Unboxing the Nano from CO Brewing

[pgk]

Could you post up a picture of your setup.

I had them build a track on mine similar to the bigger systems that they make, that way I can slide the mash basket away from the kettle and lower it onto the ground. It works great (one I added counter weights), but the only downside is that you have to remove all of the fittings in order to get the kettle off of the stand. Makes clean up a little tough.

 

[02RedWS6TA]

Have scroched two brews in a row now. Ditching the straight 304 stainless element for a ripple 804 element. Going to go nuts if I ruin another 15 gallons.

99% it's happening during the boil.

 

[Horseflesh]

If you like the replacement element, please post the details.

 

[02RedWS6TA]

Will do. I've added an agitator to deal with any stuck mash. So 99% it's happening either during the heat up or boil. Edit: it's the 5500 watt ulwd element from electric brew supply. The 804 stainless version, not the shiny 304.

Heat up I run at 100%, maybe 20 gallons is too much for this element? Dial back to 70% once at boil until it boils enough off I can turn it to 80% which is where my boil off calculations using the CBS water load thing works the best. Twice now about half way through the batch I could smell the scorched element.

Agitator is in the newest video. So is the defeat in my voice. Paddles are a little bit big for the motor speed but doing some modifications and will run the batch one last time with the new element and new paddles.

https://youtu.be/6tkWYO19iyg

 

[user 151645]

I've had good success with my 20 gallon system. My procedures / techniques are improving with every brew session. One change I made right away was to replace all the barbed hose connections with cam locks. I think it's easier to use the cam locks to move my hose around than to wrestle with tri-clamps.

Oh - important safety tip: when you're cleaning your basket, don't casually run your hand around the bottom edge. Check for stray wires sticking out from the screen. They can really tear you up - ask me how I know...

 

[02RedWS6TA]

I've had good success with my 20 gallon system. My procedures / techniques are improving with every brew session. One change I made right away was to replace all the barbed hose connections with cam locks. I think it's easier to use the cam locks to move my hose around than to wrestle with tri-clamps.

Oh - important safety tip: when you're cleaning your basket, don't casually run your hand around the bottom edge. Check for stray wires sticking out from the screen. They can really tear you up - ask me how I know...

I picked up a cheap electric power washer to use in the brew area. Just throw the 15* tip on and run it around the edge with the basket upside down. It knocks the little stranglers stuck it there right out. It also makes it way easier to clean everything up.

 

[sgraham602]

Could you post up a picture of your setup.

 

[Irish-Brewer]

Does anyone on this forum have the 15 gallon CBS Nano Home system? I am torn between ordering the 15 or 20 gallon system. I brew 6.5 gallon recipes so I get a full 5 gallons in the kegs. The largest grain bill I currently have for my recipes is about 17 pounds. Will the 15 gallon system handle that without needing to sparge? Could I brew a medium gravity 10-11 gallon batch with the 15 gallon system.

I don't want to have a largeer kettle if I really do not need it.

 

[njpatg]

Does anyone on this forum have the 15 gallon CBS Nano Home system? I am torn between ordering the 15 or 20 gallon system. I brew 6.5 gallon recipes so I get a full 5 gallons in the kegs. The largest grain bill I currently have for my recipes is about 17 pounds. Will the 15 gallon system handle that without needing to sparge? Could I brew a medium gravity 10-11 gallon batch with the 15 gallon system.

I don't want to have a largeer kettle if I really do not need it.

I have a CBS 15 gallon system and just did a Heady clone last weekend grain bill came in at 18 total pounds and there were no issues . I scale all my recipes to get 6.5 gallons into the fermentor . Have not done any 10 or 12 gal batches as of yet , but i think 12 would be rather ambitious when you factor in total water volume and grain space .

 

[LouBrew13]

I asked them the same question and they definitely recommended going larger. You can still make 5 gallon batches or double them with no issues. And big grain bill smaller batches will also not be an issue. My 2 cents

 

[Irish-Brewer]

Thanks. I was concerned that doing 6.5 gallon batches (in the 20 gallon kettle) which would require about 8 or so gallons of water in the kettle would create an issue since i was guessing about 2 or 3 gallons of that would be below the mash basket. I did not know if there would be enough liquid above the basket to get the mash recirculating and cover all the grains. Still trying to decide between CBS or Brew-Boss but I am leaning towards CBS. As previously stated in a previous post, I would probably request that CBS use an ULWD element. Maybe the Camco 02965 that is recommended by Kal at The Electric Brewery.

 

[Horseflesh]

I have the 20 gal Nano and I have to put in 4 gallons of water to get the bottom of the basket wet. I've been able to do 5 gallon batches OK, but I did have to rig an extension on the recirc arm.

 

[Irish-Brewer]

I have the 20 gal Nano and I have to put in 4 gallons of water to get the bottom of the basket wet. I've been able to do 5 gallon batches OK, but I did have to rig an extension on the recirc arm.

With that in mind are you able to keep the efficiency in the high 70s to low 80's?

 

[Horseflesh]

My best mash efficiency so far has been 72%. However, I am crushing at the LHBS. They tell me the gap is .045, which is what CBS recommends... but there is no way to know what their mill actually produces.

 

[02RedWS6TA]

Thanks. I was concerned that doing 6.5 gallon batches (in the 20 gallon kettle) which would require about 8 or so gallons of water in the kettle would create an issue since i was guessing about 2 or 3 gallons of that would be below the mash basket. I did not know if there would be enough liquid above the basket to get the mash recirculating and cover all the grains. Still trying to decide between CBS or Brew-Boss but I am leaning towards CBS. As previously stated in a previous post, I would probably request that CBS use an ULWD element. Maybe the Camco 02965 that is recommended by Kal at The Electric Brewery.

That's what I ordered to replace the stock element, will be here tomorrow, hoping to brew Wednesday morning.

 

[molson]

That's what I ordered to replace the stock element, will be here tomorrow, hoping to brew Wednesday morning.

How hard is it to change it out to the new one? Do you have to adjust anything with the PID?

 

[Horseflesh]

Those were my questions too.

The stock element is assembled with a triclamp holding the element into thou housing, so it looks easy to take apart... Might be harder to put it back together... Looking forward to someone else's pictures.

 

[fireantz]

Tried searching this to find it but what is the biggest grain bill / OG you can do for a 10/11 gallon batch in in the 20 gal kettle setup?

 

[pretzelb]

Tried searching this to find it but what is the biggest grain bill / OG you can do for a 10/11 gallon batch in in the 20 gal kettle setup?

Looking at my notes it seems like the most I've done is a 25.75 lb grain bill for a 10g batch. FWIW, my largest 5g was a Wee Heavy that was 22.5 lb grain bill which I think was a serious challenge but I managed to pull it off.

I also think I calculated that under the basket was about 4g of water/space. However it should be noted that this was for a full volume mash. I'm not sure what would happen if I tried to hold back water for a sparge. If you wanted to do the math I assume you could calculate the mash thickness by subtracting 4g from the total. Maybe you could use an online calculator and enter a 16g kettle as the starting point, then start adding grains to see where it maxes out before you get too thick of a mash.

 

[pretzelb]

After a long break I finally had the time to brew again with some new parts. The brew session seemed to go better than expected but I am not sure yet what made the difference. Some of this might help with the recent posts I've seen so here is a quick summary.

Over the holidays I collected 4 major toys. First was a Monster Mill 3 to replace my Barley Crusher. Then I got two items from SS Brewtech including some brew buckets and the mash manifold. The brew buckets obviously have no effect on my brew day numbers but I have to say I do like them so far. But I have to reserve judgement until I take a batch all the way to the end. I also got a King Cobra IC from Jaded which doesn't affect my mash numbers but does help me avoid some frustrations I was having with my plate chiller and change some of my post boil numbers.

I did see a boost in my numbers this batch but I am not sure if it was the new mill or the new manifold. I suspect it must be the mill. The manifold worked well and I was able to run full speed during the entire mash. But I have to say that I also used a full pound of rice hulls. This has become a standard for me and until I run more batches it will stay that way.

In response to some recent posts let me say this was a 5g stout recipe with large grain bill of 18 lbs. As I said before I did include 1 lb of rice hulls but I was surprised that I ran the pump full speed the entire time. I did fiddle a ton with the new manifold before I left it alone. At first I had it near the bottom but then my mash was nearly dry on top so I fished it up until it was about 1 inch below the mash surface at which point it worked great. I assume this helped with my mash temp but I didn't test that. It should be pointed out that the SS Brewtech manifold has a very narrow inlet of 3/8" which I assume helps avoid pump/scorching issues.

What I need to figure out in the future is which variable has helped the most in my mash. I might be able to cut back on the rice hulls if the mill or manifold is doing a better job. Hard to tell without some trial and error. Plus I need to see what happens with a 10g batch. Hope this helps others.

 

[02RedWS6TA]

How hard is it to change it out to the new one? Do you have to adjust anything with the PID?

Those were my questions too.

The stock element is assembled with a triclamp holding the element into thou housing, so it looks easy to take apart... Might be harder to put it back together... Looking forward to someone else's pictures.

It won't go in the stock housing the way it comes. Going to cut the first triclover off tomorrow where CBS welds it instead of using a second clamp and I think it'll go in just fine.

Tried searching this to find it but what is the biggest grain bill / OG you can do for a 10/11 gallon batch in in the 20 gal kettle setup?

I did a 31# 11 gallon batch and have done 3 30# 15.5 gallon batches. I did burn the element on two of them though, hence the new element going in to hopefully avoid that all together.

That Mash Manifold from SS Bretech looks like it would definitely help this thing big time. Will be ordering one of those for sure. Edit: Have one on the way.

 

[Horseflesh]

That manifold does look nice. With one recirc return as provided, I'm pretty sure the mash is not very evenly heated. I get good flow out of the pump but motion seems to be concentrated in the area around the return... no surprise. Multiple points of return would have to help.

http://www.ssbrewtech.com/products/re-circulation-manifold-for-infussion-mash-tuns

 

[jahlinux]

Still waiting for my 25 gal "Down Under" should be getting it mid February . Looking for recommendations on the tubing to buy and how much I'll need?

 

[Horseflesh]

Not sure how much you need but this was the best price I could find on a 10 ft roll, $17:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FMWU38/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

On my Nano Home I only need about 3 feet but you will have to hook up the chiller too I guess.

 

[jahlinux]

Not sure how much you need but this was the best price I could find on a 10 ft roll, $17:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FMWU38/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

On my Nano Home I only need about 3 feet but you will have to hook up the chiller too I guess.

Thanks for the link I ordered some. Now I have to start planning the electrical hookup.

 

[Horseflesh]

If you're getting the PLC remember you need a 3-prong 240V and a grounded 120V, both with GFCI. Non-PLC units can come with one 4-prong 240V, the PLC version is built to a different UL standard and it will come with 2 power cords.

 

[jready]

That manifold does look nice. With one recirc return as provided, I'm pretty sure the mash is not very evenly heated. I get good flow out of the pump but motion seems to be concentrated in the area around the return... no surprise. Multiple points of return would have to help.

http://www.ssbrewtech.com/products/re-circulation-manifold-for-infussion-mash-tuns

Will be interested to hear how this works. I have no complaints with standard set up but looks like less babysitting with this.

 

[Irish-Brewer]

The SS manifold is nice and I built one similar that I use in my 10 gallon cooler to sparge. Here is something to think about. CBS's claim of high efficiency seems to rely on the fact that the stainless steel tube that recirculates the wort is suppose to keep the entire mash moving. It sounds like that is not happening for some of you guys. Reaction Brewing, you guys are seem to be really maxing out the 20 gallon's ability with 30 lbs of grain. Anyone try a much thinner mash to see if they can get the entire mash basket in motion?

Take a look at 2:22 portion of this video. This is the sparge method that I think may help with efficiency with the CBS basket if it is raised slowly as demonistrated in the video.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHXCcxPRoJ0[/ame]

Has Tim from CBS ever mentioned what the maximum recommended grain bill for each kettle size is? From the looks of the videos, I don't think Tim designed the system to handle a mash that is the consistency of oatmeal.

Thoughts?

I am waiting to place an order for either the CBS system or the Brew-Boss depending on some of you guys tweaking with the CBS system.

 

[jahlinux]

If you're getting the PLC remember you need a 3-prong 240V and a grounded 120V, both with GFCI. Non-PLC units can come with one 4-prong 240V, the PLC version is built to a different UL standard and it will come with 2 power cords.

I'm getting the non-PLC version. If anyone has pictures of their electrical hookups I would appreciate seeing them.

 

[Horseflesh]

From the looks of the videos, I don't think Tim designed the system to handle a mash that is the consistency of oatmeal.

I feel like I would need the mash to have twice as much water for the pump to have any chance of keeping it all moving. I can see why @02RedWS6TA has experimented with a stirring system.

But, for any BIAB-style system I do not see how you would get the mash thin enough without adding a lot more water, which would require a longer boil time.