Getting back into it.

[smitty8202]

So I have been stationed overseas for the last 6 1/2 years and haven’t brewed a single batch of beer. I am heading back to the states in a week and am wanting to get back into it. Was an all grain brewer before leaving and will be going that route again.

I will most likely be going electric as it’s just more convenient and can produce a consistent product. I have had my eyes on spikes solo and spikes trio system. Not sure if we will be living in a house or an apartment so that will dictate which system I will get.

With that being said what are some things to look out for or upgrade with these systems or are they pretty much ready to go out the box. I know I will need to purchase some extra things like tubing, connections, fermentation stuff etc. Really looking forward to brewing again.

 

[TimLa]

I've been out of the homebrew scene myself for about 7 years, just started replacing/upgrading equipment. Things have changed A LOT since 2015. My advice:
Camlock all connections. Equipment gets male fittings, hoses get females. BobbyM has best prices.
Tubing: Amazon.
I have a Therminator plate chiller I bought probably 25 years ago, never been thoroughly cleaned. I have a plan to address this, will probably post a writeup post-process.
Have a new Chugger SS had mag drive pump, so went with a Digimash from MoreBeer.
Bought a FermZilla fermentor, their AllRounder would be cheaper and have less complexity, but I've pressure tested and all seems OK.

Should have everything ready to brew on Dec 18. Really looking forward to it!

BTW, having suffered a 3rd degree burn the size of the palm of your hand on the top of my foot, from an unsecured hose, use hose clamps on all hose connections.

Being stationed in Germany for a few years is what got me into homebrewing. Haven't looked back. Welcome home.

 

[Deadalus]

I have a three vessel (keggles) EHERMS with 2 pumps so I can't speak specifically about the Trio but a chiller is not included in the package per the listings on the 15 and 20 gallon systems. It is an option though. The Trio comes with a steam condensing lid so you wouldn't have to worry about a hood. I don't think any system sold like this would rely on weldless fittings vs. welded ports but welded is less trouble. I'd look for TC fittings all around. It's not the everyday cleaning that I think is the issue but longer term with NPT fittings you'll want to do a thorough breakdown. I recently stripped all my vessels of their weldless fittings, cleaned and passivated everything and it took a bit longer than I would have liked! All the while thinking, "Man if these were just TC welded ports I'd be finished already!"

A couple of questions for you:
1. What size batches are you interested in producing?
2. The Solo has a 120V option? You'll need 240V for any of the Trios panels. Are you going to have access to 240V? I used to brew outside, my brew rig is on wheels and I would roll it out of the garage. I have a really long extension cord that I bought for my generator that I used so you might need one. I didn't exactly need it as I designed my panel power cord to be longer but it made it easier to not trip over the power cord. Anyway, you might need a longer cord.

You don't need to use RO water to start with but you might want to consider it.

You don't need to oxygenate but you might want to consider it. This can play into your chiller selection.

Spike offers a table option on the Trio, starting at 72" for the 15 gallon system. Commercial SS tables can cost $600 at that size, probably reasonable. I have a 72"x24" table. A sawed off some height from the legs and also put wheels on the table. I could quite easily use a 60" x 24" table with my three keggles. As far as the Trio selected, you want the bases of the vessels on the table completely. I tend to position my keggles with the valve fittings positioned off the edge of the table. This facilitates switching some of the hoses which are quick disconnects and allows for the use of an elbow or tee off the valves to direct to the pumps. Kind of depends on where all of your ports are located. Just note that a wider longer table than necessary is going to take up space.

How do you plan to mount your panel? I knew I was going to be outside for a while until I got a hood so I mounted my panel to the table using a telescoping arm. I also mounted my RO system to the side of the table using the legs.

 

[smitty8202]

I will mainly be doing 5 gallon batches with the occasional 10 gallon batch to experiment with different yeasts and fermentation process. I think I will be going with the solo as it will save on space