Budget Basement Brewery Build

[itsnotrequired]

Can't you just turn them around? Then the box is on top.

possibly, depends on the mounting surface. if it is a totally flat ceiling, might be a tight squeeze between the box and the ceiling. plus, you couldn't get the cover off the junction box if you ever needed to (not without taking the whole fan down). if it was mounted to ceiling joists in an unfinished basement, might not be a big deal.

 

[daveMN]

I have ceiling joist availability, so mounting shouldn't be a problem.
In the meantime, I'm still playing with the 110 CFM fan. I built a shroud tonight. Seems to improve airflow. Kind of hard to tell from the picture, but it extends to the front of the BK and widens out to the width of the kettle.

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[daveMN]

I may have had a good idea....
Make out of anything...sheet metal, plexi, sealed plywood...

Unfolded, this is against your wall, out of the way of the pulley and whatnot. Once it's time to cook, fold it down and viola! A vent hood!

This is where I got my inspiration. Thanks narcolepticsniper!

 

[daveMN]

The ventilation saga continues. I tried to cut an opening for the vent and ran into the foundation. So that sucks. That, and my CO2 tank ran out tonight too.

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[daveMN]

It's been a while since the last update. I think I'm going to drill through the foundation with a hammer drill, provided the vent will come out above grade.
In the meantime, I've been working on the panel and added the element and RTD to the kettle.

It passed the leak test!

The panel is in-progress, waiting on a fuse holder and an illuminated switch from Auber, that I'll put in below the PID. This has been fun to build. I was going to try to have a detailed panel build, but really, the gold standard is itsnotrequired's build thread. I've been watching that one closely, as well as Brundog's build thread and Kal's website. I should have it finished next weekend and have my electrician check it out before plugging it in.

 

[rockinmarty]

Pics don't show up.

 

[daveMN]

Here's the pictures for the above post. Just when I thoughtI figured out how to insert pics:

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[hungry4hops]

Lookin good

 

[daveMN]

Lookin good

Thanks! I think I'll be able to fire it up this weekend. Trying to keep the build simple for this first stage so I can get brewing again.

 

[daveMN]

Success! Nothing blew up. Next is to mount it on the wall and start brewing again.

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[rockinmarty]

Nice and simple. I like that.

 

[daveMN]

Thanks! I tried to plan out enough room for a second element/ PID, but we'll see how I like BIAB. Here's the finished interior. Next is to seal the base of the element, since it isn't stainless. Note to self: get a stainless base next time. Also, still working on ventilation. I'm over my original budget, but I should be able to use this system without having to add to it much.

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[daveMN]

Today: ventilation complete. Drilled then chiseled out a 4" hole for the exhaust vent. Then crawled under the deck to install it. It was a big PITA that I'm glad to have done.
Had to remove a section of duct to get access.
Also mounted the control panel and made a little base for the kettle.
Next up is a ventilation test to see how the 110 CFM fan holds up.

 

[daveMN]

And the pictures to go with it:

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[jcav]

Really coming together, I like your control box too. Nice job!

John

 

[daveMN]

Really coming together, I like your control box too. Nice job!

John

Thanks! I think I should be able to have a brew day in two weeks, which is good since my keg is going to kick soon and I have nothing in the pipeline. I'm thinking either Yooper's pale ale recipe or a Stone Pale ale clone. I think either would be a good brew for the new system.

 

[daveMN]

Boil test complete! I wanted to measure the impact of the fan in controlling moisture. I was able to do a 30-minute boil with no fan and a 60-minute boil with the 110 cfm fan on. Here's the results:
No fan:
final humidity (30 min): 71.9%
Increase from preboil humidity: 27.5%
With fan:
final humidity (60 min): 66.8%
Increase from preboil humidity: 14.1%

Looking at absolute humidity improvement, it's 7% lower humidity, and beats schmatix's 99.8% ineffective. Not to be a di*k, but I wanted to prove/ disprove the thesis. Looking at the change from the initial room humidity, it's a 49% improvement, which looks pretty good. I didn't use the hood I made, but I think that will only help.
Future state, a bigger fan will help, but the free fan will get me by for now. Long story short, I think I'm a go for a brew this weekend. :rockin

 

[brettwasbtd]

Boil test complete! I wanted to measure the impact of the fan in controlling moisture. I was able to do a 30-minute boil with no fan and a 60-minute boil with the 110 cfm fan on. Here's the results:
No fan:
final humidity (30 min): 71.9%
Increase from preboil humidity: 27.5%
With fan:
final humidity (60 min): 66.8%
Increase from preboil humidity: 14.1%

Looking at absolute humidity improvement, it's 7% lower humidity, and beats schmatix's 99.8% ineffective. Not to be a di*k, but I wanted to prove/ disprove the thesis. Looking at the change from the initial room humidity, it's a 49% improvement, which looks pretty good. I didn't use the hood I made, but I think that will only help.
Future state, a bigger fan will help, but the free fan will get me by for now. Long story short, I think I'm a go for a brew this weekend. :rockin

Someone on the forum Incorporated a 100cfm fan into a lid for their kettle and had it act as a direct vent outside (short run) and it was rather effective.

 

[schematix]

Looking at absolute humidity improvement, it's 7% lower humidity, and beats schmatix's 99.8% ineffective. Not to be a di*k, but I wanted to prove/ disprove the thesis. Looking at the change from the initial room humidity, it's a 49% improvement, which looks pretty good. I didn't use the hood I made, but I think that will only help.
Future state, a bigger fan will help, but the free fan will get me by for now. Long story short, I think I'm a go for a brew this weekend. :rockin

I'm glad I was able to motivate you.

My "99.8% ineffective" statement wasn't saying you'd only get a 0.2% reduction in humidity. The statement meant that you were 99.8% likely going to have extremely levels of humidity. Your numbers show you have extremely high humidity levels.

I keep my basement brewery around 35-40% humidity for most of the year (drops naturally to 25% in the winter). A brew day will only increase it temporarily by about 10% and is back down to normal within 2 hours afterwards.

Ultimately it is whatever you are comfortable with though. I didn't like condensation dripping on my head and running down the walls (which are permanently stained from a single brew day).

You've at least done some tests at this point that you are confident in. Might as well brew on it and see how it performs for the real deal. Looking forward to hear how it goes.

 

[daveMN]

I'd categorize the humidity change as tolerable for a brew day, at least for now. The humidity drops down pretty quickly once I stop the boil and have the fan on. I have a dehumidifier I can try as well.
I have been checking out vortex fans and will probably go to a similar setup as what you have some time down the road.

 

[daveMN]

First brew day (Stone Pale Ale) with the new system complete! :rockin:
Normally I just change one or two variables at a time, but I really shook things up with this new brewery:
1. Brewing in the basement (vs. kitchen)
2. Used Fast Pitch starter (vs. DME) Easy to use, I may be hooked.
3. Double-grind grains (vs. single pass) for BIAB
4. BIAB (vs. 3-vessel system)- That was really easy
5. Electric heating (vs. gas stove in kitchen)
6. Plate chiller (vs. IC)
7. Using a fermentation chamber w/ temp controller (vs. none previous)
8. Subbed 2 lbs Vienna for some of the 2-row because, given all the changes above, why not?
Somehow, I hit the OG (1.051) and put 6 gals in the FV. Much thanks to Priceless's BIAB calculator! I barely got everything through the plate chiller- note that I don't yet have a pump (but will be next! ). It was down to a trickle at the end, and there may have been some mouth-siphoning involved to get it started.
I'll post some pics off my phone later.

 

[daveMN]

Got a nice boil with the 4500 w element. View attachment 1459653582178.jpg
Ended up way low on the temp in the FV. Post-plate chiller, ended up at about 58 degrees F. This is my first time pitching well below my target temp. Using Wy1058. No thermowell yet. View attachment 1459654160280.jpg

 

[daveMN]

I finally had a chance to sit down and add up how much it cost to get started brewing e-BIAB in the basement. Here's the breakdown (round numbers):
Electrical/ panel: $250
Kettle/ BIAB-related: $100
Ventilation: $50
Other Misc (plate chiller, 20 lb CO2 tank, etc): $200
Excluding the "other misc", it puts me at about $400, and I may upgrade the ventilation, and add a pump/ valves at some point. I saved a little with some parts I had on hand but spent a little more on some unneeded parts related to the panel. In all, I'm very happy with this system, and the first batch I made is tasty.

 

[daveMN]

As I have some time on tonight's brew #13 on the "new" basement brewery, I thought I'd reflect back on the changes over the last year.
- free march pump from my brother. Now I'm recirculating during the mash with a BrewHardware false bottom.
- 20-gal kettle as a HLT. I'm preboiling my strike water to reduce my alkalinity
- 440 CFM exhaust fan Christmas present from my brother-in-law. That guy gets me.
- Lots of kegging upgrades, including a 50 lb cylinder. Kind of feel like I'm playing with fire if I have a leak in the system, but I got it for $20 so that helps.
- Grain mill and bulk base malt
- Auber's DSPR300 controller. This thing is one of the best upgrades I made in the last year.
- Plenty others I'm missing
To finance some of the brewery upgrades and ingredients I've been engaging in "homebrew arbitrage", buying equipment on CraigsList for cheap and reselling it for a small profit to finance other gear. Patience is the name of that game.
Overall, this has been working great. The bigger fan is keeping the delicious brewing smell out of the rest of the house, which the family appreciates. Now that I'm recirculating, I don't have to wrap the kettle with blankets when I mash and I can step mash really easily. But did I mention this is brew #13 on this system? I've been tweaking my grain absorption and instead of typing 0.018 gal/ lb, I used 0.18 gal/lb. Suffice it to say, I have a lot of boiling off to do.
So what's next? Plumbing. Looking into a RO system with a RO and water tap at the kettle and a stainless sink. Right now, I'm borrowing the laundry tub and that's a real pain. I'm also toying with the idea of a 3-vessel system but using a direct-fire mash tun with recirculation instead of a HERMS/ RIMS. We'll see what the year brings! Cheers and see you at HBC next week!