Rebuilding My Brutus Hybrid Into a Kal Clone

[jcav]

Making the hoses......

My wife's Cutco scissors worked great cutting the silicone tubing cleanly.

I used the stainless steel hose clamps with the rounded edges from McMaster Carr

 

[jcav]

Testing everything for leaks.

I got these sampling valves from Brewer's Hardware. I put them on top of the pump ball valves and they work great at purging the air in the lines. I had no problem at all with priming the pumps.

Just open the valve until water or wort comes out and all the air is purged from the line and pump.

You can put on a piece of silicone tubing also if you want. Great for taking gravity readings.

I also got this compact sight glass and I am really happy with it. Small footprint doesn't overwhelm my setup compared to some other larger ones I have seen and very easy to take apart and clean.

 

[jcav]

Now to attach all the plumbing fittings for my chiller. I have a Therminator chiller, but I decided not to use Kal's hop stopper as it is going to be hard to get one made correctly. I don't think there is enough room for it with the tri clamp siphon in my boil kettle, along with my electric element mounted low and the whirlpool arm, so I decided to use a large hop spider from Stainless Brewing to help contain the hops. Since my groundwater fluctuates from 70 to 80 something degrees in the summer I have to use ice and recirculate. If the hops do not clog the Therminator I know the cold break will after reading all the posts with people complaining about it clogging up. If I only had to use one pass through it and then into the fermentor it would be ok, but not here in Florida. So I bought a convoluted chiller and will probably sell my Therminator.

I added a "Y" fitting on the water in and water out side of the chiller. The hose connections are for the ground water. The tri clover fittings are for when I run ice water in my HLT or cleaned out Mash Tun and use the pump to get to pitching temps. The other two tri clamp fittings are for the wort in and wort out side of the chiller. Here I am testing the hose fittings for leaks. All is well.

I took the thermometer off the boil kettle (you can see the cap where it used to be) as it will not be needed. I will have a temp probe there instead going to the control box. So I used the thermometer in a tee on the chiller so I can see the temp of the wort coming out of the chiller.

Even though it was November 1st you can see the ground water is 82 degrees!

Testing out the whirlpool arm in the boil kettle.

 

[jcav]

Question, so I really wish my pumps came with longer plug cords. Six feet is just ok and my control box is going to be on a stainless steel stand with casters, so it will be moveable to wherever I want it. The electric heating elements in my kettles have ten foot cords, and my temp probes are going to have eight foot cords, so six foot pump cords is going to limit me on where I put the control box in relation to the brew stand. How hard is it to splice an extension cord to the existing pump cord? I have to put on the twist lock plug anyway so it can go into Kal's control box. Should I just plug the existing cords into a small extension cord and put the twist lock plug on that, and use that for the control box, or should I splice some extension cord wire to the pump cord. If I splice the wire is this practice acceptable and sound or is it dangerous? Will the connection be strong enough? I would need some advice on how to do this correctly. Or should I just live with the six foot length, or plug it into a small extension cord?

 

[kal]

If you splice on a longer cord by soldering correctly and using heat shrink tubing (or similar) it would be fine. It will be as strong as the wire itself.

If you put on an expendable sleeving after too (per my instructions) you won't even see it.

Kal

 

[Roadie]

Go to hardware store and buy right size wire extension cord as long as you need. Cut end off and wire in twist plug. If you cut the pump cord to splice you may void the warranty.

 

[jcav]

If you splice on a longer cord by soldering correctly and using heat shrink tubing (or similar) it would be fine. It will be as strong as the wire itself.

If you put on an expendable sleeving after too (per my instructions) you won't even see it.

Kal

Thanks Kal, that is good to know it is acceptable to do this and it will be strong enough. I have the Weller soldering station you recommend already, as I used it awhile ago to make my temp probes for my propane setup that I was building. If I go this route and splice the wires I will use heat shrink and expandable sleeving. I just wish the pumps came with 8 to 10 foot cords on them already. Thanks for getting back to me.

John

 

[jcav]

Go to hardware store and buy right size wire extension cord as long as you need. Cut end off and wire in twist plug. If you cut the pump cord to splice you may void the warranty.

Hey Roadie, that is great advice on the warranty. The problem is I already cut the cords before and I put on stainless sleeving and a new plug end for my box I was building at the time for my propane rig. The plug I put on is not a twist lock but it still is not the original one that came with it. The pumps are probably four years old already and out of warranty, especially with the cut cord ends. Oh well......

John

 

[Roadie]

Hey Roadie, that is great advice on the warranty. The problem is I already cut the cords before and I put on stainless sleeving and a new plug end for my box I was building at the time for my propane rig. The plug I put on is not a twist lock but it still is not the original one that came with it. The pumps are probably four years old already and out of warranty, especially with the cut cord ends. Oh well......

John

I needed to extend my pump cords as well to put the twist lock ends on them and cut one pump plug off and extended it. Before I could do the other my son came in and asked me why I just didn't go the extension cord route and it was very clear to me once he said it that was the way to go so did that on for the second pump. Of course at that point my pumps hadn't even been plugged in the first time yet.

 

[jcav]

So I am on the fence and I am either going to splice the cord on the pumps to make them longer, solder the connection, use shrink wrap over the connection, put on the twist locking plug, and then use expandable sleeving over the cord to make it look uniform, or just get two short extension cords and cut them the length they need to be and put on the twist locking plug. My question is I need to buy the correct size extension cord to use in either case. Does anyone know what gauge is the cord that is on the March pump already? It looks like it is 14 gauge to me, but I want to be sure.

John

 

[Gavin C]

Testing everything for leaks.
View attachment 313548

View attachment 313549

View attachment 313550

View attachment 313551

View attachment 313552

View attachment 313553
I got these sampling valves from Brewer's Hardware. I put them on top of the pump ball valves and they work great at purging the air in the lines. I had no problem at all with priming the pumps.
View attachment 313554
Just open the valve until water or wort comes out and all the air is purged from the line and pump.
View attachment 313555
You can put on a piece of silicone tubing also if you want. Great for taking gravity readings.
View attachment 313556
I also got this compact sight glass and I am really happy with it. Small footprint doesn't overwhelm my setup compared to some other larger ones I have seen and very easy to take apart and clean.
View attachment 313557

Now to attach all the plumbing fittings for my chiller. I have a Therminator chiller, but I decided not to use Kal's hop stopper as it is going to be hard to get one made correctly. I don't think there is enough room for it with the tri clamp siphon in my boil kettle, along with my electric element mounted low and the whirlpool arm, so I decided to use a large hop spider from Stainless Brewing to help contain the hops. Since my groundwater fluctuates from 70 to 80 something degrees in the summer I have to use ice and recirculate. If the hops do not clog the Therminator I know the cold break will after reading all the posts with people complaining about it clogging up. If I only had to use one pass through it and then into the fermentor it would be ok, but not here in Florida. So I bought a convoluted chiller and will probably sell my Therminator.
View attachment 313565
I added a "Y" fitting on the water in and water out side of the chiller. The hose connections are for the ground water. The tri clover fittings are for when I run ice water in my HLT or cleaned out Mash Tun and use the pump to get to pitching temps. The other two tri clamp fittings are for the wort in and wort out side of the chiller. Here I am testing the hose fittings for leaks. All is well.
View attachment 313566

View attachment 313567
I took the thermometer off the boil kettle (you can see the cap where it used to be) as it will not be needed. I will have a temp probe there instead going to the control box. So I used the thermometer in a tee on the chiller so I can see the temp of the wort coming out of the chiller.
View attachment 313568
Even though it was November 1st you can see the ground water is 82 degrees!
View attachment 313571

View attachment 313572

View attachment 313573

View attachment 313574
Testing out the whirlpool arm in the boil kettle.
View attachment 313575

Pure artistry. I love reading this thread. The pictures alone almost describe the build. It's like flicking through some great book on electric homebrew setup. Just incredible. Sharp crisp clean images telling the story. Amazing!

 

[kal]

Given that the pumps only pull an amp or two when in use, I doubt it's 14 ga wire. More likely 16, 18. It should be written right on it.

Kal

 

[iijakii]

So I am on the fence and I am either going to splice the cord on the pumps to make them longer, solder the connection, use shrink wrap over the connection, put on the twist locking plug, and then use expandable sleeving over the cord to make it look uniform, or just get two short extension cords and cut them the length they need to be and put on the twist locking plug. My question is I need to buy the correct size extension cord to use in either case. Does anyone know what gauge is the cord that is on the March pump already? It looks like it is 14 gauge to me, but I want to be sure.

John

Have any PC power supply cables laying around? I used those for mine, not sure what length you need for your setup. But I grabbed some free from my IT buds.

 

[jcav]

Pure artistry. I love reading this thread. The pictures alone almost describe the build. It's like flicking through some great book on electric homebrew setup. Just incredible. Sharp crisp clean images telling the story. Amazing!

Wow, I really appreciate your comments Gavin! I am glad your enjoying the thread, I am having a blast building it!

John

 

[jcav]

Given that the pumps only pull an amp or two when in use, I doubt it's 14 ga wire. More likely 16, 18. It should be written right on it.

Kal

Your right Kal, mine are covered in stainless sleeving right now, which I might be taking off....I did some more searching and I found the info. The cords are 18 gauge. This is Walter at March pumps replying to another post about a similar question.

Originally Posted by mrjofus1959 View Post
Hello Walter - Can you tell me what wire gauge you're using for the power cords on the 815 pump? Also how hard would it be to break down the motor housing to install a new power cord, versus splicing on to the original cord to get the length I need for my setup?

Thanks, Kevin

Breaking down the motor to change the cord is about impossible for most people. If you were to pop the back cover off the motor you would see the lamination stacks inside....there are two dimples on the outside of the motor that hold that stack in plac....you would need to pop them out to be able just to remove that stack....then you will see the cord is crimped to the main coil wires....must people dont have any type of crimper to spice it the right way...and i'm not sure how well solder would work here.....then if you were actually able to get to this point you would need to insert the stack back into the housing and stake it again without distorting the assembly! Most people that call and ask about this i advise against trying it. Just extend the cord you have now and install a nice braided sleeve over the cord to hide the splice.
The wire gauge is 18.
__________________
-Walter

So there it is from Walter himself, 18 gauge wire comes on the March pumps in case anyone else is interested......

John

 

[jcav]

Have any PC power supply cables laying around? I used those for mine, not sure what length you need for your setup. But I grabbed some free from my IT buds.

That's a good idea too. I will check around the house or go to Home Depot and get two cords. I will get this done this week .....(hopefully)!

John

 

[jcav]

Might as well post the thread I was referring to in case anyone wants to read it for themselves............It's the 7th post down from the top # 437.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=210199&page=44


John

 

[beernutz]

Testing everything for leaks.
View attachment 313548

View attachment 313549

View attachment 313550

View attachment 313551

View attachment 313552

View attachment 313553
I got these sampling valves from Brewer's Hardware. I put them on top of the pump ball valves and they work great at purging the air in the lines. I had no problem at all with priming the pumps.
View attachment 313554
Just open the valve until water or wort comes out and all the air is purged from the line and pump.
View attachment 313555
You can put on a piece of silicone tubing also if you want. Great for taking gravity readings.
View attachment 313556
I also got this compact sight glass and I am really happy with it. Small footprint doesn't overwhelm my setup compared to some other larger ones I have seen and very easy to take apart and clean.
View attachment 313557

Haha, I have pitcher too! Of course that is about the only brewing equipment we have in common. You have a very impressive system.

 

[jcav]

Haha, I have pitcher too! Of course that is about the only brewing equipment we have in common. You have a very impressive system.

That's great!! I love that pitcher, it's a one gallon size with graduated markings on it. Thanks Beernutz!

John

 

[jcav]

I just got an e-mail this afternoon from Spike Innovations and they are shipping my control box, temp probes, and power cord today! It should arrive on Wednesday 11/25/15 (the day before Thanksgiving). Looks like I'll be breaking in the new system and brewing that weekend!! Thanks Mike and Kal, it will be Christmas at my house a month early this year!

John

 

[Roadie]

Whoo hoo! Brew party at John's house!

 

[kal]

I just got an e-mail this afternoon from Spike Innovations and they are shipping my control box, temp probes, and power cord today! It should arrive on Wednesday 11/25/15 (the day before Thanksgiving). Looks like I'll be breaking in the new system and brewing that weekend!! Thanks Mike and Kal, it will be Christmas at my house a month early this year!

Woohoo! Pictures or it didn't happen! (err, wait...)

Kal

 

[jcav]

Whoo hoo! Brew party at John's house!

Your invited Roadie!!

 

[jcav]

Woohoo! Pictures or it didn't happen! (err, wait...)

Kal

I will make sure to post some pics when the box arrives! Maybe do some unboxing photos......

John

 

[Roadie]

I remember when all my stuff starting arriving; it was like opening Christmas presents... only better!

 

[kal]

I will make sure to post some pics when the box arrives! Maybe do some unboxing photos......

Cool! I always like those... Here's another:

http://imgur.com/a/yLvth

Kal

 

[jcav]

I know really it's like I'm a kid again. I also am like best friends with the UPS guy now, he comes to my house more than my sons!

John

 

[jcav]

Cool! I always like those... Here's another:

http://imgur.com/a/yLvth

Kal

Wow, that's just absolutely amazing! Getting excited to get mine next week. Thanks for posting!

John

 

[jcav]

So after kicking it around I decided to take Roadie's advice and use two small extension cords to extend the length of my March pump cords. I already had cut off the original plugs and put on Leviton flat plugs and stainless braid for the other build I was making. So I left those plugs on and got matching Leviton female ends, and then got the correct twist lock plug ends to go into Kal's control box. I got two six foot extension cords which were 18 gauge. I also put on some black sleeving to make it look nice (why not right) and black heat shrink to keep it in from unraveling and hold it in place.

 

[jcav]

The finished plugs.

Kal's control box comes Wednesday so stay tuned for unboxing photos!