Brew Boss Systems

[Schumed]

excellent! Thanks for posting that.

curious, how many gals of water were you able to fit in with that load?

Recipe calls for 8 gallons...plenty of space

 

[mcgimpkins]

First, I don't use a GFI. I know, it's certain death but I'm a Marine and therefore immortal. Don't do as I do, do as I say, Use a GFI.

Always nice to see someone risking their life for beer. You're line made me snort beer on my keyboard. :rockin:

 

[Brewphish]

Always nice to see someone risking their life for beer. You're line made me snort beer on my keyboard. :rockin:

LOL, I just about did the same thing.
I'm certainly not brave enough to run without GFI.

Rhumbline, thanks for the pics!
I already have a couple of those racks and was thinking about a similar setup, just need to add some wheels.

How do you like that chiller? I've got a homemade IC now but would like to upgrade. I noticed that the Exchilerator that comes with the BB systems does not have the thermometer that it comes with if purchased directly from the Brick River site, which is a bummer. It's also a cheaper at BR, but I'm guessing that's because BB includes some hoses and connectors...

 

[Schumed]

Max out...heres what 25lbs looks like in the 15 gallon cofi filter ...doing a 5 gallon RIS ...going big

Was able to pull off 5 gallons at 1.113...with a 90 minute mash at 154 and 75 minute boil ...Ill take it

View attachment 1447509962308.jpg

 

[ingchr1]

For whatever reason it just never dawned on me that I could use the circuit for our electric dryer until recently, duh! :smack:
Going without drying clothes for a few hours on a brewday can get SWMBO's approval, but upgrading our electric service to accommodate spending even more money on brewing equipment would not be well met.

Has anyone else done that and what's your setup look like? I was thinking that I could get an adapter that would have a male plug for the dryer outlet on one end and an L6-30R on the other end, then hook up an in-line GFCI. Or could/should I use a spa panel connected to the dryer outlet? I'm somewhat handy with basic soldering and such, but I usually don't mess with anything past replacing a light switch or standard outlet for fear of death by zapping or fire, so I apologize for my ignorance. Basically, the only reason I've ever opened the panel box is to flip a breaker.

Also, are there concerns or limitations with running an extension cord from there for a distance of 15 - 30 feet? That would be enough to make it from the laundry room to my garage, my back deck, or another area in the basement that I've dreamed about converting into a brewery ever since I saw The Electric Brewery setup (splooosh!).

Having the flexibility to brew in multiple locations would be awesome.

I have a spa panel that I plug into my dryer receptacle. I also have an extension cord that I made so can brew under my deck or in the kitchen, it's ~25' long. No issues with doing that.

One thing I did with mine was made it 4-wire, even though the Brew-Boss is 3-wire. I just put a 4-wire plug on the Brew-Boss (no wire on the neutral). This gives the spa panel and extension cord flexibility should I ever change or need it for something else in the future.

 

[Rhumbline]

I have to be honest about the wort chiller. It's something that I haven't quite figured out how to incorporate into my setup. Here in Florida my water out of the faucet is usually in the high 80's. I know the chiller would help, but I'm OK for now with other means of chilling.

I am going to build a glycol cooler to feed the chiller and that's where I really expect it to pay off. That's on my 2016 list of projects.

As for the unit itself, it seems to be high quality but I haven't used it yet.

 

[Rhumbline]

Was able to pull off 5 gallons at 1.113...with a 90 minute mash at 154 and 75 minute boil ...Ill take it

Outstanding, I've got a Pannepot Reserva clone going right now. It's the CSI recipe.

 

[Schumed]

Did another big beer today..a winter warmer...had issue with my pump though from the beginning....kept losing prime...never did figure it out ..got email out to Darin...

Anyways decided to brew with out recirculating ...i have a biab bag ...and just sat that in the cofi filter to keep off the element...stirred every 15 minutes during the mash...interesting still hit my numbers with out recirculation

 

[stlblues5010]

Did another big beer today..a winter warmer...had issue with my pump though from the beginning....kept losing prime...never did figure it out ..got email out to Darin...

Let us know what he says about it. I have had the same issue with a chugger pump, it's not in his system.
I am really interested in the BB system but that is a concern. I would hate to walk away and find out later it hasn't been recirculating. The motor runs and sounds fine but the wort isn't moving.

 

[Schumed]

Did another big beer today..a winter warmer...had issue with my pump though from the beginning....kept losing prime...never did figure it out ..got email out to Darin...

Let us know what he says about it. I have had the same issue with a chugger pump, it's not in his system.
I am really interested in the BB system but that is a concern. I would hate to walk away and find out later it hasn't been recirculating. The motor runs and sounds fine but the wort isn't moving.

It appears the propeller inside the head needs some lube..will test out tonight

 

[FreddyMar3]

Black Friday Brew Boss sale:

 

[Brewphish]

Black Friday Brew Boss sale:

Yeah, but I want to order now!! Figures, just as soon as I decided to order I went to the site and saw the sale. Now it's a test of will to wait another week and a half to place the order. We'll see if the desire to save some $ wins over the desire to brew on this beast.

 

[Schumed]

Black Friday Brew Boss sale:

Thanking of maybe adding the EXCHILERATOR

anyone use one?

I've been using a 50ft immersion with the whirl boss..which works fine...but goes through more water than I would like

 

[Brewphish]

I have a spa panel that I plug into my dryer receptacle. I also have an extension cord that I made so can brew under my deck or in the kitchen, it's ~25' long. No issues with doing that.

One thing I did with mine was made it 4-wire, even though the Brew-Boss is 3-wire. I just put a 4-wire plug on the Brew-Boss (no wire on the neutral). This gives the spa panel and extension cord flexibility should I ever change or need it for something else in the future.

View attachment 315861

Thanks ingchr1. Your spa panel is setup like how I envision mine, except my dryer outlet is only 3 wire so I don't think I can do the 4 wire setup. I'm ok with that, plenty of 120 outlets where I intend to brew.

Although, I did find this 10-30 to L6-30 adapter - http://evseupgrade.com/?main_page=product_info&cPath=7&products_id=17
Which I could pair with this in-line GFCI - http://www.gfcistore.com/30-amp-inline-gfcis.html

Anyone have thoughts on that vs going the spa panel route? I'm guessing the panel would be slightly cheaper overall, but the adapter & in-line seems more portable and frankly I'm a little sketched out by doing the wiring for the panel (just want to be confident in the GFCI). I'd still need to buy/make an extension cord with a L6-30P and L6-30R but that doesn't seem as daunting.

 

[mcgimpkins]

Thanking of maybe adding the EXCHILERATOR

anyone use one?

I've been using a 50ft immersion with the whirl boss..which works fine...but goes through more water than I would like

I brought the Exchilerator 25' from from Amazon. It looks like you can get it cheaper from their website: brickriverbrew

It works well, it chills a lot faster than the Stainless Steel Immersion Wort Chiller that I have. However I do still keep the IC around in case I ever have a failure or clog, which I have not. I did bring it over to a friend's house after his plate chiller got clogged up. The Exchilerator preformed great for him.

As a disclaimer I did also keep the box it shipped to me in. I store it on a shelf in my garage and try to keep it covered from light. I have not heard of it happening, but I know that Pex can break down and become brittle if exposed to UV light for a certain amount of time (several months I believe). The inside is made of copper. If the Pex ever did break down, I think I would just remove all the Pex and replace it with a heavy duty rubber hose, like this counter flow wort chiller that also has good reviews: Super Efficient 25' Counterflow Wort Chiller

You can read more about the ExChilerator here: Any reviews/advice on the ExChilerator?

 

[BrunDog]

I have to be honest about the wort chiller. It's something that I haven't quite figured out how to incorporate into my setup. Here in Florida my water out of the faucet is usually in the high 80's. I know the chiller would help, but I'm OK for now with other means of chilling.



I am going to build a glycol cooler to feed the chiller and that's where I really expect it to pay off. That's on my 2016 list of projects.



As for the unit itself, it seems to be high quality but I haven't used it yet.

My recommendation is to get another chiller and do a two stage. The first stage chills most of the way with groundwater, then the second stage chills the remaining difference with ice water (in a bucket). Either get an IC and recirc the CFC back into the kettle, or get another CFC and run them in series.

Or if your sanitation is tight just chill most of the way then put it in your fermenter and let it cool further before pitching.

-BD

 

[Schumed]

Did another big beer today..a winter warmer...had issue with my pump though from the beginning....kept losing prime...never did figure it out ..got email out to Darin...

Let us know what he says about it. I have had the same issue with a chugger pump, it's not in his system.
I am really interested in the BB system but that is a concern. I would hate to walk away and find out later it hasn't been recirculating. The motor runs and sounds fine but the wort isn't moving.

Lubing the propeller did the trick

 

[BBdude]

I love this thread, but it's so painful waiting to save up the $$ to get the system!

 

[mcgimpkins]

I have to be honest about the wort chiller. It's something that I haven't quite figured out how to incorporate into my setup. Here in Florida my water out of the faucet is usually in the high 80's. I know the chiller would help, but I'm OK for now with other means of chilling.

I am going to build a glycol cooler to feed the chiller and that's where I really expect it to pay off. That's on my 2016 list of projects.

As for the unit itself, it seems to be high quality but I haven't used it yet.

You could also get a sump pump, fill a cooler, large bucket, or other container with ice water, then pump that though your chiller. I've used that method in the summer time and it seems to work really well for getting things down to temp.

 

[Jazong]

Anyone tried doing a 2.5-3 gallon batch in a 15 gallon Brew Boss?

 

[Schumed]

Anyone tried doing a 2.5-3 gallon batch in a 15 gallon Brew Boss?

It would be difficult...2 gallons of water barely covers the heating element...so not sure how you would get the grain soaked in the water..
Might give it a try as an expirement ...maybe with the cofi filter the recirculation would be enough

 

[m00ps]

Im 99% sure you cant do smaller than a 5gal batch in the 15gal kettle. The temp probe, which feeds the heaters, wouldnt be immersed in the wort.

they list the reqs in the FAQ section

 

[Hoppslover]

Does anyone know if a 5 gallon batch is possible in the 20gallon kettle? If not with the cofi filter how about with the bag version?

 

[Jazong]

From the FAQ section of the Brew-Boss web page.

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. See FAQ "How Much Grain Will the System Handle" below for more details. 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.

 

[KyleF318is]

First time, long time. Read this entire thread. The Brew Boss Black Friday deal could be pushing me over the edge.

I've enjoyed reading people's reviews especially if you've used it for over one or two brews. I guess my question only is, if you had to order it again is there anything you wish you had added on that you didn't get?

Also anybody else who has some experiences using the system please keep sharing. Thanks guys!

 

[Hoppslover]

From the FAQ section of the Brew-Boss web page.

I had received this from Darin. So I was under the impression that 5 gallon batches in the 20G cofi system was not a possibility.

Tim,

The volume of the kettles is total volume, to the top. Subtract 2 gallons for "usable" volume.

Yes, you could do a 5 gallon extract batch in the 20 gallon kettle. If you bought the false bottom, sparge arm, and biab bag you could also do all grain as well. You just can't do 5 gallon with the COFI system.

Darin

 

[Jazong]

For my uses, it's looking like I'll buy the BiaB version rather than the COFI version. The COFI limits the max amount of malt too much for me. I really wish the kettles were a little bigger.

 

[Hoppslover]

For my uses, it's looking like I'll buy the BiaB version rather than the COFI version. The COFI limits the max amount of malt too much for me. I really wish the kettles were a little bigger.

I am really torn. I love the idea of an all in one system that I can purchase. I love what I have seen of Brew-Boss in the videos I have watched. I live the triclamp kettle but losing 2 gallons of space because the attachment is on the side of the kettle. I like that High Gravity has their attachement in the lid so you are not losing any kettle space. At the end of the day I like that an app runs the whole system. Not sure that I would need that but I like it. I have also looked at Colorado Brew Systems Kettle but adding a Jagger Bush controller.

 

[Snicklefritz]

I am really torn. I love the idea of an all in one system that I can purchase. I love what I have seen of Brew-Boss in the videos I have watched. I live the triclamp kettle but losing 2 gallons of space because the attachment is on the side of the kettle. I like that High Gravity has their attachement in the lid so you are not losing any kettle space. At the end of the day I like that an app runs the whole system. Not sure that I would need that but I like it. I have also looked at Colorado Brew Systems Kettle but adding a Jagger Bush controller.

Having the attachment in the lid isn't as convenient as you'd think. The original brew boss (picobrew) had the sparge arm through the lid and it was always in the way. Really annoying when you just want the lid to be a lid.

 

[johnsant]

Just turn the pump off and the lid will be a lid! won't be able to use the temp control but hay if you want recirc then you need the pump on to know what the temp is.