Do I need a utility sink?

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kevy

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So I’m getting close to finishing my electric HERMS build in the garage and was curious. Should I add a utility sink? Did this change the game for y’all or make things easier? Is it worth it?
My garage has no water or plumbing for a drain, nor do I want to have plumbing added. I would have to just hook up the sink to a garden hose during a brew session and run a drain hose to the driveway/ditch/yard
What are y’all’s thoughts/opinions?
 
I have an electric e-herms and I set it up and brew on my back lanai and then have to break it down and store it in my garage. I use a hose and everything gets hosed out as I use it. You will love a sink. Rain or shine you don't have to use the hose outside to clean out your mash tun, hoses, boil kettle etc. You can clean everything with a hose outside but it would be so convenient to have a sink right there next to your brewery. Even if it was hooked up to a garden hose. If I was in your situation I would look into installing a sink. Good luck on finishing up your brewery.

John
 
I have an electric e-herms and I set it up and brew on my back lanai and then have to break it down and store it in my garage. I use a hose and everything gets hosed out as I use it. You will love a sink. Rain or shine you don't have to use the hose outside to clean out your mash tun, hoses, boil kettle etc. You can clean everything with a hose outside but it would be so convenient to have a sink right there next to your brewery. Even if it was hooked up to a garden hose. If I was in your situation I would look into installing a sink. Good luck on finishing up your brewery.

John
My old set up at my old house was just take everything out to the driveway as I was done with it to hose it off. A utility sink, I’m thinking, would change a lot for the better. Cleaning kegs, mash paddles, boil kettle. I could even clean the vessels in place while just pumping the waste water to the sink.
I think it’s a good move. Just wanted to see if anyone had different opinions or experience. Like if it’s worth it. I’m thinking it might be for sure
 
I don't have a brewing place other than the kitchen. However the very large laundry sink in the laundry room get's used quite a bit while brewing and cleaning up.

While many homes I've been to have no laundry sink or just a tiny bathroom sink stuck in a corner, I'm very glad to have a real laundry sink. And I miss the double laundry sinks that we had when I was a kid. What happened to them?

So it's sorta all what you want or are willing to put up with. If you do get one, I'd have it plumbed for water and drainage. It'll be very much worth the extra expense. Otherwise you'll probably be cussing yourself for getting the thing.
 
I don't know that it was life changing but the broad and deep laundry sink I installed in my humble brewing space made clean-up hella easier. I definitely recommend a sink large enough to accommodate your largest vessel....

Cheers!
That’s exactly what I wanted to know. If it makes things easier that’s worth it.
Wonder if someone has experience just using hoses for supply and drain?
 
That’s exactly what I wanted to know. If it makes things easier that’s worth it.
Wonder if someone has experience just using hoses for supply and drain?

Yes! I started brewing with my brother-in-law at his place. He has a piece of counter top with a sink on a 2x4 rolling frame. He picked up the parts at one of those Habitat for Humanity resale stores. Brew day comes, he rolls the sink out to the driveway. There's a basic garden hose attached to the drain that gets run out to the curb. A food-grade RV hose gets hooked up to the house's outdoor spigot. That goes to a "T" attached to the frame with valves on each output. One side is plumbed to the sink's faucet, the other goes to the chiller.

The one regret he has in his homebuilt unit is using a small sink. Cleaning a 10G kettle can be cumbersome. His 16G is a royal pain. Not too much of a deal in warm weather out on the driveway. Much more of a pain (mess) in the winter when he brews in the garage with the counter and sink just inside the door. In that case, the hoses run under the barely open door right outside, but the over spray, etc, is all over.

Hoses good, especially food-grade for the supply. Sink good. Big sink better.
 
Yes! I started brewing with my brother-in-law at his place. He has a piece of counter top with a sink on a 2x4 rolling frame. He picked up the parts at one of those Habitat for Humanity resale stores. Brew day comes, he rolls the sink out to the driveway. There's a basic garden hose attached to the drain that gets run out to the curb. A food-grade RV hose gets hooked up to the house's outdoor spigot. That goes to a "T" attached to the frame with valves on each output. One side is plumbed to the sink's faucet, the other goes to the chiller.

The one regret he has in his homebuilt unit is using a small sink. Cleaning a 10G kettle can be cumbersome. His 16G is a royal pain. Not too much of a deal in warm weather out on the driveway. Much more of a pain (mess) in the winter when he brews in the garage with the counter and sink just inside the door. In that case, the hoses run under the barely open door right outside, but the over spray, etc, is all over.

Hoses good, especially food-grade for the supply. Sink good. Big sink better.
Thank you very much for this reply. Sounds like the sink with hoses will work for sure. Just have to adapt it to your own space and set up. I was planning on doing the same with leaving the garage door cracked open just a touch for the hoses. I live in Houston and it’s always hot, so I want to take advantage of having a air conditioned garage.
I’m definitely getting a sink after hearing this. A big one.
Thanks again
 
Thank you very much for this reply. Sounds like the sink with hoses will work for sure. Just have to adapt it to your own space and set up. I was planning on doing the same with leaving the garage door cracked open just a touch for the hoses. I live in Houston and it’s always hot, so I want to take advantage of having a air conditioned garage.
I’m definitely getting a sink after hearing this. A big one.
Thanks again

Just a bit of clarity. The door is cracked except when the burner is on. In that case, the door is wide open.
 
So I’m getting close to finishing my electric HERMS build in the garage and was curious. Should I add a utility sink? Did this change the game for y’all or make things easier? Is it worth it?
My garage has no water or plumbing for a drain, nor do I want to have plumbing added. I would have to just hook up the sink to a garden hose during a brew session and run a drain hose to the driveway/ditch/yard
What are y’all’s thoughts/opinions?
It sounds like you have just described my setup.
 
Nice! I would love to see pics of your set up if you have any
Sure thing, the supply line is clear reinforced non-toxic FDA grade tubing. The drain is a 1.5-inch spiral pool vacuum hose.

brewsink.png
 
So I’m getting close to finishing my electric HERMS build in the garage and was curious. Should I add a utility sink? Did this change the game for y’all or make things easier? Is it worth it?
My garage has no water or plumbing for a drain, nor do I want to have plumbing added. I would have to just hook up the sink to a garden hose during a brew session and run a drain hose to the driveway/ditch/yard
What are y’all’s thoughts/opinions?
Big fan of big sinks in a garage. I built a 2+ car 'garage' for my wife's soap-making hobby a few decades back. As I was remodeling a bathroom, I repurposed a pulled bathtub to be her work sink. Built a frame for it so it's belly-high, plumbed it in -- has been fantastic for washing dogs (and kids when small), general house stuff, and brewing. Got to dress it up with leftover granite and a decent faucet (with the pull-out spray head -- highly recommend) when we remodeled the kitchen, too. Note the fancy wort chiller in the photo.

IMG_1953.jpeg
 
I'd love to have a utility sink. I can brew all year round with my electric BIAB rig, but some of the gear is really hard to clean properly in the kitchen sink. This usually means hauling it in to the guest bath and using the tub but it's a PITA rinsing things without a sprayer handy. The end result is that some of my gear only gets used in the warmer months when I can use the garden hose in the yard. Next place will definitely have a utility sink no matter what.
 
I use an electric brew kettle, and a utility sink in a space I built in the basement for brewing. Hands down, the best thing I ever did. The arrangement allows me to brew all year long. Also with a tile floor, any water that drips or gets away or any spillage is a snap to clean up. By setting up a cart for tubing, tools, and supplies has eliminated the chase to find things.

I attached a picture of the brewing room.
 

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I recently built out an eBIAB brew area in the garage. A requirement for me was to have a utility sink. Prior to that, I was using a 3-vessel system in the backyard, with a hose bib for my water (using an RV water hose). The sink makes things so much easier, IMHO. Get as big as you can fit in the space!
 

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I added a utility sink to my garage. Makes cleanup so much easier. Some kind of sideboard is useful as well, I built one out of an old vanity and some overlapped floor tiles on top to waterproof it. Hot water to work with PBW is helpful. Running pex lines is pretty easy and if you have a laundry room nearby you might be able to tie into the washer drain. That's what I did.

I still clean my MT out in the driveway though. I use the leftover hot water from the HLT for it and the hose sprayer works better than the sink sprayer. Utility sink was installed prior to my EHERMS build and is a little tight with the valves on my keggles. One of these days I'll score a SS used sink for the right price and replace the utility sink.
 
Yes on a sink. The more compartments and side boards the better. I've got a 9'+ 3 compartment sink with side 2 huge side boards. I consider it one of my most valuable/used pieces of equipment.
 
Yes on a sink. When we had our water heater replaced we had the guy install a slip sink next to it. Coincidentally, it happens to be in my brew area. Besides brewing-related activities, it gets used for anything else that wouldn’t be good in the upstairs sinks, like washing up outdoors dirts, paint supplies and so on. If you’re already plumbing for brewing it’s no big deal to add the sink.
 
It all depends on your situation. If you don't have water or drain, it isn't a good option. I don't have any in my garage either. But I don't have a permanent set place to brew either. I have my filter for brew water in my basement shower that is rarely used for people. I have to then move my water to upstairs garage where I have my rolling cart with my anvil system. I fill and brew in the garage, using hose to clean, and from cooling water. It's a bit of a pain, but a sink wouldn't help much. Anvil wouldn't fit in a sink... fermenter is cleaned in shower and basement bathroom. Is used there or upstairs depending on season and brew.... guess it would be nice but I'm not putting water in garage
 
It all depends on your situation. If you don't have water or drain, it isn't a good option. I don't have any in my garage either. But I don't have a permanent set place to brew either. I have my filter for brew water in my basement shower that is rarely used for people. I have to then move my water to upstairs garage where I have my rolling cart with my anvil system. I fill and brew in the garage, using hose to clean, and from cooling water. It's a bit of a pain, but a sink wouldn't help much. Anvil wouldn't fit in a sink... fermenter is cleaned in shower and basement bathroom. Is used there or upstairs depending on season and brew.... guess it would be nice but I'm not putting water in garage
Putting in water lines isn't particularly hard although running drain lines can present challenges. That you have a downstairs bathroom and an upstairs garage suggests a very a reasonable opportunity to install a drain line. An 8 foot drop in height provides about 32 feet of horizontal run at 1/4" per foot.
A small 7 gallon conical will fit in restaurant sized sinks, the Anvil one would fit in a 24" sink, as would even the 14 gallon one. It's about 10-11 gallons maybe to fill my EHERMS HLT tank to the top of the coil. I don't see hauling water up a flight of steps for every brew to be easier than having water available in the same room and floor.

Now before I built my exhaust hood, I brewed in the driveway outside the garage. I settled on mounting my RO system to my brew rig, which is a SS table on wheels. Since I moved inside, I added a water line on the wall that my brew rig is on since the sink was across the garage on the other side. It wasn't exactly necessary but it helped some from having water lines crisscrossing the garage. I still need to drain the RO system and plate chiller with hoses as the main waste line for the house is too far away to put a sink on that wall. Those lines are pressurized so not any trouble other than the hoses.
 
A sink in your brewing area is essential IMO. I can't tell you how much I use the sink on my patio when brewing. It would be a nightmare trying to brew without a sink and water at hand.
 
I'd love to have a utility sink. I can brew all year round with my electric BIAB rig, but some of the gear is really hard to clean properly in the kitchen sink. This usually means hauling it in to the guest bath and using the tub but it's a PITA rinsing things without a sprayer handy. The end result is that some of my gear only gets used in the warmer months when I can use the garden hose in the yard. Next place will definitely have a utility sink no matter what.
I use an electric brew kettle, and a utility sink in a space I built in the basement for brewing. Hands down, the best thing I ever did. The arrangement allows me to brew all year long. Also with a tile floor, any water that drips or gets away or any spillage is a snap to clean up. By setting up a cart for tubing, tools, and supplies has eliminated the chase to find things.

I attached a picture of the brewing room.
That a nice set up. Very convenient
 
So I’m getting close to finishing my electric HERMS build in the garage and was curious. Should I add a utility sink? Did this change the game for y’all or make things easier? Is it worth it?
My garage has no water or plumbing for a drain, nor do I want to have plumbing added. I would have to just hook up the sink to a garden hose during a brew session and run a drain hose to the driveway/ditch/yard
What are y’all’s thoughts/opinions?
51UaY1h4esL._AC_SX569_.jpg
this is what you want. yes, its alot more cash vs a regular laundry/utility sink. but you can maybe find used one on craigslist/facebook or if there's any place to get used restaurant equipment near you. i've bought a few for under 100 at restaurant auctions.

sink is great for washing. obviously. but also having a place to put stuff is SO MUCH better. and these commercial style units can easily have casters put on the feet so you can roll it around if you wanna do a mobile wash station like mentioned above.
 
51UaY1h4esL._AC_SX569_.jpg
this is what you want. yes, its alot more cash vs a regular laundry/utility sink. but you can maybe find used one on craigslist/facebook or if there's any place to get used restaurant equipment near you. i've bought a few for under 100 at restaurant auctions.

sink is great for washing. obviously. but also having a place to put stuff is SO MUCH better. and these commercial style units can easily have casters put on the feet so you can roll it around if you wanna do a mobile wash station like mentioned above.
Yeah. The integrated shelf would make a good place to dry stuff after washing
 
So I’m getting close to finishing my electric HERMS build in the garage and was curious. Should I add a utility sink? Did this change the game for y’all or make things easier? Is it worth it?
My garage has no water or plumbing for a drain, nor do I want to have plumbing added. I would have to just hook up the sink to a garden hose during a brew session and run a drain hose to the driveway/ditch/yard
What are y’all’s thoughts/opinions?

Yes.
 
I brew 5-6G in my condo kitchen and cleaning up with my standard double kitchen sink stinks. I’d give anything for a dedicated brewing space so I can’t imagine NOT installing a big-ass utility sink with a spray attachment.
 
Just to add some more info on adding a sink. My first design for my basement brewery was using a plastic drop-in utility sink into some counter tops I built. That worked for several years until I snagged a commercial kitchen sink; two bowls and drain side racks on both ends. This stainless steel seven-foot beauty with a new faucet was scored from a guy who didn't have time to install it. At 200 bucks it was a steal but since then I have seen other stellar deals on Craig's list and Marketplace so with a little time other deals are out there. My old design worked fine even though it wasn't very pretty. So do what you can with what you have until you can upgrade.
 
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