barracudamagoo
Well-Known Member
Did my first brew this weekend (IPA for the inquiring minds), and all went fairly well. The best thing about it is it was a great learning experience. A few of the things I learned:
Make sure all tubing, no matter how snug, is connected with a hose clamp
Dont bother putting the mop and bucket away
Have lots of towels
Wort is hot
Brewing should be done with a friend, not by yourself.
Make arrangements for beer and food before you start brewing.
These were just a few things that I noted, some serious, most not so serious; however, had I known beforehand it would have made the day that much more enjoyable.
On a more serious note, I did have some trouble siphoning the wort and getting a decent flow through the CFC. I had conducted a trial run with soapy water, then iodophor through all the equipment to clean, sanitize, and make sure all the equipment would function correctly. During the trials, all went well. The flow was slower then I thought it would be; however, no cause for alarm. When the boil was finished, I turned off the burner, suspended the hop bag to drip drain, and stirred the wort. I turned the water on to the CFC, removed hoses from the iodophor, put them, double checked connections, and then put the auto siphon into the wort ..Doh! I think this was the root of my problem, as there was a little melting action going on and the siphon warped a little bit. Fast forward, I ended up getting all of the wort into the carboy, although I had to pour some of it, as I was having too much trouble siphoning. On the up-side, the CFC worked really well, I think partially due to the slow flow from the poor siphoning.
So .
How long do you wait before inserting the siphon into the wort? Or what other techniques are utilized to get the wort for the pot, through the CFC, and into the carboy? It seems by waiting for it to cool, Im defeating the purpose of having CFC in the first place. As an aside, I foresee myself drilling a hole and inserting a valve in the bottom of the pot, in order to bypass the whole siphoning process.
Also, I want to use a different type of tubing from the pot to the chiller. That is some hot wort coming through that clear vinyl tube, and I dont think it will hold up over the long haul. When I was at the store, I saw some thicker (braided PVC, I think) tubing, that seems it would handle the heat a little better. Has anyone else used this type of tubing, or does the clear vinyl tubing hold up better than I think it will?
It started fermenting sometime last night, and is bubbling pretty good this morning. This post if long enough, thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for any help/tips.
Make sure all tubing, no matter how snug, is connected with a hose clamp
Dont bother putting the mop and bucket away
Have lots of towels
Wort is hot
Brewing should be done with a friend, not by yourself.
Make arrangements for beer and food before you start brewing.
These were just a few things that I noted, some serious, most not so serious; however, had I known beforehand it would have made the day that much more enjoyable.
On a more serious note, I did have some trouble siphoning the wort and getting a decent flow through the CFC. I had conducted a trial run with soapy water, then iodophor through all the equipment to clean, sanitize, and make sure all the equipment would function correctly. During the trials, all went well. The flow was slower then I thought it would be; however, no cause for alarm. When the boil was finished, I turned off the burner, suspended the hop bag to drip drain, and stirred the wort. I turned the water on to the CFC, removed hoses from the iodophor, put them, double checked connections, and then put the auto siphon into the wort ..Doh! I think this was the root of my problem, as there was a little melting action going on and the siphon warped a little bit. Fast forward, I ended up getting all of the wort into the carboy, although I had to pour some of it, as I was having too much trouble siphoning. On the up-side, the CFC worked really well, I think partially due to the slow flow from the poor siphoning.
So .
How long do you wait before inserting the siphon into the wort? Or what other techniques are utilized to get the wort for the pot, through the CFC, and into the carboy? It seems by waiting for it to cool, Im defeating the purpose of having CFC in the first place. As an aside, I foresee myself drilling a hole and inserting a valve in the bottom of the pot, in order to bypass the whole siphoning process.
Also, I want to use a different type of tubing from the pot to the chiller. That is some hot wort coming through that clear vinyl tube, and I dont think it will hold up over the long haul. When I was at the store, I saw some thicker (braided PVC, I think) tubing, that seems it would handle the heat a little better. Has anyone else used this type of tubing, or does the clear vinyl tubing hold up better than I think it will?
It started fermenting sometime last night, and is bubbling pretty good this morning. This post if long enough, thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for any help/tips.
