My Official E-BiaB Build Thread

[johnodon]

Actually I have not done that yet P-J. I don't know why...just slipped my mind. I will definitely do it next brew so I can have a more consistent boil.

Thx for the instructions.

John

 

[TJTHEBEST]

Whats up with the mash temp saying 154 in your recirculating pic? It looks like its set for 152.

 

[P-J]

Whats up with the mash temp saying 154 in your recirculating pic? It looks like its set for 152.

154???? I don't see that.

Maybe I'm blind?

 

[samc]

TJTHEBEST has some good eyes. I see that as well. Overshoot!

 

[johnodon]

I was wondering who would pick up on that.

Yeah...that was when I first doughed in. After that it settled to 152 and occassionally flashed 153. The PID always seems to overshoot by 2F when it first reaches the Sv but soon levels out.

I did read another thread where it says that the best way to auto-tune is do start it @ 10F below your Sv. I AT'd right at my Sv and that is supposed to explain the 2F overshoot. I haven't tried yet but will soon and I will report back.

This is the pic P-J:

All in all it's no big deal.

John

 

[Seven]

Awesome job. Very inspirational!

 

[howabouttheiris]

Overshoot!

I have messed around a lot with this issue....

Autotuning will help you initially get to temp and not overshoot... but then you get the next, 'step input', issue.


You sneak up to 152 under PID control, looks perfect due to the ID terms contributing gradually, sits perfectly at 152.
THEN
You add grain, drop the temp by a few degrees in a second and ID terms freak out, element comes on full, then you overshoot.



After a tonne of tuning, I have it better, but not perfect. If I plan on staring at the pot for that 5 minute period, I often switch to manual control until the temp is restabilized. Otherwise, you will probably have to live with at least a small oscillation at dough in.

My 2c, ymmv.

 

[ShakerD]

Hey John

I gotta say this is an excellent build! I am building something similar and want to recirculate during the mash as well.

How much liquid is actually coming out the bottom of the basket as opposed to the sides during the recirculation? Or is the recirculation just to maintain temperature.

 

[kal]

Nice work John! Great attention to detail and well documented!

Kal

 

[Doed]

This is exactly the type of electric setup I want to do. I really appreciate the great pictures/documentation that you provided as well as the parts list.

I hope you don't mind a little plagiarism. Nah, when someone asks I'll be sure to tell them where I got the idea from.

Nicely done.

 

[Doed]

hey John, would it be possible for you to add some pictures of the inside of your control box?

 

[noise]

+1 on the request for control box interior pics.

 

[gunner65]

Nice build I am wanting to trade out my e-Keggle for one of the bayou classics as well.

 

[atbilli]

Do you remove the false bottom after the mash and before the boil?

 

[gunner65]

Why do you have a false bottom if you BIAB and bag your hops? Just curious....By the way ordered my 62qt bayou today and cannot wiat to get the keggle out of my system.

 

[mk1271]

Nice build I am wanting to trade out my e-Keggle for one of the bayou classics as well.

gunner

What are your reasons to ditch the keggle?

 

[smpow]

sweet!

 

[gunner65]

gunner

What are your reasons to ditch the keggle?

I have made too many BIAB batches to remember on my current system (which is nearly identical to this one) So there is nothing "wrong" with the e-keggle however I really hate the tight rim on the keggle. I have ripped two of my voile bags removing them from my mash because of that narrow opening I am much more careful now and I can get by without this happening. I also want the crab basket for the ease of housting the bag out. These are just nit-picky reasons but the fact that I can make this change and sell my keggle with minimal financial investment plus I get to make something new makes it a win-win for me.

 

[cpankonien]

great job, thanks for posting this, it's exactly what i want to do...how did you cut the holes in the pot for the heating element and temp probe? although kal's site strongly recommends not using a hole saw, and using the hole cutter, the hole cutter is $80 bucks...kinda steep for something i'll use to cut exactly one hole. i've used hole saws and step bits before, seems to me they're plenty accurate for this application. just wondering what you used.

thanks for taking the time to document!


cliff

 

[noise]

cliff,

I recently did this and I can say emphatically that the nice Greenlee punches are worth their price. I started my holes with a step bit and finished with the punches - the step bit worked well but the punch was far more precise and clean. And I think you will find that there are more than just a few holes you want to end up punching once you get into it, for example I decided to punch a 1/2" hole in my pot lid to provide for recirculation during mash.

 

[cpankonien]

noise,
are we talking about the same thing? the 1 3/8 step bit i'm ok with, it's the "radio punch" that i think might be a bit of overkill, since you'd need to buy one for each size hole. how many of the radio punches did you buy? by my estimate i'd need two, one for the element and one for the temp probe. that's $120 right there...

 

[noise]

Yup, these 2 are what I got:
Amazon.com: Greenlee 730BB-13/16 Standard Round Knockout Punch Unit, 13/16-Inch: Home Improvement - $74
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NQZ0J0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 - $44

Total $118, and then got the cheapest step bit I could, ~ $14 I think.

In the grand scheme of my build it was not that significant, and I plan to expand my indoor/electric rig to multiple vessels in the future, so I'll use them again. I'm guessing you could find them a lot cheaper on ebay or such, but I was in a hurry to get mine done before the holidays when I have some time off to brew.

Edit: that said, you can certainly get away with just the step bit if you want to save some coin, it will do an adequate job if use plenty of oil and patience.

 

[aubiecat]

hey John, would it be possible for you to add some pictures of the inside of your control box?

I was hoping for the same thing. I have everything I need to build a controller and I have the same box. I am scratching my head trying to figure out how to cram all the gear in this little box.

 

[MrWildcat2U]

I'm getting the parts rounded up to build this, and a question came up. Since I'm brewing 20 ft from my dryer plugin (40a breaker) would I be able to get away without setting up a spa disconnect and just plug into the dryer outlet?

 

[iijakii]

The spa panel is used because it's a cheap and easy way to get GFCI protection. You certainly can put a GFCI breaker into your main and skip the spa panel route.

 

[P-J]

You really need to plan out your brewery. IF you decide to go without GFCI protection for your brewery, you are playing "You Bet Your Life".

Keep in mind that any typical brew area is a wet area. There is a very high probability that an electrical fault anywhere in your system could take a path to earth through you.

Is it worth the risk???

 

[MrWildcat2U]

You certainly can put a GFCI breaker into your main and skip the spa panel route.

We were going to do this, until I did a bit of pricing and discovered that I could purchase and install a spa panel for the cost of a gfci breaker alone, along with making a 20ft 240v drop cord.

Looks like logic (read P-J) wins out.

 

[aubiecat]

I'm getting the parts rounded up to build this, and a question came up. Since I'm brewing 20 ft from my dryer plugin (40a breaker) would I be able to get away without setting up a spa disconnect and just plug into the dryer outlet?

That isn't a good idea. The spa box isn't a means of having access to power for your brewing equipment. It's about being safe. A GFCI should be the first thing on your list of parts for an electric brewing rig.

 

[johnodon]

For anyone interested I am selling my electric BIAB rig. I will be posting in teh classifieds section shortly but figured I would do so here first. Only thing not included is the CFC (selling separately) and the Spa Panel.

Price will be $500 for stand, kettle, control box, hi-temp hoses with quick disconnects, pump, etc.

I will include the Spa panel, 30 amp circuit and wiring for $50.

I have since added a copper sparge manifold to teh underside of the kettle lid. I will post a pic of that in the classified ad.

If interested, please PM me.

John

 

[mbk1487]

Say it ain't so, Johnodon! Can I ask why? Bigger, better idea perhaps?