Brewtius Maximus/The Braxton 10 – Complete Single Tier Build

[BraxtonBrewery]

Time for an update!!

Decided to drill my mash paddle. Got my third keg and it is ready to be drilled. Also finished a little side project - my all stainless carbonation lid. Also got the casters on and there the kegs on there for fun. I hope to paint it today. Also started on my gas lines, and received my false bottom.

 

[BraxtonBrewery]

Got the stand painted today. A few of my welds didn't grid out smoothly to my liking. I may just use JB weld to fill it in and touch up over it. Over all I am very happy with how it turned out. That is the 2000 degree paint. I still need a way to cure it. (Maybe a heat gun).

I popped the hello ball valves off the gas lines and painted them red, along with the hose hanger. The metal under the hose hanger will be for burner shrouds and pump heat guards.

Also cut open and grinded my 3rd keg which will be the mash tun. I also drilled the holes for it.

Let me know what you think. Soon it will be time to start mounting things. I just ordered the rest of my fittings and etc for the kegs. Hope to do a test brew on it this weekend.

 

[Face Eater]

Subscribed. Looks good.

 

[BraxtonBrewery]

Well. Time for another update... It's almost brew ready!

 

[bmunos]

****ing Sick

 

[2BeerSpeer]

nice, never seen thr digital thermometer attached like that...what is the peice it is going through?

 

[freeokw]

subscribed

 

[de3isit]

How low are you setting your burners? I have the same ones set at 4.5" and the flame still touches the bottom of my kegs. Her is a pic without the shields on them.

I like to tool box idea. Great job!

 

[BraxtonBrewery]

My burners are probably about an inch below the top of the metal.

 

[de3isit]

You will definitely need to lower them to get the proper combustion.

 

[de3isit]

Here is a pic of the flme at 4.5" for the top.

 

[BraxtonBrewery]

Hmm... why? Mine seem fine, but the first brew day will tell the truth. And I'm sure ill learn about a dozen things I want to change.

 

[cajunrph]

Cool setup.

 

[fujieagle]

Nice looking setup. Digging the toolbox idea.

 

[GoodDogShelby]

Is it a tool box or first aid kit?

Very sweet. I look forward to a full report after your first brew.

 

[de3isit]

Hmm... why? Mine seem fine, but the first brew day will tell the truth. And I'm sure ill learn about a dozen things I want to change.

I started with mine at 2" from the top and found the flame was not getting enough oxygen to create the proper combustion, so the flame stayed pretty yellow. It also created a ton of soot on the bottom of mt kegs.

Did you drill out the orifice or order the proper orifices. I also had a flame that was fairly short until I drilled them, but I am running mine through Honeywell gas valves.

Good luck. I look forward to seeing how it turns out.

 

[Arkma]

Great Job<<<subbed>>>

 

[BraxtonBrewery]

I started with mine at 2" from the top and found the flame was not getting enough oxygen to create the proper combustion, so the flame stayed pretty yellow. It also created a ton of soot on the bottom of mt kegs.

Did you drill out the orifice or order the proper orifices. I also had a flame that was fairly short until I drilled them, but I am running mine through Honeywell gas valves.

Good luck. I look forward to seeing how it turns out.

Which orifice are you talking about?

 

[BraxtonBrewery]

Thanks for the positive feedback, I plan on brewing on Sunday. The burners as of now need to be lowered, thanks de3. I hope to get them, and everything else I need to get done by this weekend for the first brew.

 

[de3isit]

Which orifice are you talking about?

The flare brass fitting the came in the burner. There are a number of usefull threads in determining the correct size based on you inlet pressure. If you are using just a high pressure regulator you should be ok with the size that came with the burners, as I believe they are high pressure burners. I converted mine to low pressure so I could use Honeywell gas valves at 10" W.C.. I drilled mine to 3/32".

 

[BraxtonBrewery]

I see. I plan to use honeywell valves in the future, so I will keep this in mind. For now Im just running a standard HP.

Nice stand by the way!

 

[BraxtonBrewery]

I still need to adjust the burners mount the pumps and wind shield. Figure out what to do for wind screens and possibly add Honeywell valves as well as convert to low pressure

 

[GoodDogShelby]

I had a chance to see BB's rig in person yesterday. It is really, really nice. Very sharp looking and very functional design. Still some things to do, but is something like this ever really finished? I don't think DaVinci put the brush down and said, "There, done with that", when he painted the Mona Lisa. I look forward to seeing this in action.

 

[BraxtonBrewery]

I had a chance to see BB's rig in person yesterday. It is really, really nice. Very sharp looking and very functional design. Still some things to do, but is something like this ever really finished? I don't think DaVinci put the brush down and said, "There, done with that", when he painted the Mona Lisa. I look forward to seeing this in action.

Thanks! And I agree.. Not sure if it will ever be "finished."

 

[Dragonman]

sub

 

[BraxtonBrewery]

It's been awhile since an update, I've got a lot done, and had one semi-successful brew day. Things that went wrong:

Pump valve handles in wrong location, need to be flipped - kept me from controlling flow during use of plate chiller.
Thermometer in BK was leaking. Had to boil in my HLT.
Needed about 1 pound of rice hulls in the mash - grain bed compacted during recirculation. (cream ale - lots of adjuncts)
Should have made the first batch 5 gallons, insteaf of jumping in with the first batch being a 10 gallon
With out RIMS tubes Mash temp hard to keep steady

However, the beer is fermenting away and we hit all our numbers, so it was pretty good. The first couple brew sessions are definitely about getting kinks worked out.

I have everything for the control panel ordered: 1 honeywell valve, 2 PID's, timer, RIMS tubes, switches, lights, alarms, etc. will be using a 12X10X8 NEMA4 panel like cal. It will look slightly similar to this:

http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24952

Control panel is under way. Second brew day is coming 11/4(I hope) and 3rd 11/11 (definite)

I love the Brewershardware wind screens, and I have also ordered a CIP spray ball to make cleaning easy.Oh, and my barley crusher is on the way! going to build something like this for it:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/harborfreight-drill-grain-mill-337006/index2.html

 

[2BeerSpeer]

How is your chiller mounted? Any pics?

 

[BraxtonBrewery]

Its the 30 plate long from brew hardware. I used 2 T brackets from Ace Hardware and 2 stainless wing nuts. I used self tapping screws thru the T into the square tube and the bolts that are attached to the chiller with wing nuts. The angle bracket just gives some support.

 

[rekoob]

Okay, with 9 taps and that "GO PACK GO" sign... I want to come over for the games!

The stand is looking great too.

 

[BraxtonBrewery]

Okay, with 9 taps and that "GO PACK GO" sign... I want to come over for the games!

The stand is looking great too.

Just cut up the old stand (wood) and turned it into a tv cart. Haha Had an old tv sitting in the basement. Prefect for a brewery TV and with 100 ft of cable it can go anywhere I need it to. !