Easy & Cheap Stainless Vent Hood

[ballz50401]

As I was putting the final touches on my eHERMS build I had to find a way to vent the boil condensation from my basement on brew days. After a lot of research and searching the web I decided to build a vent hood from a 30 quart stainless steel mixing bowl. I haven't seen anyone else use a mixing bowl so I thought I'd share my easy & cheap design. I have brewed 4 batches with this vent hood setup and haven't had any issues. You can easily find a 30 quart stainless steel mixing bowl for under $30 online w/ shipping. I used a 4" inline fan that I purchased on ebay for $70. You can easily build your own stainless steel vent hood for under $100. I used a jigsaw to cut a circular hole in the mixing bowl and then used 3 hose clamps to hold the fan in place. I also used some food safe silicon to seal the mating surface between the fan and hood. Good luck on your future build and feel free to ask me any questions with your build. CHEERS!

 

[Kylito87]

That is pretty sweet. I can't believe I never thought of that . My dad is going to be putting in a basement brew system may have to send him the link to this . Cheers

 

[nealperkins]

Very nice and creative! I don't need one often so the price is right for me.

 

[rekoob]

Great idea. Thanks for sharing.

 

[smakudwn]

No issues with condensation dripping back down?

 

[MuddyCreek]

This is why I LOVE homebrewers. Not only is it inexpensive, it looks space-age and awesome!

 

[ballz50401]

No issues with condensation dripping back down?

No issues with water dripping down at all. I can see the condensation being sucked into the fan while brewing, but it does not drip.

 

[brewmasterorr]

Great idea. I already have one of those exhaust fans and was trying to figure out how I was going to set it up. Just ordered my bowl. Thanks for the idea!

 

[ballz50401]

Great idea. I already have one of those exhaust fans and was trying to figure out how I was going to set it up. Just ordered my bowl. Thanks for the idea!

Glad I could help! I spent many hours searching for a decent looking hood to use for a centrifugal inline fan and stumbled across a mixing bowl.

Here are some links of what I used:

30 qt mixing bowl: http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/update-international/mb-3000hd/p1457355.aspx

MTN Gearsmith 4" Inline Fan: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004ZTJJ5Y/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[stamandster]

If you have a Ocean State Job Lot (or something similar) they have similar mixing bowls (not sure about 30qt, but they sure are large!).

 

[renthispace]

I just saw this, very cool!

 

[NFryan]

Nice Work! I will be building this soon. Thanks!

 

[heckels]

Glad I could help! I spent many hours searching for a decent looking hood to use for a centrifugal inline fan and stumbled across a mixing bowl.



Here are some links of what I used:



30 qt mixing bowl: http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/update-international/mb-3000hd/p1457355.aspx



MTN Gearsmith 4" Inline Fan: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004ZTJJ5Y/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I that fan is only rated for 190CFM. In most situations it's not enough. A 5500 watt element should have around 330CFM.

I have a fan rated at 300 CFM and have condensation issues. Granted, I'm sure that rating is under perfect conditions and a 6 inch line. My current 4 inch line may reduce it to closer to 200CFM.

Regardless, I'm going to be upgrading to this.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JQ14F8/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[ballz50401]

I that fan is only rated for 190CFM. In most situations it's not enough. A 5500 watt element should have around 330CFM.

I have a fan rated at 300 CFM and have condensation issues. Granted, I'm sure that rating is under perfect conditions and a 6 inch line. My current 4 inch line may reduce it to closer to 200CFM.

Regardless, I'm going to be upgrading to this.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JQ14F8/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I have had no condensation issues with my setup. My hood is close to the kettle and I have a short exhaust duct. I agree a bigger fan will be needed for most other applications, but it works great for mine!

9/8/14 Edit: I forgot to mention that I run my element at a 65% PWM output during the boil. So this would be the equivalent of running a 3575W heating element. According to your calculations I would need 215 CFM.

 

[heckels]

I have had no condensation issues with my setup. My hood is close to the kettle and I have a short exhaust duct. I agree a bigger fan will be needed for most other applications, but it works great for mine!

Mine is a traditional range hood style so that could also be a contributing factor. Maybe the round bowl helps.

 

[NFryan]

I was going to build this and run about 10 ft of vent hose out the bottom of my garage door. Should I be fine with the same 4' vent fan you used ? Also how would you rate the noise level. It's been great switching to electric from propane just due to the lack of jet burner noise. I want to keep it that way.

 

[ballz50401]

I was going to build this and run about 10 ft of vent hose out the bottom of my garage door. Should I be fine with the same 4' vent fan you used ? Also how would you rate the noise level. It's been great switching to electric from propane just due to the lack of jet burner noise. I want to keep it that way.

I'm using about 4 or 5 feet of vent hose. 10 feet might be pushing the limits of what a 4" fan can push for condensation, but I'm not sure. If you are directing the exhaust to the bottom of your garage door as you stated a 4" fan might still work for you because gravity should help pull any condensation down from your hose and out of your garage. I think the best way to keep the condensation from dripping back into your boil kettle is to have your vent hose turn down and away as close to the hood inlet as possible. Buying a 6" vent fan instead of a 4" might be a better choice for a garage. I chose a 4" vent fan because I didn't want to move too much air from my basement. Just enough to remove moisture while brewing. The noise level is not bad either. I will be brewing tomorrow so I'll record a quick video and post the link here so you can see and hear it in operation.

 

[ballz50401]

Here's the link to the video I shot today of my vent hood in operation:



If any of you have built this vent hood please feel free to share and post your pictures here.

 

[NFryan]

Here's the link to the video I shot today of my vent hood in operation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZxnt81xRT8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

If any of you have built this vent hood please feel free to share and post your pictures here.

Much appreciated!

 

[megalomani]

Is there no need for ventilation over the HLT?

 

[ballz50401]

Is there no need for ventilation over the HLT?

There is no need unless you are using a gas as your heat source.
I keep the lid on at all times and temps in my HLT never rise above 175-180°F. All of the condensation stays under the lid.

 

[stamandster]

Here's another option on the vent www.amazon.com/VenTech-IF4-Inline-Duct-Fan/dp/B005KMOJPK/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

 

[ballz50401]

Here's another option on the vent www.amazon.com/VenTech-IF4-Inline-Duct-Fan/dp/B005KMOJPK/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

That looks like a good deal! :rockin:

 

[NFryan]

Just placed my order on amazon for all the parts and a few extras.. Ill let you know how it turns out and ill post pics. Its a 6' 440 cfm with variable controller.

Heres my parts listL

Fan
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004YXDQZU/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Variable Controller
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EVYGPJQ/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Duct:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AHASV8/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[ballz50401]

Just placed my order on amazon for all the parts and a few extras.. Ill let you know how it turns out and ill post pics. Its a 6' 440 cfm with variable controller.

Heres my parts listL

Fan
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004YXDQZU/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Variable Controller
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EVYGPJQ/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Duct:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AHASV8/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Good luck with the build!

 

[NFryan]

Just placed my order on amazon for all the parts and a few extras.. Ill let you know how it turns out and ill post pics. Its a 6' 440 cfm with variable controller.

Heres my parts listL

Fan
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004YXDQZU/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Variable Controller
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EVYGPJQ/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Duct:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AHASV8/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

So I finished the build. I am having issues however with moisture leaking around the outside of the fan. I attached the flex hose with zip ties and it appears to be leaking from that area. I am going to grab another large hose clamp and hopefully it seals it up fully. There was just A LOT of moisture on the outside of the fan and bowl. It was aprox. 50 degrees in my garage on brew day. I will report back after I try out the hose clamp.

Anyone else have moisture issues during colder ambient temps?

 

[celtic_dude]

Wow! Great idea! May have to think about this for my build!

 

[NFryan]

So I finished the build. I am having issues however with moisture leaking around the outside of the fan. I attached the flex hose with zip ties and it appears to be leaking from that area. I am going to grab another large hose clamp and hopefully it seals it up fully. There was just A LOT of moisture on the outside of the fan and bowl. It was aprox. 50 degrees in my garage on brew day. I will report back after I try out the hose clamp.



Anyone else have moisture issues during colder ambient temps?

Extra hose clamp on top fixed the moisture issue. Zip ties were not tight enough issues resolved


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[NewBrewB]

Great idea for a thread and excellent information. I do wish more people would post their venting solutions here but this is a great start.
As for the cfm question, I would think this is one of those "buy big or buy twice" situations. I think I will get a 400-450 cfm fan and add a variable controller to dial it down to balance noise reduction/effectiveness.

 

[NewBrewB]

Here's the link to the video I shot today of my vent hood in operation:

Just watched the video. I like that your voice can still be heard over the fan, even when the camera is up inside the bowl.

Can you snap a few pictures of your mounting/hanging bracket where it connects to the fan apparatus?

Also curious how heavy it is, if you remember. Weight doesn't seem to be a stat most fans list.

 

[ballz50401]

Also curious how heavy it is, if you remember. Weight doesn't seem to be a stat most fans list.

From what I could find the 4" inline fans weigh around 8 or 9 pounds.

Can you snap a few pictures of your mounting/hanging bracket where it connects to the fan apparatus?

I built my mounting bracket from Slotted Angle Steel. I attached the mounting bracket to the floor joist using two lag screws. The weight of the vent fan caused it to tip forward from the bracket. I corrected this issue by installing a smaller hose clamped looped through the larger hose clamp. This small hose clamp also served as the final level adjustment for the vent fan. Feel free to ask any more questions if anyone has any. I've brewed with this vent fan for a year now and it has helped produce 22 batches of brew (...and 11 medals ).

 

[ballz50401]

more photos

 

[NewBrewB]

If you have a Ocean State Job Lot (or something similar) they have similar mixing bowls (not sure about 30qt, but they sure are large!).

Great tip! Picked one up this morning for $12.

 

[boondocksaint]

I just started my eHERMS set up & ventilation was something I had not worked out...Looks like I've got my answer!

BTW, how much clearance did you build in b/t the BK and the fan?

Awesome idea. Thanks!

 

[ballz50401]

BTW, how much clearance did you build in b/t the BK and the fan?

The distance from the top of my keggle to the bottom lip of the vent hood is about 14".

 

[baist111]

more photos

I built a replica of your setup for my basement, used pretty much the same stuff, however my hose run is only 2 feet to the nearest window.

I did a test run last night and 15 minutes into the boil I started to get moisture dripping from the outlet of the fan, kinda looks like you have some moisture in your pics as well. After a while it started to pool on the lip of the bowl. Has that ever been an issue for you?

I had no condensation on the inside of the bowl.

 

[NFryan]

I built a replica of your setup for my basement, used pretty much the same stuff, however my hose run is only 2 feet to the nearest window.

I did a test run last night and 15 minutes into the boil I started to get moisture dripping from the outlet of the fan, kinda looks like you have some moisture in your pics as well. After a while it started to pool on the lip of the bowl. Has that ever been an issue for you?

I had no condensation on the inside of the bowl.

I have noticed with my fan that the closer i get the fan to the top of my kettle the better. Also the amount of moisture I have really depends on the humidity in the air, as well as the ambient air temps. Some days no moisture at all. Some days the outter rim of the bowl is loaded with water.

 

[ballz50401]

If you're seeing some condensation on the outside of the bowl, try tightening up the clamp on the duct to blower connection. That seemed to help with mine. A rubber seal could be easily fabricated to help too.

 

[baist111]

If you're seeing some condensation on the outside of the bowl, try tightening up the clamp out the duct to blower connection. That seemed to help with mine. A rubber seal could be easily fabricated to help too.

Thanks for the reply. I thought I had the clamp on as tight as possible, but maybe I can retry. I hadn't thought about the rubber seal, that might do the trick. I also have some reflective tape that I could try to put under the clamp as well, like this stuff: http://t.homedepot.com/p/Reflectix-2-in-x-30-ft-Reflective-Foil-Tape-FT210/100318556/

That should seal up any gap between the fan and exhaust pipe. I'll try to post back with results.

 

[NFryan]

Mine seems to also leak from the screw holes on the fan brackets and mounting points. Im going to put food grade high temp silicone under each screw and tighten it up.