One Barrel Brewery

[slakwhere]

great, now i need to find copper wire for the other 25' chiller i have to make and benchmark them against each other. jerks.

 

[Monster Mash]

This is what a convoluted chiller is. Basically the inner tube is wrapped in copper wire so the water "spirals" through creating more distribution of the heat!

Actually it is convoluted copper tubing, it is twisted so both the water and the wort get turbulated going through.

When you wrap it with wire only the water gets turbulated but it will still increase the cooling rate.

 

[Antler]

Actually it is convoluted copper tubing, it is twisted so both the water and the wort get turbulated going through.

When you wrap it with wire only the water gets turbulated but it will still increase the cooling rate.

Thanks for that, I didn't know you could get copper tubing convoluted on the inside, I though it was just a thing HBTers discovered and wrapped the outside!

 

[Monster Mash]

It is available from morebeer for $175 and it looks like this....

 

[fork]

I think the benifit you get for that twisty tubing is very low relative to the cost. Making your chiller 5 feet longer would have the same effect and cost next to nothing. A regular old cfc could chill 1000 gallons it would just take a long time, as far as a half gallon per minute, I think most people get a lot better results than that with a 25 foot cfc.

 

[Monster Mash]

I own the Chillus Convolutus which uses 12' of that tubing and does the same job as a 25' chiller. I bought it before plate chillers came out and it was the most compact chiller out there.

 

[SweetSounds]

Is there any reason a guy couldn't just dimple the inner tubing every 1/4" or so? Think pinch it 25% or so between a couple 1/4" bolts every 1/4" rotating as you go. Might help.

 

[dcbc]

I own the Chillus Convolutus which uses 12' of that tubing and does the same job as a 25' chiller. I bought it before plate chillers came out and it was the most compact chiller out there.

I have one, too, and love it. Recirculate through it during the whirlpool and pump ice water through it when I pump through it on the way to the fermenter. Works like a charm and is easy to clean.

 

[CoalCracker]

I was looking at those chillers. But with all the money I spent everywhere else, I'm trying to save a bit in other places. I figure I can build a CFC for about 60 bucks, wrap it with the copper wire to try and increase efficiency and make do with that if I can. If not, I'll sell that and go the original route when money permits.

I ordered a 50ft x 1/2" chiller kit and 25ft of 3/8" tubing from copper tubing sales yesterday. Just have to buy the rubber hose and fittings and I can start fabbing this thing up. Hoping to have this setup fully functional by the new year. Would like to do an Apocalypse ale on the 21st of December. Damn wedding savings is cramping my style!!!

 

[CoalCracker]

Some updates!! I received the copper for both chillers. Will probably start working on that next week. I also found a member here to weld a ferrule to my HLT for a heating element. I will be getting that done on Saturday. I also got my control panel back from my BIL. It looks great. I just have some signal wiring for the SSR to do and wire the RTD receptacles. I will be stealing some silver satin from work today to do that. Here are some more pictures.

 

[hopsalot]

looking professional

 

[CoalCracker]

ITS ALIVE!!

Going to do some work on the HEX coil tonight. Try and get that built. On saturday I'm heading to a local member's house and he is going to weld a ferrule on the HLT for an element. I ordered the element adapter from stilldragon.com. Looks well made and half the cost of the brewers hardware version.

 

[fatherbigfoot]

It's a thing of beauty

 

[CoalCracker]

Here is the heat exchanger for the HLT. Made it just like an immersion chiller so it's removable. It's 50' x 1/2". Have to trim the tubing and solder the connections on. Will probably get that done Monday evening as I'm out of town for the weekend.

 

[CoalCracker]

Progress has been a bit slow lately regarding the brewery. With xmas coming up, money has been put towards that. However, I did get a ferrule welded in to my HLT for an element and received my element mount from StillDragon. Slowly saving up some more mula for the rest of the items needed. Should see more progress soon.

 

[CoalCracker]

A few updates. I got the two temperature probes wired up last night. I also ordered the Spa panel and 30 amp breaker for the panel. I'm planning a brew the second week of January or so.

 

[CoalCracker]

1. HLT Cost Website
   30g Kettle $446.00 www.brewershardware.com
   HERMS Coil $66.99 https://coppertubingsales.com/store...ucts_id=946&osCsid=86jm87f15s99udksq0u0nb9463
   DIY Sight Glass $45.95 Misc Providers
   Thermocouple $32.55 http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=20_15&products_id=107
   Dip Tube $25.00 http://www.brewershardware.com/1-Tri-Clover-Tri-Clamp-Style-Pickup-Tube.html
   3pc Valve $29.00 http://www.brewershardware.com/TC10VBALL.html
   5500w Heating Element $22.00 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BPG4LI/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
   Heating Element Kit $69.00 http://www.brewershardware.com/TC15F10NPSCOV.html
   
   
   MT
   30g Kettle $539.00 www.brewershardware.com
   Dip Tube $25.00 http://www.brewershardware.com/1-Tri-Clover-Tri-Clamp-Style-Pickup-Tube.html
   3pc Valve $29.00 http://www.brewershardware.com/TC10VBALL.html
   Thermometer $29.99 http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewmometer-1-2-npt.html
   
   BK
   42g Kettle $274.66 www.bubbasbarrels.com
   DIY Site Glass $45.95 Misc. providers
   Dip Tube $25.00 http://www.brewershardware.com/1-Tri-Clover-Tri-Clamp-Style-Pickup-Tube.html
   Thermometer $29.99 http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewmometer-1-2-npt.html
   3pc Valve $29.00 http://www.brewershardware.com/TC10VBALL.html
   5500w Heating Element $22.00 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BPG4LI/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
   Thermocouple $32.55 http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=20_15&products_id=107
   
   Other
   Little Giant Pump $120.00 www.ebay.com
   Steel 60 ft $56.00 www.ebay.com
   Electrical cords w/ 30a plug $33.00 www.ebay.com
   
   Control Panel
   30a kit $180.00 http://www.ebrewsupply.com/index.php/ebrew-kits/30a-1pid-kit.html
   2 PID $100.00 http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=3
   14x12x8 Enlosure $100.00 Ebay
   Labor $100.00
   Heatsink $25.00 www.heatsinkusa.com
   
   Total= $2,518.63
   
   MISC. 10% buffer $251.86 Fittings, plumbing, ETC.
   
   TOTAL(+Buffer): $2,770.49
   

 

[DrPhilGood]

Can you post a picture of how the tc dip tube works?

 

[CoalCracker]

Forgot to take a pic for you. I'll have to see if my Fiance can take one tonight.

I did some more work for a mount for the control panel. Ended up makeing an arm that will swing the panel out of the way. It will be mounted right in front of the HLT.

Found the square washers at a local metal place and the idea hit me. Still have to drill the bracket and 'permanently' mount it. Then I can get the control panel set up on it and I should be all set...for now.

 

[CoalCracker]

You can see here how the mount for the panel will look. Then it will swing out of the way when needed.

Picture of the brew area so far. Still have some things to do.

@DrPhilGood: Here is an inside shot of the dip tube. The kettle still needs some cleaning up so disregard the flux.

It comes in through the outside and connects with a clamp, then the ball valve connects to the dip tube. There are two mounts on the dip tube. One for the ferrule on the kettle and one for the ball valve.

 

[DrPhilGood]

I figured that's how it works. so you have a 1.5 inch ferrule on the barrel and the dip tube is 1 inch so it fits through the front? Nice

 

[BBL_Brewer]

Nice build. Just so you know, a 42 gal kettle is going to be wicked tight for a full barrel boil. I've got 40 gal kettles and there's no way I can do a full volume boil. Two extra gallons might make a difference, but I'd hate to have a boil over of those proportions. What I usually do is split my batches between the BK and HLT so I can make two different beers. Either that or I drop back to 25 gallons. Anyway, after your first brew you'll get it dialed in. I'm interested to see how your CFC works out. I have a 100ft 1/2" immersion w/ whirlpool. In the winter when the tap water is below 60F I can chill 25 gallons in ~45 minutes. Originally, I was going to get a plate chiller but I didn't want to deal with possible clogging issues. Have you thought about what you're going to use for a BK filter? If you plan on using pellets, you'll probably need a hop spider or something. I use whole hops only and get away with using a chore boy SS scrubie pad over the dip tube which makes it simple. I used pellets once without a bag and ended up having to rack the wort.

You're doing pretty good money wise. I wish I'd gone electric when I put my rig together. Good luck finishing the build.

 

[MaxOut]

Nice build. Just so you know, a 42 gal kettle is going to be wicked tight for a full barrel boil.

Totally agreed. My pre boil volume is close to 41 gallons to net 1 BBL out of the fermenter (based on the buckets I used to use. A conical will have less loss). My BK is 60 gallon with allot of surface area and I boil off 3 gallons an hour. A 90 Min boil and I lose 4.5 - 5 gallons. You are going to be dangerously close to the top and will have to throttle back for hop additions. Not to mention the space your hops will take up in the kettle can be substantial in some brews (as much as several gallons of space for moderate hop brews) I use pellet hops and they swell up into a large balloon in the hop spider. I recirculate during the boil to get better hop utilization through the lid into the hop spider. You do not want 40 gallons of wort to boil over...trust me been there with a 60 gallon kettle.. I would plan to do a split boil as suggested to net 1BBL to be on the safe side.

 

[CoalCracker]

Yea after I started the build, I figured this would probably be perfect for 25 gallon batches. Going to be doing the first brew in a few weeks. I can't wait. Seems like it's been soo long since I brewed. Hope I remember how!

I use a hop spider for all of my hops. Infact, I have to make a new one for this build. Thanks for the reminder.

As for chilling. I think what I'm going to do is run my HEX coil as an immersion for 15 minutes or so, then run it through the Counterflow chiller. This should get me to where I need to be. After having a plate chiller previously and seeing what came out even after a thorough cleaning, and having a rash of infected batches, I could only trace it back to that. Hopefully this method will work ok.

For the first brew I'll be doing a 25 gallon batch of Jamil's Evil Twin. Then splitting it with friends. I'm taking 10 gallon, Someone else will take ten and the other will take 5. Hoping to take some good pictures during the process.

 

[CoalCracker]

I figured that's how it works. so you have a 1.5 inch ferrule on the barrel and the dip tube is 1 inch so it fits through the front? Nice

You got it! It's a pretty slick design.

 

[MaxOut]

As for chilling. I think what I'm going to do is run my HEX coil as an immersion for 15 minutes or so, then run it through the Counterflow chiller. This should get me to where I need to be. After having a plate chiller previously and seeing what came out even after a thorough cleaning, and having a rash of infected batches, I could only trace it back to that. Hopefully this method will work ok.

I just started using a plate chiller and run wort through it for that last 15 min of the boil. I too am scared that the plate chiller still may harbor some bacteria. As you mention even after a good cleaning I still get a little crap here and there.....I sure hope I'm not heading down that road. Seems like a counter flow would have similar potential for harboring bacteria as well? May want to do the 15 min sterilization with the boil using the counter flow just to be safe. Great system by the way enjoy watching it progress. Keep up the good work!

 

[SavoryChef]

What I do for my plate chiller is after the mash tun is cleaned, I run Oxyclean through my pump and plate chiller until it hits at least 180 degrees for 15 minutes. I flush both ways starting with the out first. Then Flush with fresh water. When I have 15 minutes left in the boil, I start to recirc the wort. After chilling is complete I run oxyclean both ways through the chiller.

So Basically my chiller is cleaned twice and sanitized twice before each use. I usually get hop particles when I flush after each time. I agree it is hard to clean, but I haven't had a problem doing mine this way.

 

[CoalCracker]

I used to clean it after every brew by back flushing with boiling water. Then before running wort through it I would recirc the boiling wort through it for 15 minutes.

 

[MaxOut]

I clean mine while cleaning the rest of the system by back flushing with boiling water with PBW and then rinse. I use water left in the HLT from sparge and heat, run through all lines, pumps and chiller for 30 min. I maintain a min of 190 for 15 min then rinse and blow dry with compressed air.

 

[CoalCracker]

official first brew day will be the 20th of January! Going to have my brother in law wire the 220 line next weekend.