That is one reason I went with the top port route. It allows me to recirc from the racking port through the top and the trub will settle in the bottom and can be dropped out. Another option is a hop filter such as this:
https://www.brewershardware.com/FILTER1-Testing.html
I'm on the verge of ordering a medium 3-in-1 based on the comments here, but I have some questions first. Apologies if these have already been covered, I searched the thread and didn't find anything.
1. Has anyone used an alternative temperature controller? I've got a spare ITC-1000 which I'd like to use. I haven't found any reason why this wouldn't work, since it seems it's only controlling a relay inside the 240V power box. Any thoughts?
Haven't used anything other than the Auberins unit with which my medium BIAC was originally supplied. I have an ITC-1000 hooked up to a freezer for fermentation control but Idon't know if it would work otherwise. Maybe some one with more electrical knowledge could assist on that questions.
2. Whatever temperature controller you use, the heating element is controlled via hysteresis, correct? Does this make any appreciable difference compared to PID control, assuming the mash is continually recirculated?
Correct, hysteresis is the controlling method. I haven't experienced any significant overshooting or undershooting using the Auberins controller although I'm sure some does occur, just not significant for me.
3. Is the wedge wire mash colander a worthy upgrade?
Unlike some have reported, I have had no issues with the standard colander. I'm careful with my crush and have yet to have a stuck sparge.
Thanks in advance.
How about this, if you're using their temperature controller, do you have any issues keeping the mash temperature constant? Appreciate the comments on the mash colander, btw.I can't comment on the first two ...
Thanks.I've had no regrets with the system and as I have said in the past, my brews are significantly improved.
How about this, if you're using their temperature controller, do you have any issues keeping the mash temperature constant? Appreciate the comments on the mash colander, btw.
Thanks.
How about this, if you're using their temperature controller, do you have any issues keeping the mash temperature constant?
Glad to hear that. This is one of my primary reasons for splurging on this system.I appreciate all the saved labor and lifting over my old system which will allow me to keep brewing during my senior years.
Now I've got a silly general question for those of you with chiller (glycol or otherwise) setups. Do you leave the chiller pump running all the time, or do you have it turn on when the temp control valve is triggered?
Now I've got a silly general question for those of you with chiller (glycol or otherwise) setups. Do you leave the chiller pump running all the time, or do you have it turn on when the temp control valve is triggered?
Awesome, so you just split the "cold" power output from the ETC so the chiller and the valve turn on at the same time? Pliny clone sounds good.The chiller provided by Nathan with the BIAC will hold any temperature down to 40F which is the coldest setting available. The chiller is controlled by the temperature controller and holds the desired fermentation temperature within one degree. The chiller only runs when the brew temperature rises and the controller kicks on energizing the chiller. Gotta say that it works great!
I'm considering doing something like this since a glycol chiller is not in the budget right now. Either that or recirculate ice water from an igloo cooler, and top up ice as needed.I use a TK-2000 Aquarium chiller for fermentation and use an EHEIM Compact+ pump to circulate the water from an igloo cooler to the jacket and back. When I'm fermenting I run the pump 24/7.
May I ask, how long has your pump operated like that? I know these pumps can handle restriction on their outlets, but I'd wonder if they could handle that for prolonged periods of time... maybe I'm underestimating how long the temp control valve stays open.
Now I've got a silly general question for those of you with chiller (glycol or otherwise) setups. Do you leave the chiller pump running all the time, or do you have it turn on when the temp control valve is triggered?
Interesting... did you experiment with fermentation heating by applying 1-2% power to the element?If you end up going with a TK series, let me know your plans and I can let you know which one would suit you best. The 500 was around $600 but the 2000 I have now cost just as much as a glycol setup. But, I love having the built-in heater so it's more "all-in-one" than the glycol setup.
That's neat. How long does it take to get the glycol down to chilling temps once the ETC turns it on?I have the chiller that Nathan sells and don't use the temp control valve at all, preferring to run the pump only when triggered by the ETC.
One thing I really like about the chiller is that it has two stainless steel coils that sit in the reservoir which can be used independently of the main pump. They're designed to be used as an in-line draft cooler but I use one of them to pre-chill my groundwater while wort cooling.
Ah, got it. That sounds pretty awesome. Thanks for the info.The temperature of the liquid in the reservoir(I use water and not glycol) is controlled independently by the chiller and not the ETC so it's always cold. The chiller's pump has its own circuit which is what the ETC switches.
Interesting... did you experiment with fermentation heating by applying 1-2% power to the element?
If you end up going with a TK series, let me know your plans and I can let you know which one would suit you best. The 500 was around $600 but the 2000 I have now cost just as much as a glycol setup. But, I love having the built-in heater so it's more "all-in-one" than the glycol setup.
I found the schematic and a photo of my chiller. The schematic pdf is at the bottom. I'm using an auto wheel dolly to set my chiller on. It is one of those things that come in sets of two from Harbor Freight or Tractor Supply:
cuda6pak,
Would you mind giving me a few pointers on this please? I have a couple of medium BIACs and it would be good to have an 'all-in-one' solution for heating/cooling, in some instances to the two of them in tandem (assuming that I want to run them at the same temperature at the same time). I brew in my shed, where the ambient temperature throughout the year ranges from about 2 - 30°C (36 - 86°F).
Does this bit of kit serve to get down from boil to pitching temperature, or are you more likely to use municipal water to get down to, say, 30°C and then swap over for the final push?
How noisy are these units (I currently have an old shelf chiller that I picked up cheap, but it makes a right old racket)?
Am I likely (when cooling) to need to expel the heat produced to the outside on particularly hot days?
Any help would be appreciated.
If you search my posts in this thread you can see all the different combinations I tried - TK500, TK2000, both in tandem, insulated lines, half-ass neoprene jacket, and what I was able to do to give you an idea.
I ended up building a whirlpool arm out of an old 1/2" stainless racking cane and a few triclamp parts from brewhardware.com
This mounts to a top port and allows pumping from bottom port through the tube. The compression fitting in the middle is just snug so it can be moved up and down and rotated. Waiting on the current batch to finish before I can try it and I'll post a video.
But I'm now looking to upgrade the brew process. Has anyone added a racking arm to the system? I would like to pull my wort from the middle of the kettle to maximize cooling and I like the idea of getting as much clear beer as possible.
Thank you limulus for the schematic and photos. I'm considering the same unit now. If you don't mind I have a few questions regarding the unit and your set up:
1. Do you use a glycol/water mix?
2. Your schematic shows a solenoid valve at the higher output port of the jacket. If that is so, can you tell me why you use a solenoid valve there? (I have a solenoid valve on the input port for the jacket.)
3. I'm confused by the glycol loop. Is this to assist with lessening the loss of glycol when disconnecting the chiller from the BIAC?
4. I didn't see a pressure gauge in the photos. Is this needed to keep the PSI range below 5 based on Nathan's recommendation?
Thank very much for your help on this!!!
Thank you limulus for the schematic and photos. I'm considering the same unit now. If you don't mind I have a few questions regarding the unit and your set up:
1. Do you use a glycol/water mix? Yes, I can't remember the ratio, but it is on the glycol jug.
2. Your schematic shows a solenoid valve at the higher output port of the jacket. If that is so, can you tell me why you use a solenoid valve there? (I have a solenoid valve on the input port for the jacket.) Actually, it is a ball valve at the output of the jacket. It is on the exit hose so I can close it and not drip water/glycol all over the garage floor when I detach the hose. **Also, I have a small plastic bucket and a lid I bought at Home Depot to drain the glycol/water from the jacket into. I believe it is 2-gal. I fill the reservoir of the chiller and let it flow into the fermenter jacket. That takes about 2-gal and at that point the chiller reservoir is low and starting to suck air. I then fill reservoir with more water/glycol solution. I then have a total of 5-gal (2 in the fermenter and 3 in the reservoir of the chiller).
3. I'm confused by the glycol loop. Is this to assist with lessening the loss of glycol when disconnecting the chiller from the BIAC? The chiller has a pump that runs continuously. So, I made the loop following a plan I got from an actual brewery. There is a valve in the loop near the return to the reservoir that is just slightly closed so that it increases the pressure just a little but still allows the solution to flow through the loop and back to the reservoir. The leg that goes to the fermenter is before that valve. When the solenoid at the bottom of the fermenter opens the solution follows that leg since it is the path of least resistance. For my loop, I used braided tubing from Home Depot and Styrofoam insulation and duct tape.
4. I didn't see a pressure gauge in the photos. Is this needed to keep the PSI range below 5 based on Nathan's recommendation? There is just not enough pressure to damage anything and I've had that thing running for weeks. The brewery I got the plan from does use a pressure gauge. I think vacuums are the biggest danger to damaging the fermenter unless you have a fire hose connected to it.
BTW, you will need either a drip bucket or the neoprene jacket. That little white bucket under my fermenter is 1-gal and in summer when the humidity is high, that thing fills up every day.
Thank very much for your help on this!!![/quote]
Well, the call is at 2:30, not 2:00, so I'm back to post answers below:
Thank you limulus for the schematic and photos. I'm considering the same unit now. If you don't mind I have a few questions regarding the unit and your set up:
1. Do you use a glycol/water mix? Yes, I can't remember the ratio, but it is on the glycol jug.
2. Your schematic shows a solenoid valve at the higher output port of the jacket. If that is so, can you tell me why you use a solenoid valve there? (I have a solenoid valve on the input port for the jacket.) Actually, it is a ball valve at the output of the jacket. It is on the exit hose so I can close it and not drip water/glycol all over the garage floor when I detach the hose. **Also, I have a small plastic bucket and a lid I bought at Home Depot to drain the glycol/water from the jacket into. I believe it is 2-gal. I fill the reservoir of the chiller and let it flow into the fermenter jacket. That takes about 2-gal and at that point the chiller reservoir is low and starting to suck air. I then fill reservoir with more water/glycol solution. I then have a total of 5-gal (2 in the fermenter and 3 in the reservoir of the chiller).
3. I'm confused by the glycol loop. Is this to assist with lessening the loss of glycol when disconnecting the chiller from the BIAC? The chiller has a pump that runs continuously. So, I made the loop following a plan I got from an actual brewery. There is a valve in the loop near the return to the reservoir that is just slightly closed so that it increases the pressure just a little but still allows the solution to flow through the loop and back to the reservoir. The leg that goes to the fermenter is before that valve. When the solenoid at the bottom of the fermenter opens the solution follows that leg since it is the path of least resistance. For my loop, I used braided tubing from Home Depot and Styrofoam insulation and duct tape.
4. I didn't see a pressure gauge in the photos. Is this needed to keep the PSI range below 5 based on Nathan's recommendation? There is just not enough pressure to damage anything and I've had that thing running for weeks. The brewery I got the plan from does use a pressure gauge. I think vacuums are the biggest danger to damaging the fermenter unless you have a fire hose connected to it.
BTW, you will need either a drip bucket or the neoprene jacket. That little white bucket under my fermenter is 1-gal and in summer when the humidity is high, that thing fills up every day.
Thank very much for your help on this!!![/quote]
Limulus,
Thank you very much for taking the time to address my questions. Everything is much clearer now. I believe this is the route I'll go. Thanks again for all your help!
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