Show us your sculpture or brew rig

[dmarc85]

Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[gezzanet]

Cool. Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[mr_rogers]

You could grab yourself a 12v solar pump online for 50-75 bucks.

They have those same pumps on eBay for 25! Shipped from California in less than three days!

 

[mr_rogers]

...

 

[wbarber69]

Can't seem to find one for 25 bucks. In fact I couldn't even find ussolarpumps on eBay at all. Let alone one that has near the features of a ussolarpump for anywhere close to 25 bucks…

 

[Butchhe]

I believe these are the ones that mr_rogers is referring to.

 

[augiedoggy]

I believe these are the ones that mr_rogers is referring to.

I have been using one of these exact pumps for almost a year now along with a couple of the tan food grade ones... They really do work great and are more than powerful enough for my applications....I use them to mash and pump my wort through a rims tube (previosly used a herms coil) as well as sparging and pumping through the plate chiller.. I often even throttle them back through my cheap ebay pwm speed controllers.

keep in mind if your clumsy or dont clean the pumps after use by running hot water through them then these arent the best choice for you. They are plastic.

 

[mr_rogers]

I believe these are the ones that mr_rogers is referring to.

Exactly the pump I was talking about. They work very well for a fraction of the cost.

 

[1fast636]

So the tan ones are good grade? Might just pick two of these up for that price

 

[wbarber69]

I may grab 2 for transfer pumps. I already have 2 on my brewery but they are stainless threads. And I got the TD-4 or is it 5? From ussolarpumps that does 6gpm at 12v with a full stainless head for my main boil kettle. I wish I could find a good food grade pump like this that is self priming so I can transfer from my fermenters in place while in my ferm chamber.

 

[Butchhe]

The tan ones are decent from what I have read but the black ones are supposed to be a bit stronger and not as brittle.

 

[wbarber69]

I know they aren't 25 dollars. But I have been using the ussolarpumps for over a year. I can tell you this, they do honor their warranty and they answer emails. They didn't even make the pump with the all-stainless head before I requested it. I wanted a similar speed (it's a little slower) as a march pump. But something small and slightly cheaper that I could tie into my 12v control panel I already had for the other 2 pumps. They delivered on that with 135usd price tag (no tax, free shipping!). I couldn't be happier with it. It even has a built in speed control, although I only use it for whirlpool and chilling so I don't ever turn it down.

 

[HiImBrian]

1) If these cheap ebay pumps work so well, then why are so many people using $200-$300 pumps instead?

2) I see a lot of people running from the spout on the HLT to the top of the MLT for sparging, but then the spout of the MLT to the spout on the boil kettle. Are people filling their boil kettle from the bottom? Why not just fill from the top?

 

[wbarber69]

#1 they don't know any better/want unnecessarily fast flow rate

#2 because it don't matter. Hell I dough in in my mlt from the bottom and I bottom fill my bk through the bottom whirlpool port to start stirring my wort as I begin to heat it up. It probably doesn't work at faster but it's cool to look at.

 

[dmcman73]

I think most fill it from the bottom spout from the MLT to the BK because it's a place to clamp the hose to from the pump. Last thing you want is to put the hose in the top, turn on the pump and the hose falls out losing precious wort. There is no right or wrong way to fill anything, it's only done out of convince and what works best.

I'm looking to start filling my SS conical from the drain/sample spout instead of from the top of it, a because I can attach the hose to it using a cam lock instead of dropping the hose into the top. Frees my hands up to drink a brew as I drain the BK and not worry about the hose slipping out.

 

[steveoatley]

It was my understanding that pumping in "the top" was to not have to fight
all the head pressure

Pumping in "the bottom" means you may have 10 gallon of wort sitting on top
of what you are trying to pump

and certain pumps did not have the head pressure power to pump that.

Steve

 

[BonsaiBrewa]

"I think most fill it from the bottom spout from the MLT to the BK because it's a place to clamp the hose to from the pump."

That's mainly it for me. Also, my MLT and BK are on the same level and since the pump is below the BK, the output line from the pump can be at least 2-3 feet shorter since you don't have to make it long enough to wrap up and over the top of the kettle.

 

[wbarber69]

I'm using 12v ussolarpumps and I don't have any issues with head pressure. I do 6 to 7 gallon batches so I can have up to 10 gallons to contend with every brew day. Not a problem.

 

[idylldon]

After brewing for almost 25 years and using 2x12s and sawhorses, I put this together last week out of old stair railing.



Cheers,
--
Don

 

[pfgonzo]

Don, nice rig! You running two mashes at once? Or what's the 4th keggle?

 

[Aaron1983]

My humble setup... im sure the years to come will see many additions and modifications.

 

[steveoatley]

moving from garage to basement very soon

 

[HiImBrian]

Here's how I'm making beer currently. I don't like that I need extra hands to complete a brew, so I'm sourcing out a motor to essentially replace my top tier.

I've been skimming this thread seeking out new ideas for a more permanent rig. Only time will tell what she turns into.

 

[idylldon]

Don, nice rig! You running two mashes at once? Or what's the 4th keggle?

Left to right:

HLT, mash tun, lauter tun, and brew kettle. I use motorized mash mixing and direct heat under the mash tun for step mashes so I use a separate lauter tun. Yeah, it's old school all the way but I'm used to it and like the workflow. I also like to lauter via gravity, which is why the lauter tun is up a bit higher. My brew kettle is 20 gallons so it sits up higher than a normal kettle.

I use the pump for sparging and filling the fermenter.

Cheers,
--
Don

 

[Sir_niveda]

Here is my three tier gravity fed cat tree. I found all the scrap wood and hardware on the property I was living on at the time. I've brewed many a batch on it and, no I have never had any tip over scares. The base platform of the tree fits between the deck boards and the bottom of the railing, so as to prevent it from even being able to tip.

I just added this today though I only had it mounted there to test it.

Hopefully soon here I'll be rebuilding it to be a bit beefier and easier on the eyes. Add a burner up top and raise boil kettle to above carboy height, so as to avoid lifting gallons of hot water or wort.

 

[wi_brewer]

Picked this brutus 10 up from Craigslist...$400!

Was a bit clumsy with it during the first brew on Saturday, but it was fun.

 

[HootervilleHops]

Picked this brutus 10 up from Craigslist...$400!

Was a bit clumsy with it during the first brew on Saturday, but it was fun.

View attachment 227891

Now that was a STEAL even if the keggles did not come with it!

 

[pfgonzo]

Panel and all? Holy moly that's a deal!

 

[wi_brewer]

Panel and all? Holy moly that's a deal!

Yup, everything included. Stand, 2 pumps, 3 burners, control panel with 2 love controls, keggles, and plate chiller.

False bottom wasn't much so I scavenged the one that I had in my 10 gallon cooler mash tun. Also swapped out his single piece valves with the 3 piece valves I had on my old equipment.

As I explained to my wife, he made me buy it at that price.

 

[bd2xu]

That's insane! Talk about a fire sale. I have a very similar system without automation and a big immersion chiller. I must have over 1500 into it.