Keg to ekeggle conversion pics

[kevink]

Super clean as always. What's the 1/4" valve on the ouput for? Sample port?

No, you will not be able to get a sample out of that unless the pump is not running. If it's running, it will actually suck air. That valve lets me insert a thermometer into the recirculating wort stream while it's recircing, without any disruption, to check the temp (not that I need to as the PID should be handling that task. It's just to double check that the mash is going as planned). It's a 1/4" ball valve with 1/2" male NPT thread welded to one end (so I can screw it into any fitting on my system) and a 1/4" compression fitting welded to the other end. I use silicone 0-rings in the compression fitting for easy thermometer insertion and removal. What's cool about it is that I don't need to dedicate a thermometer to the MT outlet because I can remove it whenever I want. It lets me take temperature measurements of the MT outlet and any other stuff during the brew day with my best thermometer.

What's going on with your system? I can't wait to see some progress pics. Your stuff is super clean!

 

[kevink]

It's been a long time since I updated this thread! I've added a BrewPi controlled Beverage Air MT12 "cooler" (it will refrigerate or freeze) and a Stout 15.5 gallon conical fermenter. I wired SSRs into the Bev Air which switch the compressor/condenser fan and a 200W Lasko MyHeat heater. The evaporator fan that came in it was 120v and 102 watts, so it has to go as it added a lot of heat. It will be replaced with a 140mm, 12v DC computer fan that moves about 120cfm. The BrewPi is awesome and held water to within 0.1 degrees F during testing.

 

[kevink]

I replaced the 120V evap fan with a 118 cfm, 140mm computer fan which I'm powering off a wall wart. The thing is almost completely silent and works perfectly during cooling, heating, and idling (it runs 24/7). I had to make an adapter plate, though, as the new fan is about 1" smaller than the old fan. The plate is made from 3/16" polyethylene sheet.

I also plumbed CO2 to the chamber so I can supply CO2 to the headspace during trub dumping, cold crashing, and kegging to eliminate oxygen exposure. It also allows me to purge the headspace after opening the lid for dry hop additions. The system uses a low pressure propane regulator that supplies a steady 0.4 psi. When the volume in the fermenter changes, a little gas flows to make up for the loss in volume. I'm more than half way through my first cold crash in this chamber and with the CO2 system and everything seems to be working perfectly. I may replace the condenser fan with a few of these computer fans as the chamber is ultimately going to live in the house. The stock condenser fan is just a little too loud. These things were designed to keep a completely full fridge of beverages cold during constant opening and closing of the door all day, day in, day out. The stock parts are extremely beefy and overkill for a fermentation chamber that never gets opened. The most stress that it sees is during cold crashing, but it gets the air temperature down to the mid 20s without breaking a sweat, even with the new fan which is like a gentle breeze compared to the factory fan which was like a tornado.

 

[jcav]

Nice job, that's a great freezer for that conical!

John