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DrewsBrews said:
Are you hooking the burners up to a 20 psi regulator? Makes a big difference vs. having the same burner hooked up to a 10 psi regulator.

I used a 55k btu burner connected to a 10 psi reg on my first couple of batches. Now I use a burner like you bought connected to 20 psi reg and there is no comparison. Wide open, I can hear it while standing in the living room on the far side of the house with the doors and windows closed. Not to mention it heats up water just about twice as fast.

I think that's what makes the difference. My 170K BTU burner came with a totally different regulator. I'm not sure at the moment, but I'd bet that it's a 20psi, whereas my old one (same as Dudes) is a 10psi. I can't be sure about that, as I'm away from home and brewgear at the moment.
 
Dude said:
If it doesn't do much better than the burner I have now in the turkey fryer, I'll upgrade to plan B, a multijet burner.
Yea, I was looking at those "170k's" for a while. I ended up going with a 165k multijet from bbqguys.com. They are very nice there, and I haggled the guy down about $40 on three multijet burners and a 30psi regulator for my system. Expensive, I know, but when I was able to heat up a small garage in under a minute at half blast, I think that I'll be able to get my wort to boiling temperatures in under ten minutes.

The biggest problem that I have seems to be that one or two of the jets don't light because the propane doesn't distribute perfectly. As long as it all burns, it should be fine, though.

This is what it looks like at LOW heat:
7312.jpg
 
You can forge with the first couple, the last couple would be on over kill. They would be used for like foundary operations. Check out the link for more information. Someday when I have a place to do it I'll get back into blade forging. I was trinng to forge in places like parks. Was in the process of making a small portable forge with the 1/2 Shorty Burner.
 
DrewsBrews said:
Are you hooking the burners up to a 20 psi regulator? Makes a big difference vs. having the same burner hooked up to a 10 psi regulator.

I used a 55k btu burner connected to a 10 psi reg on my first couple of batches. Now I use a burner like you bought connected to 20 psi reg and there is no comparison. Wide open, I can hear it while standing in the living room on the far side of the house with the doors and windows closed. Not to mention it heats up water just about twice as fast.

Where'd you find the 20 psi regulator?
I special ordered one form the local hardware store that supposedly comes from a King Kooker. I pick i tup tomorrow and brew with it Friday. Hopefully it is a better option because my current burner blows donkey ****.
 
What about the place you ordered your burner from?

Here's a link to the place where I got my outdoor cooker. Mine was a complete unit, but they sell a full assortment of parts for their stuff. I'd bet there are others online as well.
http://www.bayou-classic.org/

Look for the "Cooking Accessories & Replacement Parts" link on the left side of the page. The high pressure reg is mid way down on that page. They even have a 30psi adjustable one now.

Andy
 
DrewsBrews said:
What about the place you ordered your burner from?

Here's a link to the place where I got my outdoor cooker. Mine was a complete unit, but they sell a full assortment of parts for their stuff. I'd bet there are others online as well.
http://www.bayou-classic.org/

Look for the "Cooking Accessories & Replacement Parts" link on the left side of the page. The high pressure reg is mid way down on that page. They even have a 30psi adjustable one now.

Andy

Thanks for the link...turns out the one I got today is locked at 10 PSI despite saying adjustable to 20 psi on the description. I knew it would be wrong. ERRRR!!!!!!!!
 
I have been thinking about building a tier gravity system. I have a friend that could weld it for me (no time or patience to actually do it myself). Problem is that after I buy all the kettles/keggles, pump, build the manifold, pay my friend for his time, buy the raw materials, I'm a few hundred under where I could buy one from morebeer.com. I was just curious as to what people thought about the brew sculptures from morebeer.com. In particular, I was looking at the 1550. http://morebeer.com/product.html?product_id=15198
I have the money saved up. Is this thing worth it??
 
Biermann said:
I have been thinking about building a tier gravity system. I have a friend that could weld it for me (no time or patience to actually do it myself). Problem is that after I buy all the kettles/keggles, pump, build the manifold, pay my friend for his time, buy the raw materials, I'm a few hundred under where I could buy one from morebeer.com. I was just curious as to what people thought about the brew sculptures from morebeer.com. In particular, I was looking at the 1550. http://morebeer.com/product.html?product_id=15198
I have the money saved up. Is this thing worth it??

The 1550 is definately worth it if you do not want to build your own and money isn't an issue. I built mine for under $800 including all of the pots.

HERMS1.jpg
 
wow. Impressive. You should go into the business.
I think if I had the time, skill and facilities to actually work on it, I would probably build it. Currently, I have to rely on someone else to do the welding (absolutely no experience with it or space to do it). Like I said before, I have the cash saved up, and I thought a good system would be a decent investment (I've actually convinced my wife of this too!!). :ban:
 
Ok, another question before I buy the 1550. Propane or Natural Gas?? I have really no room to brew outside, and my detached garage is less than sanitary. Nor do I want to store my new fancy brew thingy in my dirty garage where mice and bugs can poop on it, and I would like the option of brewing all year round (indoors using natural). On the flipside, running a gas line to the only place I can put the brewery would be a pain in the @$$. In addition, we're thinking about building a new house in the country and we would likely be on an LP, and I would likely build a room or shed purposely for brewing. Also, my kitchen (proprosed new home of the brewery) is spacious enough and has 5 large windows surrounding the brewing area, and plenty of cross ventilation. So, if do go with propane, how unsafe would it be to brew with propane in an otherwise open and very well ventilated kitchen??:confused: :confused: :confused:
 
nevermind I guess. I found some info regarding this in another thread. I guess main concerns are CO gas, fumes, and leaking propane, and excess heat. I guess I'm going to have to bite the bullet, clean my garage, sell some crap that's stored in it, and buy the 1550 built for propane.:D
 
Biermann said:
nevermind I guess. I found some info regarding this in another thread. I guess main concerns are CO gas, fumes, and leaking propane, and excess heat. I guess I'm going to have to bite the bullet, clean my garage, sell some crap that's stored in it, and buy the 1550 built for propane.:D


Dang straight! Who's garage is it anyway?? Run those pesky critters out of there. :D

Yea, I would go with propane. That way you can brew on top of a mountain if you ever decide to. Just don't brew Colorado (Rocky Mountain) Cool Aid.... ;)
 
Ok. My wife just gave me the go-ahead to buy the 1550 from morebeer.com. I'm so much in shock I'm getting chest pain. Hopefully, in 5-6 weeks (the time it takes to deliver), I'll be brewing with style (with propane, in my newly cleaned out garage). I've got some work to do!! :rockin:
 
Biermann said:
Ok. My wife just gave me the go-ahead to buy the 1550 from morebeer.com. I'm so much in shock I'm getting chest pain. Hopefully, in 5-6 weeks (the time it takes to deliver), I'll be brewing with style (with propane, in my newly cleaned out garage). I've got some work to do!! :rockin:

Congrats! :rockin:
 
Ok, another question on this system. . . it has the "SMART" system, whereby wort from the mash is recirculated through a coil into the hot liquor tank, and then placed back into the mashtun in order to keep a constant temp of the mash. Anyone here use such a system and have experience with it?? Is it worth it?? http://morebeer.com/product.html?product_id=15206
 
Biermann said:
Ok, another question on this system. . . it has the "SMART" system, whereby wort from the mash is recirculated through a coil into the hot liquor tank, and then placed back into the mashtun in order to keep a constant temp of the mash. Anyone here use such a system and have experience with it?? Is it worth it?? http://morebeer.com/product.html?product_id=15206

While that is one heck of a setup I think it's a bit of an overkill. I make great beer using a stand made from pressure treated lumber (everything but the burner stand). Use a cooler for the mash/lauter tun and a cooler for the HLT and you're set. I can understand the appeal of a HERMS (Heat Exchange Recirculating Mash Setup) - that's what you've got there, but I think it's certainly not a necessity for making great beer. If you need to do some temp rests then take a decoction.. it works great and has some other beneficial effects as well.

Basically, what that setup will do is pump your wort out of the mash and through the hot liquor tank (to heat it up) and then back into the mash. This way the temp can be held constant or raised - it's handy and simple and definitely very cool. However, if you just use a cooler then the mash temp won't need any adjusting. You won't have the extra burners to deal with (it'll use less gas), and you won't need a pump.

Personally, I like to keep it simple - after all I do drink a fair bit while brewing and there's less to screw up that way. I put my setup together for less than $300 - including the work done on the keg to convert it to a kettle. Two coolers and a manifold (a 5 gal gott round and an "ice cube") and I have a fly sparge setup (basically similar to a manifold but it hangs from the top of the cooler), weldless fittings for the keg/kettle, a turkey fryer ($45 and I don't even have a use for the kettle), a propane tank, and the stand.

If you want some ideas then check this page out - I believe it's already been posted in this thread but I'll post it again for convenience. Whoever around here first discovered deserves some credit, it's one heck of a great page:
http://www.brewzilla.nl/?hi
If you're curious, my setup looks pretty much like #33 though my stand is wood.

The morebeer setup is absolutely killer and I don't want to talk you out of it but I also think the notion that a 3 tier gravity system necessarily costs anywhere close to that is.. well.. just not true. Let me put it this way, if you want it and can afford it then buy it!!! :rockin:
 
Lost said:
While that is one heck of a setup I think it's a bit of an overkill. I make great beer using a stand made from pressure treated lumber (everything but the burner stand). Use a cooler for the mash/lauter tun and a cooler for the HLT and you're set. I can understand the appeal of a HERMS (Heat Exchange Recirculating Mash Setup) - that's what you've got there, but I think it's certainly not a necessity for making great beer. If you need to do some temp rests then take a decoction.. it works great and has some other beneficial effects as well.

Basically, what that setup will do is pump your wort out of the mash and through the hot liquor tank (to heat it up) and then back into the mash. This way the temp can be held constant or raised - it's handy and simple and definitely very cool. However, if you just use a cooler then the mash temp won't need any adjusting. You won't have the extra burners to deal with (it'll use less gas), and you won't need a pump.

If you don't use a HERMS how do you do a mash out? With a HERMS you can get to mash out temps without adding any more liquid or removing liquid to reheat. If you are fly sparging doing a mash out really helps the viscosity and allows you to get better extraction and it also helps stop the conversion process. Adding a HERMS to my system DEFINATELY helped.

If you are going to batch sparge then doing a mash out isn't as critical because the liquid goes into the boilpot quickly.
 
Monster Mash said:
If you don't use a HERMS how do you do a mash out? With a HERMS you can get to mash out temps without adding any more liquid or removing liquid to reheat. If you are fly sparging doing a mash out really helps the viscosity and allows you to get better extraction and it also helps stop the conversion process. Adding a HERMS to my system DEFINATELY helped.

If you are going to batch sparge then doing a mash out isn't as critical because the liquid goes into the boilpot quickly.

You remove a portion of the liquid, boil it to denature the enzymes and add it back to the mash to raise the temp and denature any enzymes left in the mash. It's very simple really. I like the HERMS and I can appreciate the ingenuity of the setup but I find a simpler method to work best. It's cheaper too. Of course you are free to disagree with me.. I am not saying anything bad about HERMS, just that *for me* its costly and unnecessary. Your mileage may vary.
 
If you're curious, my setup looks pretty much like #33 though my stand is wood.

The morebeer setup is absolutely killer and I don't want to talk you out of it but I also think the notion that a 3 tier gravity system necessarily costs anywhere close to that is.. well.. just not true. Let me put it this way, if you want it and can afford it then buy it!!! :rockin:

That's a great website. Believe me, I've looked in to just building some sort of tiered gravity setup. I have a demanding work schedule and home life, so I have little time to build anything, and I have even less room or equipment to do it with. If I have the time off, I want to spend it doing something like brewing:D . I have a friend who welds (again, I don't have the time or skill, or ready access to raw supplies). He's looking into it for me. However, I do have the money saved up, and I actually have a wife that is going to let me buy the thing (I wonder what she wants. . .). I'm still doing my homework on it, and I haven't completely ruled out building something, although I would instantly become the envy of my brewing buddies with the 1550!!! Thanks for the input, though.
 
Well, after looking at that website that you linked, I began to consider trying to build a brew system. I was pricing kettles, false bottoms, burners, etc, and I also started to worry about costs of the brew sculpture. . ., and I guess I started to whine a little tooooo much about the whole ordeal. . . because MY ORDERED THE BREWSTAND FROM MOREBEER.COM FOR ME!!!!! I guess that dilemna is solved. . . :ban: So, I guess the overall lesson of this is. . . when I really want something, all I have to do is whine to my wife about it!!!!!:D :D
 
Biermann said:
Well, after looking at that website that you linked, I began to consider trying to build a brew system. I was pricing kettles, false bottoms, burners, etc, and I also started to worry about costs of the brew sculpture. . ., and I guess I started to whine a little tooooo much about the whole ordeal. . . because MY ORDERED THE BREWSTAND FROM MOREBEER.COM FOR ME!!!!! I guess that dilemna is solved. . . :ban: So, I guess the overall lesson of this is. . . when I really want something, all I have to do is whine to my wife about it!!!!!:D :D

Lucky dog. ;)
 
I know this is somewhat off the topic, but as I was sitting here drinking a HB, I was thinking. . . Beer is like the whole mating process. . .You start out with courtship (drinking) as soon as you feel mature enough, and you you have a few indiscretionary moments and cheap dates in your younger and less experienced years (light beer, and hard liquor), but in the end, you make a commitment to beer, and eventually you produce offspring (homebrew). . . Damn that's deeply philosophical. :drunk:
 
Biermann said:
I know this is somewhat off the topic, but as I was sitting here drinking a HB, I was thinking. . . Beer is like the whole mating process. . .You start out with courtship (drinking) as soon as you feel mature enough, and you you have a few indiscretionary moments and cheap dates in your younger and less experienced years (light beer, and hard liquor), but in the end, you make a commitment to beer, and eventually you produce offspring (homebrew). . . Damn that's deeply philosophical. :drunk:

There's a forum here for "Drunken Ramblings and Mindless Mumblings". Check it out. ;)
 
I received confirmation from Morebeer.com today via telephone that they had my brewstand ready, and it should ship by Friday. They had one already built, so I'm going to get it about 3 weeks early! I'm frantically looking for a good all grain recipe to christen it with. :)
 
Nate said:
Not sure if you have access to a welder or not (my apologies if I missed this), but angle iron is pretty cheap if you buy it at the right place. The angles are also great places to mount things. My stand is shown below...

Wow! After looking at this and through this http://www.brewzilla.nl/?hi, I'm feeling like I definitely need to step it up.
 

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