So I just finished my first brew with my electric Kal clone for 5 gal batches. Hit a few bumps but all in all it was a great success! I brewed a simple cream ale from an all grain kit, just wanted to keep it simple and easy so I didn't have alot invested in it if it went south... It almost did on my first try 2 weeks ago when I broke the outlet off my 20$ ebay pump 2 minutes before mashing in...
So 2 weeks later with two brand new SS chugger pumps, and here I am. Came out with an OG of 1.053, which is pretty close to what BeerSmith put me at, and according to BS I'm at 80% eff. which I was pretty surprised with, but happy. It took me about 4.5 hours to brew plus another hour cleanup, which is exactly what I was hoping for with this new setup. My primary reason for going electric with this setup was for time... No more messing around with a single brewpot and cooler, running out of propane for the banjo burner. Pretty sure I can get the time down at least another 45min.
One bump was my RTD's are off a bit more than I thought, I will have to calibrate them at mash temps (looks like I'll need a thermopen). Also have a bunch more upgrades planned but this is what it looked like today.
So 2 weeks later with two brand new SS chugger pumps, and here I am. Came out with an OG of 1.053, which is pretty close to what BeerSmith put me at, and according to BS I'm at 80% eff. which I was pretty surprised with, but happy. It took me about 4.5 hours to brew plus another hour cleanup, which is exactly what I was hoping for with this new setup. My primary reason for going electric with this setup was for time... No more messing around with a single brewpot and cooler, running out of propane for the banjo burner. Pretty sure I can get the time down at least another 45min.
One bump was my RTD's are off a bit more than I thought, I will have to calibrate them at mash temps (looks like I'll need a thermopen). Also have a bunch more upgrades planned but this is what it looked like today.
