High Gravity Custom eBIAB System

[geoffm33]

Good call gonna ditch the basket on next brew and let bag sit directly on coil. Fingers crossed!

Going this route tomorrow. I bought a false bottom from Brew Hardware but by the end of the boil only 1/3 to 1/2 of the coils of my wort chiller will be submerged. And the false bottom is such a tight fit with the boil coil that I can’t easily remove it after the mash.

I can play with my dead space numbers or get a different chiller but I’ll see how this works first.

 

[geoffm33]

Going this route tomorrow. I bought a false bottom from Brew Hardware but by the end of the boil only 1/3 to 1/2 of the coils of my wort chiller will be submerged. And the false bottom is such a tight fit with the boil coil that I can’t easily remove it after the mash.

I can play with my dead space numbers or get a different chiller but I’ll see how this works first.

This worked quite well. No issues with the bag on the element or the recirculation throughput.

 

[Austin_]

Did you use the bag that came with the system?

 

[geoffm33]

Did you use the bag that came with the system?

I did. My Wilserbag is too small (only works with the basket). The stock bag worked but I will probably get a new Wilser.

 

[Beer-lord]

I did. My Wilserbag is too small (only works with the basket). The stock bag worked but I will probably get a new Wilser.

I love both the Brew Bag and Wilser and while I can't swear to it, it appears the Brew Bag gave me some problems with recirculation that the Wilser didn't but I made other changes as well so who knows. I know what I've done lately works for me and that's great.
I keep thinking of getting a mesh basket but besides the cost, I'm not sure I want one. I'd love to hear how things worked out for those who do have one.

 

[Austin_]

I've eyed the mesh baskets, too, but I've been scared of the price. Next brew day I might try and overcome my fears and go with just the bag on the element. I've got an extra bag in case anything goes awry.

 

[Austin_]

Mashed with the Brew Bag on the element with no basket with no problems. I didn't do a step-mash like I normally do, so it never ran at full power while holding the temperatures. Circulation never once slowed and I kept it pumping a pretty good clip.

 

[Beer-lord]

Glad to hear this. I think I'm fine with what I'm doing but may try this. I am still concerned about the weight of the grain on the element.

I'm still trying to talk myself into going back to commando hopping but so far, the beers have been very good using the SS strainer. Doesn't appear to affect the flavor and aroma at all. And, keeps the beers very much cleaner going into the fermenter.

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

Last weekend I brewed a 10 gallon batch using 12 pounds of malt, 9 pounds of torrified wheat and 2 pounds of flaked oats. The OG was 1.052 and there were no issues with recirculation. But I was glad to have help lifting the wet grains up out of the wort they weighed a ton.

I use a mesh grain bag inside the basket for extra support. When I tried lifting the bag up to toss out the grains, without the stainless steel basket, the bag just kept stretching and stretching.

 

[Austin_]

@geoffm33

Thanks for the link on that monitor. I never thought of that. I bought one and it works great.

 

[bendog15]

I ditched the stainless basket and bought another brewbag, one that was made for my 20 gal kettle. Left the controller on during mash so it rested right on coils, no prob. Pump running on low output and recirculated just fine.
End result was 78% efficiency on my 10 gal batch. Couldn’t be happier.

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

I ditched the stainless basket and bought another brewbag, one that was made for my 20 gal kettle. Left the controller on during mash so it rested right on coils, no prob. Pump running on low output and recirculated just fine.
End result was 78% efficiency on my 10 gal batch. Couldn’t be happier.

78% is great. What was your mash thickness, do you remember?

 

[Beer-lord]

I ditched the stainless basket and bought another brewbag, one that was made for my 20 gal kettle. Left the controller on during mash so it rested right on coils, no prob. Pump running on low output and recirculated just fine.
End result was 78% efficiency on my 10 gal batch. Couldn’t be happier.

That's good to hear but I wonder about it sitting on my temperature probe and giving inconsistent readings. For now, things are working for me and the beers have been better than ever so I'm sticking to the basket and bag. I still expect challenges from time to time but that's just brewing.
I really, really love this system!

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

I ditched the stainless basket and bought another brewbag, one that was made for my 20 gal kettle. Left the controller on during mash so it rested right on coils, no prob. Pump running on low output and recirculated just fine.
End result was 78% efficiency on my 10 gal batch. Couldn’t be happier.

Did your heating element have a lot of carbon buildup with the bag resting on it?

 

[Austin_]

Brewed today. I think I need a new temperature probe. It was boiling at 235. I don't live that far below sea level.

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

@austin in an unpressurized vessel like your boil kettle I doubt the temperature could get as high as 235F. My HG system has the temperature probe mounted in the lid, which I leave off during the boil. I never get to read the temperature of the actual boiling wort with the configuration, but I would be surprised if it were that high. Did you compare the 235F reading with another thermometer?

 

[geoffm33]

I guess the concern is that a 152 mash would actually be 129 (assuming sea level).

 

[Beer-lord]

I took the chance on Father's Day and brewed in the morning and went out to a local pub in the afternoon. It's exactly what I wanted to do and was a great day.
The brew day went extremely well though my mill is having trouble with the rollers loosening but I still was almost exactly what the recipe called for (all Strata hops!)
For a second I thought about going without the basket then decided, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' and glad I did.

I still think mashing in without recirculating for the first 10 minutes or so has made all the difference for me. I'm still right about 80% in efficiency in my pales and 76-78 in my larger beers. I'm ecstatic with that!

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

For a second I thought about going without the basket then decided, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' and glad I did.

I still think mashing in without recirculating for the first 10 minutes or so has made all the difference for me. I'm still right about 80% in efficiency in my pales and 76-78 in my larger beers. I'm ecstatic with that!

@Beer-lord I've been stuck in the 68-73% efficiency range my past three brew days. I know my grain crush is too fine because after the mash it's been hard getting the wort to drain from the hoisted grain bag. In the meantime I ordered a Bayou Classic false bottom and will ordered the @wilserbrewer Grand Slam package with heavy duty duel ratchet pulleys. It's good to hear you've worked through your earlier issues.

 

[Yambor44]

I’m only getting 68-70% as well. I’ve been stirring every 15 mins for a one hour mash. First time I did this I hit my numbers dead on. Since then it’s dropped each time (2 brews).

Not sure how others are getting 78-80% with this setup. [emoji2373]

 

[Beer-lord]

I’m only getting 68-70% as well. I’ve been stirring every 15 mins for a one hour mash. First time I did this I hit my numbers dead on. Since then it’s dropped each time (2 brews).

Not sure how others are getting 78-80% with this setup. [emoji2373]

What temp do you normally mash and what about the water treatments used? The correct ph can make a difference. I assume your crush is good too but there are so many things that go into efficiency that it's hard to look at just one. I've even read that some of the problems others have had in the past came down to less modified malts though that's not as likely as in years past.
And, Dave himself has mentioned that the average user gets about 70% efficiency with BIAB.

 

[Yambor44]

Mmmm. Makes sense. The last two brews I switched back to bottled spring water to see if my odd taste would return. The beers came out great (IPA’s) but I didn’t use any water treatments.

 

[bendog15]

78% is great. What was your mash thickness, do you remember?

I have a pretty beat up barley crusher. I have to run the grain bill through twice. Once at a pretty wide gap. Second time at a credit card width.

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

I have a pretty beat up barley crusher. I have to run the grain bill through twice. Once at a pretty wide gap. Second time at a credit card width.

Crushing grain is a balancing act between wort drainage and a coarse crush and wort absorption by crushing too fine. It’s an interesting part of the brewing process.

 

[blacktop]

Hi guys, my name is Ryan and I’m from Australia.

I’ve read this whole thread and I’ve found it super informative. You’ve also got a great forum.

I like these kits so much that I decided made my own that was inspired by this but I made a few small changes including a power meter, dual strike water timers (depending on batch size) and dual element control , 5500w and 2200w

One problem that I have is that my SSR can only be controlled by PID or potentiometer separately, not simultaneously like this system. I suspect that in this system there is a PID for controlling the SSR and there is a potentiometer for controlling a SSVR and the two relays are connected in series.

Is there any chance that someone in here would be willing to open up the 4 screws on the front cover of your panels and share a few photos with a fellow brewer on the other side of the world so that I can make the necessary changes to my panel?

Cheers
Ryan

 

[augiedoggy]

Hi guys, my name is Ryan and I’m from Australia.

I’ve read this whole thread and I’ve found it super informative. You’ve also got a great forum.

I like these kits so much that I decided made my own that was inspired by this but I made a few small changes including a power meter, dual strike water timers (depending on batch size) and dual element control , 5500w and 2200w

One problem that I have is that my SSR can only be controlled by PID or potentiometer separately, not simultaneously like this system. I suspect that in this system there is a PID for controlling the SSR and there is a potentiometer for controlling a SSVR and the two relays are connected in series.

Is there any chance that someone in here would be willing to open up the 4 screws on the front cover of your panels and share a few photos with a fellow brewer on the other side of the world so that I can make the necessary changes to my panel?

Cheers
Ryan

Hi Ryan,
The High gravity controller I see pictured in this thread only has two regular switches and an ezboil controller. I have the same ezboil controller in my attic and they may have changed it since I bought my version but it only uses a regular ssr. It does not use a potentiometer but rather duty cycle/pwm mode to pulse the ssr and control heat output that way when switched to boil control mode. most pids do the same thing when switched to "manual" control mode.
Inside of these controllers you will just find the ezboil, 2 switches and an ssr I dont even believe this panel uses a contactor to safely turn off power to the second pole going to the element (theres always power going to one side of the element when plugged in). Unless im wrong theres no actual main power switch to keep component costs down.

 

[ZmannR2]

I have a few videos on mine (modded 10 gal batch 240V system with the Boil Coil 20)

I freaking love this system! I still question how long the controller will last simply because it is so compact and the heat sink gets pretty hot, but so far well over a year of use and probably 7-8 batches, its really working great. I skipped on the bag and use a steel mesh basket from Utah Biodiesel that sits on one of Bobbys false bottoms from brewhardware.

I chose the 20 gal SS Brewtech pot on my order:

 

[ZmannR2]

On the second video, pay attention to what I said about that stupid spray nozzle that High Gravity puts on your lid. Mine ended up FULL of mold because it traps moisture and wort in there. I have since replaced it with a camlock straight through design and it just falls into the grain bed and then filters outward from there during recirc. The spray nozzle IS NOT necessary at all guys

 

[ZmannR2]

All the new systems have the probe near the BoilCoil. I don't even think you have an option an longer from HG to have it in the tee since late 2016. I'm going to check my temps before brewing this week but based on the beers I'm brewing, I'm golden. They have all been very good and I'm pleased with them. I'm sure not all of the systems made are perfect but I do believe that for the money, they are very good.

I have replaced my probe with an 8 inch probe directly from Auber very recently and the tip is now at the exact center of my pot just under my basket

 

[ZmannR2]

Quick question for all who brew with the high gravity single vessel BIAB system- do you leave the pump running during the boil? My pump is primed with wort, so when I reach boil, I’m thinking “there’s wort in the lines not getting boiled” so I have been turning the pump on and off briefly during the boil. Or maybe I should just drain the wort out of the lines during the boil?

I wouldn't worry about the tiny amount not being boiled in the lines, but honestly it's still probably moving about in there, especially over an entire hour