Boil kettle condenser - no overhead ventilation needed

[doug293cz]

Ordered. Thanks for risking, hopefully the virus isn't hanging out on a piece of stainless. Do you think the condensate will have wort in it? I was thinking of pumping the condensate back into my MLT. Grant

Condensate will not have any wort (or extract/sugar.) Only water and volatile compounds from the wort, DMS being one of the major contaminants in the condensate. If the condensate outlet temp is more than about 100°F, then most of the DMS will escape to the air at the condenser outlet (and it smells bad.)

Brew on

 

[bleme]

Ordered. Thanks for risking, hopefully the virus isn't hanging out on a piece of stainless. Do you think the condensate will have wort in it? I was thinking of pumping the condensate back into my MLT. Grant

The normal flu virus will live on a hard, non-porous surface longer than anywhere else, but it is still no more than 24 hours. The Corona virus can be viable up to 9 days later at normal temps and up to 28 days later under 39F. Break out your iodopher.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/ar...n-surfaces#How-long-do-coronaviruses-persist?

 

[BrunDog]

I was thinking of pumping the condensate back into my MLT. Grant

Yeah... don't do that.

 

[Grant McKinley]

So the condensate isn’t any good for cleaning?

 

[BrunDog]

It’s “dirty” with stuff that boiled off, so I suppose it would depend on your definition and goals of cleaning.

 

[Wizard_of_Frobozz]

Got my new widebody SteamSlayer installed. Works great - no steam in the Brew Room even at 100% power on the heating element.

Thanks @Bobby_M for braving the evil virus and making this thing for us!

 

[Charlie139]

Hey guys. I just wanted to say “thanks” for posting this information. I was about to get kicked out of the upstairs apartment because of water damage to the “unfinished” ceiling from brewing beer. I haven’t fully read the entire thread but I started making a solution to the steam problem based on your info. I’m getting the steam from the lid rather than the kettle wall. I hope this won’t be an issue. I welded a 4 inch ferrule under the center ferrule to attach a hop bag. Thanks again .

 

[-CHRIS-]

I just received Bobby's Steam Slayer. Where are you folks installing these? I have a 20 gallon kettle electric brewery with the brew kettle all the way to the left. I am thinking about installing the slayer in the back left 45 degrees to the left of center to minimize footprint. Obviously it needs to be mounted as high as possible, but I not sure if it should be on the back or front of the kettle.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Bobby_M]

I've seen it installed just about everywhere around the top edge of kettle. On my system, I have it on the right side, 45 degrees towards the back or at the 2 o'clock position because that's where my water source and drain are. If you're collecting in a bucket, put it wherever the waste hose will have the most straight shot into the bucket.

 

[Spartan1979]

I put mine on the lid with a 90 degree elbow.

 

[-CHRIS-]

I put mine on the lid with a 90 degree elbow.

Are you happy with it there? Did you do that to increase boil volume or to drill fewer holes in your kettle?

I kind of figured that having it lid-mounted would be a pain since it is so heavy. I guess you need to take it apart and clean it after your brewday anyway?

Having a TC port in my lid could also give me an option of CIP as well.

Chris

 

[Spartan1979]

Are you happy with it there? Did you do that to increase boil volume or to drill fewer holes in your kettle?

I kind of figured that having it lid-mounted would be a pain since it is so heavy. I guess you need to take it apart and clean it after your brewday anyway?

Having a TC port in my lid could also give me an option of CIP as well.

Chris

It's fine there. It doesn't sit plumb since the lid is slightly domed and that bothers my OCD.

Yes, I did it for boil volume, although as it turns out, it wasn't necessary. I'm using a 10 gallon pot and I'm boiling off a lot less than I did with propane so I would have had enough room.

 

[Keano41]

I put mine on the lid with a 90 degree elbow.

Did you also use a spool off of your 90 elbow?
I keep chasing my tail on parts from BH... all of the fittings i need will be in, but the steam slayer will be out of stock and once the steam slayer is available the rest of my parts are out of stock. I might just have to bite the bullet and buy things as they become available.

 

[Bobby_M]

Did you also use a spool off of your 90 elbow?
I keep chasing my tail on parts from BH... all of the fittings i need will be in, but the steam slayer will be out of stock and once the steam slayer is available the rest of my parts are out of stock. I might just have to bite the bullet and buy things as they become available.

I'm sorry about that. It's really hard to keep everything in stock when people are brewing like it's the end times.

 

[RocketBrewer]

I'm sorry about that. It's really hard to keep everything in stock when people are brewing like it's the end times.

If it is the end of times, I want to be sure I have enough beer to go out with a bang!

 

[Spartan1979]

Did you also use a spool off of your 90 elbow?
I keep chasing my tail on parts from BH... all of the fittings i need will be in, but the steam slayer will be out of stock and once the steam slayer is available the rest of my parts are out of stock. I might just have to bite the bullet and buy things as they become available.

 

[fun4stuff]

Thoughts and prayers
But if I had a drain within reach I'd jump on that...

Cheers!

You really don’t need a drain within reach. You would go through 5-10 gal of waste water per hour. It’s not that hard to run it to 5 gal bucket and dump. I have a drain within reach, but usually i end up just sticking a bucket under it. I use the waste water as an initial rinse for cleaning or to water plants.

 

[Frazeart]

Hey everybody. I was having a hard time deciding between this option and overhead ventilation. I stumbled on a scratch and dent range hood and went that way... cut through wall and ceiling and out through a roof vent. Long story short.... total disaster. Tons of steam condensing and dripping back into the kettle. Sigh. Now I am looking at this solution. Looks cool My question is, how much steam escapes when you open the lid to add hops and when you need to start cooling?

Thanks all. Love this stuff.

 

[k-os]

Hey everybody. I was having a hard time deciding between this option and overhead ventilation. I stumbled on a scratch and dent range hood and went that way... cut through wall and ceiling and out through a roof vent. Long story short.... total disaster. Tons of steam condensing and dripping back into the kettle. Sigh. Now I am looking at this solution. Looks cool My question is, how much steam escapes when you open the lid to add hops and when you need to start cooling?

Thanks all. Love this stuff.

I use hop bags for my kettle additions. I lay the bag over the edge of the kettle and am still able to get enough of a seal for the condenser to work correctly. When I have to make the addition I placed the hops in the open end of the bag and then lift the lid to let them fall in. Not much steam escapes, at least not enough to cause any kind of condensation in my basement while brewing.

I chill with a plate chiller and recirculate to the top of my kettle with the lid covering most of it and don't have any issues with the steam.

 

[cbier60]

Hey everybody. I was having a hard time deciding between this option and overhead ventilation. I stumbled on a scratch and dent range hood and went that way... cut through wall and ceiling and out through a roof vent. Long story short.... total disaster. Tons of steam condensing and dripping back into the kettle. Sigh. Now I am looking at this solution. Looks cool My question is, how much steam escapes when you open the lid to add hops and when you need to start cooling?

Thanks all. Love this stuff.

Certainly not enough to cause any condensation. If you keep your hood and turn it on at these times, you'd hardly know you were brewing. My situation is similar to k-os.

 

[bjhbrew]

I’m curious what solutions people have come up with for supplying water to both a steam condenser and a wort chiller. I recently did my first indoor brew last weekend and ended up pulling our dirty garden hose in through the back door to supply water to my counterflow chiller. Has anyone made some kind of water manifold? I have a sink nearby, is it better to put a garden hose attachment or is there a better, under counter hook up option? Any help appreciated. The condenser I made based on the discussion in this thread worked awesome btw so thanks to all who have contributed.

 

[-CHRIS-]

Guys, need your advice/help.

I brought my widebody steam slayer to my buddies brewery today. He has a 2" TC fitting in the center of the Blichmann 30 gallon gen 1 kettle. We installed a reducer, 1.5" elbow, 6" spool and the steam slayer. We had 1 5500 watt 240v element running on 208v going at full bore on 20 gallons of water.

With the 9 gph nozzle, we were on track to consume 22 gallons per hour, but his water pressure is 90 PSI.

The other issue was we had steam coming out the end of the hose which means to me we overwhelmed it's capacity?

We also had issues with steam leaking around the edges of the lid, but we remedied that with a split silicone hose and some clamps.

My first test was pretty negative, what did we do wrong?

It is pretty clear I am going to install it in the kettle side wall since adding hops is going to be a major PITA if the slayer is lid mounted.
Does the boil off get that much higher due to the vacuum than I need to run the element at a much lower power rating to keep the amount of steam down?
What do I do about the water consumption? 22 gallons for an hour long boil is not acceptable. My house pressure is much lower probably around 50 PSI. I assume this will drive water consumption down.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[ingchr1]

I’m curious what solutions people have come up with for supplying water to both a steam condenser and a wort chiller. I recently did my first indoor brew last weekend and ended up pulling our dirty garden hose in through the back door to supply water to my counterflow chiller. Has anyone made some kind of water manifold? I have a sink nearby, is it better to put a garden hose attachment or is there a better, under counter hook up option? Any help appreciated. The condenser I made based on the discussion in this thread worked awesome btw so thanks to all who have contributed.

I use brass quick disconnects. When I'm done with the condenser I swap the hose over to the chiller. I also have a brass valve on the hose before the quick disconnect, so I can shut off the flow to swap and throttle flow when I need to the chiller. For the condenser I keep it full open. I brew in the garage where I setup a garden hose. You could use a hose attachment to your faucet or maybe install a hose bibb under your sink.

I mention brass quick disconnects and valve because you will see plastic ones, but they won't last.

 

[bjhbrew]

I use brass quick disconnects. When I'm done with the condenser I swap the hose over to the chiller. I also have a brass valve on the hose before the quick disconnect, so I can shut off the flow to swap and throttle flow when I need to the chiller. For the condenser I keep it full open. I brew in the garage where I setup a garden hose. You could use a hose attachment to your faucet or maybe install a hose bibb under your sink.

I mention brass quick disconnects and valve because you will see plastic ones, but they won't last.

I like the idea of using a quick disconnect. I use camlocks on my brewing vessels, maybe it makes sense to use another camlock? As a follow up question, if I make a hose to run from my sink to chiller or condenser what is a good flexible material to use? I find garden hoses to be too stiff to manage indoors (insert joke here) but on the flip side when I tried connecting a 1/2” vinyl tube to my counterflow chiller I found it got really soft from the radiant heat (insert other joke here) thoughts?

 

[ingchr1]

I like the idea of using a quick disconnect. I use camlocks on my brewing vessels, maybe it makes sense to use another camlock? As a follow up question, if I make a hose to run from my sink to chiller or condenser what is a good flexible material to use? I find garden hoses to be too stiff to manage indoors (insert joke here) but on the flip side when I tried connecting a 1/2” vinyl tube to my counterflow chiller I found it got really soft from the radiant heat (insert other joke here) thoughts?

I'm sure camlocks could work as well.

For hose, you could use radiator hose. I use it on the outlet side of my chiller.

 

[cbier60]

We had 1 5500 watt 240v element running on 208v going at full bore on 20 gallons of water.

My first test was pretty negative, what did we do wrong?

My guess is that you've got way too much power to maintain the boil on 20G in a 30G "sealed" kettle. Did you ever open the lid to look at your boil vigor? It takes only ~2300W to keep 12G at a rolling boil in my 20G Spike kettle with a 1.5" TC condenser. I have the 6.5 gph nozzle and get ~5-6G of water of discharge.

 

[-CHRIS-]

My guess is that you've got way too much power to maintain the boil on 20G in a 30G "sealed" kettle. Did you ever open the lid to look at your boil vigor? It takes only ~2300W to keep 12G at a rolling boil in my 20G Spike kettle with a 1.5" TC condenser. I have the 6.5 gph nozzle and get ~5-6G of water of discharge.

Are you running your nozzle wide open? Do you know your water pressure?

Chris

 

[Bobby_M]

That 22 gallons per hour was not boil off, it was mostly cooling water. At 100psi the 9gph sprayer delivers 15gph. In other words, those stated ratings are at 40psi. You're getting steam leakage and high temp effluent because you're putting too much power into the kettle. For a 7 gallon boil, I run my 5500 watt at 28-30% so that's about 1600 watts effective. That's not going to be enough for 20 gallons but the power required to boil doesn't go up linearly with volume. The instructions advise starting with HALF the power you would normally use in an open top boil.

Another common mistake is having water collect in the effluent hose due to bends like a P-trap or submerging the end in the collection bucket water. That will kill the whole process.

 

[-CHRIS-]

That 22 gallons per hour was not boil off, it was mostly cooling water. At 100psi the 9gph sprayer delivers 15gph. In other words, those stated ratings are at 40psi. You're getting steam leakage and high temp effluent because you're putting too much power into the kettle. For a 7 gallon boil, I run my 5500 watt at 28-30% so that's about 1600 watts effective. That's not going to be enough for 20 gallons but the power required to boil doesn't go up linearly with volume. The instructions advise starting with HALF the power you would normally use in an open top boil.

Another common mistake is having water collect in the effluent hose due to bends like a P-trap or submerging the end in the collection bucket water. That will kill the whole process.

We used your 5 foot hose and drained it straight into the floor drain, that is why we saw the steam.

Bobby, yes that was cooling water, thanks for looking up the GPH curve for the nozzle. Do you run your nozzle with the valve on the top wide open?

We were boiling in his 30 gallon HLT since his boil kettle is 90 gallons LOL.

I thought we were putting too much power in, but he did not want to put his Auber PID into manual mode and I am not familiar with the operation of the Auber so we had to run at 100%.

I'll try to install it on my kettle today and see how it goes with a much lower power setting.

What do you guys think about scaling this up to a 90 gallon kettle with a 15kw element? Is it possible?

Thanks for the advice!

Chris

 

[Bobby_M]

We used your 5 foot hose and drained it straight into the floor drain, that is why we saw the steam.

Bobby, yes that was cooling water, thanks for looking up the GPH curve for the nozzle. Do you run your nozzle with the valve on the top wide open?

We were boiling in his 30 gallon HLT since his boil kettle is 90 gallons LOL.

I thought we were putting too much power in, but he did not want to put his Auber PID into manual mode and I am not familiar with the operation of the Auber so we had to run at 100%.

I'll try to install it on my kettle today and see how it goes with a much lower power setting.

What do you guys think about scaling this up to a 90 gallon kettle with a 15kw element? Is it possible?

Thanks for the advice!

Chris

The valve on the top of the sprayer cap is a ball valve so it's either on or off. You can't really throttle the flow, nor should you try. The regulation of flow is done by the selection of the spray tip. This concept can scale to any boil size but you'll need a bigger port off the kettle, a bigger chamber and more than one spray tip. I think the unit that Stout sells for 2-4 barrels uses three of the 9GPH tips.