I love it!!!
Self-Contained Systems: Real Work Savers?
- Thread starter Clint Yeastwood
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Teufelhunde
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I brew with a Brewzilla, and the clean up could not be easier. It takes about an hour total, 55 minutes of which is waiting for the water to heat. About 5 minutes of actual work....
Beer has been cool since the first time somebody got a buzz from spoiled grain.
OP
OP
The Braumeister arrived. The poor guy who sold it packed it really well. His Ebay listing said he could no longer drink beer. I don't know the reason, but it's probably not good. The wife and I will be praying for him.
I spent a lot of today buying a fermenting freezer and selecting a keg and Fermzilla. I'll be using a bucket, the freezer, and a Johnson control for this beer, but I will try to use the Fermzilla for the wheat beer I'm making next time.
I also went to Home Depot and bought an extension cord, a NEMA 6-15P plug, and a NEMA 14-30P dryer plug. I'll be crafting an extension cord so I can use the dryer receptacle in the laundry room.
It's kind of sad. I personally installed all sorts of 220 sockets in my shop, but I have thought it over, and I really want to brew in the kitchen. I'll just run a long cord of the appropriate gauge. the shop is in an outbuilding, but the kitchen counters are within 30 feet of the laundry room.
In case anyone else needs to know, the 20L V2 draws 10 amps (WRONG, SEE BELOW), and the plug uses a ground and two hots. No neutral. I am planning on using 14-gauge wire. Some would choose 12, but I'm not worried. If it starts to smoke, I'll change my mind.
Speidel has an English manual online. The paper manual I received is in German.
CORRECTION: the 20L takes a 10A fuse, which means it draws less than 10 amps. I got this wrong because when I read the manual, I chose not to pay much attention. Generally, this pays off for me.
I spent a lot of today buying a fermenting freezer and selecting a keg and Fermzilla. I'll be using a bucket, the freezer, and a Johnson control for this beer, but I will try to use the Fermzilla for the wheat beer I'm making next time.
I also went to Home Depot and bought an extension cord, a NEMA 6-15P plug, and a NEMA 14-30P dryer plug. I'll be crafting an extension cord so I can use the dryer receptacle in the laundry room.
It's kind of sad. I personally installed all sorts of 220 sockets in my shop, but I have thought it over, and I really want to brew in the kitchen. I'll just run a long cord of the appropriate gauge. the shop is in an outbuilding, but the kitchen counters are within 30 feet of the laundry room.
In case anyone else needs to know, the 20L V2 draws 10 amps (WRONG, SEE BELOW), and the plug uses a ground and two hots. No neutral. I am planning on using 14-gauge wire. Some would choose 12, but I'm not worried. If it starts to smoke, I'll change my mind.
Speidel has an English manual online. The paper manual I received is in German.
CORRECTION: the 20L takes a 10A fuse, which means it draws less than 10 amps. I got this wrong because when I read the manual, I chose not to pay much attention. Generally, this pays off for me.
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I can appreciate brewing indoors. I brew in the basement; right now I have the mash going, coffee made and checking on what's up on the first day of 2023.
I have an attached garage I'd love to have outfitted for brewing, but it's not in my immediate plans, but thinking about it.
Good luck with your brew!
I have an attached garage I'd love to have outfitted for brewing, but it's not in my immediate plans, but thinking about it.
Good luck with your brew!
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Florida is the no-basement state, for the most part. When you drive around my county, you see all sorts of detached shops. It's obvious a lot of old retired coots are doing the puttering around they always dreamed of when they were young.
My kind of basement is the kind that has a garage door and a driveway. I admire the guys who wrestle heavy things up and down stairs.
My kind of basement is the kind that has a garage door and a driveway. I admire the guys who wrestle heavy things up and down stairs.
DuncB
Well-Known Member
Worldwide I'd think that basements are the exception rather than the norm.
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In case anyone cares, here are the items I used to make a cord to attach the Braumeister to my 4-prong dryer outlet. The Braumeister lights up and has not exploded yet.
DISCLAIMER: I am not an electrician, and you will probably die if you do what I did. Your house will burn down, and your neighbors will hate you. Hire an electrician. Some people would recommend a 12-gauge cord instead of 14.
The Braumeister came with a 6-15P plug on the end, so I bought a 14-gauge 50-foot Husky extension cord, cut the ends off, and put a 6-15R receptacle on it. My particular dryer takes a 14-30R receptacle, so I got a plug to match. There are also 50-amp 4-prong receptacles. If you are afraid of making a mistake, you can get the plug I used, which can be set up either way.
I bought the 6-15R at Lowe's and the 14-30P at Home Depot. The reason for this is that Lowe's didn't have everything I wanted, and from experience, I know better than to leave a store that has one thing I need and go to another store, assuming it will have it, too.
Legrand 15-Amp 250-Volt NEMA 6-15r Industrial Straight Connector Model #PS5669XCCV4
30/50 Amp 3-Pole Angle Plug NEMA 14-30P/14-50P, Black
DISCLAIMER: I am not an electrician, and you will probably die if you do what I did. Your house will burn down, and your neighbors will hate you. Hire an electrician. Some people would recommend a 12-gauge cord instead of 14.
The Braumeister came with a 6-15P plug on the end, so I bought a 14-gauge 50-foot Husky extension cord, cut the ends off, and put a 6-15R receptacle on it. My particular dryer takes a 14-30R receptacle, so I got a plug to match. There are also 50-amp 4-prong receptacles. If you are afraid of making a mistake, you can get the plug I used, which can be set up either way.
I bought the 6-15R at Lowe's and the 14-30P at Home Depot. The reason for this is that Lowe's didn't have everything I wanted, and from experience, I know better than to leave a store that has one thing I need and go to another store, assuming it will have it, too.
Legrand 15-Amp 250-Volt NEMA 6-15r Industrial Straight Connector Model #PS5669XCCV4
30/50 Amp 3-Pole Angle Plug NEMA 14-30P/14-50P, Black
DuncB
Well-Known Member
@Clint Yeastwood
So much easier in the 220 volt world!
So much easier in the 220 volt world!
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It's too bad there are different conventions everywhere. It's not just 120 v. 220.
I wonder if there's any home brewers out there using 3 phase 480vac. I couldn't imagine buying wire for a project like that. Bad enough trying to source 12 or 14 gauge. 15' of 10/2 was a little less than a fifty dollar bill. Needed that for a generator plug.
DuncB
Well-Known Member
Very serious home brewers I'd say.
Just imagine how quick a boil you'd get! Just thought I'd throw that out since we were discussing electrical, here, there and other parts of the world.
DuncB
Well-Known Member
Voltage is only a small part of the heat supply equation and rate to boil.
Indeed, totally agree. Mine is rated in BTU's. Other than an electric HLT (120vac) the boil is done with gas.
We all approach our brewing hobby a little different depending on a lot of factors. The one thing we all have in common though is trying the brew the best beer we can with what we have. All good conversations!
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If you have 480V 3-phase power in the US, you can bet on having enough current to run a pretty crazy system. No one is going to wire a building that way to run a night light.
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I'm starting to see why people like AIO's. I am going to try to brew tomorrow, so I started making a to-do list. Here are the first 6 items:
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I have really been trying to brew today.
I read up on the Braumeister's recipe programming. I saw "wifi" somewhere in this process, and I thought there had to be an app for programming the machine. Alas, this appears to be untrue. You have to scroll through a billion characters to fill every line.
With that done, I decided to clean the crud off the inside of the kettle. For the most part, the machine arrived clean, and I did an all-water run the other day as a sea trial, so that should have helped as well. Today, I noticed a ring of what looked like lime around the inside. I dumped a great deal of citric acid in the machine and ran it at 156 degrees for a while. After that, I added fresh water and ran the pump to make sure there was no acid in it. All clean now. I also ordered a tub of PBW.
I was disappointed to see that I had to tilt the Braumeister in order to empty it.
I read up on the Braumeister's recipe programming. I saw "wifi" somewhere in this process, and I thought there had to be an app for programming the machine. Alas, this appears to be untrue. You have to scroll through a billion characters to fill every line.
With that done, I decided to clean the crud off the inside of the kettle. For the most part, the machine arrived clean, and I did an all-water run the other day as a sea trial, so that should have helped as well. Today, I noticed a ring of what looked like lime around the inside. I dumped a great deal of citric acid in the machine and ran it at 156 degrees for a while. After that, I added fresh water and ran the pump to make sure there was no acid in it. All clean now. I also ordered a tub of PBW.
I was disappointed to see that I had to tilt the Braumeister in order to empty it.
OP
OP
My verdict on the Braumeister is positive, except for the ridiculous way they expect you to update the firmware, along with the fact that they expect you to tip it to empty it, while placing the expensive control stuff right where the machine will rest on it as you tip.
When I was done brewing, I was surprised at how little I had left to do. I put the strainers in the dishwasher, which doesn't count as work. I washed the mashing pipe in the kitchen sink, and after that the BM itself, which fit just fine. I ran the pump with new water to make sure nothing was left in it, and I lifted the BM and turned it to get everything out.
I think I should use hop bags next time.
The only real problem I had was self-inflicted. I put way too little mash water in it. No big deal for a first run.
It has been many years since I brewed with old-fashioned tools, so my recollections are not perfect, but I believe it was a lot more work, and I had to stand by the kettle a lot of the time.
I'm glad I got this thing. Brewing the old way would have been a big mistake.
It would have been more work had I used a chiller, but I put the fermenter in the pool, where the temperature is 65 degrees. The wort was down to about 71 a couple of hours later, so I suppose I could have taken it out after an hour.
When I was done brewing, I was surprised at how little I had left to do. I put the strainers in the dishwasher, which doesn't count as work. I washed the mashing pipe in the kitchen sink, and after that the BM itself, which fit just fine. I ran the pump with new water to make sure nothing was left in it, and I lifted the BM and turned it to get everything out.
I think I should use hop bags next time.
The only real problem I had was self-inflicted. I put way too little mash water in it. No big deal for a first run.
It has been many years since I brewed with old-fashioned tools, so my recollections are not perfect, but I believe it was a lot more work, and I had to stand by the kettle a lot of the time.
I'm glad I got this thing. Brewing the old way would have been a big mistake.
It would have been more work had I used a chiller, but I put the fermenter in the pool, where the temperature is 65 degrees. The wort was down to about 71 a couple of hours later, so I suppose I could have taken it out after an hour.
Congratulations!
For your first with this new piece of equipment, it doesn't sound too bad. As you use it more, you'll find ways to shave some time off or just make the process easier. I say it all the time; learn as you go, take good notes and enjoy your hobby!
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