Electric Kettle Rims Basement Brewery Setup

[Swilliams603]

Hey all,

Wanted to share my brand new electric brew setup in my basement. This forum has been tremendously valuable in researching how to piece all this together properly so I wanted to pass along my own creation.

Kettle rims (horizontal breweasy) with steam slayer and brew commander. It's no Kal clone but it's got everything I need in one organized location. I'm just waiting on my spincycle and I'll be ready to rock and roll. Cannot tell you how pumped I am to finally brew electric. Shout out to @Bobby_M who has been CLUTCH with his flawless weld work and general advice on parts. The sink setup was the most expensive part, blowing the kettles and brew commander and all components out of the water. Still seems insane to me but gotta have it!

Julius clone here I come

 

[cyberbackpacker]

Like the ss shelf above your table. Is it 12” deep? If so, table 24” deep? Find it gets in your way at all when working on the table?

 

[Swilliams603]

Like the ss shelf above your table. Is it 12” deep? If so, table 24” deep? Find it gets in your way at all when working on the table?

Yes and yes, and no it’s about eye level so it hasn’t been a problem that I’ve noticed.

 

[chessking]

Seems like a waste of a perfectly good murder dungeon.

Actually it looks well thought out and roomy. I love basement brewing

 

[augiedoggy]

I have lack of basement envy... I'm using a spare bedroom which means I have gotten really good at not spilling anything. biggest pain is running a hose from the bathroom sink and taking everything to the bathtub or downstairs to clean.

 

[Swilliams603]

I have lack of basement envy... I'm using a spare bedroom which means I have gotten really good at not spilling anything. biggest pain is running a hose from the bathroom sink and taking everything to the bathtub or downstairs to clean.

wow, I'm still working on the not spilling anything part...esp with pumps and tubing. The running back and forth part is the worst.

 

[augiedoggy]

wow, I'm still working on the not spilling anything part...esp with pumps and tubing. The running back and forth part is the worst.

I used small metal pans under my pump heads to catch any spills when connecting and disconnecting camloks/hoses at first and then I got smart and just designed a plumbed system which allowed me to perform the whole brewing process by just turning some 3 way valves without connecting or disconnecting any pumps or hoses. It works fantastic for me and nets me 91% brewhouse efficiency.

 

[Greytop83]

Oh yea. Looking good. No more brewing outside for you. Cheers

 

[Swilliams603]

I used small metal pans under my pump heads to catch any spills when connecting and disconnecting camloks/hoses at first and then I got smart and just designed a plumbed system which allowed me to perform the whole brewing process by just turning some 3 way valves without connecting or disconnecting any pumps or hoses. It works fantastic for me and nets me 91% brewhouse efficiency.

May need to go the pan route. - would be curious to see a pic of the 3-way valves.

 

[augiedoggy]

May need to go the pan route. - would be curious to see a pic of the 3-way valves.

towards the end of my build thread in my signature (its long)

 

[Swilliams603]

Couldn't resist..had to paint everything. Was a major pain to paint all the pipes but it looks a lot better now.

 

[chessking]

Its the little things. I see a dropped ceiling in your future

 

[Transamguy77]

Nice set up! Looks like a nice space to brew!

 

[NewJersey]

I have lack of basement envy... I'm using a spare bedroom which means I have gotten really good at not spilling anything. biggest pain is running a hose from the bathroom sink and taking everything to the bathtub or downstairs to clean.

Sounds like it's time to run plumbing and drains

 

[Biggz1313]

I'm looking at the sink portion to get my basement brewery setup, can I ask roughly how much the sink cost you, broken down by parts/labor if you paid someone? Wouldn't mind a ballpark so if someone comes in and quotes me something outrageous I know to keep looking.

Ninja Edit: It also looks great, I'm jealous. Just got my Spike Solo+ 15gal and can't wait for my first brew either. Also, I enjoy your articles you post on r/Homebrewing

 

[redarmy990]

Looks great, I'm going to be using my new basement brewery this weekend for the first time. Hoping all goes well

 

[Wagon_6]

I'm looking at the sink portion to get my basement brewery setup, can I ask roughly how much the sink cost you, broken down by parts/labor if you paid someone? Wouldn't mind a ballpark so if someone comes in and quotes me something outrageous I know to keep looking.

I got my stainless commercial sink for $200 and the sprayer/faucet was $330. Local plumber charged me $200 to install in my basement bar.

 

[Swilliams603]

I'm looking at the sink portion to get my basement brewery setup, can I ask roughly how much the sink cost you, broken down by parts/labor if you paid someone? Wouldn't mind a ballpark so if someone comes in and quotes me something outrageous I know to keep looking.

Ninja Edit: It also looks great, I'm jealous. Just got my Spike Solo+ 15gal and can't wait for my first brew either. Also, I enjoy your articles you post on r/Homebrewing

Sounds awesome - and thanks man, much appreciated.

I think it will depend on location for plumbing rates but here is the breakdown. (I'm in the Boston area).

The sink itself was around $200. I went with an NSF approved sink which costs more. The faucet was around $220. You'll want to ensure that is NSF approved as well if using as a drinking/water source for beer. The installation with labor and materials was $1600. I was lucky they could retrofit to my sewer drain so no pump was needed. Those run about $400.

I called 2-3 plumbers and all were in that ballpark. So you're looking at a grand total of about $2000-$2400 for the full sink installed, depending on if you need a pump to pump drain water out. Let's just say I wish I had a buddy who was a plumber, I'd be a lot more liquid...no pun intended.

Got all components/tables at WebstaurantStore

 

[DasBierBaron]

Holy smokes, that's a good bit of change for the install. I've got my sink and faucet (unfortunately my sink cost me 300$ on Amazon and came beat to a pulp due to poor packaging). I was thinking I'd just pay a plumber, but thought it would be way less than 1600$. The other problem i have is the way my basement is plumbed, easiest way to plumb the sink would be to the washing machine line. Unfortunately that means I couldn't put my sink next to a table due to space and would have to run any water across the middle of my brewing space.

 

[Swilliams603]

Holy smokes, that's a good bit of change for the install. I've got my sink and faucet (unfortunately my sink cost me 300$ on Amazon and came beat to a pulp due to poor packaging). I was thinking I'd just pay a plumber, but thought it would be way less than 1600$. The other problem i have is the way my basement is plumbed, easiest way to plumb the sink would be to the washing machine line. Unfortunately that means I couldn't put my sink next to a table due to space and would have to run any water across the middle of my brewing space.

Plumbers aren't cheap in the northeast! call around who knows, you may get a better deal. it's just not something I wanted to cheap out on. I will say my install was on the simpler side. They had relatively easy access to everything they needed above or below them.

They were able to connect right to the sewer drain heading out which was lucky. They piped over water to the sink and attached the sink and faucet to the cement wall so they did a lot. Also added hot and cold garden hose water access. You would have more flexibility on placement if they used a pump for drain, it's just more costly and something that needs to be maintained. I'm not an expert but this is what they told me.

 

[Jako]

Hey all,

Wanted to share my brand new electric brew setup in my basement. This forum has been tremendously valuable in researching how to piece all this together properly so I wanted to pass along my own creation.

Kettle rims (horizontal breweasy) with steam slayer and brew commander. It's no Kal clone but it's got everything I need in one organized location. I'm just waiting on my spincycle and I'll be ready to rock and roll. Cannot tell you how pumped I am to finally brew electric. Shout out to @Bobby_M who has been CLUTCH with his flawless weld work and general advice on parts. The sink setup was the most expensive part, blowing the kettles and brew commander and all components out of the water. Still seems insane to me but gotta have it!

Julius clone here I come

View attachment 702352

View attachment 702353

View attachment 702354

very cool build. reminds me of my set up. very clean lay out.