g-love
Well-Known Member
the more I read, the more I think electric might be a better set up. $h!t....
My plan was to build a single tier, two pump, propane set-up with keggles. I was going to go pretty low tech with very little, if any type of automation. However, the more I read and think about what I want, electric brewing keeps coming to the forefront.
At this point, I have my stand welded together and it's sitting on casters. I have the burners, but I haven't built a rack for them, so they are just sitting on the floor. I have 3 kegs (obtained legally) with the tops cut off, but I haven't modified them in any other way. I also have most of the hardware that I was planning on using: thermometers, sight glasses, valves, false bottom, pump, etc.
I guess what I'm looking for is some help to decide what route to go. I know that this decision is mostly personal, but maybe some of you guys hit this same road block and would be willing to walk me through it.
Here is what I'm thinking:
Propane is easy to set up, portable, and the build is cheaper, but is loud, dangerous to do in the garage(debatable for some, but I'm not comfortable with it), and more expensive to operate. It also seems that it would be more difficult to maintain proper temps in MLT and HLT - I could be wrong here, correct me if so.
Electric is quiet, just as fast as propane (possibly faster), can be done safely inside when it's cold, cheap to operate, and seems to be better for maintaining temps. The downsides for me seem to be cost to build and level of expertise to build. I can deal with the cost, but it might take a little longer to complete as I piece the system together.
I have a new house that I just built a year ago, and a nice spot in my garage next to my breaker panel where this rig would fit nicely. I would still use my steel frame because it's already built, even though I know it's overkill for an electric set up. I guess my main worry here is that I won't be able to build (wire) the d@mn thing. I would like something that is as simple as possible, but still able to hold temps well as I'm brewing.
I'm relatively handy, I can weld and wire very basic household electrical, but I'm not sure about the electrical for this project.... Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions would be much appreciated. I'm not looking for someone to make this decision for me, just some ideas about things I might be missing.....
My plan was to build a single tier, two pump, propane set-up with keggles. I was going to go pretty low tech with very little, if any type of automation. However, the more I read and think about what I want, electric brewing keeps coming to the forefront.
At this point, I have my stand welded together and it's sitting on casters. I have the burners, but I haven't built a rack for them, so they are just sitting on the floor. I have 3 kegs (obtained legally) with the tops cut off, but I haven't modified them in any other way. I also have most of the hardware that I was planning on using: thermometers, sight glasses, valves, false bottom, pump, etc.
I guess what I'm looking for is some help to decide what route to go. I know that this decision is mostly personal, but maybe some of you guys hit this same road block and would be willing to walk me through it.
Here is what I'm thinking:
Propane is easy to set up, portable, and the build is cheaper, but is loud, dangerous to do in the garage(debatable for some, but I'm not comfortable with it), and more expensive to operate. It also seems that it would be more difficult to maintain proper temps in MLT and HLT - I could be wrong here, correct me if so.
Electric is quiet, just as fast as propane (possibly faster), can be done safely inside when it's cold, cheap to operate, and seems to be better for maintaining temps. The downsides for me seem to be cost to build and level of expertise to build. I can deal with the cost, but it might take a little longer to complete as I piece the system together.
I have a new house that I just built a year ago, and a nice spot in my garage next to my breaker panel where this rig would fit nicely. I would still use my steel frame because it's already built, even though I know it's overkill for an electric set up. I guess my main worry here is that I won't be able to build (wire) the d@mn thing. I would like something that is as simple as possible, but still able to hold temps well as I'm brewing.
I'm relatively handy, I can weld and wire very basic household electrical, but I'm not sure about the electrical for this project.... Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions would be much appreciated. I'm not looking for someone to make this decision for me, just some ideas about things I might be missing.....