Hunter's Basement E-Brewery Build

[Woodbrews]

Working alone this afternoon, so progress was a little slow. Additionally, a lot of the work involved trimming and edging the FRP, so it was just time consuming. Here are a few shots of the progress!

Forgive my ignorance, but what is the purpose of the fiberglass panels? For moisture resistance?

Amazing build, btw -- thanks for documenting it. I really like the stainless sink and work table!

 

[hunter306]

I originally chose them for moisture resistance and ease of clean-up. They can be basically wiped down with a wet rag after brew day and resist mold much more effectively than drywall would. If it wasn't these, I probably would have done some sort of tile but that was a bit outside my budget. Thanks for the compliments!

 

[hunter306]

Small Update: Finishing up the column this evening, which continues to be a slow go. On the plus side, this is the final wall portion to need the FRP. Next, I need to cut out the drain tube access and then finish up the paneling on the access door over the drain cleanout.

 

[the_doc]

Lookin' good =]

4:43am post time on a Tuesday - Must've been a late night!

 

[hunter306]

A quick update on the project, albeit, without pictures this morning. The paneling is finally done and I'm waiting for the adhesive to set up (about 12 hours) so I can continue working on the plumbing.

Yesterday evening I cut the access for the brewery's sink drain and paneled the drain-clean out door. I welded in a length of PVC pipe for the drain, so this evening I should be able to begin to do the final plumbing.

On a different note, I have now received ALL the required parts to build my electrical control panel and finish up the kettle modifications. Some good pictures of the brewing goodies to come in the next couple of updates, as I have a week or so off for the holiday and I'll have some extra time to devote to the project.

Thanks for looking!

 

[Snicklefritz]

Planning almost the exact same build. Thanks for all the inspiration. I'll be watching.

 

[hunter306]

I've been pushing hard to get the actual work area finished up, so this evening I spent time doing a few clean-up tasks.

Finished the Cleanout Access Panel and trimmed for the drain pipe (still not hooked up).

Also caulked the rest of the inner corner moulding that needed to be sealed up from the upcoming boil kettle steam:

Finished installing the outlets, fan control switch, and wall plates:

I still have a few things to really wrap up this part of the build, one is to install the GFCI Breaker for the 120v utility plugs and fan. The second is to finish plumbing in the sink and the hookups for the hose, the water filter, and the shelving on the far end for equipment.

Stay tuned!

 

[kchomebrew]

Looks good so far ! Subscribed

 

[hunter306]

Well, since most of the construction work is done, I'm getting excited to start working on THIS beast of a project. I believe I have everything necessary to get going on the panel starting tomorrow!

 

[Roadie]

How long do you think the panel will take you?

 

[hunter306]

I'm going to start by prepping the layout on the enclosure and cutting the necessary holes. I want to get that done before I paint the enclosure black so that I don't mess up the paint once while cutting! The cool thing about these enclosures is that they have the removable trays in the back, which I will be taking out and fastening the DIN rails to so I can begin the wiring while paint is getting wrapped up.

I'm betting it will take me a about 3-4 days to get it done, based on the research I've done.

 

[Roadie]

That's quick, awesome. How will you vent the kettles?

 

[chris102984]

Quick question, how'd you setup the drain with the cleanout? I have similar plumbing in my basement and I'd like to setup a similar drain solution.

 

[Chrisl77]

It looks like he took out the cleanout plug and put a male adapter in it. Then added a second T with a 1 1/2" side connection and a new cleanout plug at the top.

 

[hunter306]

Yep, Chris is correct. We used a threaded male adapter and turned it to fit the second cleanout. Because the existing cleanout is low enough to the floor, this allowed us to put in the drain without doing additional major plumbing work.

We're using an Air Admittance Valve behind the sink to vent the sink for proper drainage.

 

[clarksc4]

It looks like that wall material is textured, I worked in a kitchen for 5 years and if it's the same stuff, it is a PAIN to clean without a stuff bristle brush

 

[hunter306]

@clarks: Fortunately a brewery and a kitchen are different beasts. The brewery lacks that grease that the kitchen tends to get gummed up with. I don't think that textured paneling will cause us any issues in our brewery case.

 

[hunter306]

So, I took a few days off over the weekend to do some other projects, but I've been back at the panel assembly since monday. I think I'm making decent progress, so I figured it was time for another photo dump of the build!

I knew my layout was going to be a bit different than Kal's build, so I arranged the parts a couple of times until I came to the layout that I settled on as pictured. Once I did this, I plotted out the centers for the holes so I could begin drilling:

It's a good thing I was planning on painting the enclosure, because simply cutting and working on it marred up the finish pretty good. I wasn't very worried about the eraser and the pencil either, because once it comes time to paint, i'll be sanding the whole enclosure.

Drilled out the corners and began cutting out the pid locations and V/A meter with the jigsaw. Those Auber PIDS don't give you much room for error since the bezel only overhangs by about 2mm. I ended up cutting them small and then using a bastard file to slowly work them to fitting the PID.

Dry Fitting:

Planning the bottom. To save money, I did not do twist locks for everything. The Chugger Pumps unfortunately void your warranty if the plug is changed (according the warranty information) so I opted to go with a standard 15amp outlet. I did use XLR connectors for temperature, and Twist Locks for the heating elements. The main power is hardwired, no twist lock (couldn't warrant 70 dollars for that set!)

Fitting the outlet, similar to the PIDS, I opted to go smaller and file to fit. The result was pretty good.

Time to get drilling the 22mm holes! After some technical difficulties with my old Craftsman Drill Press, I got to cutting.

The panel, cut and drilled:

Prepping for Paint. I used the same hammered finish paint that kal used, but didn't use primer. I chose to do this because I sanded the existing finish gloss down, and basically used the original paint as my base coat. I also added paper to protect the inside from overspray, as I decided against redoing the (not visible) internal parts.

More upcoming!

 

[jhalloran]

Damn nice jigsaw work!

 

[Feurhund]

Great work man. Enjoy the journey! I did mine from scratch too with barely any electric experience.
It's been complete for almost three years now and countless batches done. It can handle anything you throw at it and makes great beer, more than a few medals if I can say so modestly.
You will love the sink! As crazy as it sounds after all the other bells and whistles the sink and the ease of clean up etc has been such a pleasure. Good luck with the rest of the build and look forward to a brewery you can retire with.

 

[TaylorInOK]

Great work! Looking forward to following this project.

 

[hunter306]

The Wife surprised me with the last kettle for the new brewery system this morning! Merry Christmas all!

 

[rockinmarty]

Lucky you

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Home Brew mobile app

 

[Huaco]

Very cool build!
I built a Kal rig in 2012. Yes, they do make awesome beer!

 

[hunter306]

Got a few things done this afternoon, but spent most of the time taking it easy. A few more progress pictures as the panel comes together!

Painting in the garage:

Paint all wrapped up:

Starting to assemble the front panel controls:

Fully populated inside of the panel door:

Ready for the heatsink and the wiring!

 

[1fast636]

Looking good man I'm digging the extra cabinet door handles on the sides adds alil something to it

 

[hunter306]

Thanks for the compliments as always!

Got a few things done on the panel this afternoon, starting with the heatsink. Added a quick silicone bead around the cutout before putting the heatsink in place:

Heatsink Attached:

Started attaching the DIN Rail Sections to the panel:

Started wiring the ground wires to the grounding point in the enclosure:

Ran the main wire from the GFCI outlet to the 63A contactor:

 

[skemp45]

I am so excited to see this build finished!!! Awesome build man and keep at it

 

[ScotBrew]

Looks great! Keeping my eye on this one!

 

[max384]

This build has inspired me to go electric... Eventually.

Great thread. Keep it up!