cyberbackpacker
Well-Known Member
So, this is a system I built that I like to call the Brewmaster 20; it is capable of brewing a full one barrel batch at a time all the way down to a 2.5 gallon batch, as well as doing two distinct no sparge batches up to 1 barrel in size simultaneously.
This system utilizes two 25g Concord Kettles; one as BK1/MLT and one as HLT/BK2. BK1/MLT has a 5.5kw and 4.5kw bottom mount spa elements, and the HLT/BK2 has a 4.5kw bottom mount spa element. I call the 4.5kw element in BK1/MLT the power boost, and there is a manual switch to control whether the power boost element or the HLT/BK2 element is active. Typically the power boost is used to get to a boil faster.
There is also a 70qt Concord kettle that I had the bottom cut out, and an AIH picobrew false bottom welded into the bottom to act as a malt tube.
Above the rig I have barn door rail and a double pulley system for moving the malt tube.
I also utilized two beefy 1/12hp motors (March/Chugger are only 1/25hp) mated to Chugger SS center inlet pump heads. These motors create some force, enough to let the pump head shoot liquid out like a fire hose across a 12' room without any effort-- ask me how I found that out!
The kettles are offset bottom drains (the drains are at the very far edge of the kettle) so after whirlpooling the trub pile is not disturbed-- less than 4oz of wort is left behind. I used 3/4" SS welding spuds, mated to a 3/4"SS nipple, connected to a 3/4"SS balve valve. The ball valve attaches to the pump via 3/4"SS camlocks.
The output of the pump has a 1/2"SS ball valve with camlocks attached to a copper manifold. The manifold has a BCS temp probe inserted into it horizontally, and the output travels up the vertical piping of the manifold. The top of the manifold terminates with camlocks for easy hose swapping/attachment. In the pics below the vertical copper pipes are covered in pipe insulation to minimize heat loss.
This is all powered by a BCS-462. It is also a direct heated mash recirculated system. I did multiple step mashes and mash outs and it worked excellent.
The basic way it works... Water in BK1/MLT is brought to strike temp with the mash tube inserted inside of it. At strike, grain is added, and the hose from copper manifold is inserted inside the mash tube for recirculating. The lid goes on to keep in heat.
At the same time, water in the HLT/BK2 is being recirculated to mash out temps in the same way.
After the Mashout, a 1/2" stainless rod is inserted through two reinforced holes in the top of the mash tube, with the double pulley attached. I then raise the tube out of BK1/MLT to allow it to drain. Once fully drained, I slide the mash tube along the barn door rail over the HLT/BK2 and insert it for the sparge. This effectively is leaving the first running a in BK1/MLT.
At this point I begin to raise BK1/MLT to a boil. After 5-10 minutes, I take the hose that has been recirculating HLT/BK2 and place it inside BK1/MLT to transfer the second runnings from HLT/BK2.
At this point I generally switch on the 4.5kw power boost element to get to boil faster.
While it is boiling, I use the pulley to lift out the malt tube from the HLT/BK2 and remove the grain. I typically let it sit in the sink which is directly next to the HLT/BK2. I tried to capture any liquid trapped in the grains a few times, that drained during the boil, and never captured more than like 3ozs-- this system drains beautifully and I was getting consistent ~85% efficiency.
That is the basic process. If wanting to do larger than 15 gallon batches, the system runs like a Brutus 20 after the sparge, where the hoses from each vessel are just swapped for recirculation to achieve matching gravities.
For small batches, the bottom mount element is perfect because it stands less than 1.5" from the bottom of the kettle allowing even a 2.5g batch!
If you have more questions, ask!
This system utilizes two 25g Concord Kettles; one as BK1/MLT and one as HLT/BK2. BK1/MLT has a 5.5kw and 4.5kw bottom mount spa elements, and the HLT/BK2 has a 4.5kw bottom mount spa element. I call the 4.5kw element in BK1/MLT the power boost, and there is a manual switch to control whether the power boost element or the HLT/BK2 element is active. Typically the power boost is used to get to a boil faster.
There is also a 70qt Concord kettle that I had the bottom cut out, and an AIH picobrew false bottom welded into the bottom to act as a malt tube.
Above the rig I have barn door rail and a double pulley system for moving the malt tube.
I also utilized two beefy 1/12hp motors (March/Chugger are only 1/25hp) mated to Chugger SS center inlet pump heads. These motors create some force, enough to let the pump head shoot liquid out like a fire hose across a 12' room without any effort-- ask me how I found that out!
The kettles are offset bottom drains (the drains are at the very far edge of the kettle) so after whirlpooling the trub pile is not disturbed-- less than 4oz of wort is left behind. I used 3/4" SS welding spuds, mated to a 3/4"SS nipple, connected to a 3/4"SS balve valve. The ball valve attaches to the pump via 3/4"SS camlocks.
The output of the pump has a 1/2"SS ball valve with camlocks attached to a copper manifold. The manifold has a BCS temp probe inserted into it horizontally, and the output travels up the vertical piping of the manifold. The top of the manifold terminates with camlocks for easy hose swapping/attachment. In the pics below the vertical copper pipes are covered in pipe insulation to minimize heat loss.
This is all powered by a BCS-462. It is also a direct heated mash recirculated system. I did multiple step mashes and mash outs and it worked excellent.
The basic way it works... Water in BK1/MLT is brought to strike temp with the mash tube inserted inside of it. At strike, grain is added, and the hose from copper manifold is inserted inside the mash tube for recirculating. The lid goes on to keep in heat.
At the same time, water in the HLT/BK2 is being recirculated to mash out temps in the same way.
After the Mashout, a 1/2" stainless rod is inserted through two reinforced holes in the top of the mash tube, with the double pulley attached. I then raise the tube out of BK1/MLT to allow it to drain. Once fully drained, I slide the mash tube along the barn door rail over the HLT/BK2 and insert it for the sparge. This effectively is leaving the first running a in BK1/MLT.
At this point I begin to raise BK1/MLT to a boil. After 5-10 minutes, I take the hose that has been recirculating HLT/BK2 and place it inside BK1/MLT to transfer the second runnings from HLT/BK2.
At this point I generally switch on the 4.5kw power boost element to get to boil faster.
While it is boiling, I use the pulley to lift out the malt tube from the HLT/BK2 and remove the grain. I typically let it sit in the sink which is directly next to the HLT/BK2. I tried to capture any liquid trapped in the grains a few times, that drained during the boil, and never captured more than like 3ozs-- this system drains beautifully and I was getting consistent ~85% efficiency.
That is the basic process. If wanting to do larger than 15 gallon batches, the system runs like a Brutus 20 after the sparge, where the hoses from each vessel are just swapped for recirculation to achieve matching gravities.
For small batches, the bottom mount element is perfect because it stands less than 1.5" from the bottom of the kettle allowing even a 2.5g batch!
If you have more questions, ask!
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