Electric Single Kettle BIAB setup. Suggestions?

[Lynchy217]

It's what I do.

To the original poster - do you have a big exhaust fan where your dryer is? If not, consider where you are going to brew. 240V extension cords are expensive, and condensation is a big problem, as well as removing heat from the boil.

If that's the scenario, then consider the kitchen, where you may already have a significant exhaust fan. Two 1650 watt elements in the kettle going to different circuits work great for 5.5 gallon batches, and leaves enough overhead in the circuits for pumps, etc. and whatever to not trip the breakers.

(One of these days, I need to document my build.....)

I do have a big exhaust fan that can be put in that area, and there is a window directly near the washer. Keeping it cool and dry should not be a problem, although I may need to figure something out for the summer. I just checked, and in my kitchen I have one 20A breaker and one 25A breaker, so that could definitely work with the PID and one element working off of one circuit and the other element along with any pumps or whatever I need working off the 25 A one.. That is definitely something I'll explore. I think I'm going to post a comparison between the two builds and see what people think. thanks for the input!

I mentioned previously that I am not buying anything until the end of the month, so i have some time to work out kinks.

 

[Fatman_Brew]

Ahh, I completely misunderstood. That definitely sounds like a pretty good option to explore. I might actually price that out and see what it looks like. That may give me a bit more freedom, as anywhere that I can reach an extension cord to a different circuit, I can brew. That would require a dual GFCI breaker, though, correct? I'll figure out a parts list for both and maybe post a comparison?

You may already have 2 GFCI protected circuits in your kitchen. If you insulated your pot while mashing, you wouldn't need a controller unless you really wanted temperature control. That would be your lowest cost option.

 

[Lynchy217]

You may already have 2 GFCI protected circuits in your kitchen. If you insulated your pot while mashing, you wouldn't need a controller unless you really wanted temperature control. That would be your lowest cost option.

Ahh, I'll have to look into that. I could also get the bare minimum and spring for the controller and extra SSR's later as an upgrade. I do also have two Raspberry Pi's.. maybe I can configure one of those as a controller...

 

[beeton]

I know quite a few people who brew 5 gal batches with this.
http://www.brucefoods.com/cajun-injector-electric-turkey-fryer.html

 

[Lynchy217]

I know quite a few people who brew 5 gal batches with this.
http://www.brucefoods.com/cajun-injector-electric-turkey-fryer.html

Oh wow.. that's way cheaper. Do you know if it is big enough for a BIAB? I don't really see anything that says how big it is..

 

[Fatman_Brew]

Oh wow.. that's way cheaper. Do you know if it is big enough for a BIAB? I don't really see anything that says how big it is..

Apparently large enough to boil 6.5 gallons of wort according to one amazon.com review.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002JQ3KQ4...vptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_9l1tloml3c_b

 

[lazarwolf]

So just a question for you to consider, no judgement here at all, and nothing but support for your brewing enthusiasm... but why? Are you trying to do this? I spent months looking into this, I even bought a book about it. Here's what I learned. For far less money I could buy two electric turkey fryers, make minor modifications (insulation), change the spigot etc. Are you doing this because it sounds fun to you? If so, Talley ho. If you're looking to do all grain indoors there are far cheaper ways to do it.

 

[Lynchy217]

So just a question for you to consider, no judgement here at all, and nothing but support for your brewing enthusiasm... but why? Are you trying to do this? I spent months looking into this, I even bought a book about it. Here's what I learned. For far less money I could buy two electric turkey fryers, make minor modifications (insulation), change the spigot etc. Are you doing this because it sounds fun to you? If so, Talley ho. If you're looking to do all grain indoors there are far cheaper ways to do it.

Admittedly, it is largely because I love designing things, but if there's a cheaper way, I would definitely be interested in at least considering it. What turkey fryer did you get? And what size batches do you do?

 

[lazarwolf]

hey man, I understand, because I am the first to talk about brewing with frugality, and also the first to run out and spend money on the new "frugal" brewing tool. How frugal is that? In the old days we did all grain with nothing but some canning pots and 5 gallon plastic buckets. wed lauter by pouring our mash into a 5 gallon bucket that had holes drilled into the bottom of it and was stuck inside another 5 gallon bucket, and you know what... it worked. The fryer is called the "cajun injector electric turkey fryer"

The good news? it will work. The bad news, you need to turn it over and insulate between the outside and the kettle. or your heating times take forever, and so does your boil. If you insulate it, it is a pretty good biab system.

I prefer partial mash ( see Deathbrewer's post if you havent) and the one kettle approach works real well for that.