Keggle, dip tube, and wort chilling - please help

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A1337sti

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Howdy!

So I feel like i'm still very new to home brewing. I've been doing the mr beer kits for a while now (3 years?) , and well .. I didn't buy a Keggle to keep using their kits.

I've made 1 batch (extract) where all my ingredients came from my local home brew store and its been by far the best tasting batch.

My awesome parents got me a 15.5 Gallon Keggle with a stainless steel 1/2" threaded spigot valve thing. (sorry bad with the correct terms) I've also got a 1/2" nipple for 1/2 hose

I noticed that i would have to title my Keg pretty far to get all the wort out, so i also bought this setup :

http://www.breworganic.com/115stainlesssteelfalsebottomforconvertedkegswflareddiptube.aspx

which i think was made for a different keg. the down pipe fits , but just barely,I think you would have to measure the clearance in human hairs.. it drains incredibly slow ... so i have the dip tube installed with a bit of a tilt to the side. and the screen won't physically fit in, i have an angle grider and i plan on cutting 2 slots on the top lip so i can get the screen in physically.




the Mr beer method has you doing a partial boil, and pouring your boiled wort into their fermenter that already has 1 gallon of cold water. this keeps you from going above their plastic fermentors max temp of 140 F. Also their 3 gallon fermentor fits perfectly into my sink where i can do a water/ice bath to get the temps down to 68 before pitching the yeast.


Well I was so excited to try my first 5 gallon batch with Real ingredients and a Real brewing keggle i overlooked a few things. like how am i gonna heat 5 gallons and like how the F am i gonna cool this down? and how much water would the steeping grains and hops hold.

so i ended up learning that if i covered 2 burners, i could actually get a slight boil. and if i used a large mixing bowl as a lid i could get a strong boil.

I ended up having to put an icebath in that mixing bowl along with cold wet towels on the sides of the keggle for oh i dunno maybe a bit under 2 hours just to get the temp down to 140.

Then i drained the beer into the fermentors and ice bathed those down to 72 or 74 and pitched the yeast.

I noticed i seemed to get a lot of Aeration when draining the wort , due to usng a 3/8" dip tube and a 1/2" drain tube.


One of my awesome BBQ buddies gave me me a Spare propane burner with stand that fits the keggle very well. and my wife wants me to move my brewing into the garage .. and lately i do too (so i can smoke a cigar while i brew) lol


one last fact. my tap water is 74F right now, and its been a rather mild summer (reno,nv)


--- so
Questions questions questions


Q1)
can i safely use the propane burner in my garage? (my water heater is in the garage) I've got a very large window and 2 separate garage doors . the plan would be to leave everything open in the summer. In the winter maybe have just the window and 1 garage door . I've also got a crazy strong fan

Q2) Wort Chilling. So I **think** i want to go with a plate wort chiller. and i want a gravity feed system. granted i'm in love with an idea that I don't know much about at all. Is it okay to start with a plate chiller?


I really love the idea that i can turn on my Garden hose (hose hookup in garage) then turn the spigot on the Keggle and transfer my Wort into the fermenter and its ready to pitch! (in theory)
Q3) flow rate , Should i increase the size of my dip tube ? or should i decrease the size of my output ? I'm thinking because of the size difference and that its changing size before its below the bottom of the dip tube its slowing down the flow / interfearing with the siphon affect. with out a tube connected to the 1/2" barbed end it doesn't siphon out the lat 1.5 gallons (logically)

Q4) the business end of the dip tube is Flared, does it need to be flared does that help? I want to cut the dip tube to be a little shorter, I **think** a friend has a flaring tool , but if the flare is not important then i'll just cut it to the exact length i need.
actually
Q4.5) does flaring the end of a pipe increase its length?

Q5) ? what don't i know enough about, to be asking right now?

thanks i'm eager to order a plate wort chiller (in the 100$ ish range) but if there's some big reason why i should use a regular wort chiller instead ..
 
That was a long ass post. I'll try to answer your questions.

1) Yes

2) Plate chiller is more expensive, but I think it's best to go with the goods now instead of having to upgrade right away.

3) It could be that the grains are pushing down on the false bottom/dip tube and blocking flow. It doesn't need a flare, and it would be better the angle cut the end so that it can't be stopped by pushing down on it.

4) No

5) Get some brews under your belt, address problems as they arise. You'll get it.
 
Ah with the hose connected it goes at 1 GPM ... So guess I just grab a matching plate chiller...
 
I bought a DudaDiesel wort chiller. B3-12A 30 plate , seems to be a great size for my lil operation. :)
 
So when draining my Keggle through the plate chiller it now seems to take 7 minutes.

which in and of itself isn't a problem to me. my tap water is currently 74F (well it was a few weeks ago) and running my garden hose Full tilt i was only cooling the wort down to 84, strangely dialing back the flow a little bit got me a better result of 82.

so i think if my wort flowed a little faster i would get better cooling.

I think i could do this Easily in a few ways .. Bigger pipe/hose (using 3/8) .
more elevation difference between the Keggle and the plate chiller?

and maybe i just need more clearance between my dip tube and the bottom of the keg ?

since that will be the easiest and cheapest i think i should start there ...

anyone have a recommendation on how far off the bottom my dip tube should be ?

like slide a penny under neath? a nickle? a dime? 1/4"? :) i'll try and measure mine
 
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