First AG this weekend need calming!

[Homercidal]

Well, I'm liking my manifold. I used a CNC Mill to drill the holes instead of a hacksaw. We'll see how it turns out. My current problem is preventing leaks around the spigot. I used a plastic washer and rubber seal, but now I'm going to drill out a SS washer to fit the fitting and hopefully that will prevent any deformation. The plastic washer was too thin, and I doubted it would work anyway.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I'll do a +1 to thermometer accuracy. I have three I use, and two of them read low, like 4 or 5 degrees low. Once I realized that, my third AG was at 72% efficiency, and I hit my strike and sparge water temps on the nose. That's one of the big ones for efficiency.

Another point about thermometer accuracy. I use a lab thermo (Long glass one) I have found that when sticking it into the mash, it actually cools the mash around it, giving a false reading (It's been bloody cold here lately) I have found it necessary to swirl the thermo around in the mash until the glass itself is up to temp before reading it. This sounds finnicky, but it's a hard fact IMO

 

[hardrain]

I'm still learning that the hard way after about 20 AG batches.

...and had a leaky wort chiller, yet it still turned out fine!

No one warned me about this either, I found out I need to be careful how much I open the cold water valve, I drove it too hard and it leaked into the wart...oh well, I guess some people brew with tap water, but it's just that the stuff is poison here in DC.


I'm also planning on adding an additional clamp to each end of the coil just to further prevent the problem, probably worthwhile considering it's a 75 cent investment and will take about two minutes to complete.

 

[Homercidal]

Update!

Well, I got a late start, because my crusher would not work. I had to help the idle roller a bit to get it to crush and decided to go back to the shop and add some grooves to grab the grain better and deepen the knurling. Well, the grooves didn't help much and I was able to improve the knurling but not enough to make it work. Our knurling tool is apparently not good for this.

My friend came over and helped me by spinning the idle roller constantly, but after one 2 lb. hopper load I decided to go to the hardware and get an O-ring to put on the idle roller to make it move with the driven roller. I got the thinnest one, and it worked for a minute, then started slipping. Should have got the next size up too, but didn't and by then the store was closed.

Also, my drill was not really up to the task, but the ratchet worked ok. Plan now is to gear the two rollers and add a reducing gear and a second drive shaft so that a smaller drill can work the thing. It's too fast anyway.

Second problem with MLT was fixed. I had issue with leaking, but backed the nut off a bit and it stopped. Really need to get a longer bulkhead fitting, but I might live with what I got, as it seems to be working ok as long as I don't mess with it.

Anyway, I got another trial of beersmith installed on laptop and used it to calculate mash temps. I got the MLT preheated to 140 using water from the tap and heated up a bit of water on the stove and when I mashed in, I hit 155.5F! Wow, this thing actually works! I ended up at 154F after an hour with a couple of stirs during that time.

I took first runnings and then moved to garage to make room for my wife to start with the party cooking. I'm still a bit fuzzy on the sparge, but just added more water and it seemed to go good.

My OG ended up being 1.071 for an IPA and although I'd have liked a bit more fluid, it really was as much as my turkey fryer could handle. I had to keep a constant eye on the flame when adding hops and stuff, or it would boil over.

Well, I just want to say thanks to all on this forum for giving so much information. It really wasn't too hard even for the first time, and now i just need to calculate my efficiency and see what I can do next to improve. I'm thinking about going to fly sparge, because I just can't not screw around with the toys!

Also, I decided my next brewing expense will be a spigot for the kettle. I'm so tired of siphoning hot wort!

 

[IrregularPulse]

What did you use to chil? How'd that go? I know I always dreaded that part of brew day until I got my CFC.

 

[Homercidal]

What did you use to chil? How'd that go? I know I always dreaded that part of brew day until I got my CFC.

I built a CFC a long time ago. I have another length of tubing in the garage but it's a bigger diameter. I'm planning on making another chiller out of that for a friend, but not sure how efficient it will be compared to mine. Kind of curious to find out. The diameter of the inner would be larger, so more wort will not be contacting the sides of the coil, but there will be more coil surface too. Plus the gap between the garden hose and the coil will be smaller, so less water volume maybe making it harder to cool?

I have a friend who is wanting to do some AG brewing and it might be nice for him. Also a guy at work who is starting out and needs equipment. I shold go to the local metal scrapyard and see what they have...

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

What kind of barley crusher? The ones sold under the brand name Barley Crusher come with an o-ring on the passive roller but it's not designed to last (per the mfr.). The grain going through should turn the passive roller (on the unit I'm talking about). My o-ring lasted for two batches...then I found the split o-ring in the mash of the third batch. But without the o-ring the crush has been the same.

 

[Homercidal]

What kind of barley crusher? The ones sold under the brand name Barley Crusher come with an o-ring on the passive roller but it's not designed to last (per the mfr.). The grain going through should turn the passive roller (on the unit I'm talking about). My o-ring lasted for two batches...then I found the split o-ring in the mash of the third batch. But without the o-ring the crush has been the same.

It's my homemade crusher and the rollers are probably a bit on the small size. Plus, the knurling is a bit light. Both contribute to the problem of it not grabbing grain very well. Once the knurling is filled with dust (matter of seconds) the starts to slip.

I have confidence that putting the roller on the outside will make it work. It only needs a small bit of help to get the idle roller going, then it turns with the grain. With the roller on the outside, you'd have direct access to wipe dust off if necessary.

I wanted to put gears on it, but the prices I saw were a bit high for me. So far the total cost of the crusher is my time. Some small parts were "donated" by my work, and the body and rollers were saved from the scrap pile.

I'm building two more because I know two others guys who could use them. I may make a small change or two, but in general I like it.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

You might try conditioning the malt (just try a pound or so at first) and see if that helps the passive roller 'grab' the grains. I really have no idea if it will help but it's easy to try. Look on the Brau Kaiser page for the technique...it's basically just using a spray bottle to spray water on the malt as you stir it up well. The malt will absorb quite a bit and will still feel dry but will feel different.

It may make the problem worse...so only try a small amount at first.