I decided to start building a brewing system

[DrKarma]

Latest addition to the brewing system is a plate heat exchanger. Not so much DIY as I got it from a fellow brewer. Took me about 30 seconds to decide that I would retire my huge IC.

The heat exchanger has back ports for one of the flows (wort flow) that I will use to temp probe in temperature and out temperature (out temperature is really the only that I need) so I can regulate the chilling (tap water) flow.

Spec: 5000-7000 W/m² ºC

 

[DrKarma]

I had to call in sick two days ago, caught a "man cold", you know...when it feels like someone is ice fishing with barb wire in your throat. (Well I bet that men reading this understand, women - to my knowledge never seem to get colds like these).

Anyway...For those of you that read my thread, you have seen the fairly big MLT that I have and the mashing basket that I have created for it.
Well, it works fine, but even if the cleaning process is much quicker than before, I still would like something that makes it even faster.

I also believe that I have mention my intention to build one smaller system that I can use for tweaking and experimenting with recipes.
Hence the birth of my MLT v2.0 that will be one of the new components to my brewing system.
The thing is that I want to have a modular system so I can replace the big MLT with MLT v2.0 whenever I am brewing a smaller batch - so the only parameter I change is the actual MLT.

During my terrible man cold, I got a bit tired of sleeping and resting so I went out to the garage and started working on it.

The donor for this project is a Coleman 40 Qt cooler that I bought some years ago when I lived in Dallas. Great in the GC where I lived to bring cold beer to the pool. But back in Sweden it has not been used much at all as it is too big to bring with you when you go picnicking or hiking.

 

[DrKarma]

I began with removing the draining cap and fitting from the cooler. Measured the hole and noticed that it was a bit too wide for the standard 1/2" fittings that I will use.
Guess this might be why some people seem to have problems getting a no leaking cooler MLT conversion and decide to go with custom cooler fittings. (?)

Decided to do a detailed write up of how I have made it, so some activities might seem redundant for most of you who follow my thread, but I hope that it is valuable for some. Not saying that this is the only way, there are many examples that would prove that, but this is one way.

This is what I have used:
1 Pipe extender -

(mine is a bit longer though)
2 nuts with one flat side -

1 ball valve -

1 piece of stainless steel (bent and shaped)
1 small piece of stainless steel

Teflon tape/pipe tape
Silicon based gasket sealant replacement (food grade. It's a black thick silicon based product that you can use when you don't want to use or make own O-rings)

Items will go on in this order.
Pipe extender - (pipe tape) nut - silicon based gasket sealant - bent and shaped SS - silicon based gasket sealant - cooler - small piece of SS - nut - ball valve


If you are not used to working with pipe tape. When you think you have put on enough, put on twice as much and you are good to go, you should not see the threads.

 

[DrKarma]

Let's begin with some stainless steel.
I have cut out and bent in ~90 degree angle so that I have something that the false bottom will rest upon when I create it.
I have shaped it so it fits the draining channel in the cooler.

It will sit on the inside of the cooler.

After some polishing and cleaning, it's time to make some holes in it.
I fitted it and marked up the cooler's hole. The hole in the cooler was not centered so that's why it's more to one side than the other.

I punched a mark in the center of the hole marking.

When drilling in sheet metal or square profile metal, nothing beats a step drill (that's my opinion). Yes there are many drill devices that probably would work, but to get a perfectly rounded hole, step drill does the job!

I also drilled holes in the ~90 degree angle parts which I will use to secure the false bottom so it will not move around when stirring the mash.

Note: I rounded the edges on the 90 degree parts, as I don't want to cut myself when placing the false bottom or when doing cleaning.

 

[DrKarma]

Now things were ready to be put together.
I didn't take pictures of everything as hands got greasy when working with the silcon based gasket sealant replacement and I didn't want silicone on my cell phone.

The pipe extender did not have any "scratched" threads. This is one way of scratching them yourself. Use a plumbing wrench and adjust it to the size of the pipe and press. Don't press too hard though, you don't want to alter the shape of the pipe.

Reason for scratching the threads is that the pipe tape will be easier to put on and it will also provide more friction for the nut, keeping it in place.


Here I have tightened everything together, and you can see the "drawback" with gasket replacement sealant, when you tighten it it will squirt out over the edges.
Don't panic, just leave it to harden and then you can remove it easily.

As the nuts are tightened quite hard and as the cooler is somewhat flexible, you can see that the SS parts have bended a bit. This was actually planned in the design. I will use it in order to secure the false bottom. I.e. when false bottom is put in place and secured it will bend the SS part back thus it will be secured to the back of the cooler.
At least that is the plan, I think it will become clearer when I get to the manufacturing of the false bottom.

This is what it looks like from the outside.

Later in the evening when the sealant had hardened, I did a leak test with hot water. No leaks what-so-ever.

Comments/questions are welcome.

 

[Yambor44]

Looking good!!

 

[DrKarma]

Looking good!!

Thank you...more progress to come.

 

[DrKarma]

Today I continued with the false bottom.

The shape is like an up-side-down box.

I TIG welded the SS perforated sheet metal that I used. It's 0.75 mm thick so it's quite hard to weld it. (At least for a hobby weldor like me) Had to go down to 10-15 A on the welder.

The whole process was with trial and error approach (measure, cut, bend, grind, weld, swear, grind, weld, fit).

After the box fit OK I drilled two holes in it.

And this is what it looks like when placed in the MLT.

 

[DrKarma]

Time to make MLT v2.0 ready to use.
Eventually I will complete it with temp probes etc, but for now it will do the work just fine.

In order to prime the pump, I need to get it up a couple of inches, so I decided to make a table stand for it.

Had some square profile iron at home and I bought this bandsaw a few months back - good investment. It's a china copy of a professional machine and it works great.

After cutting, it was time for a welding session.

I trusted my measurements, and fortunately the MLT fits the stand.

Was sunny outside so I grabbed the paint gun and put some layers of red on the stand. Mostly to prevent rust but it's nicer looking too.

Only thing that remained now was to create a "sucker" that drains the MLT efficiently (low placed).

For this I used copper piping and soldering.
End result looked like this.

Now I will let it re-circulate hot water with a couple of dish washer tablets to remove any residue from the soldering.

 

[DrKarma]

Everything is prepared in the brewery to do the first brew with the new MLT.

I have even decided what to brew.
And this will be it:

5,80 kg Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3,0 SRM) Grain 87,88 %
0,45 kg Munich Malt - 10L (10,0 SRM) Grain 6,82 %
0,15 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60,0 SRM) Grain 2,27 %
0,10 kg Chocolate Malt (450,0 SRM) Grain 1,52 %
0,10 kg Roasted Barley (300,0 SRM) Grain 1,52 %
28,30 gm Goldings, East Kent [5,00 %] (60 min) Hops 14,5 IBU
10,00 gm Goldings, East Kent [5,00 %] (30 min) Hops
3,9 IBU 15,00 gm Goldings, East Kent [5,00 %] (10 min) Hops 2,8 IBU

Yeast: Scottish Ale jäst (Brewer's Choice 1728 Activator)

Estimated OG: 1,074
Estimated FG: 1,019

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

DrKarma, thank you to continue to share with us on this. I love the pictures and just wish I had the space to do this!

 

[DrKarma]

DrKarma, thank you to continue to share with us on this. I love the pictures and just wish I had the space to do this!

This build never ends so I will continue to share it...am in Brazil right now on a business trip so there will not be much updating during the coming week(weeks) depending on how long I will stay here.

Have ordered some neat stuff on e-bay that I will incorporate in the build soon.

 

[DrKarma]

Even if brewing is fun pretty much throughout the complete process, there are occasions when you would prefer doing other stuff than just sit there monitoring it.

One example of that is during the mashing process with continuous re-circulation.

I have been thinking about how to automate this and also how to improve some other areas regarding the circulation in my system.

This is what I have come up with so far.

Wort comes from the MLT (right hand side - back) to the "box" above.
Then small particles that has managed to pass through the false bottom in my MLT are captured in the "Particle filter" and the wort passes on into the main chamber.

In the main chamber I have a level indicator (floater). This will send "On" to the pump when the level is high enough and of course "Off" when it's too low.

By doing this I gain the following:

1. Pump is always primed (air-free). Normally this is to some extent problematic when you start up the pump, as if you (I) have air stuck between the pump and the MLT, this creates a vacuum making it harder to prime the pump (one force drags the wort towards the MLT and another towards the pump).
2. Even small solid particles are filtered before entering the pump. Not a big problem, but during mash stirring and when you start mashing you will get particles through the false bottom. All pumps live longer if they don't have to pump solid particles.
3. If wort would get stuck somewhere prior to the pump, the pump will never go dry, so even if I would be in the house watching TV I don't need to worry about ruining the pump.

I ordered a SS liquid float switch water level sensor on ebay. Took about a month to get it as the seller was located in china.
This is what you will find on the left hand side - back, in the sketchup drawing.

I think I have covered everything in the setup, but if you see any areas of improvement let me know

 

[DrKarma]

The particle filter box will have to wait, as my old pump decided to die on me.

Instead I went out and bought a 12VDC pump that I am upgrading my system with. Reasoning for getting a 12 V pump is that I want to combine the pump, controller and user interface into a module all using 12 V.

This is what the new pump looks like.

After installing the pump I just had to make a brew with it. Works well.

I also created a wort sprinkler for the MLT. Something that I have been meaning to do for quite a while.

 

[Catt22]

I would be very concerned about the potential for oxidation problems with that set up. What's causing all the foam? That can't be a good thing.

 

[DrKarma]

I would be very concerned about the potential for oxidation problems with that set up. What's causing all the foam? That can't be a good thing.

I'm not too worried about oxidation/HSA.
Combination of fine crush and high flow is causing the foam.

 

[Catt22]

I'm not too worried about oxidation/HSA.

That's probably a good thing. Personally, I don't care for the wet cardboard flavor, but that's just me.

I crush my grain on the fine side myself and my flow rate it pretty fast, but I've never had foam develop like that. Matter of fact, I usually generate no foam at all.

 

[rabeb25]

Oxidation/HSA is only post boil FYI.

 

[DrKarma]

Oxidation/HSA is only post boil FYI.

*nods* thats why I don't get too worried about the foaming druring mashing...and even if it would end up somewhat oxidizing the wort, then my 90 min boil probably would de-oxidize it.

Today's brew session however, didn't go as expected. Trip to ER and 6 stitches due to falling while carrying a glass carboy. It's a bit ironic, since I just ordered better bottle carboys and this would be the last brew where I used the glass carboys for secondary fermentation.

 

[Catt22]

Oxidation/HSA is only post boil FYI.

I don't believe this is true. Oxidation can and usually does occur just about anywhere in the process under the right conditions, even the crushed malt can be susceptible. It's oxidation. Anything that can be oxidized will be oxidized when exposed to oxygen. It's inevitable and pretty much unavoidable. Fortunately, the degree of oxidation when we brew is very minor and generally imperceptible in most cases. The boil will not rid the beer of off flavors caused by oxidation. That's a fact. Nothing I know of can correct it. By all means, go ahead and create a lot of foam and splash your hot wort around and see what happens. Good luck with that!

 

[rabeb25]

Well if you want to get in pissing match, then I will add that in none of my 40+ point gold medal light lagers (regional and national) has it ever been detected, and my wort looks just like that.

 

[Sawdustguy]

Well if you want to get in pissing match, then I will add that in none of my 40+ point gold medal light lagers (regional and national) has it ever been detected, and my wort looks just like that.

I am not going to pee on you but I am an old fart and have been brewing for a long time and my mash has never had that type of foam. I don't enter competitions, so we couldn't compare brews, but I believe you make good beer. I just don't understand why all the foam. If it is true that it simply because of a fine crush, that would explain why I don't get the foam. I use a RIMS to recirculate the mash and maintain temperature and am always careful not to crush too fine to prevent a stuck mash. BTDT

Oxidation/HSA is only post boil FYI.

I have to disagree on this one. I am not so sure that HSA is the wort killer some people think it is but it can happen before the boil. At least that is the opinion of the Late Dr. George Fix of the University of Texas at Arlington and Dr. Charles Bamforth the head of the Brewing Science program at UC Davis. I think the concensus is that as homebrewers, as long as we don't go crazy it will be of limited concearn.

 

[Catt22]

Well if you want to get in pissing match, then I will add that in none of my 40+ point gold medal light lagers (regional and national) has it ever been detected, and my wort looks just like that.

Well good for you. I did OK with my lagers in the nationals too. Lucky us!

 

[Atl300zx]

just a question, im not expert, but wouldnt the oxygen just be consumed by the yeast?

 

[Sawdustguy]

just a question, im not expert, but wouldnt the oxygen just be consumed by the yeast?

Yes, the yeast in the fermenting wort would be consuming the oxygen but we are talking about oxidizing the wort not oxygenating it. When adding too much oxygen to the wort when it is hot the wort can be oxidized. You can oxygenate the wort for the benefit of the yeast after it has cooled.

 

[DrKarma]

If my brew ends up tasting odd, then I think it's because of the long cooling time when I went to the emergency room to get stitches and not from my foaming mash.

Guys, it has been an interesting discussion - but maybe it should be continued in new thread as this is a DIY build thread and not a brewing techniques thread.

Of course if you have any suggestions or comments on my build then they are welcome.

And if any of you want to send me a couple bottles of your prized beer, then please do

 

[Sawdustguy]

If my brew ends up tasting odd, then I think it's because of the long cooling time when I went to the emergency room to get stitches and not from my foaming mash.

Guys, it has been an interesting discussion - but maybe it should be continued in new thread as this is a DIY build thread and not a brewing techniques thread.

Of course if you have any suggestions or comments on my build then they are welcome.

And if any of you want to send me a couple bottles of your prized beer, then please do

Fair is fair. I would be happy to send you a bottle of my brew, but you have to pay the shipping to Sweden.

 

[DrKarma]

Fair is fair. I would be happy to send you a bottle of my brew, but you have to pay the shipping to Sweden.

Darn...then I guess it's true that there is no such thing as a free beer.

 

[Guldberg]

Just read through the entire thread. Impressive build you got there, I like the detailed description

Where in Sweden do you live?, you mentioned down south

 

[DrKarma]

Just read through the entire thread. Impressive build you got there, I like the detailed description

Where in Sweden do you live?, you mentioned down south

Thank you, I try to be quite detailed in the thread always someone that think it's usefull when they build their own system. Not saying that I do everything perfect from the beginning, but when I try out my ideas then it's easier to know how to improve (plus then I always have an excuse to continue building it. )

I am from Skåne but live in Karlskrona.
So where are you from?