The MaxOut Brew Station

[Layne]

DUDE!, thats a for real Man cave / brewery!

 

[MaxOut]

This looks like a SERIOUS setup, man. I like the color-coded rings on the hoses too.

I made color picture flow charts and my son is the official "Hose Changer" during brew days. He just flips throug the pages and looks at the colors. Part of the reason I do not desire a hard piped fully automated system. I like getting involved.


You're in Hugesville? I grew up in Waldorf.

Yup, lived in So.Md. for 32 years. Originally from the Great Lakes are of NY.

May need to come by and crash a brew-day the next time I visit my folks.

Sonds great. Im sure I could learn allot from a more seasoned brewer. I going off text and nothing like hands on. Give me a shout when your in the area.

Thanks.

 

[MaxOut]

DUDE!, thats a for real Man cave / brewery!

Thanks! I live near a main freeway many of my friends travel on frequently. They allways try to tell SWIMBO a beer keg rolled into the highway and diverted them to my house They call it "Garagemahall". Many of good times with close friends. I am in the garage more than I am in the house Lets just say my friends wives are not to fond of "Garagemahall" at times.

 

[Rondacker]

This is where the brews are served and the other cooking takes place. Opposite end of garage.

That's no garage!:cross:
Where's the busted car and waste oil barrels?
Really impressive work!

 

[Walker]

PM me your address. I'll be there in about 5 hours.

 

[JetSmooth]

That's no garage!:cross:

It's a space station?

 

[Rondacker]

It's a space station?

"Personal Space" station..

 

[stokems]

I can not think of a better word than ENVIOUS!!! Good for you man, enjoy!

 

[jsguitar]

Amazing!

 

[MaxOut]

"Personal Space" station..

I Like

 

[MaxOut]

Here a few random build pictures.

 

[wildwest450]

You had me right up til the pic of the temp probes in water for primary fermentation, poo poo.

Very nice work on everything else, i'm almost sorry I badgered you in the classified section.

_

 

[MaxOut]

A few random build shots.

 

[Fetus]

I'm jealous. Really jealous. I want to hate you for having something that awesome that I'll never have.

Nice stuff, man. Be proud.

 

[durk]

wow again. the opposite side of the garage is freakin awesome too.

one question for you? how hot does that OSB get behind your brew kettles? seams like adding a less flammable material or a SS backsplash of some kind might be a good idea. better safe than sorry considering how nice your "garage" is.

 

[MaxOut]

You had me right up til the pic of the temp probes in water for primary fermentation, poo poo.



Very nice work on everything else, i'm almost sorry I badgered you in the classified section.

_

Where do you suggest I’m always open for suggestions? Just did the water thing because I thought it would be better than open air. I thought about putting temp probes into each fermenter through grommet in lids to monitor activity and control compressor with off one in water. Problem is I don’t want to make drastic changes in temp based on one fermentation. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Don't sweat the classified section...No offense taken.

 

[wildwest450]

Where do you suggest I’m always open for suggestions?

It is tough when fermenting that many beers at one time. I just do one at a time and tape the probe to the side of the fermenter.

I find this keeps the temps within 2f no matter how active the fermentation. Any way you do it you will have decent temp swings with that many buckets at one time.
Get a pipeline going and start fermenting one at a time.



-

 

[MaxOut]

wow again. the opposite side of the garage is freakin awesome too.

one question for you? how hot does that OSB get behind your brew kettles? seams like adding a less flammable material or a SS backsplash of some kind might be a good idea. better safe than sorry considering how nice your "garage" is.

I know. The OSB sucks.

OSB is the first thing to go and when I get the money I will go stainless or tile. Actually that is why I am selling left over stuff in the classifieds is to raise some dough to cover the OSB.

Surprisingly it does not get too hot because the burners are down in and surrounded with stainless. You can lay your hand on the table in front of vessels and will not burn your hand. Either way it has to go. Thanks.

 

[MaxOut]

Get a pipeline going and start fermenting one at a time.



-

Good Idea and once I have a recipe I really like I will invest in a larger fermenter and do one big batch at time. A friend is trying to give me a 4 foot by 6 foot walk in box and I might take it for a future chamber to put a couple decent conicals in. My initial goal was to brew once a week until I get 4 lager beers in the primary. Then brew every two weeks after that. Once I move the last lager to secondary I am going to try a couple of ales one at a time. Want to brew as much as possible to work out my processes and get some beer on back up in case I end up with a bad batch.

 

[The_Dog_42]

Where do you suggest I’m always open for suggestions?

I am going to use this method to control both my kegerator and a ferm chamber. Whitelabs vial filled with freezer gel with a prob stuck in it.

Take from John Beere's walk-in cooler.

 

[wildwest450]

How is a stagnant gel pack going to control fermentation temps? Fine but not necessary for a kegerator, but simply not the best option for a fermenter.


_

 

[The_Dog_42]

The gel pack can control ambient temps, so it controls fermentation over multiple vessels. There are lots of ideas on how to handle it with a single vessel, but when dealing with multiple vessels, I like the idea of monitoring semi-ambient conditions. The gel pack provides a little slower response, so opening the door doesn't automatically make the compressor come on but it will respond to the heat dumped into the fridge by the fermentation cycles of all your vessels. Control the ambient and the vessels will follow. It'd be interesting to have a data logger monitor the temp of a vessel using this method, but I don't have the setup to do a comparison.


Oh and Maxout...PROST!

 

[MaxOut]

The gel pack can control ambient temps, so it controls fermentation over multiple vessels. There are lots of ideas on how to handle it with a single vessel, but when dealing with multiple vessels, I like the idea of monitoring semi-ambient conditions. The gel pack provides a little slower response, so opening the door doesn't automatically make the compressor come on but it will respond to the heat dumped into the fridge by the fermentation cycles of all your vessels. Control the ambient and the vessels will follow. It'd be interesting to have a data logger monitor the temp of a vessel using this method, but I don't have the setup to do a comparison.

Oh and Maxout...PROST!

Thank you, I like the gel idea. I was going to use the data logging feature on the BCS and place a probe in each vessel and one in ambient. I have three separate fermentations going on in there now and getting ready to be four today. Ive been watching the strips on the buckets nut they seem to all be the same? Problem is I do not have a hole for the probe in existing fermenting vessel's and don't dare try to mod the lid in the middle of a fermentation. I will start with the new batch that will go in today and see what happens.

 

[pola0502ds]

Can you tell us where you got the color coded rings for your hoses and a where you got the burner ignitors?

 

[Tarheel4985]

What insulation did you use on the temperature sensor cables? It looks like mesh/fiberglass but I'm curious where you sourced it. We are having some heat issues with our sensors and other wiring, so I'm looking for something to protect it from the heat.

 

[android]

well... go big or go home, right? very rad build and setup there my friend!

 

[MaxOut]

What insulation did you use on the temperature sensor cables? It looks like mesh/fiberglass but I'm curious where you sourced it. We are having some heat issues with our sensors and other wiring, so I'm looking for something to protect it from the heat.

I bought the braided wire sleeve on eBay -

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1-4-...16794782QQptZCarQ5fAudioQ5fVideo#ht_500wt_722

To be honest I would look around for actual fiberglass sleeve as this is flame retardant at best. If you are looking for good heat insulation they sell the fiberglass stuff in a tape that you can just wrap around the wires. I've used in on exhaust headers and is probably a better solution if you have serious heat. This stuff I used looks good and adds a little flame retardant but not suitable for extreme heat shielding. The link is to the stuff I used and will get you in the ball park as they offer a million types.

 

[pola0502ds]

What insulation did you use on the temperature sensor cables? It looks like mesh/fiberglass but I'm curious where you sourced it. We are having some heat issues with our sensors and other wiring, so I'm looking for something to protect it from the heat.

This is the high temp fabric I used to wrap my wires that were going to be around my burners. I put cheap electric ignitors on my burners and used this fabric to cover it. The fabric is right next to the flame and my burners put out some flame! This fabric works great and it comes in all different sizes and lengths.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1-4-...baQQitemZ360234435258QQptZCarQ5fAudioQ5fVideo

 

[MaxOut]

Can you tell us where you got the color coded rings for your hoses and a where you got the burner ignitors?

The rings on the hoses are just colored zip ties. The igniters I got from a local HVAC supply company, I can give you their name and number if you like. They were the Honeywell Q3450 Intermittent Hot Surface Ignition With pilot. I couldn't find a "deal" on the igniters I think they were around $70.00 each. Work really well and light every time no matter what.

 

[Vance71975]

DUDE that is freaking amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!