Brew Boss Systems

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Hmm not sure. There is a box on the outside where the feed is coming in. Perhaps? I'll have to ask the electrician. Why do you ask? Quick shutoff in case of emergency? I know it runs from a 125 2-pole breaker inside my house that has been shut off since he installed it.
 
FreddyMar3 said:
Hmm not sure. There is a box on the outside where the feed is coming in. Perhaps? I'll have to ask the electrician. Why do you ask? Quick shutoff in case of emergency? I know it runs from a 125 2-pole breaker inside my house that has been shut off since he installed it.
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your garage is a detached structure and you have more than six circuits in the garage sub-panel. code requires a means of disconnect at the garage for the entire panel. this can be a main breaker in the panel but i don't see one so i'm guessing there is a disconnect on the exterior. you got a picture of the box? it might just be a pull point.

and the neutral in the garage panel should have white tape on it to identify it as a grounded conductor.:p
 
Discovered the limits of the 15 gallon cofi system when doing a 10 gallon batch ...20lbs of grain and 12.5 gallons water ...recipe called for 14 gallons but that was too much #overflow
 
So I've been using a Brew-Boss since it was a picobrew. I'm ready to upgrade my kettle. I still have the old style Bayou Classic kettle with the steamer basket. I typically brew 5 gallon batches in my 15g system now and I can brew some pretty high OG beers. Looking at the COFI it seems there is a limit to the OG you can get because of the amount of water you need to cover the grain. I want to know if anyone has tried a 2nd mash? Essentially doing your 60 minute mash then pulling the cofi out refill it with grain and then mash for another 30-45 minutes before a mashout. I'm wondering if this could help bump up the OG thats possible in the COFI without using DME or sugar. Has anyone tried this? I don't brew big beers all the time but I do like having the option available to me.
 
Snicklefritz said:
So I've been using a Brew-Boss since it was a picobrew. I'm ready to upgrade my kettle.

... I don't brew big beers all the time but I do like having the option available to me.
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I have the 15 gal system with COFI. One of the reasons I chose the system was the high capacity of the COFI basket. I have done 23 pounds of grain and there was room for more. the stats say 25 pound capacity for the 15 gal model.

25 pounds of grain for a 5 gal batch would give you a pretty big beer, the RIS I've got in secondary was 17 pounds at 1.090.

Still, to answer your question, I don't see any reason why you couldn't do a split batch.
 
Schumed said:
Discovered the limits of the 15 gallon cofi system when doing a 10 gallon batch ...20lbs of grain and 12.5 gallons water ...recipe called for 14 gallons but that was too much #overflow
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Schumed, I have had a similar experience doing 23 pounds of grain in a 10 gal batch. I didn't think anything of the wort being over the top of the basket, is that a problem?

Or did you mean that you actually had a boilover? I've only done a half dozen batches with my system, so I'm still learning.
 
Snickel: Glad you asked about this. I have the 15 gallon with the COFI. Brewed a 5.5 gallon Barley wine that had 26 lbs of grain. Did a 60 minute mash and ended up with 1.097. I pulled the COFI, finished the boil and then heated water to strike temp and put the COFI back. I ended up with a 1.042 pre-boil. I think next time I will limit the mash out and cap the some additional grain. Good Luck
 
Rhumbline said:
Schumed, I have had a similar experience doing 23 pounds of grain in a 10 gal batch. I didn't think anything of the wort being over the top of the basket, is that a problem?

Or did you mean that you actually had a boilover? I've only done a half dozen batches with my system, so I'm still learning.
Click to expand...

I originally lost 2 gallons of water when I set the basket in...just flowed right over the side..and made a nice mess. Brew it self went fine..ended up with a higher gravity which was fine
 
Rhumbline said:
I have the 15 gal system with COFI. One of the reasons I chose the system was the high capacity of the COFI basket. I have done 23 pounds of grain and there was room for more. the stats say 25 pound capacity for the 15 gal model.

25 pounds of grain for a 5 gal batch would give you a pretty big beer, the RIS I've got in secondary was 17 pounds at 1.090.

Still, to answer your question, I don't see any reason why you couldn't do a split batch.
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How are you able to get to 1.090? According to the chart on the FAQs on the Brew-Boss website for 17lbs of grain in the 15 gallon system you need at least 10 gallons of water to cover the grains. Even at 80% mash efficiency thats a 1.074 beer (1.065 or so pre-boil). So how do you get it up to 1.090. Boil longer? DME? Sugar? Don't add enough water to actually cover all the grain? I am truly interested because I do brew a RIS yearly that I'd like to continue doing but its 22 lbs of grain in only 10g of water to get a 1.090. In the Brew-Boss 15G I would need 12.5g of water to cover the grain which again nets a beer of around 1.075. It looks like from all my math that a 1.075 beer is about as big as you can go in the 15g COFI and maybe 1.078-1.080 in the 20g.

I am so close to pulling the trigger on the COFI but the false bottom option would certainly allow for bigger grain bills. I generally brew IPAs so adding sugar isn't new to me but I do like the freedom to be able to brew whatever I can think of without being held back by the limitations of the system (especially when that system is an extra $500)
 
Those weight limitations are what led me to develop my own system, which uses the BB controller and element but a custom kettle/basket. I'm working on a separate thread about my build but I'm waiting to post it until I finish my brewery rehab and actually get to brew on the system.
 
SeeMont said:
Snickel: Glad you asked about this. I have the 15 gallon with the COFI. Brewed a 5.5 gallon Barley wine that had 26 lbs of grain. Did a 60 minute mash and ended up with 1.097. I pulled the COFI, finished the boil and then heated water to strike temp and put the COFI back. I ended up with a 1.042 pre-boil. I think next time I will limit the mash out and cap the some additional grain. Good Luck
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Didnt you need to use like 14 gallons of water to cover the grains? How did you end up with 5.5g into the fermentor?
 
Snicklefritz said:
How are you able to get to 1.090? ...

I generally brew IPAs so adding sugar isn't new to me but I do like the freedom to be able to brew whatever I can think of without being held back by the limitations of the system (especially when that system is an extra $500)
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I used a combination of the methods you mentioned.

The RIS did have one pound of D-180. Too lazy to check my data but I think I used 11.5 gallons and the water certainly covered the grain, I almost experienced the overflow situation but avoided it only by lowering the basket in slowly.

I also did a long boil.

I have never heard it was necessary to have the water covering the grain in the COFI, I've just never paid too much attention. the system does a good job of spraying the water/wort over the grain.
 
Schumed said:
I originally lost 2 gallons of water when I set the basket in...just flowed right over the side..and made a nice mess. Brew it self went fine..ended up with a higher gravity which was fine
Click to expand...

ah, that's what almost happened to me. I got lucky by lowering the basket in veerrry slowly.
 
Gvitag said:
From Darin via email



The 15 gallon makes 5 or 10 gallon batches. The 20 gallon makes 10 and 15 gallon batches, but not 5 gallon. if you do any experimental brewing with smaller batches, the 15 is the way to go. If you strictly want bigger batches, the 20 is the way to go.
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I know this is an old post, but to update from the Brew Boss website now says the 20 gal system does 5 gal batches up to 1.075

Q. Can the 20 gallon COFI system do 5 gallon batches?

A. Yes it can! It depends on the recipe. Doing 5 gallon batches in the 20 gallon COFI is possible but the Original Gravity (OG) of the brew will be somewhat limited (about 1.075 max). This is because with high OG brews (high grain weight) there may not be enough water to completely cover the grain bed. Based on the 20 gallon chart and assuming we want 6 gallons into the fermenter to net us 5 gallons after fermentation, we have a maximum grain weight of about 17 pounds. This equates to about a 1.075 OG at 75% brewhouse efficiency.
 
I pulled the trigger on the 20g kettle and new element but I am not doing the COFI. Going to ArborFab directly to have one made and will make my own COFI style sparge arm.
 
Can anyone who has used both the COFI version and the traditional BIAB version care to comment on the 2 methods? What are advantages/disadvantages in using one over the other? Did you find one easier to use? Efficiency comparison?

Thanks,
Chris
 
FreddyMar3 said:
Those weight limitations are what led me to develop my own system, which uses the BB controller and element but a custom kettle/basket. I'm working on a separate thread about my build but I'm waiting to post it until I finish my brewery rehab and actually get to brew on the system.
Click to expand...

Currently, I have a 15 gallon megapot BK that I usually do BIAB w/ a custom bag for beers under 1.055 or for bigger beers I'll mash in a 10 gallon cooler MT and batch sparge.

I've been wanting to go electric for awhile and have been look at getting the BB controller/element and utilizing my existing bag w/ a false bottom to keep the bag off the element or a kettle RIMS type system w/ cooler MT. Is this a reasonable way to go or should I just pull the trigger and buy the system?
 
HopheadNJ said:
Is this a reasonable way to go or should I just pull the trigger and buy the system?
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HopHead,
First, love the Nugget Nectar logo.

I'm not sure if you were directing that question to me (since you quote me), but there are a bunch of considerations to take into account when making that decision.

It's pretty nice to be able to buy a turnkey system and just plug and play. But, if you already have a nice kettle like the megapot, you might consider drilling out a port for the element and DIYing it. I just drilled a hole in a Bayou kettle for a wedding gift and it wasn't too hard to do. The tools are relative cheap. I think you would save about a grand buying just the controller vs. buying the whole system (minus what you could sell the megapot for).

Do you have a source for electric to power the element? I had to spend thousands to get enough juice to my stand alone garage.
 
Sort of directed towards you FreddyMar3 lol. I'm not worried about drilling the megapot, I've drilled it already adding a sight glass.

I've got a 200amp service and the panel is only about 12' from where I want to set up. I've got 3 buddies who are all electricians also so power isnt a concern.

Just a little unsure how the BB will work out on a custom system i guess.
 
HopheadNJ said:
Just a little unsure how the BB will work out on a custom system i guess.
Click to expand...

The fact that you have the electric available makes that part of the decision easy. I'm really looking forward to brewing inside year-round.

I can't quite comment on how BB will work on a custom system yet. Still putting the finishing touches on my home-brewery (pic below) before I can actually brew. Though, I'm very confident that it will work just as well as the turnkey system does. I specifically designed the kettle ports to match as closely as possible to the prefab system (pic below).

The main concern I see is making sure the temp probe is in the right place. I'm not too familiar with how the software works (yet), but I didn't want to take any chances by putting the probe somewhere different than they do in the pre-fab systems, in case the software is calibrated specifically towards that placement.

If you can wait a month, I should be up and running and be able to provide feedback on how everything is working with a custom setup and the BB controller. Should be right around Black Friday so maybe it'll time well with a BB coupon!

IMG_3925.JPG


IMG_3516.JPG


Kettle2.jpg
 
HopheadNJ said:
Currently, I have a 15 gallon megapot BK that I usually do BIAB w/ a custom bag for beers under 1.055 or for bigger beers I'll mash in a 10 gallon cooler MT and batch sparge.

I've been wanting to go electric for awhile and have been look at getting the BB controller/element and utilizing my existing bag w/ a false bottom to keep the bag off the element or a kettle RIMS type system w/ cooler MT. Is this a reasonable way to go or should I just pull the trigger and buy the system?
Click to expand...


Whatever you do buy the controller from Brew-Boss. Hands down this this the biggest benefit to this system and there is no other controller on the market that comes close to it in terms of ease of use and functionality.
 
HopheadNJ said:
Just a little unsure how the BB will work out on a custom system i guess.
Click to expand...
That's the beauty of the BB controller and software, you can write steps specific to your setup.

Back earlier in this thread I posted how I configured it for my two vessel system.

I'm currently changing things up in my "brewery". I'm going to try two vessel, no sparge. For which I'll need to re-write my steps. Once I'm done I'll probably start a new thread on it.
 
FreddyMar3 said:
The main concern I see is making sure the temp probe is in the right place. I'm not too familiar with how the software works (yet), but I didn't want to take any chances by putting the probe somewhere different than they do in the pre-fab systems, in case the software is calibrated specifically towards that placement.
Click to expand...
The software is not specific to probe placement.

The software does have adjustable parameters for power/temperature control.
 
Electrical dummy question here: I want to brew electric in my garage. I don't have a 240V outlet in my garage. Can I just piggyback a 240V source from a 240V appliance in my garage, like the water heater or furnace to get an outlet and then use an inline GFCI protector like BrewBoss sells on their site? I had an electrician acquaintance come out once and he was talking about how he'd have to put in another breaker panel off of my existing one (my breaker panel for the whole house is in the garage) and this and that to the tune of a couple hundred dollars. I never understood why we couldn't just make a junction box off of an already existing 240V appliance. But, then again, I also don't know anything about electricity.
 
You probably could but it wouldn't be to code. Best bet would be if you had a dryer nearby, install a 220v outlet for the dryer then install a 220v plug on the dryer. That way you plug in one and unplug the other. Would still need to make sure that circuit has a GFI breaker in the box or the external one Brew Boss sells.
 
DarkUncle said:
You probably could but it wouldn't be to code. Best bet would be if you had a dryer nearby, install a 220v outlet for the dryer then install a 220v plug on the dryer. That way you plug in one and unplug the other. Would still need to make sure that circuit has a GFI breaker in the box or the external one Brew Boss sells.
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Ahhh, those darn codes. I see. Bummer. Was looking for a simpler solution. Thanks for the reply.
 
ingchr1 said:
That's the beauty of the BB controller and software, you can write steps specific to your setup.

Back earlier in this thread I posted how I configured it for my two vessel system.

I'm currently changing things up in my "brewery". I'm going to try two vessel, no sparge. For which I'll need to re-write my steps. Once I'm done I'll probably start a new thread on it.
Click to expand...

There are a lot of possibilities, one thing I'm going to use mine for is cheesemaking. it requires precise temp control and ramping over time that the system is perfect for.

Another, I guess, is you could do sous vide for a huge crowd.
 
Beavdowg said:
Electrical dummy question here: I want to brew electric in my garage. I don't have a 240V outlet in my garage. Can I just piggyback a 240V source from a 240V appliance in my garage, like the water heater or furnace to get an outlet and then use an inline GFCI protector like BrewBoss sells on their site? I had an electrician acquaintance come out once and he was talking about how he'd have to put in another breaker panel off of my existing one (my breaker panel for the whole house is in the garage) and this and that to the tune of a couple hundred dollars. I never understood why we couldn't just make a junction box off of an already existing 240V appliance. But, then again, I also don't know anything about electricity.
Click to expand...

If the panel is in the garage and you want to brew in the garage it should be easy. Shouldn't need a second panel. Are you out of slots to add additional breakers in your panel? If you have open slots, a gfci breaker, an outlet and some wire is all you need
 
DarkUncle said:
You probably could but it wouldn't be to code. Best bet would be if you had a dryer nearby, install a 220v outlet for the dryer then install a 220v plug on the dryer. That way you plug in one and unplug the other. Would still need to make sure that circuit has a GFI breaker in the box or the external one Brew Boss sells.
Click to expand...

I split off of my run for my dryer. Put a note on the dryer when I am brewing and flip the spa panel breaker. Good to go. I will undo this set up if I ever sell so meets code.
 
Seeing a few of you doing things custom makes me wonder why BB doesn't enhance their current kettle/COFI offering.
 
BBdude said:
Seeing a few of you doing things custom makes me wonder why BB doesn't enhance their current kettle/COFI offering.
Click to expand...

I think for the most part ppl DIY bc they're using their existing equipment to save money or bc they're use to it. Others, like me, are super picky and want a very specific setup. I think BB, smartly, came up with something that is very reasonably priced and satisfies most peoples needs. Still, I'm sure they'll keep improving upon things. Every time I go on the site they have a new product or improvement.
 
BBdude said:
Seeing a few of you doing things custom makes me wonder why BB doesn't enhance their current kettle/COFI offering.
Click to expand...
I think their kettle and COFI are solid offerings and have been enhanced from what they started out with.

In my case I was only looking for a controller, not a complete setup. I already had some equipment from my three vessel propane system that I could reuse. Also, I was one of the first to get their current controller, gave some input to Darin on its development. At that time they had no where near the offerings or options that they do now, since it was just in development and user testing.

If I was currently in the market for something complete, then I would strongly consider their kettle with COFI.
 
Have appreciated this post. I will be investing soon in an ebiab system and am torn between High Gravity Brewing or Brew Boss. Any thoughts to help a brother out?
 
I can't speak about the high gravity system, but I'm very pleased with my BrewBoss

It's a well thought out system, support is great, and the quality is high.

What I like the most is the ability to control/monitor/automate the brewing process from an iPad or the included tablet. That has really changed my approach to brewing.

There are several youtube videos for each system if you haven't seen them you should take a look for a good comparison.

If you have any specific questions about the BB I'll be happy to try to answer them.
 

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