Boil kettle condenser - no overhead ventilation needed

[HumulusHead]

Would a system like this work coming out of the lid instead of through the wall of the kettle?

Also, outside of aesthetics, any reason this couldn't be assembled out of PVC?

I was trying to accomplish both of these yesterday during my investigation process!

PVC isn't rated for steam temps unfortunately.

You could def do it through the lid, just will take a decent amount more piping, which you are basically limited to stainless

 

[BrunDog]

Per above I didnt do the lid because it would be a PITA to put the lid on and off.

 

[HumulusHead]

I don't know if an air tight seal will make it better. Would need to test it. My trial test used plastic wrap and that had a good seal. You can see the vacuum created with it, but again I can't claim more is more.

You might use an instrument tee as the tee section is shorter.

I think your plastic wrap made a better seal than a lid would, at least in my case because I am using a keggle. An actual pot may have a better seal, I just do not have experience with that haha.

I feel better hearing that you were able to see the vacuum! I will do some testing as well once I get my parts

 

[HumulusHead]

I do wonder how much it would affect efficiency of this process if you mounted say a 1/2" nipple to the lid then ran 1/2" hose to a tee similar to the OP.

I would think you would want to make sure that all of this would be mounted above the top of the lid as the steam will naturally want to rise

 

[BrunDog]

Should need about an 8,000 BTU per hour capacity to just handle the phase change.


Edit:
BrunDog,
Very cool project!! One of these will be going on my setup real soon. Like, before next brew day. Thank you for blazing the trail!!
Looks like your 6 GPH spray nozzle puts you right where you need to be for the phase change if you have 50 degree input water.

With your pressure not being what the spray nozzle needs, do you fall short on the 6 gallons in an hour?

Correct. I used a gal/hour boil-off, which equates to about 8100 BTU/h. I am thinking it may be less now, as my live brew boiled off only a half gallon over 60 mins.

Yes, if my house pressure is 30 psi, then it would be less than the documented 6 @ 40 psi. I haven't tested it, so I can't be sure. I since upgraded to the 9 gph, but I think the 6 gives better atomization. Need to test more! I will probably try a pump in front too to raise the pressure to ~80 psi. But hey, would be nice to use the free pressure the city is providing.

 

[hrafnkell]

Anyone found some nozzles on amazon that could be used for this?

Also, what is the formula to convert BTU/h to gallons/h of water mist/spray needed?

My tap water is around 40-45f at 80psi year round and I'm really interested in trying this. I was thinking of mounting it on my kettle lid.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

80 PSI tap water?

Awesome!

 

[GreenMonti]

Anyone found some nozzles on amazon that could be used for this?

Also, what is the formula to convert BTU/h to gallons/h of water mist/spray needed?

My tap water is around 40-45f at 80psi year round and I'm really interested in trying this. I was thinking of mounting it on my kettle lid.

It takes 1 BTU to raise 1lb of water 1 degree F.
It then takes about 970-1000 more BTU’s to phase change into steam.

So if you boil off 1 gallon over an hour. (1 gallon weighs 8.34lbs) the rough estimate was 8,000 BTU’s per hour.
Then take your water temp and subtract that from boiling temp. (45 input water - 212= 167 BTU’s per pound of water to get to boiling temp from cold.) so each pound of water that the mister emits you can absorb 167 BTU’s from the steam. Which means in you case you’ll need about 5.98lbs of cold water mist to condense 1 lb of steam back into 212 degree water.
1 gallon boiled off means there’s 8.34lbs of steam to be dealt with.

This of course is in a semi perfect world cause my numbers are rough. Not exact. Close enough for government work though.

Hope this helps

 

[BrunDog]

Different road, similar destination.

 

[mcgeebc]

I'm putting together the plans to finish my basement now and this would be a great alternative to cutting a hole in the side of my house for a vent hood. Is it still working for you BrunDog? Are you ready to publish a parts list?

 

[BrunDog]

It has worked for the brew I did with it (sorry I haven't done another yet), though I have a lager ready to be done in the next couple of days.

I will put the parts together for you and post it here.

 

[BeardedBrews]

You can buy them ready-made from Brew-Boss. They mention BD as a designer, but I don't know if they sent a courtesy note before selling them or not.

http://www.brew-boss.com/Condenser-Boss-Boil-Kettle-Condenser-p/cb-bb-apmount.htm

 

[BrunDog]

I appreciate BB's plug, though I think crediting me for only the TC tee isn't exactly telling the whole story. I did not receive any notice, but they certainly weren't obligated to. I put the information on here freely for the advancement of the community. If they want to package the kit and make a a few bucks on it - it's all good.

In any event, here is a parts list should anyone want to piece this up themselves. This uses 2" TC, but you could perhaps go smaller as BB is. Maybe 1.5" TC would be acceptable and save a few dollars - I just didn't test that so cannot vouch for it. I used different parts in mine but I think this would be how I would do it if starting over. This will yield a 1/2" NPT female connection for you to add whatever fitting you need to for incoming water. It mounts via a 2" TC flange that needs to be soldered on, welded, or JB welded on for those kettles that don't have a TC port there. Other methods for connected can certainly be explored. For example, BrewHardware sells a 1.5" weld-less TC port that could work if going 1.5" TC.

 

[Jayjay1976]

can you post some photos/videos of this thing in action?

 

[BrunDog]

can you post some photos/videos of this thing in action?

See the first post.

 

[Jayjay1976]

See the first post.

Sorry, I don't have an excuse for missing that.

This thing looks brilliant, I brew in the kitchen and my wife was just telling me yesterday when i was ten minutes into a 90 minute boil how she's worried the condensation might cause mold to grow on window sills during the winter. I figured it was just relief from the dry winter air but she might be right. Time to do something about it!

 

[sasky7777]

I appreciate BB's plug, though I think crediting me for only the TC tee isn't exactly telling the whole story. I did not receive any notice, but they certainly weren't obligated to. I put the information on here freely for the advancement of the community. If they want to package the kit and make a a few bucks on it - it's all good.

In any event, here is a parts list should anyone want to piece this up themselves. This uses 2" TC, but you could perhaps go smaller as BB is. Maybe 1.5" TC would be acceptable and save a few dollars - I just didn't test that so cannot vouch for it. I used different parts in mine but I think this would be how I would do it if starting over. This will yield a 1/2" NPT female connection for you to add whatever fitting you need to for incoming water. It mounts via a 2" TC flange that needs to be soldered on, welded, or JB welded on for those kettles that don't have a TC port there. Other methods for connected can certainly be explored. For example, BrewHardware sells a 1.5" weld-less TC port that could work if going 1.5" TC.

Just trying to visualize the sprayer inside the Tee. The water comes in via a 1/2”NPT connection into the nipple and the reducer all inside the Tee. The sprayer nozzle connects to that reducer. Does this connection supply the sprayer directly or is their another flexible water line involved that runs inside the 1/2” plumbing similar to your initial pics.
I look at the sprayer and i can see how it threads together but not seeing how the water gets in it.

 

[BrunDog]

In my build, I used a threaded bulkead 1/4" OD tube fitting, mounted across a 2" TC end cap (which I had to drill out). That connected to a 1/4" OD polyethylene tube on the outside for the feed water, and a 1/4" OD SS tube inside. On the other end of that SS tube is a 1/4" OD x 1/8" NPT male fitting, and connected to that is a 1/8" NPT female coupling, then the sprayer screwed into that.

I didn't quote this for the parts list for three reasons: the SS tube fittings are expensive, they really do not grip well on the SS tube (there is nothing for the internal collet to bite into), and drilling the TC cap is no small feat.

Therefore I came up with the list above, and provided an open-ended entry point for the incoming water (1/2" female NPT port). You can connect this to your hose with a garden hose adapter, to a pump with a barb fitting, etc.

That top TC cap fitting (2" TC 1/2" NPT Coupling) gives the 1/2" female NPT I just mentioned pointing up plus another 1/2" female NPT pointing down into the TC tee. The nipple screws into that. The reducer screws into that. The sprayer screws into that. Note: I should mention I am not 100% positive on the length of the nipple. It is possible a 2" or a 3" would be better.

In the picture above, the red arrow is pointing to a screen filter on the input of the sprayer. The connection and seal are made on the thread below it, but the incoming water will pass through that filter then go out of the nozzle. It is in place to make sure any contaminants do not clog the nozzle (would be difficult to remove if so). Hope I made sense?

 

[sasky7777]

That top TC cap fitting (2" TC 1/2" NPT Coupling) gives the 1/2" female NPT I just mentioned pointing up plus another 1/2" female NPT pointing down into the TC tee. The nipple screws into that. The reducer screws into that. The sprayer screws into that. Note: I should mention I am not 100% positive on the length of the nipple. It is possible a 2" or a 3" would be better.

In the picture above, the red arrow is pointing to a screen filter on the input of the sprayer. The connection and seal are made on the thread below it, but the incoming water will pass through that filter then go out of the nozzle. It is in place to make sure any contaminants do not clog the nozzle (would be difficult to remove if so). Hope I made sense?

Yes it does make sense, all the water flows through the 1/2” plumbing. Wasn’t sure if what the arrow was pointing to was a hose barb, but it is a filter. Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[audioa84]

I'm thinking of putting one of these together for all the reasons listed by everyone else. One thought I had was that, instead of putting a TC port on the side of my kettle, I could craft a new lid for my kettle and put a 90 degree 2" TC elbow coming out the top. Do you think the location of the port, side vs. top, would make a difference?

 

[BrunDog]

I think higher is always better, so the lid should be the best place. As I noted above, I didn’t put it there because I take the lid on and off.

 

[RocketBrewer]

BrunDog, thanks for all your work on this project! This is an awesome idea for coping with a common and major problem for indoor brewers. I had a few questions though.

1) Is the reason for using the 1/2" NPT fittings just for the purpose of using off the shelf items? In other words, if a person had the ability to just weld a longer 1/8" NPT nipple directly through an appropriately drilled TC cap, could you connect the spray nozzle with a 1/8" coupling?

2) Is there reason for using the instrument tee versus a regular tee?

3) I have higher pressure water (I regulate to ~70 psi), would I be better off going to the next smaller nozzle or just accept a little higher water usage?

I'm anxious to hear how your beers are turning out (or others who are trying this out).

 

[BrunDog]

BrunDog, thanks for all your work on this project! This is an awesome idea for coping with a common and major problem for indoor brewers. I had a few questions though.

1) Is the reason for using the 1/2" NPT fittings just for the purpose of using off the shelf items? In other words, if a person had the ability to just weld a longer 1/8" NPT nipple directly through an appropriately drilled TC cap, could you connect the spray nozzle with a 1/8" coupling?

2) Is there reason for using the instrument tee versus a regular tee?

3) I have higher pressure water (I regulate to ~70 psi), would I be better off going to the next smaller nozzle or just accept a little higher water usage?

I'm anxious to hear how your beers are turning out (or others who are trying this out).

1. Yes, exactly! There are lots of ways to do this. As I mentioned, I did it differently, but published this list for anyone looking to get one built with easily sourced parts and no tools or modification.

2. I have a regular tee but think the instrument tee will pull the whole assembly closer to the kettle which may help with scavenging efficiency and reduce the moment arm placed on the TC flange.

3. 70 is crazy high. I would probably get the smaller nozzle as it will flow high enough and atomized well at your pressure.

I haven’t brewed since the test beer, but may do a lager tomorrow.

 

[Mirilis]

I think i am going to incorporate this into my existing build but I have a question. I have been tossing the idea of putting one of Bobby's 2250W 120v TC elements into my kettle and replacing the 15a plug in my controller (build in my sig) with a 20a one then just using that. Typical boil 7+/-0.5 gal. I know with this method you can turn power down to keep a good boil so would 2250W be sufficient to do the job? That would save me from having to put in a vent hood and a 30a plug. (since im buying a new house in the spring i dont know what kind of brewery area ill get)

 

[BrunDog]

You can definitely cut the power. I *think* (not a guarantee) you can get to a boil for 7 gal with that power. You will need to keep the cover on the whole ramp up and keep an eye on boil-over. Use ferm cap! Then when approaching the boil you can turn the condenser on.

 

[TexasWine]

You can definitely boil that volume with that kind of power. Last brew day I boiled 7.5 gallons with one 1650 watt element, lid on with a rectangular vent cut in it.

 

[mabrungard]

Yes, you will be able to boil with that 2250w power. But that doesn't mean you should go small. Having far more heating power means that you can bring the wort to boil quicker. Having a good power controller gives you the ability to dial it back to produce an rolling, but modest boil while under cover.

 

[Dockside_Brewing]

Do you think I could use your parts list except go down to 1.5 Tri Tee etc?

 

[BrunDog]

Yes. I don't see any reason the 1.5" wouldn't work. I went with 2" thinking a large port would facilitate flow. I think bigger is better but I saw good enough performance from the 2" that smaller should be ok.

 

[Dockside_Brewing]

Never mind I just

Do you think I could use your parts list except go down to 1.5 Tri Tee etc?

Never mind I just found that reply. I am going to go with the 1.5 and an instrument T