Single vessel BIAB electric build

[thughes]

Kettle build (sight glass tee plugged with small tap for testing until RTD arrives):

from the front

from the side

down the barrel

 

[thughes]

Custom modified Harbor Freight brew stand:

was

is now

 

[thughes]

Control box build:

electronic parts pron

SSR and heat sink mounted on rear cover, switches mounted in front cover, terminal and fuse blocks mounted on bottom

220V side wired

110V side wired (minus the PID, which is the heart of the system)

fired up for a test run

 

[thughes]

Tuning PID and getting ready for inaugural brew this weekend.

Special thanks to P-J, Kal, Scuba, Eric, and anyone else that offered advice (or I stole ideas from).

Electric brewing rocks! :rockin:

 

[wedge421]

Looks good! Let us know how it worked

 

[jlachesk]

Awesome build! This is almost exactly what I'm planning and gives me some great ideas.

Would love to hear any tips or what you'd change about it (maybe once you get a few brews under your belt).

 

[seatbelt123]

Awesome! This is what I want to do too. I was even eyeing the HF cart!

Which wiring diagram did you use (link)?

Thanks.

 

[thughes]

Awesome build! This is almost exactly what I'm planning and gives me some great ideas.

Would love to hear any tips or what you'd change about it (maybe once you get a few brews under your belt).

Only tip I can give at this point is to take your time with the build (especially the wiring). I spent several hours laying out and wiring the control box only to finish up @ midnight. A quick test showed an internal short which I then spent the next 3 hours chasing. Finally called it quits at 4:00 AM and forced myself to go to bed.

The next day, with a clear head, it took about 10 minutes to determine that I had actually wired the breaker in the spa panel incorrectly.

I can tell you that so far I really like this electric brewing thing: push a button and the water gets hot. No more lugging propane (and making sure I have enough), hauling out the burner, standing out in the cold (it's Fall here....snow is coming soon), etc.

 

[thughes]

Awesome! This is what I want to do too. I was even eyeing the HF cart!

Which wiring diagram did you use (link)?

Thanks.

The cart was on sale locally with a "super saver" coupon for $54.99, couldn't pass it up.

I used a combination of several diagrams posted here by P-J.

 

[thughes]

Other stats:

240/5500W element

62qt Bayou Classic with steamer basket and home-made voile bag

$50 Home Despot spa panel run from dedicated 50A circuit in main panel

electronics from Auberin

March pump

fittings (cam locks, weldless, etc) from Bargain Fittings

 

[P-J]

thughes,

I'm very proud of you and your build. It looks absolutely great. It also pleases me a lot that I was of help to you in your adventure.

You are a perfect example of the reason that I spend time drawing and posting wiring plans on this forum. I snatch concepts from the members and then develop plans that might be of help. I'm fairly old (72) and retarded (Wait - wait - Retired?). Doing the mind jumps keeps me going.

Thanks again!
P-J

 

[hatfieldenator]

P-J, I think we all have you to thank immensely for taking the time to post those wiring diagrams! They are always VERY helpful and we're very grateful for your help! Thanks so much and keep it up!

 

[johnodon]

Great build!

Congrats and let's see some pics of the first brew!

John

 

[HopheadNJ]

Loving this E-BIAB stuff going on here! This is going to be my next system when the time ($$) is right. I've been looking to go electric for awhile so I can setup a permanent brew area/fixture in my basement and not have to breakdown/store all my gear.

I'd like to utilize my existing 15 Gallon MoreBeer pot, but not sure if I can find a strainer basket large enough as it's shorter/wider than most of the bayou style pots.

So far from what I've been reading, most of you guys doing E-BIAB have had pretty good results, no? Can you manage a 10 gallon brew (moderate gravity) in a 15 gallon kettle with a 240v system like this?

 

[Psych]

Looks really good and very clean in your control panel!

Congratulations and enjoy the relaxed indoor brewing that is electric

 

[thughes]

..... Can you manage a 10 gallon brew (moderate gravity) in a 15 gallon kettle with a 240v system like this?

Can't say for sure at the moment. I do plan on finding out very soon though, the numbers work but I need to determine if it actually fits in the pot. I want to do 10 gal of my Porter recipe and then ferment half on vanilla beans and half on sweet cherries. I will make a note to respond with my results.

 

[seatbelt123]

Other stats:

$50 Home Despot spa panel run from dedicated 50A circuit in main panel

I plan on using an extension cord (10') from my dryer outlet (gfci circuit). Any reason why I should do a spa panel instead?

Thanks!

 

[thughes]

I only used the Spa panel because my dryer is not on a GFCI and a GFCI breaker for my main panel is $100.00 while the Spa panel was only $50.00......simple economics.

As to using an extension cord with your protected dryer circuit....I am not qualified to answer that, sorry.

 

[makomachine]

Any pics of the inside during your test run? How much did you have invested in this? I've got a 44qt kettle and 2000watt element headed my way for an e-kettle and you now have me considering a full BIAB setup.

 

[johnodon]

I'd like to utilize my existing 15 Gallon MoreBeer pot, but not sure if I can find a strainer basket large enough as it's shorter/wider than most of the bayou style pots.

Honestly, I have stopped using my steamer basket. I just found that it restricted drainage too much. I have sinced moved to the bag linked below and could not be happier. I still use my pulley system and just hook each of the loops on teh bag onto the "S" hook.

http://www.mashmaster.com/p/4300172/brew-in-a-bag-biab.html

Ditchign the steamer basket also gives me one less thing to clean!

So far from what I've been reading, most of you guys doing E-BIAB have had pretty good results, no? Can you manage a 10 gallon brew (moderate gravity) in a 15 gallon kettle with a 240v system like this?

I have had the same results as when I did things the "traditional" way and make damn good beer. I have toyed with doing 10 gallon batches but I don't think I would attempt it with anything less than a 20g pot and would probably opt for a 25g pot (I like plenty of headroom).

John

 

[thughes]

Any pics of the inside during your test run? How much did you have invested in this? I've got a 44qt kettle and 2000watt element headed my way for an e-kettle and you now have me considering a full BIAB setup.

No pics of the inside during test run (it was just water boiling...boring!).

Adding everything up: pot, fittings and hoses, stand, pump, electronics, spa panel and wiring, etc, I've got @ $700.00 invested. I've been collecting parts for over a year so it wasn't a one-time hit to the wallet. I could have probably saved at least $200 or more if I spent another 6 months bargain hunting but with the colder weather coming I just wanted to get this project finished so I can brew inside.

 

[thughes]

First run last weekend:

grinding the grain:

14 lbs of grain ready to go:

basket hanging from skyhook:

right after I pushed the "go" button, on our way to strike temp from 66 F:

30 minutes later we hit 152 F and dumped in the grain. On our way to barley tea:

mash complete, boil done, into the cube, and cooling:

 

[thughes]

Observations/lessons learned:

Electric is waaay faster than my propane setup. Took 30 minutes to get from 66 to 152, 10 minutes to get from 152 to 168, and 15 minutes to get from 168 to boil.

Once boiling, I can maintain a good rolling boil with the power output set to 60% (in manual mode).

Although the basket looks like Swiss cheese, it does not drain well enough. If I recirculate too fast, the liquid can not drain through the holes in the basket fast enough and the level in the pot begins to rise. I compensated for this today by closing up the valve on the recirculation hose to a tiny trickle. I think I will take a saw to the basket and hack the hell out of it. (Stay tuned for pictures)

I also need to tweak the PID controller a bit more but despite my best efforts to the contrary, I was able to maintain a perfect 152 F for the duration of the mash. I did have some trouble getting the PID to raise the temp to mashout (I know that hurt my efficiency).

At the end of the day, I managed to get 69% efficiency and 6.25 gallons of 1.055 wort into the cube.
I think crushing a bit finer, opening up the holes in the basket, and stirring a bit more will get my numbers back up to where they were with my old system (82-84%).

 

[thughes]

I reckon this basket should flow a bit better now.


before:

after:

 

[thughes]

Second test session tonight brewing a stout. The Swiss cheese modification to the basket seems to have improved the process. I can now crank up the recirculation and the temperature is staying rock-solid. No signs of draining restriction, liquid level is remaining stable now that the basket can flow better. The final test will be how well it drains when I hoist it out.

Stout in progress:

PID seems to behave much better after I let it auto-tune itself:

I was concentrating so hard on adjusting/testing flow and verifying temps that I forgot to start the timer for my mash.

 

[thughes]

Worked great for the mash but the bottom line is that there is no substitute for "squeezing your sack".

I lifted the basket and let it drain for 10 minutes, pre-boil volume went from 6.5 to 7 gallons.

I then put a pot lid on top of the bag and added a 5lb weight. After draining for another 10 minutes I picked up another .10 gallon in the brew pot.

My pre-boil volume target was 8 gallons. So I pulled the bag out of the basket, hung it over the pot, put my gloves on, and squeezed the **** out of it. Ended up with 8.1 gallons pre-boil for an efficiency of 76%.

I can live with that.

 

[samc]

Same issue draining with the SS basket, what size holes did you drill? How long did that take? Basket is pretty flimsy so I can't imagine it will be too tough to drill.

 

[thughes]

I used my 1 1/4" chassis punch to open up the basket.

 

[EFaden]

Good job. Looks great.

 

[r8rphan]

Excellent.. This is exactly the direction I want to go.. Single vessel BIAB electric system with recirculating pump.. So 'subscribed'...

I'm wondering if I should go with my existing keggle (15.5G), or if it will be too small.. I brew 10-11.5 G batches... 'Usually' not more than 28lbs grain... I guess if I want to make anything bigger I can always go with a 5G brew... any input on this would be appreciated...

My Bayou classic strainer/steamer pot that came with my turkey fryer (what I used when I started brewing) is just a 'hair' too big to fit in the opening of my keggle... So I'm curious about the BIAB bag that someone linked to at 'mashmaster.com'.. but it doesn't give nay specs on the dimensions or capacity of that bag... Would appreciate that info too if anyone has it...

If I end up having to buy a new kettle, I'll probably go a bit bigger with an 82 qt version...