Unboxing the Nano from CO Brewing

[wildseedgrrrl]

So funny story I have to share:

I ordered a whirlpool arm to replace the sightglass, since that's useless for me back on June 24th. I kind of forgot about it until another package arrived a couple weeks later. I thought I'd give them another week and then send an email. I wasn't in a big hurry so it wasn't a big deal. Tim, gets back to me pretty quickly with this:

Sorry for the delay, I had it listed as shipped on our paperwork but the tracking showed it never went out, so I did some checking, it looks like the package got knocked off the shipping table and was hiding behind a big roll of bubble wrap. I am sending this priority for you. You should have it in hand on Monday.


I just had to laugh. I had that happen to me once and it took me months to figure out that I had dropped the envelope behind the couch. He got back to me faster than I expected and the package arrived within days. I can't say enough good things about this company and I'll be upgrading to a much larger system from them.

I've had to slow down on the brewing since I got this system. It's making things too easy.

 

[jabba11]

Hey, how much hose do you need to get this running? And what kind, 1/2" ID?

Id say that really depends on your configuration and needs. I am using no more than 4 feet Id say. I figured the shorter the better. Mine is 1/2 inch as I recall but either will work I suspect in silicon like im using. When I need to pump to a drain though I have to put on a different hose that is 6 ft long.

 

[Horseflesh]

That's very helpful--not having used a rig like this, I wasn't sure if I was looking at 2 feet or 20!

 

[02RedWS6TA]

I got my yesterday, like you guys my box was basically destroyed but the equipment was all in good shape. Missing a couple things and seriously not happy about the pump switch. They were still supposed to include a chugger when I bought mine. I did a water test and needed the pump to pump the water out last night, it leaked all over the place. Have an email in to Tim, hopefully he takes care of this.

 

[jabba11]

I got my yesterday, like you guys my box was basically destroyed but the equipment was all in good shape. Missing a couple things and seriously not happy about the pump switch. They were still supposed to include a chugger when I bought mine. I did a water test and needed the pump to pump the water out last night, it leaked all over the place. Have an email in to Tim, hopefully he takes care of this.

the pump was leaking? From the welds? I'm sure they will take care of it. Ive had a few WTF's but Tim and others have always been responsive and eager to make things right etc

 

[02RedWS6TA]

the pump was leaking? From the welds? I'm sure they will take care of it. Ive had a few WTF's but Tim and others have always been responsive and eager to make things right etc

It leaked out where the plastic top part met the steel bottom of the pump. I'm going to guess there's not a gasket there and should be. I ordered a chugger today so hopefully I can just get a refund on the pump.

 

[jabba11]

It leaked out where the plastic top part met the steel bottom of the pump. I'm going to guess there's not a gasket there and should be. I ordered a chugger today so hopefully I can just get a refund on the pump.

Yikes.. I have said that if I didn't have a chugger already I would have requested the refund as well so I get that. I did use the one they sent last weekend and it worked quite well with no problems and I sure liked having it attached direct to the pot so I knew priming wasn't an issue. Flow rate was fine etc. Time will tell with it.

 

[02RedWS6TA]

Yikes.. I have said that if I didn't have a chugger already I would have requested the refund as well so I get that. I did use the one they sent last weekend and it worked quite well with no problems and I sure liked having it attached direct to the pot so I knew priming wasn't an issue. Flow rate was fine etc. Time will tell with it.

Sounds like they take them apart to weld the triclovers on and maybe the gasket didn't get put back in right. Either way Tim is taking care of it. Couldn't ask to deal with a better guy.

 

[02RedWS6TA]

https://youtu.be/pNvTdaA2gl0

Little video unboxing and water testing.

 

[swimIan]

Any idea what the dimensions of the 15 and 20 gal mash baskets/kettles are?

 

[jabba11]

https://youtu.be/pNvTdaA2gl0

Little video unboxing and water testing.[/QUOTE

Interesting, yours is definitely some different than mine. the cord on my element as an example is plenty long to adjust it anywhere on the frame. You have a different key switch (doubt that matters really). Did you ask for the whirlpool fitting? I really find the recirc arm actually whirpools pretty well and if you have the whirlpool fitting there where does the site glass go? Maybe Im missing something.

 

[02RedWS6TA]

https://youtu.be/pNvTdaA2gl0

Little video unboxing and water testing.[/QUOTE

Interesting, yours is definitely some different than mine. the cord on my element as an example is plenty long to adjust it anywhere on the frame. You have a different key switch (doubt that matters really). Did you ask for the whirlpool fitting? I really find the recirc arm actually whirpools pretty well and if you have the whirlpool fitting there where does the site glass go? Maybe Im missing something.

Yes, I asked for it. The site glass goes on the other side. It's an extra cost and extra fitting. I picked up 8' of 10/3 today so mine will be plenty long by tonight.

 

[Horseflesh]

It's been a while since anyone's discussed doing calculations for this system. Has anyone got a spreadsheet or Beersmith setup dialed in?

 

[pretzelb]

It's been a while since anyone's discussed doing calculations for this system. Has anyone got a spreadsheet or Beersmith setup dialed in?

Co brewing downloads has a sheet that is simple and pretty accurate. In BeerSmith I downloaded the BrewBoss profile and tweaked it. The profile in BeerSmith is going to be different for everyone. The key values are boil off, loss to trub and chiller, and fermenter loss and that is different for everyone. Lauter Tun deadspace is zero since it's BIAB. The other key is the global setting in BeerSmith for grain absorption rate. BeerSmith assumes if you pick a BIAB profile that you squeeze the bag and thus has a lower rate. I adjusted this to match the rate for normal sparge.

 

[pretzelb]

Any idea what the dimensions of the 15 and 20 gal mash baskets/kettles are?

On my 20g the basket is around 15" tall x 16" wide

 

[pretzelb]

A few more tips for anyone that may have had issues with re-circulation. My last batch went very well and I had the pump running full speed with no issues. The only bad news is that I changed a few variables so I can't be 100% sure what made the biggest impact.

1. Grain bill - this reicpe didn't have any "difficult" malts except for 4% flaked oats. I think wheat, british pale, and roasted barley can cause issues.
2. I set the mill gap to 049.
3. I conditioned the grains with a simple spray bottle of water. The downside here is the rollers on my mill are gummy. I will need to get a firm brush to clean them.
4. I added the basket to the kettle then added the grains to the kettle. I have tried adding the grains to the basket then adding the basket to the kettle but I think this is a bad idea.
5. I attached the re-circulation arm and started the pump before I added grains. I think this helps and avoids dough balls.

This was a 10g batch with 22.5 lbs of grain. I think the type of grain is a major factor. Next time I do something with a lot of wheat or roasted barely I think I'm going to add rice hulls to the recipe to be safe.

 

[02RedWS6TA]

Made my stand today:

First brew day is tomorrow

 

[jabba11]

Co brewing downloads has a sheet that is simple and pretty accurate. In BeerSmith I downloaded the BrewBoss profile and tweaked it. The profile in BeerSmith is going to be different for everyone. The key values are boil off, loss to trub and chiller, and fermenter loss and that is different for everyone. Lauter Tun deadspace is zero since it's BIAB. The other key is the global setting in BeerSmith for grain absorption rate. BeerSmith assumes if you pick a BIAB profile that you squeeze the bag and thus has a lower rate. I adjusted this to match the rate for normal sparge.

FYI there is a beersmith file now available on the downloads page at CBS

 

[02RedWS6TA]

Brew day did not go well. Stuck mash, added grains way too early (we were videoing the brew, just not thinking at all), scorched element.

Hopefully the beer turns out OK. The sample didn't taste burnt and the OG was spot on. Did a 10 gallon version of Yoopers Oatmeal stout. Fingers crossed it turns out. Brew day 2 is scheduled for next week.

 

[DarkStormBrewing]

By "adding grains too early", are you saying before hitting strike temp? Iced yet to brew on mine yet, trying to absorb everyone's experiences until I do get the chance.

 

[sabo38]

Doing an Oktoberfest Ale this weekend, did an Irish Red last weekend, everything went very good. I just needed to watch/adjust the pump output to make sure I didn't suck the bottom of the pot dry. Once I found the right amount to recirculate I didn't have to adjust again. I am still using my original pump and not the brush-less one that CB sent. So far I am loving this system and the clean up times compared to the old way with a Coleman cooler. The only thing I want to play around with now is grain bed temperature compared to PID temperature.

 

[Horseflesh]

Does the PID controller they supply let you calibrate the temperature probe?

 

[jabba11]

Does the PID controller they supply let you calibrate the temperature probe?

I think it can be but its not discussed in the owner/operators stuff. You might ask Tim at CBS if nobody here knows. Mine seems to be accurate but it would be handy to know in case I ever needed to know that info. Its a pretty common PID I think so if others can be Id think this one can be as well. it may be a complicated process and so they don't want people fiddling with it too. if ya tell people they can adjust something, they will, and when they screw it up, they call you. LOL

 

[02RedWS6TA]

By "adding grains too early", are you saying before hitting strike temp? Iced yet to brew on mine yet, trying to absorb everyone's experiences until I do get the chance.

Yes, we were videoing a how to and trying to catch it from a first time all grain brewer on a new system. Walking through the steps at the beginning from milling the grain to a protein rest at 120*.

Milled the grain, showed the crush on camera, showed how to set the PID, and then without thinking just dumped the grains in. I got about half of the second bucket before I realized what I did. From there out just more and more and more went wrong. We made it through but at what cost I'm not sure. I haven't looked into what happens if you add the grains before you heat the water. We didn't want to throw in the towel and we ended up with the correct gravity wort in the carboy.

On the plus side the boil off chart that CBS has seems to be spot on. I followed it and ended up exactly where I should've.

 

[andrewmaixner]

Adding grains before heating to strike temperature is just fine, worst case you will get a more fermentable beer, lower gravity. You basically just did ramped step mash. I know people that intentionally do most of their mashes that way.

My last problem was that despite my calculations, somehow I overshot my mash-in temperature estimate by 10F. Ended up with a 1.017 FG IPA instead of a 1.010 FG.
Still don't know how I did it, but I'll be ramping up to target in the future instead of striking down.

 

[pretzelb]

Brew day did not go well. Stuck mash, added grains way too early (we were videoing the brew, just not thinking at all), scorched element.

Hopefully the beer turns out OK. The sample didn't taste burnt and the OG was spot on. Did a 10 gallon version of Yoopers Oatmeal stout. Fingers crossed it turns out. Brew day 2 is scheduled for next week.

My first batch also included a scorch but it tasted fine. I also have a theory that with a large amount of dark grains you are at higher risk of getting the screen stuck.

 

[pretzelb]

Does the PID controller they supply let you calibrate the temperature probe?

Yes. It is from Auberins. I just downloaded the manual from them. I think mine was adjusted 3 degrees.

 

[Horseflesh]

Good news there.

Do you mean yours came with 3 degrees dialed in, or that you just made the change yourself? Not that it matters I guess, just curious.

 

[pretzelb]

Good news there.

Do you mean yours came with 3 degrees dialed in, or that you just made the change yourself? Not that it matters I guess, just curious.

I made the change myself after realizing I never checked the readings against my Thermapen. Hardest part was getting the text big enough to read on my phone.

 

[Horseflesh]

Calibrating to Thermapen was my plan too!