Easy & Cheap Stainless Vent Hood

[BrewWho]

Thanks, that's the one I'm think I'll use as well, report back after you use it a few times if you don't mind.

I've been having issues getting all of the steam out of the basement. I've tried getting it lower but still no better results. I might just get the larger one and see what that does

 

[theck]

I've been having issues getting all of the steam out of the basement. I've tried getting it lower but still no better results. I might just get the larger one and see what that does

The fan the issue? Wonder if the 8" would work better?

 

[BrewWho]

The fan the issue? Wonder if the 8" would work better?

I tried blocking the wind outside to see if that was it and made the vent a straight shot up towards the vent but i still got escaping steam so I'm guess the 6in is not enough cfm. Im just going to buy the 8in and see what happens

 

[adroc]

I tried blocking the wind outside to see if that was it and made the vent a straight shot up towards the vent but i still got escaping steam so I'm guess the 6in is not enough cfm. Im just going to buy the 8in and see what happens

How close do you have the bowl to the top of the BK? I use an 8" fan that sits about 6" above and have never had an issue with escaping steam, even when running it at 30% power. Did you make sure that all your joints are air tight?

 

[BrewWho]

How close do you have the bowl to the top of the BK? I use an 8" fan that sits about 6" above and have never had an issue with escaping steam, even when running it at 30% power. Did you make sure that all your joints are air tight?

I've brought it damn close to sitting on the kettle but you might be on to something with the leaks. Im going to recheck everything when i get home and retape with aluminum tape just to be sure.

 

[DrunkenWeasel]

Would one of you please elaborate on how you cut the hole in the bowl? Did you use any special technique to get a clean, round cut, or did you just drill a hole and use a jig saw to cut out from there?

**Disregard, the dremel tool got the job done nicely**

 

[jsprinceiii]

Hi.
240CFM should work, and under normal conditions makeup air is not required.
In your case, it may be needed.
Try opening a small window in your basement, while vent is on, and kettle is producing steam.

 

[aviator01]

Got the hood setup. Working well so far


View attachment 250269

Nice press.

 

[ballz50401]

Would one of you please elaborate on how you cut the hole in the bowl? Did you use any special technique to get a clean, round cut, or did you just drill a hole and use a jig saw to cut out from there?

I just drilled a hole and then used a fine tooth blade with my jigsaw. I placed the fan on top of the bowl for my template line.

 

[schematix]

I measured the fan opening and used Microsoft word to print a circle template of the right size. I had a hard time centering and tracing the blower since it was so low profile.

Going to finish cutting mine tonight. Only had 1 old jig saw blade and it met its demise.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1422633601.537600.jpg

 

[stickyfinger]

Do you guys think it would be a problem to go with a 20 quart bowl for my 20 gallon kettles? The 20 qt bowl I saw is about 19" diameter x about 6" deep. My kettle is almost 18" in diameter. I thought maybe I could reduce the size of the hood a bit and still get good extraction.

 

[schematix]

Do you guys think it would be a problem to go with a 20 quart bowl for my 20 gallon kettles? The 20 qt bowl I saw is about 19" diameter x about 6" deep. My kettle is almost 18" in diameter. I thought maybe I could reduce the size of the hood a bit and still get good extraction.

The minimum hood size is determined by:

1. Exhaust CFM (really exhaust velocity)
2. Size of area which produces gasses you want to vent.
3. Area of hood (must be at least as large as the source)
4. Height from hood to gas source.

If your hood area is very close to your generation area, you'll need to be closer, or increase the CFM.

Here's an empirically derived calculation that may help answer that question: http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/exhaust-hoods-d_1036.html

 

[TNugent]

Nice press.

Agreed! My XL 650 is in the same room I brew in and use one of these vent hoods as well!

 

[stickyfinger]

The minimum hood size is determined by:

1. Exhaust CFM (really exhaust velocity)
2. Size of area which produces gasses you want to vent.
3. Area of hood (must be at least as large as the source)
4. Height from hood to gas source.

If your hood area is very close to your generation area, you'll need to be closer, or increase the CFM.

Here's an empirically derived calculation that may help answer that question: http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/exhaust-hoods-d_1036.html

Thanks for the link. I think in this situation I should probably defer to experience rather than using the equations, as much as I like equations. It is interesting that using a plate or sidewalls will increase the hood efficiency. Seems like making the hood wider is also better, but you have to increase flow to supply a larger hood too. I guess I'll see if I really need to go smaller or if I can just try the 30 qt size once I get my kettle and stand into position and play with dimensions.

 

[schematix]

The 20 qt would work, it's just a matter of how close can you get it. I am putting my 30 qt (22") 14" above my 20 gallon pot (20"). Haven't tested yet but I'm expecting it to work well.

 

[stickyfinger]

The 20 qt would work, it's just a matter of how close can you get it. I am putting my 30 qt (22") 14" above my 20 gallon pot (20"). Haven't tested yet but I'm expecting it to work well.

Well, I, of course, want to keep the vertical distance large too so I'm not annoyed by the rim!! I wonder how the shape impacts how well the hood works. Seems like the inverted bowl would be better than one with square edges.

 

[schematix]

If you're planning for a relatively large air gap (e.g. 2' or even more) I wouldn't touch the 20 qt and go right to the 30 qt. And get a BAF (big ass fan).

I would expect very little difference air flow from a 24" square hood vs a 24" round hood. The air flow is predominantly being pulled from the open area where the hood shape has little impact on that flow.

 

[NewBrewB]

I measured the fan opening and used Microsoft word to print a circle template of the right size. I had a hard time centering and tracing the blower since it was so low profile.

Going to finish cutting mine tonight. Only had 1 old jig saw blade and it met its demise.

View attachment 252622

Probably too late to be helpful but I was going to suggest leaving 'tabs' when you cut the circle so you can bend them up and use rivets ($12 at Harbor Freight for the good one) to attach it to the fan. That way you have a perfect 90 degree turn up into the fan from the inside of the bowl, rather than the 3/4" or more of fan edge sticking down. Gotta be way more efficient and moisture will not keep dripping back down from the outside edge as some describe.

 

[schematix]

Probably too late to be helpful but I was going to suggest leaving 'tabs' when you cut the circle so you can bend them up and use rivets ($12 at Harbor Freight for the good one) to attach it to the fan. That way you have a perfect 90 degree turn up into the fan from the inside of the bowl, rather than the 3/4" or more of fan edge sticking down. Gotta be way more efficient and moisture will not keep dripping back down from the outside edge as some describe.

Yep too late. It is as you describe. I'm sure it'll drip a little bit but as long as it ends up back in the kettle it should be fine.

 

[fman872]

This is an awesome build but I can not get it from building up water in the fan. I brew with a 4500w keggle in my basement. I'm running the 6" fan and about 8' of 6" aluminum flexible duct that goes it a 4" dryer vent with a 6" to 4" adapter. The bowl is about a 10" above the keggle. I have tried opening windows for make up air but it always collect water. I have brewed 5 batches and they all leaked. Water accumulates in the fan and starts leaking out everywhere. I used food safe silicone in spot there was a leak and then covered it aluminum tape. I now have the exterior leaks stopped but now it sits in the fan. My last brew was a 90 min boil and it was filling with water every few minutes I'd have to try and get some of the water out with a paper towel over and over again because it dripping down and being flung all over it was a mess.

Is it because it goes into a 4" vent?

 

[schematix]

I just finished building and installing mine last night.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1422807095.073068.jpg

Going to put my water distribution manifold back together in a few minutes and then hopefully do a ventilation test before the game starts.

How long are your hoses?

 

[jsprinceiii]

How big is that fan (cfm)? Did you add a return path for makeup air?

 

[BrewWho]

Agreed! My XL 650 is in the same room I brew in and use one of these vent hoods as well!

I love my Dillion and now I can brew and reload. Talk about living the dream. Now for an indoor shooting range

 

[NewBrewB]

This is an awesome build but I can not get it from building up water in the fan. I brew with a 4500w keggle in my basement. I'm running the 6" fan and about 8' of 6" aluminum flexible duct that goes it a 4" dryer vent with a 6" to 4" adapter. The bowl is about a 10" above the keggle. I have tried opening windows for make up air but it always collect water. I have brewed 5 batches and they all leaked. Water accumulates in the fan and starts leaking out everywhere. I used food safe silicone in spot there was a leak and then covered it aluminum tape. I now have the exterior leaks stopped but now it sits in the fan. My last brew was a 90 min boil and it was filling with water every few minutes I'd have to try and get some of the water out with a paper towel over and over again because it dripping down and being flung all over it was a mess.

Is it because it goes into a 4" vent?

I went back 8 pages and didn't see anywhere you might have posted what fan you are using.

 

[ballz50401]

This is an awesome build but I can not get it from building up water in the fan. I brew with a 4500w keggle in my basement. I'm running the 6" fan and about 8' of 6" aluminum flexible duct that goes it a 4" dryer vent with a 6" to 4" adapter. The bowl is about a 10" above the keggle. I have tried opening windows for make up air but it always collect water. I have brewed 5 batches and they all leaked. Water accumulates in the fan and starts leaking out everywhere. I used food safe silicone in spot there was a leak and then covered it aluminum tape. I now have the exterior leaks stopped but now it sits in the fan. My last brew was a 90 min boil and it was filling with water every few minutes I'd have to try and get some of the water out with a paper towel over and over again because it dripping down and being flung all over it was a mess.

Is it because it goes into a 4" vent?

Could you post some pictures or a video so we can have a better idea about where your issues may be caused? Reducing your duct from 6" to 4" will cause you to lose some cfm's. I have never had water drip down from my 4" fan. I use a 5500w element and normally boil between 60 to 90 minutes. I do 10 gallon batches and set my BCS-462 PID output at 65% and consistently get a 10% boiloff rate.

 

[schematix]

I am using a vortex brand 6" 449 CFM unit I got from Amazon for 149.99.

My make up air is an open window.

 

[jsprinceiii]

I am using a vortex brand 6" 449 CFM unit I got from Amazon for 149.99.

My make up air is an open window.

Nice fan!!
That should move some air.

 

[fman872]

I went back 8 pages and didn't see anywhere you might have posted what fan you are using.

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

 

[fman872]

Could you post some pictures or a video so we can have a better idea about where your issues may be caused? Reducing your duct from 6" to 4" will cause you to lose some cfm's. I have never had water drip down from my 4" fan. I use a 5500w element and normally boil between 60 to 90 minutes. I do 10 gallon batches and set my BCS-462 PID output at 65% and consistently get a 10% boiloff rate.

I've been boiling around 70%-80% on the PID. I'm not sure of what my boil off numbers have been.
Ill be brewing tomorrow and I'll try and get a video up tomorrow night.

 

[NewBrewB]

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

Well the description doesn't say not to use it in wet environments but the description of this one for $10 more directly addresses moisture:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008BLEJ70/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

That was the deciding factor for me and I have been absolutely happy with it.

Maybe try calling the company and see what they say about using it to exhaust steam?