My eBiab Build - 240V 5500W - 11 Gal Pot

[RussPDX]

I got into a converstaion via HBT tonight with someone looking to set up a similiar system so thought I would through together a quick build thread. These have helped me so much between brewhouses and fermentation chambers that I hope this helps someone as well.

I have a 3 Vessel HERMs propane setup for 10 Gal weekend batches but I wanted a setup for at home, indoors, weeknight brewing. Here is what I came up with.

A Bayou Classic 44 qt pot - $78 w/ Amazon Prime

From BrewHardware.com
TRUE WELDLESS BULKHEAD - WITH 90 ELBARB (MINI DIPTUBE) - $19
3-PIECE BALL VALVE, 1/2" NPT - $17.99
Hot Pod Kettle Element Enclosure Bare Enlosure for Weldless installs with Locknut and Gasket - $26 (this thing is great)

Camlock fitting (local) since I recirc ~$6
240V 5500W Element - Local - ~$12

Lowes - Square D 50-Amp Non-Fusible Metallic Spa Panel- $78

Auberins.com
SYL2352 PID Controller - $46.50
40 Amp SSR (I bought one direct from china and it was crap out of the box, ended upspending more with Auberins, but everything worked.
Thermal Grease
Heat Sink
Liquid tight RTD sensor 1.5 inch, 1/2 NPT Thread - $32.35 (I bought the weldless one first and installed it, but I am not thrilled with the location so I ordered this one and will be setting it up for the next brew)
An extra connector for mounting in the control panel and that is about it.

Then I picked up some wire, some dryer ends and a few strain reliefs and I was off to the races.

I am not an electrician or engineer. I found this instructable and it was a perfect walkthrough of the wiring. The only difference is that I used the spa panel rather than an inline GFCI so I used the Spa panel as the control panel.

It really makes it nice since there is a breaker right in the box as a kill switch and safety.

I can set the PID to strike temp and go have dinner, come downstairs and dough in, then go put my daughter to bed and come back to mash out and continue on. I only have a few brews on it, but it has worked great. I just bought a bag from Wilser that I am excited to try on my next brew. I will post some pictures of my exhaust system and stand when I set up for the next brew day.

 

[RussPDX]

Oh, and I am in the process of adding volume markers using the qtip salt and vinegar trick although I am using a 6v wall wart rather than a battery.

 

[MaximumTrainer]

Really nice!

Thanks for posting, will help a newbie like me

You don't have a problem with the BIAB bag touching the element?
I will read the guide you posted, seems good for beginners
I was using this one a bit easier that is also good :
http://www.instructables.com/id/Simple-all-grain-electric-beer-brewery-BIAB/

Happy brewing man

 

[RussPDX]

Just finished adding the rest of the volume markers. I used an online volume calculator to determine the height of each mark and then made a paper template. Stencils were from Joanne's fabric. It was surprisingly hard to find numbers. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1441343542.650978.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1441343558.340837.jpg

 

[Hello]

Nice work. Do you have anything sitting under that kettle? It looks like it's sitting in a metal table. If so, doesn't the table act as one large heat sink?

 

[FizzerNoob]

There is no pump, so the bag touching the element won't matter, because I doubt that the element will be on, like it would be during a recirculating mash.

 

[Hello]

There is no pump, so the bag touching the element won't matter, because I doubt that the element will be on, like it would be during a recirculating mash.

the OP does recirc. He actually wrote that in his parts list when he bought a cam lock fitting.

 

[FizzerNoob]

Brew in a Basket would be a easier with an element installed.

 

[RussPDX]

I agree that a basket would be nice, but I went with a bag. I do recirculate, but I find that I the element rarely has to kick on during the mash if at all and I have not had an issue with scorching at all. I use a chugger pump with a stainless head. I will add a picture of the full setup next brew day. I have not been mashing out all though I will next time so we will find out if I scorch then. If Wilser is listening I hope you will cut me a deal on a replacement if I scorch my bag .

As for the table, that is just where the kettle was sitting for the picture. I snapped a shot of the cart I built for during actual brew day, which is just a simple wood cart on casters.

I will post that below. Forgive he crap on it, we are selling a dryer so my stuff got pushed to the corner......you know how that is.

 

[iijakii]

Looks like a nice little system! Do you like your HERMS rig still or do you just think about all the extra cleaning now?

 

[RussPDX]

I need to sand and seal it, and I am going to add an arm to hold the hose during recirc since I am putting a T w/ a temp probe in at the outlet. More pics to follow when that is done.

 

[RussPDX]

@iijakii - I do like the HERMS rig. It is more of my all day weekend rig. I brew with a friend of mine and we do 10 gal batches so it works well. I built this setup becuase I have a toddler and I don't get those free weekend days as often anymore. This setup is more for weeknight brews, which is why I kept the size to 5 gal batches to keep the overall time down.

 

[wilserbrewer]

If Wilser is listening I hope you will cut me a deal on a replacement if I scorch my bag . is.

Ok sure....what exactly am I warranting? Is it ramping temp to mashout with the bag laying directly on the element?

I'm not sure this will end well???

I would suggest stirring full depth while firing the element to mashout, that will likely keep the hot spots at bay and save the bag and batch.

Risking a bag is one thing, putting your beer at risk another....

Your covered either way
Cheers

 

[Gavin C]

I love seeing these eBIAB builds. One day....

more gadgets and gizmos the better IMO. Would love to be able to add simplicity to step mashing, albeit with a bunch of complicated (at least to me it's complicated), electronics.

Thanks for posting this in the BIAB forum. I don't venture as often as I should to the electric brewing area. I just get to jealous and confused by all the acronyms. One day I hope to dish out some confusion in that regard.

Nicely done sir.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

I love seeing these eBIAB builds. One day....

more gadgets and gizmos the better IMO. Would love to be able to add simplicity to step mashing, albeit with a bunch of complicated (at least to me it's complicated), electronics.

Thanks for posting this in the BIAB forum. I don't venture as often as I should to the electric brewing area. I just get to jealous and confused by all the acronyms. One day I hope to dish out some confusion in that regard.

Nicely done sir.

same here. I'd love to eventually have an ebiab setup. Probably no controller or recirc though to start out with.

It's official btw, I'm just gonna follow you around and just like all your posts

 

[Gavin C]

same here. I'd love to eventually have an ebiab setup. Probably no controller or recirc though to start out with.

It's official btw, I'm just gonna follow you around and just like all your posts

No worries mate. :rockin:Always good to get input from smart folks like yourself. Gives me some reassurance I'm not posting pure gobbledegook to the ether.

 

[doug293cz]

I love seeing these eBIAB builds. One day....

more gadgets and gizmos the better IMO. Would love to be able to add simplicity to step mashing, albeit with a bunch of complicated (at least to me it's complicated), electronics.

Thanks for posting this in the BIAB forum. I don't venture as often as I should to the electric brewing area. I just get to jealous and confused by all the acronyms. One day I hope to dish out some confusion in that regard.

Nicely done sir.

You're a smart guy, you can learn. Some good places to start:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=145019
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=382286
http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/
​

The hardest part is figuring out exactly how you want your system to work.

Brew on

 

[Gavin C]

Thanks @doug293cz

 

[RussPDX]

Maybe I will just hoist the bag a little while it ramps up.

 

[Hello]

Maybe I will just hoist the bag a little while it ramps up.

If you have a way to keep it hoisted, then I'd do that. No way would I expect the bag not to scortch if it were on the element when I fired it. Otherwise, this is an awesome setup to have.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Maybe I will just hoist the bag a little while it ramps up.

Or stir while adding heat, you will have to stir anyway once you lower the bag.

Um, just curious, why are you bothering to mashout? I would remove the bag, boil and not look back.

 

[RussPDX]

Or stir while adding heat, you will have to stir anyway once you lower the bag.

Um, just curious, why are you bothering to mashout? I would remove the bag, boil and not look back.

I have not been getting the best efficiency. I have been using a grain bag so I couldn't crush as fine as I would have liked, but I figured a combo of the finer crush using your bag and the madhouse would put me right where I want to be.

 

[RussPDX]

Madhouse = mashout

 

[wilserbrewer]

Ok I'll play.
I doubt the mashout will help much, so what I would suggest is putting a couple coffee mugs in the freezer. Grab a sample of the wort pre mashout, and another sample post mashout and compare the samples.

At least then you will know whether it was the crush, or the mashout that hopefully made the difference.

I'm afraid that if you power the element 100% for mashout with the grain bag sitting on the element you will hear a sizzling sound. Unless the wort is flowing or moving around the element, it quickly overheats the wort and wants to locally boil it away resulting in very high temps and scorching.

The element needs to be in liquid, or it overheats.

 

[doug293cz]

I have not been getting the best efficiency. I have been using a grain bag so I couldn't crush as fine as I would have liked, but I figured a combo of the finer crush using your bag and the madhouse would put me right where I want to be.

A mashout will only improve your efficiency if your starch to sugar conversion was not complete in the allotted mash time. All the mashout does is extend the mash time, with a temporary boost in conversion rate due to higher temperature. The rate boost goes away quickly as the enzymes denature because of the higher temps.

Two ways to get more complete mash conversion are to speed up the process by grinding the malt finer, or to extend the mash time at normal mashing temps.

Brew on

 

[RussPDX]

What about the thought that the higher temps of the mashout make the sugars less viscous and therefore the run out easier? You all think that is BS?

Wilser - The test before and after mashout is a great idea. I am going to do that, if for no other reason than to be sure.

I will report back as soon as I brew. Might not be this weekend, but hopefully soon. I have to finish up my ferm chamber or the temps here need to drop. Of course, we could just go Berlinerweiss or Saison.....

 

[wilserbrewer]

Yes, BS

There are several threads discussing Mashout, several much smarter than I discuss it in detail. My take away, don't bother w/ MO...jmo

 

[doug293cz]

What about the thought that the higher temps of the mashout make the sugars less viscous and therefore the run out easier? You all think that is BS?

Wilser - The test before and after mashout is a great idea. I am going to do that, if for no other reason than to be sure.

I will report back as soon as I brew. Might not be this weekend, but hopefully soon. I have to finish up my ferm chamber or the temps here need to drop. Of course, we could just go Berlinerweiss or Saison.....

For a pure sugar solution, raising the temperature will indeed lower the solution viscosity. However, wort is not a pure sugar solution, and there is some literature that says because of the proteins and other materials in the wort, raising the temperature may actually increase the wort viscosity.

"Coagulation of mash particles is favoured by an increase in final mash temperature, though this may also increase wort viscosity, which will tend to offset the beneficial effects of coagulation on run off rates."
https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/Resourc...es_and_Techniques/WortandBeerFiningManual.pdf​

In any case, doing a thinner mash will lower the viscosity more than heating up a thick mash by 15˚ - 20˚F.

The thinner mash will also speed up the saccharification process (ref: http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Understanding_Efficiency#Mash_thickness), thus giving you a better chance of getting complete conversion in the allotted mash time.

Brew on