Beavdowg
Well-Known Member
I am looking at switching to BIAB and am super intrigued by the idea of going electric. I've been doing all grain brews for about 4 years now and really like the idea of a simpler approach. I have 2 young kids and a 6 hr brew day is a major damper for the wife and kids. I love the idea of getting away from propane and the plastic in a cooler MLT. Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm assuming that a BIAB session should be about 3-4 hrs long at most? Are you finding this to be true? It looks like efficiency isn't an issue, that's for sure. So, less equipment needed (less to store in garage!), safer due to electric, less to clean up, and shorter brew time. That all seems compelling enough to me to switch to BIAB!
Now I just have to get an electric setup. I've looked quite a bit at the High Gravity eBIAB setup and it is very intriguing. From what I can gather, though, I can build that exact setup for quite a bit less cost. Can anyone substantiate this? I have a 15 gallon pot and a 15.5 gal keggle, a March pump, and a plate chiller so all I really need is the control panel and converting one of my pots to electric. What would be better, the keggle or my 15 gal pot? The 15 gal pot I have is short and wide, like this http://www.midwestsupplies.com/heavy-duty-stainless-steel-brew-pot-15-gallon.html. I'll tell you the more and more I brew with keggles the less I like them in the sense that they're heavy and not as easy to clean since they're so narrow. Is there enough depth in the 15 gal pot for an element. Is it better to have a metal "basket" that the BIAB bag sits in to keep it away from the element or does that not seem to be a problem without the basket? The problem is I know absolutely nothing about electricity. I do have friends that know this stuff though so I'm planning on leaning on them for this project. I still plan on doing this in my garage because I have our breaker panel for our whole house out in the garage right next to where I usually brew anyway so I thought it would be simple to branch off a 240v outlet right there. Is this an accurate assumption? Done by an electrician, of course! I do really like the analog dial control of the heating element on the High Gravity setup as it makes sense to me to be able to just dial in exactly what you need. Anyone have electrical plans on that High Gravity panel? How much do you think it would cost for the control panel build and elements,etc?
Thanks for the guidance.
Now I just have to get an electric setup. I've looked quite a bit at the High Gravity eBIAB setup and it is very intriguing. From what I can gather, though, I can build that exact setup for quite a bit less cost. Can anyone substantiate this? I have a 15 gallon pot and a 15.5 gal keggle, a March pump, and a plate chiller so all I really need is the control panel and converting one of my pots to electric. What would be better, the keggle or my 15 gal pot? The 15 gal pot I have is short and wide, like this http://www.midwestsupplies.com/heavy-duty-stainless-steel-brew-pot-15-gallon.html. I'll tell you the more and more I brew with keggles the less I like them in the sense that they're heavy and not as easy to clean since they're so narrow. Is there enough depth in the 15 gal pot for an element. Is it better to have a metal "basket" that the BIAB bag sits in to keep it away from the element or does that not seem to be a problem without the basket? The problem is I know absolutely nothing about electricity. I do have friends that know this stuff though so I'm planning on leaning on them for this project. I still plan on doing this in my garage because I have our breaker panel for our whole house out in the garage right next to where I usually brew anyway so I thought it would be simple to branch off a 240v outlet right there. Is this an accurate assumption? Done by an electrician, of course! I do really like the analog dial control of the heating element on the High Gravity setup as it makes sense to me to be able to just dial in exactly what you need. Anyone have electrical plans on that High Gravity panel? How much do you think it would cost for the control panel build and elements,etc?
Thanks for the guidance.
