New equipment and/or upgrades discussion

[Phischy1]

thinking of diying a stirplate soon.

my brew partner just got a 7.5 gal kettle and burner(probs a turkey fryer).
I'd like to build a Mash Tun so we can do all grain batches.
no space for a chest freezer for temp control right now

Cooler mashtun isn't that big. And if you use carboys you can take a dorm fridge (no freezer), remove the shelves and it'll work perfectly for ferm temp control and doesn't eat a ton of space and you can store stuff on top.

If you put 6 gal in the carboy I highly recomend a blowoff tube, else you get this nightmare.

 

[rmalinowski4]

I just downsized. I have been wanting to work on some high gravity recipes and just can't get through five gallons in any reasonable amount of time. So I bought a 1 gallon wine kit. It comes with a 2 gallon bucket for primary and a 1 gallon glass jug for secondary along with an auto siphon and some additives for wine. It was only 32 bucks. This will also allow me to brew inside this winter instead of freezing in the garage. I should be able to get through batches quickly and fine tune my recipes. Also, when not using to make beer, I can make mead or some fruit wines.

 

[barfdiggs1]

I am pretty thick headed when it comes to trying things out for myself. When people say "fly sparging sucks" it makes me want to do it even more just to say I did it. See also: decoction mashing and why it is unnecessary with todays malts but I do it for some styles of beer anyway.

I was in the same boat about decocting, but then I did a double decocted weizen and have not went back. The decoction just produced a beer with more melanoidins (think dry but malty/toasty) and a clove flavor like I've never had before (Apparently liberation of ferrulic acid from malt is more efficient with decoction).

A close friend that won the gold at the NHC with his munich dunkel tried redoing it with a lot of melanoidin malt in place of the triple decoction (keeping all other parameters the same), and it just wasn't the same. In fact he got flamed in several local comps by judges saying that while his beer was technically perfect, it was bland. Awesome.

I honestly love brewing as much if not more than actually drinking. So when the opportunity presents itself to try something new or different I dont hesitate in trying it at least once.

Yeah, this is totally me to a tee.

 

[mcaulifww]

Cooler mashtun isn't that big. And if you use carboys you can take a dorm fridge (no freezer), remove the shelves and it'll work perfectly for ferm temp control and doesn't eat a ton of space and you can store stuff on top.

If you put 6 gal in the carboy I highly recomend a blowoff tube, else you get this nightmare.

dorm fridge isn't a bad idea. I think my dad has one lying around. I usually use a blow off if I'm anywhere too close for comfort. I've got an igloo cooler that is currently my bottle cellar, so maybe after the winter I'll be able to build out a mash tun.

 

[mcaulifww]

So

Any benefit to using the buckets vs carboy. I've always used the carboys but it seems buckets would be way easier to clean??

 

[JulianB1]

Any benefit to using the buckets vs carboy. I've always used the carboys but it seems buckets would be way easier to clean??

That's one definite advantage, also cheaper, less breakable, and much easier to use for adjuncts like fruit. Carboys have the obvious advantage that you can see what's going on any time you want. A lot of it just ends up being personal preference. Plastic buckets do have some level of oxygen permeation, and therefore may be susceptible to oxidation, but I've never noticed an issue with it. I guess my American wild ale with peaches will be an interesting test case.

If you brew any form of sour beer in a bucket, you will want to avoid using that for any non-sour beer in the future (although one might even say the same for a carboy). I've heard people tell me they have used equipment for both sours and non-sours after washing everything well, but personally I won't do it. We have enough equipment that I have no problem having an entire set of it exclusively for sour/bacterial beers (buckets, carboys, bungs and stoppers, airlocks, tubing, and siphons).

 

[mcaulifww]

That's one definite advantage, also cheaper, less breakable, and much easier to use for adjuncts like fruit. Carboys have the obvious advantage that you can see what's going on any time you want. A lot of it just ends up being personal preference. Plastic buckets do have some level of oxygen permeation, and therefore may be susceptible to oxidation, but I've never noticed an issue with it. I guess my American wild ale with peaches will be an interesting test case.

If you brew any form of sour beer in a bucket, you will want to avoid using that for any non-sour beer in the future (although one might even say the same for a carboy). I've heard people tell me they have used equipment for both sours and non-sours after washing everything well, but personally I won't do it. We have enough equipment that I have no problem having an entire set of it exclusively for sour/bacterial beers (buckets, carboys, bungs and stoppers, airlocks, tubing, and siphons).

cool. I'm trying to expand and do it in the most sensible way possible. Buckets are starting to sound like a great idea as I'd tired of lifting a glass carboy all over the place. thanks for the tip

 

[StarRaptor1]

Last week I stopped by Brewers Hardware to pick up a bunch of hardware for my new system. Things like valves, high flow deep bore camlocks, tri clover clamps, new kettle etc.

Lots of tri clamps - to quote my buddy "Yo dawg, I heard you like tri-clamps. So I tri-clamped your tri-clamps so you can tri-clamp while you brew."

My "pots"

Other angle

Derrin helped custom fit this false bottom to my mash tun which included a large dip tube (which he custom bent to the tun) and cleaning up the opening

Not my stand but this is what it will look like with a few customizations

The waterproof label also arrived last Friday

 

[barfdiggs1]

snip

Do you have a pic of the inside of the kettle from Brewers Hardware? Am interested in picking up a new kettle from them or stout, and am welding in recirculation/whirlpool fittings into my boil kettles and wanted to take a look at how others did, plus I couldn't find a picture on their site.

 

[StarRaptor1]

Do you have a pic of the inside of the kettle from Brewers Hardware? Am interested in picking up a new kettle from them or stout, and am welding in recirculation/whirlpool fittings into my boil kettles and wanted to take a look at how others did, plus I couldn't find a picture on their site.

I don't have any on me but I'll take some tonight when I get home.

 

[quirkzoo1]

Totally looks like your pots are just stacked on cases of Bruery beer with a tabletop resting above them.

Other angle

 

[StarRaptor1]

Do you have a pic of the inside of the kettle from Brewers Hardware? Am interested in picking up a new kettle from them or stout, and am welding in recirculation/whirlpool fittings into my boil kettles and wanted to take a look at how others did, plus I couldn't find a picture on their site.

Here are some inside pictures

 

[rustyshackleford1]

I'm looking into investing in a kegerator/fermentation vessel in the form of a chest freezer. Is there anyway that I can have the best of both worlds and store my kegs and ferment at desirable temps in a single vessel? It would be dandy to only have one large chest freezer used for fermentation and keeping kegs cool.

 

[Beerontwowheels]

I'm looking into investing in a kegerator/fermentation vessel in the form of a chest freezer. Is there anyway that I can have the best of both worlds and store my kegs and ferment at desirable temps in a single vessel?

Nope. Serving temps are typically near 40* and ferm temps for ales are in the mid 60's. No chest freezer can handle that, to my knowledge.

 

[Billy Brux]

The most recent upgrade was a good one. 400 micron stainless steel mesh hop basket filters.

http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/brewingfilters.php

Keeps my plate chiller from clogging and more convenient than hop bags.

 

[Beerontwowheels]

The most recent upgrade was a good one. 400 micron stainless steel mesh hop basket filters.

http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/brewingfilters.php

Keeps my plate chiller from clogging and more convenient than hop bags.

What size would you recommend for 5 & 10 gallon batches?

 

[quirkzoo1]

Thinking about upgrading to a 10-Gallon pot, any recommendations?

The Northern Brewer MegaPot 1.2 is sexy but not sure if it is worth the price. I like the idea of a ball valve but I typically just have my mashtun on a table in my backyard and then have the kettle/burner on the ground. Are there advantages to a ball valve on the kettle if I don't have a tiered system? I use an immersion chiller so I don't really get a nice tight cold break/whirlpool with my trub.

Currently using 7.5 gallon aluminum pot from a turkey fryer ($40 for pot and burner at home depot after thanksgiving a few years back). So the other challenge is that if I upgrade my pot, I will also likely have to upgrade my burner. Seems as though the Banjo burners are the consensus but open to suggestions on this as well.

 

[Billy Brux]

What size would you recommend for 5 & 10 gallon batches?

Depends on how much hops you use and the size of your kettle. Measure the depth of the kettle. Ideally you want the basket to almost reach the bottom.

I do 5gal batches with a 7.5gal boil in a 10gal kettle. I have two of the 4x10 size. They hold 4oz. of pellets each. I may get one 6x14 for the extra hoppy brews.

 

[Beerontwowheels]

Thinking about upgrading to a 10-Gallon pot, any recommendations?

The Northern Brewer MegaPot 1.2 is sexy but not sure if it is worth the price. I like the idea of a ball valve but I typically just have my mashtun on a table in my backyard and then have the kettle/burner on the ground. Are there advantages to a ball valve on the kettle if I don't have a tiered system? I use an immersion chiller so I don't really get a nice tight cold break/whirlpool with my trub.

Currently using 7.5 gallon aluminum pot from a turkey fryer ($40 for pot and burner at home depot after thanksgiving a few years back). So the other challenge is that if I upgrade my pot, I will also likely have to upgrade my burner. Seems as though the Banjo burners are the consensus but open to suggestions on this as well.

I really like my 62qt Bayou classic stainless steel pot. 113$ shipped if you have amazon prime. While 95% of my batches are 5 gallons, I have the capacity to brew ten gallons.

For about thirty dollars in parts you can add a weldless ball valve which I find really handy since I use a march pump to recirc during chilling and then to move the wort to the fermenter.

Definitely happy with my set up.

 

[domtronzero]

man Oh man!! OH Man!!! OH MAN!!!!!!

Check this out!

6.5 gallon glass wide mouthed carboy!

 

[mcaulifww]

man Oh man!! OH Man!!! OH MAN!!!!!!

Check this out!

6.5 gallon glass wide mouthed carboy!

it's about time. I've have a glass carboy that I've used for two batches. After figuring out the hard way how much of a pain they are to clean and on my back I got a 5 gallon food grade plastic bucket and lid from Home Depot for $3. my batches may need to be smaller but my life will be much easier.

 

[ncaudle]

Currently using 7.5 gallon aluminum pot from a turkey fryer ($40 for pot and burner at home depot after thanksgiving a few years back). So the other challenge is that if I upgrade my pot, I will also likely have to upgrade my burner. Seems as though the Banjo burners are the consensus but open to suggestions on this as well.

I currently use a similar turkey fryer/burner on post t'giving clearance as well.
why would you need to upgrade the burner? if it's like mine with extended raised "safety" guards I'm planning on removing those guards when I upgrade my HLT/boil kettle, assuming the new kettle doesn't fit inside the guards.

 

[ncaudle]

regarding HLT/boil kettles is there other manufacturers, other than Blichmann, which includes a site/volume gauge? for the life of me I can't figure out why these aren't standard, or at least an option, on all of the usual manufacturers you see in homebrew supply shops.
I currently use a mash stir that I have marked in .5 gal increments so I know what my current volume is...

 

[Billy Brux]

regarding HLT/boil kettles is there other manufacturers, other than Blichmann, which includes a site/volume gauge? for the life of me I can't figure out why these aren't standard, or at least an option, on all of the usual manufacturers you see in homebrew supply shops.
I currently use a mash stir that I have marked in .5 gal increments so I know what my current volume is...

You can add a sight gauge to any kettle. All you need is a drill and a step bit.

 

[Beerontwowheels]

regarding HLT/boil kettles is there other manufacturers, other than Blichmann, which includes a site/volume gauge? for the life of me I can't figure out why these aren't standard, or at least an option, on all of the usual manufacturers you see in homebrew supply shops.
I currently use a mash stir that I have marked in .5 gal increments so I know what my current volume is...

You can install one yourself. Google bobbym + brew hardware. He sells weldless sightglasses.

I installed one on my hlt and one on my boil kettle. They work great.

 

[quirkzoo1]

I currently use a similar turkey fryer/burner on post t'giving clearance as well.
why would you need to upgrade the burner? if it's like mine with extended raised "safety" guards I'm planning on removing those guards when I upgrade my HLT/boil kettle, assuming the new kettle doesn't fit inside the guards.

Good point about removing the guards, although mine is one big piece that wraps around the burner so I would probably just grind it down. Also, I find that mine seems to be a bit underpowered which extends the brewday. I think mine is 45,000 BTUs and I brewed next to a friend that had a more powerful burner (not sure on BTU's) and it cut about an hour off the brewday for him.

 

[Beerontwowheels]

Just bit the bullet and purchased a Blichmann burner. Kind of already regret the purchase (24" leg extensions + shipping equals 200$+), but hopefully I'll be really impressed with the product when it shows up at more door in a few weeks.

A good friend just fired his up for the first time this weekend and he has positive things to say about it.

There's a sucker born every minute, nomsayin?

 

[Zapy1]

I'll have to get a picture when I'm back in town, but just updated my kettle to a keggle built by one of my coworkers. Just have a single port now, but it's pretty impressive, and it expands the brewhouse enough so that I can brew a barrel fill in two batches.

 

[surlytheduff1]

So, the flashing fix ended up not working that well. It was definitely needed - I was wasting tons of heat up the side of the kettle (not to mention getting ballvalve & sightglass extremely hot). The burner was too low though, even with the extended windscreen. Also, the thin flashing sheets were starting to breakdown.

So last weekend I found a local welder who removed the legs completely from the body and re-welded it all the way up for $25. Did a test boil with it and it made a huge difference. Brought 7 gallons to a boil a lot quicker, and the ballvalve & sightglass were not flesh-meltingly hot.

I made a collar/extended windshield today for my Bayou burner. I've only brewed a few times with it, but I had been getting excessive heat up the sides of my pot. I used short pieces of aluminum flashing pop riveted together for it - was short one section but went ahead and did a quick trial run and it really seemed to help keep my sightglass T & ball lock valve from getting overly hot.

 

[Beerontwowheels]

I used my Blichmann burner this weekend and I have to say, it is pretty awesome. Putting it together was a piece of cake. It's sturdy as hell and the 24" leg extensions keep the kettle at a nice, convenient height.

The burner is super quiet. I could hear it when I was kneeling down near the burner itself, but when I was standing, barely a whisper. Defintely quieter than my last burner which sounded like a jet engine.

It heated 7 gallons strike water up very quickly. With my prior burner, I always milled my grain while waiting for the strike water to get to temp. Usually had plenty of time after milling my grain since the old burner was such a hunk of junk. This past brew day saw me rushing to get the 22 lbs of grain milled as the water was ready before I finished milling.

Can't really speak to how efficient it is with regards to propane usuage, but it is said to sip where some other burners slurp.

The only issue I had this weekend was that the burner was so powerful it had my sight glass violently boiling even though I had the shield under it. Need to figure that out (bigger shield, perhaps).

It's not an inexpensive piece of equipment, but it's definitely a quality burner that I don't see myself replacing any time soon.