So a quick overview. I've been brewing for a little over a year now and the beer has been coming out good so it was time for the next step. I started with 5 gallon batches full boils and moved to PM's with coolers, then some weak AG batches and I'm hooked. It was soon proved that 5 gallons wasn't going to cut it with all the drinkers I know. So the search for kegs began, which is harder than most people lead you to believe. In comes a good friend with a neighbor who has a bunch of "garbage" under his deck. I offer money but he doesn't want it some some homebrews were taken out of my basement and traded for these
Here I am now hopefully gettin close to brewing on my new sculpture and I have alot of questions. Here is the stuff I have now Kegs, brewmometers for all 3, BobbyM's sight gauges, 3 piece ball valves, jaybird's false bottom swagmans triclovers, a march 809, and a RIMS tube thanks to sawdustguy. I'm sure there's some stuff I'm forgetting but you get the point now onto the questions.
1. I'm torn as to how I'm going to chill my wort. I've had good luck with my small immersion chiller and pond pump so at first I was sold on a new bigger IC. The other option I'm looking at is a plate chiller. The both sound good but since I'm only running 1 pump I'm leaning towards and IC so I can use my pump to recirculate like Jamil with a piece of copper tubing moving the wort onto the coils. Plate chillers seem to be what most people use so they must be pretty good.
2. I plan on doing a test to see how well the pump moves water from one keg to the next. I have no experience with priming the pump and all that jazz. Do you guys think that changing the orientation of the pump is fine or should the in side of the head be pointing up?
3. The control panel ugh? I'm probably going to have tons of questions on this but I'll save them for another thread. Where would you put the panel. I'm not really a fan of having it hang of the side. The stand got really hot when I was testing the burner height and I'd like to keep it away from the heat. I was thinking that maybe I could make a combo cover for the pump and a sheet metal box the runs the with of the stand with the PID angled 45 degress at the front. Will this work how much are you messign with stuff during the brewday? I also thought I would be by the pump messing with it here and there so it shouldn't be too bad having the panel there.
Here is where I'm at right now
Sorry for the long post but I need all the help I can get and feel free to ask questions because I'm sure some stuff got lost in this post.
Here I am now hopefully gettin close to brewing on my new sculpture and I have alot of questions. Here is the stuff I have now Kegs, brewmometers for all 3, BobbyM's sight gauges, 3 piece ball valves, jaybird's false bottom swagmans triclovers, a march 809, and a RIMS tube thanks to sawdustguy. I'm sure there's some stuff I'm forgetting but you get the point now onto the questions.
1. I'm torn as to how I'm going to chill my wort. I've had good luck with my small immersion chiller and pond pump so at first I was sold on a new bigger IC. The other option I'm looking at is a plate chiller. The both sound good but since I'm only running 1 pump I'm leaning towards and IC so I can use my pump to recirculate like Jamil with a piece of copper tubing moving the wort onto the coils. Plate chillers seem to be what most people use so they must be pretty good.
2. I plan on doing a test to see how well the pump moves water from one keg to the next. I have no experience with priming the pump and all that jazz. Do you guys think that changing the orientation of the pump is fine or should the in side of the head be pointing up?
3. The control panel ugh? I'm probably going to have tons of questions on this but I'll save them for another thread. Where would you put the panel. I'm not really a fan of having it hang of the side. The stand got really hot when I was testing the burner height and I'd like to keep it away from the heat. I was thinking that maybe I could make a combo cover for the pump and a sheet metal box the runs the with of the stand with the PID angled 45 degress at the front. Will this work how much are you messign with stuff during the brewday? I also thought I would be by the pump messing with it here and there so it shouldn't be too bad having the panel there.
Here is where I'm at right now
Sorry for the long post but I need all the help I can get and feel free to ask questions because I'm sure some stuff got lost in this post.
