]

Here are a couple of pictures of my rig. I love brewing, but putting it together has been fun as well.

I'm piecing together my top tier right now and noticed the quick connect fittings on your pump. Where did you get them?

 

[eyedoctodd]

Don't know specifically where he got his but I got mine from bargainfittings.com

 

[julian81]

If you're referring to the camlock quick disconnects, I got those from proflowdynamics.com, but eyedoctodd is correct; you can also order them from bargainfittings.com. I wasn't a huge fan of the camlocks personally which is why I sold mine. If you have a bit more cash and want something really slick, I'd recommend the stainless quick disconnects from morebeer.com. I have those now and they are NICE, and a lot easier to use.

 

[luhrks]

I hate the B3 qd's with a passion. I always seem to have issues with them actually engaging. I much prefer the snap lock/camlocks.

 

[jpinetti]

Yeah it does feel good. I don't do much electrical work/projects either and I will admit, today's little project is probably why I should never work with electricity again. I foolishly forgot to unplug my extension cord when I went to cut the female plug end off. The breaker tripped and the wire EXPLODED in my hand. Luckily it was plugged into the ONLY GFCI outlet in my garage. For some reason the others aren't. I didn't even get shocked, but the lights going out, and the loud POP and the explosion in front of me was terrifying. I actually know better, but my extension cord was all wrapped up on a shelf, it looked like it was unplugged. Can't be too careful.

Terrifying. But I'm OK, and the project is complete and it works flawlessly. Just happy to be alive at this point, lol.

Julian You only need one gfci outlet on a circuit. The other outlets wired in after the gfci are also protected. If you press the test switch on the gfci and plug something into another outlet do you still have power? This is one way to test if your garage is wired correctly.

 

[luhrks]

Here's my current config. Burners soon to be fully automated.

 

[SuperSpy]

I hate the B3 qd's with a passion. I always seem to have issues with them actually engaging. I much prefer the snap lock/camlocks.

For those that have the B3 QD's, do you have to have a coupler to put them on your march pump? It looks like B3 only has male threaded QDs but the march pump is also male threaded.

 

[kedash]

I finally mounted a switch to control my march pump. I came up with an alternative idea of mounting the switch down low. This eliminated the need to run wires up the main post and keep things looking as clean as possible. As you will see in these pictures, I mounted the water-resistant switch box to the shelf arms that support the mashtun shelf. I cut the cord that came with the March Pump and saved the male cord end to come out of the box. When I brew, I will attach an extension cord to this male plug end. Having it short and not reaching the ground will keep it out of the way when I move the brewstand and keep the connection off the ground during brew sessions. Anyway, I just wanted to post this in case any of you found it to be a good idea that you could use.

 

[Southern_Junior]

sorry to resurrect an old thread. Is it necessary to acquire additional t-bars for the mounting of the chiller and the pump?

 

[Barnesie]

sorry to resurrect an old thread. Is it necessary to acquire additional t-bars for the mounting of the chiller and the pump?

You know Blichmann makes a pump and a chiller mount, right? Those come with all parts needed to mount each.

 

[JJ86]

Bringing this one back again..

Just brought my Top Tier home and can't wait to this thing assembled! Thanks to all of the pictures/advice I think I've figured out my configuration (Two burners/Cooler MT/Pump).

I have a quick question for the guys that are using a kettle as the HLT. Do you fly or batch sparge? I currently batch sparge, so things should be pretty straight forward with my new TT setup. I've been thinking about giving fly sparging a shot, but not sure how difficult it is to maintain a sparge water temp with using a kettle. Do you find yourself having to fire the burner to help maintain the temp? I'm in WI and it gets pretty cold out there..

 

[Barnesie]

Honestly, if you're looking for rigid repeatability, you're going to need some kind of automation with fly sparging. I gravity fly sparge, but as the temperatures are starting to go nuts, I'm seeing big temperature swings using a keggle in the open winter air.

I have so many other variables to nail down first, I'm probably not going to automate that any time soon, but it's at the tail end of the list.

Only tip I can give you for the top tier is this - don't forget that you can lay the thing down on it's side and take a leg or two off very easily. Sometimes you find yourself wishing you had put something lower down on the mast and it's much easier in some cases to go up from the bottom then to take everything off and start from the top.

 

[JJ86]

That's what I thought I would hear about fly sparging. Will most likely stick to batch sparge for the foreseeable future. Getting way too cold..

Thanks for the advice on making adjustments. I'm sure I'll find myself tinkering around with the setup quite a bit..