Making My Beer Tower

[Flyerman]

I'm getting the necessary materials to make my own single tier beer tower, and I have a few questions for the more experienced DIY'ers. I'm thinking of getting a garden hose and hookit it up from my outseide faucet to the water filter. Then I was thinking of taking the extra hose i have left after custom cutting and fitting and use it between the wort kegs. The way I have it set up is with three converted Sanke kegs, all on one level, with 3 pumps, two inbetween them, and one on the bottom shelf. Also on the bottom shelf is the propane tank, oxygen tanks, and cooling unit(hopefully a Therminator). I have the mash tun in the middle, hot liquor tank on the left, and lauter tun on the right, with gas lines and wort lines running to the appropriate valves. I worked up a distributor for the propane, to cut down on the expenditure. Now, I'm trying to keep this as cheap as possible, without getting ridiculous. I was wondering if there would be a detrimental effect of running the extra sections of garden hose in betweem the kegs, acting as the wort lines. I'm using black plumber's iron pipe for the gas line, because I read on another post that the agent in the propane gas pits and corrodes the brass lines. Would it just be easier all around to use white plastic plumbing pipes for the wort lines, or can I get away with using a garden hose? The hose would be a lot more flexible. I'm just not sure if it could stand up to boiling temps. I'm succesful in the planning to keep the whole thing completely closed, from grain to keg. I have the whole thing already drawn up, but I still can't figure out how to include the pic in the post. Once i get it, I'll post it. Thanks in advance for any tips, advice, help, pointers, and feedback.

 

[Orfy]

Garden hose dose not like boiling wort. It's not food grade and may leach chemicals. At lease plumbers pipe should be free from harmfull chemicals but wether it would leach with boiling wort and water I'm not sure.

 

[Walker]

it is possible to find garden hoses that are rated for drinking water. They don't lend that vinyl/plastic taste to the liquid that flows through them like a 'normal' garden hose does. However, IIRC... those drinking water garden hoses are pretty pricey.

.. and I have no idea if those hoses like boiling hot liquids.

-walker

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

What do people normally use for those pipes? Copper, C-PVC? Isn't there a flexible hose with braided reinforcement that is food grade? In any case, sounds like you're going to have a real Cadillac when you're finished.

 

[david_42]

Nix on the garden hose or even food grade hose. You need hi-temperature hose for wort transfer. Hot lines blowing off or failing makes for a bad brewing experience. By using quick disconnects, you could make one pump do the whole job.

Also, be very careful about pump placement, most of them are not water-proof.

 

[Beermaker]

Flyerman....check my link out, I have pics of my system, pump, valves, hoses etc.....might help out

 

[anthrobe]

Flyerman....check my link out, I have pics of my system, pump, valves, hoses etc.....might help out

with a pump and counterflow heat exchanger in your closed system, how do you go about sanitizing something like that. Would you just flow idopher though it for a while?

 

[kornkob]

And it's never good enough to sanitize, unless you clean first.

 

[Flyerman]

yes, it is much easier to sanitize AFTER you clean, but the way i have it set up, i can clean as i go, and once i have the brew pumped into the kegs, i start to clean/santize. all i do is run a gallon or 2 of santizer thru the whole works, before AND after i brew. looking forward to a double batch day! of course, if i do 2 or more in 1 day, i'll have to get more cigars, or a bigger one, anyway.

 

[Beermaker]

Actually, I rinse it all down, and circulate a little Iodaphore for about 5 minutes, then clean rinse it all out. 15 minutes before i am done boiling, I circulate the boil kettle through the CFC, the pump, and back into my BK, this will sterilize the whole system with 212 degree wort. Then I I hook the well water to the CFC and chill it as it circulates back into the BK after finished boiling, in about 7-12 minutes. I get a good whirlpool going and the return flow keeps it going. Then, when the Thrumometer shows I am about 70-75 degrees going back to the kettle, I block in the pump, xfer the fill line to the fermentors, line the pump back up and start to bottom fill the fermentors. Real fast, real easy. Saves about 1/2 hr all together.