hood without a fan

[millsbrew]

I'm looking for a 5' to 6' hood to go in my basement brewery. I already picked up my fan on Amazon, but can't find a hood to without a fan included. Can someone point me in the right direction?

Thanks in advance.

 

[brettwasbtd]

A lot of us make our own hoods out of wood, plastic, foam etc. I went with foam. I'm sure you could remove the existing fan from the hood if necessary. Could also find a metal fab shop and get something custom

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

Brett,

How does your foam board construction Vent hood do? Do you get a lot of dripping?

 

[jonesry09]

I had good success on craigslist. When I was looking, there were commercial grade stainless steel hood from 2'-12' on there. Of course you have to sift through the ones that want a couple thousand for them and you will find some for free or a couple hundred dollars.

 

[brettwasbtd]

To be honest, im not sure I just made mine and have yet to brew on it. However, from my research it looks like it should be ok (see links below). I think a lot of it has to do with your fan size, speed, ducting size/length etc.

Eric Brews - uses a foam board vent hood similar to mine and doesn't have a problem
The electric brewery - tested with foamboard and didn't have any issues.

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

I built one based on a design from someone else on the forum and while it performs quite well... Its is very heavy and in my current space does not fit so well.

 

[bbohanon]

Check my brewshed build thread.
I made mine with some cheap 2x4s, some nails and mending plates, cut a hole in the top of it and added a AC duct and then attached an inline 450CFM Blower motor I picked up on ebay for around $60 to a variable control switch.
I did line it with some poly sheeting so the condensation stays off the wood.

All in all, it cost me about $150 to build (including the motor) and I ended up drywalling it into my brewshed so it looks like part of the building. Works as well as any expensive commercial hood would and keeps the condensation in the brewshed to a minimum and runs pretty quiet. I dont get enough condensation on mine to warrant a drip channel at all and I brew 10 gallon batches.

 

[kal]

The electric brewery - tested with foamboard and didn't have any issues.

Yup - you could build something like this out of some sort of plastic board or similar and you'd be good. I'd want some strength to it (not just the foam as I used in the test) as you may end up banging into it depending on how high it is/headspace. It doesn't necessarily have to be stainless. I just went that route as I found it looked better.

The test hood made out of hard foam:

The final hood made out of stainless:

Kal

 

[b-boy]

Kal - What gauge stainless did you use for that hood? How heavy is it? Is it welded?

 

[kal]

I'm actually not sure what gauge it is. It was built by a custom restaurant/supply shop. I would imagine it's around 18 gauge. I'm not sure of the weight either as I never weighed it. All external seams were welded, ground and polished to the original #4 finish (similar to what any custom shop will do).

Kal

 

[Onkel_Udo]

You could even go with a poly stock tank....

http://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/freeland-150-gal-poly-tuf-stock-tank/0000000046185

 

[b-boy]

I'm actually not sure what gauge it is. It was built by a custom restaurant/supply shop. I would imagine it's around 18 gauge. I'm not sure of the weight either as I never weighed it. All external seams were welded, ground and polished to the original #4 finish (similar to what any custom shop will do).

Kal

OK - thanks. I thought you might have done it yourself.

Very nice setup. I'm putting up a building this Fall and I'm looking for ideas.