Kauai_Kahuna
Well-Known Member
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!
I decided to start building a brewing system
- Thread starter DrKarma
- Start date
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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.
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:
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
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:
- 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).
- 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.
- 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
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.
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.
I'm not too worried about oxidation/HSA.
Combination of fine crush and high flow is causing the foam.
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.
*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.
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
HE of who can not be spoken of.
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-Known Member
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
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.
Well good for you. I did OK with my lagers in the nationals too. Lucky us!
Sawdustguy
Well-Known Member
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.
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
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
Well-Known Member
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.
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.
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?
Its good to see some european builds. Sometimes we are dealing with different kinds of problems. Low rated fuse groups i.e.
I live in Copenhagen. But I have a vacation house in Hassleholm. The brewery looked like its worth a visit, if it only were closer
I live in Copenhagen. But I have a vacation house in Hassleholm. The brewery looked like its worth a visit, if it only were closer
Well Hässleholm isn't that far from me. So if you are here later this year then let me know and we could do a brew. Will however try to tile the brewery during winter so it might be out of service for a couple of weeks.
Today since the weather was not the best I decided to spend some time in the brewery working with the equipment.
Have seen so many shiny stainless creations on here, and since I don't have that much stainless in my system, the biggest piece I have got pimped.
Here is a "before" shot (boiler to the right)
And this is the "after" shot.
I wet sanded the boiler and after that I used Autosol compound.
I discovered how boring this process was so I will stick with the finish I got now, I could have continued to make it shine more, but as this is something that will not impact the wort production, I don't see it worth the effort.
Have seen so many shiny stainless creations on here, and since I don't have that much stainless in my system, the biggest piece I have got pimped.
Here is a "before" shot (boiler to the right)
And this is the "after" shot.
I wet sanded the boiler and after that I used Autosol compound.
I discovered how boring this process was so I will stick with the finish I got now, I could have continued to make it shine more, but as this is something that will not impact the wort production, I don't see it worth the effort.
I'm thoroughly impressed! Well done! Looking forward to any updates.
TB
TB
As I only have 5 operational kegs, I sometimes need to bottle beer to free up kegs. But cleaning bottles I find quite boring.
So I decided to put together a cheap, ugly dish washer for bottles last Sunday.
The principle is simple and I have seen it done by others on different forums as well so it's nothing that I can take full credit for, but regardless - this is how it works.
I connect a pump between the outlet (bottom of the box) and the inlet (copper pipes top right).
Then put bottles on top of the vertical pipes (5 of them in my construction) and let each bottle sit there for a couple of minutes while circulating a cleaner such as PBW.
Then the bottle/botles is moved to dry in the construction below (just some drilled holes)
I can't claim that washing of bottles now have become fun...but I at least got to build something new out of parts that I already had.
So I decided to put together a cheap, ugly dish washer for bottles last Sunday.
The principle is simple and I have seen it done by others on different forums as well so it's nothing that I can take full credit for, but regardless - this is how it works.
I connect a pump between the outlet (bottom of the box) and the inlet (copper pipes top right).
Then put bottles on top of the vertical pipes (5 of them in my construction) and let each bottle sit there for a couple of minutes while circulating a cleaner such as PBW.
Then the bottle/botles is moved to dry in the construction below (just some drilled holes)
I can't claim that washing of bottles now have become fun...but I at least got to build something new out of parts that I already had.
This is the latest addition to the brewery...or well the lab part of the brewery.
A magnetic stir plate.
I was going to make a LM350 based regulator using a schematics like this:
But since I had a RPM regulator that I didn't use for my PC I picked that one instead. So it was a very quick build. The regulator is externally mounted on the box. That's the black box attached to the stir plate.
The interior looks like this.
I used neodym magnets for the build.
On the back is where you connect a DC plug.
A magnetic stir plate.
I was going to make a LM350 based regulator using a schematics like this:
But since I had a RPM regulator that I didn't use for my PC I picked that one instead. So it was a very quick build. The regulator is externally mounted on the box. That's the black box attached to the stir plate.
The interior looks like this.
I used neodym magnets for the build.
On the back is where you connect a DC plug.
Couldn't find my stir bars so I threw in a stack of neodym magnets instead (which is not optimal since those magnets are quite strong and slows down the fan).
But I was eager to see it in operation so here we go.
But I was eager to see it in operation so here we go.
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Hop leafs and grain husks tend to find its way to places in the pump house where you don't want them to be or get stuck.
That was something that I noticed after inspecting my pumps and cleaning the pump houses a few months back.
Even after cleaning with CIP:s like PBW that I let re-circulate for well over an hour, I could find traces of husks in the pump houses.
So I decided to build a pump filter that would take care of these particles.
It is not a pretty thing, but I built it with stuff that I had laying around in the garage and of course a glass can that previously held pickled beetroot.
What is not seen in the picture is a fine mesh that is inside the bigger stainless perforated cylinder. Thus bigger parts are separated outside the cylinder and smaller parts by the fine mesh.
The hose from the MLT goes to the rightmost connector on the lid and the hose to the pump goes from the connector to the left on the T connector.
The valve is there to initially let wort flow from the MLT to the can, and when desired level is reached it is closed and the pump is started.
That was something that I noticed after inspecting my pumps and cleaning the pump houses a few months back.
Even after cleaning with CIP:s like PBW that I let re-circulate for well over an hour, I could find traces of husks in the pump houses.
So I decided to build a pump filter that would take care of these particles.
It is not a pretty thing, but I built it with stuff that I had laying around in the garage and of course a glass can that previously held pickled beetroot.
What is not seen in the picture is a fine mesh that is inside the bigger stainless perforated cylinder. Thus bigger parts are separated outside the cylinder and smaller parts by the fine mesh.
The hose from the MLT goes to the rightmost connector on the lid and the hose to the pump goes from the connector to the left on the T connector.
The valve is there to initially let wort flow from the MLT to the can, and when desired level is reached it is closed and the pump is started.
Hop leafs and grain husks tend to find its way to places in the pump house where you don't want them to be or get stuck.
That was something that I noticed after inspecting my pumps and cleaning the pump houses a few months back.
Even after cleaning with CIP:s like PBW that I let re-circulate for well over an hour, I could find traces of husks in the pump houses.
So I decided to build a pump filter that would take care of these particles.
It is not a pretty thing, but I built it with stuff that I had laying around in the garage and of course a glass can that previously held pickled beetroot.
What is not seen in the picture is a fine mesh that is inside the bigger stainless perforated cylinder. Thus bigger parts are separated outside the cylinder and smaller parts by the fine mesh.
The hose from the MLT goes to the rightmost connector on the lid and the hose to the pump goes from the connector to the left on the T connector.
The valve is there to initially let wort flow from the MLT to the can, and when desired level is reached it is closed and the pump is started.
Such a great idea here. I am going to have to make one my self. Probably with a plastic container of some sort.
It has served me well.
If you go for plastic, get a transparent type as much of the joy is to see wort clarity when using a recirculating system like RIMS or HERMS.
Going bigger and stainless.
A lot of things happened during the last years. For one, I together with a friend has started a commercial brewery in Sweden. There we brew quite big batches (4000 liter fermentors 1000+ US Gallon)
My old system has served us well for creating prototypes, but now we are building a new prototype setup 250 liters/66 US Gallons.
It will be a mobile system, so we can bring it with us when going to beer festivals etc and brew live.
Thought that I could show some pictures as we are getting closer to getting it finalized.
Notice piping board to be able to divert flows whatever way we want them in the system.
This time around we are making a RIMS setup.
RIMS heater you can see in position on the following pic (left)
Two pumps.
A lot of things happened during the last years. For one, I together with a friend has started a commercial brewery in Sweden. There we brew quite big batches (4000 liter fermentors 1000+ US Gallon)
My old system has served us well for creating prototypes, but now we are building a new prototype setup 250 liters/66 US Gallons.
It will be a mobile system, so we can bring it with us when going to beer festivals etc and brew live.
Thought that I could show some pictures as we are getting closer to getting it finalized.
Notice piping board to be able to divert flows whatever way we want them in the system.
This time around we are making a RIMS setup.
RIMS heater you can see in position on the following pic (left)
Two pumps.
SHvanBommel
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2007
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i've been following this thread since the beginning! Glad to see all is well! Good Luck and what's the name of your brewery?
1975brewer
Well-Known Member
Found your thread today after your latest post. I'm home with a man cold so had time to read all the way through. The materials used & the time frame you got it done in were inspiring. If I had seen this build a couple of years ago I would have been more inclined to attempt my own build instead of buying 1 already made.
If you have time at some point I for 1 would like to hear a bit about the process of opening a brewery in Sweden.
If you have time at some point I for 1 would like to hear a bit about the process of opening a brewery in Sweden.
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