Bru Gear

[BeeRRunBrewery]

You can easily do 5 gallon BIAB in the 20 gallon kettles.

 

[glacious]

Duplicate

 

[glacious]

You can easily do 5 gallon BIAB in the 20 gallon kettles.

I have the 3-kettle setup, electric brewery style once it's finished, wondering about that setup. Currently doing 5 gal BIAB in an 11 gal kettle on a propane burner.

 

[BeeRRunBrewery]

Here's a pic of my 20 gallon electric kettle mashing for 5 gallons. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1432813078.888664.jpg

 

[Hello]

Here's a pic of my 20 gallon electric kettle mashing for 5 gallons. View attachment 280901

Does that pump work well being at the same height at the bottom of your kettle?

 

[glacious]

Here's a pic of my 20 gallon electric kettle mashing for 5 gallons.

Nice, thanks for the pic. I'll have to finish getting all the parts and get it all closed up so I can just fill it with water and see if it'll be do-able for a 5gal 3-kettle all grain batch. Looks like it will work though from your pic, the heating elements are very low to the bottom, might not reach the temp probe in the BK but that's fine.

 

[AF1HomeBrew]

Here's a pic of my 20 gallon electric kettle mashing for 5 gallons. View attachment 280901

You didn't get the false bottom with your kettle?

 

[BeeRRunBrewery]

I did not get the false bottom with my kettle. It's not necessary for my BIAB set up.

There's plenty of "head pressure" from the level in the kettle to get a good recirculation with the pump when mashing

My temperature probe is always covered during my mash; but it does become exposed during the boil when doing a 5 gallon batch. I take my temp out of PID control and operate the element in manual output during the boil.

So far I've been very pleased with the kettle. I've done 3 brewing sessions and have achieved 80-85% mash efficiencies.

 

[glacious]

So far I've been very pleased with the kettle. I've done 3 brewing sessions and have achieved 80-85% mash efficiencies.

What's your bag extraction game? Pulley, let stay above the kettle for X minutes, remove? You a sqeezer? To me this is the biggest variance of my efficiency when I do BIAB. "pull out bag, give 3 'good squeezes', remove" can vary

 

[BeeRRunBrewery]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1432939007.471118.jpg
I put my bag in the steamer basket; lifting out with a pulley to drain. I do gently squeeze the bag to speed up with draining "loose" liquid, but never too hard. When I place the bag in a bucket before dumping out the grain there's always some wort left behind. It's a system that works well for me.

 

[Jaybird]

Sorry for the delay in responding, I kept forgetting to take pictures.

Jay, I'm thinking a 3" thermowell? View attachment 277770
Here it is into the kettle.

View attachment 277772
Here is the thermometer next to the thermowell showing approximately how much longer it is than it needs to be.

I'm assuming it really doesn't need to stick that far into the kettle correct?

Thanks for you time as always! Cheers-Kevin

From the looks of it, couldn't you get away with just a 1.5" TC to 1/2" Female NPT? Or am I missing something here? Can that probe not be set in the liquid? If not then yes of course I can build something that will work for you. Shoot me a PM and lets discuss the exact needs there.


Cheers
Jay

 

[OG_IBU_Bunghole]

I'm looking to solve the same problem. The thermowell that came with the kettle gets in the way for biab. The analogue thermometer also significantly lags behind my digital for temperature changes.

Is there any reason not to go with the 1.5" TC to 1/2" Female NPT? Looks like it might solve both problems.

 

[BeeRRunBrewery]

This is what I bought for my kettle to replace the temp probe:

http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=20_15&products_id=267

 

[martianpc]

I just got that auber one a few days ago. Works great, quality is top notch.

 

[glacious]

I just got that auber one a few days ago. Works great, quality is top notch.

What are you guys using these for, directly connected to a PID in an Electric Brewery style setup? Going to a Pi/Arduino, something else etc?

 

[BeeRRunBrewery]

Yes, directly connected to a PID controller for my element.

 

[brian4508]

Yes, directly connected to a PID controller for my element.

Pics please!!?

 

[BeeRRunBrewery]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1433458204.574060.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1433458222.415848.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1433458233.154510.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1433458246.811355.jpg

Here's a few pics of my system. I tried to get a close up of the temperature probe with my BIAB in the kettle. The probe is about 4" directly above the pick up tube. Hope this helps!

 

[brian4508]

For slowsupratt... Hopefully you can get extensions for your herms coil!

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1433981150.850659.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1433981162.634891.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1433981173.479696.jpg

 

[glacious]

For slowsupratt... Hopefully you can get extensions for your herms coil!

Is this with the extensions on your coil? The picture is dark, can't really see the top part of the coil arms. If they are extensions, how do they work for you? Do you take them apart and clean after every batch, or just flush with clean water? It's all pre-boil so infection risk is not there, just good to get the particulate matter out between batches

 

[brian4508]

Is this with the extensions on your coil? The picture is dark, can't really see the top part of the coil arms. If they are extensions, how do they work for you? Do you take them apart and clean after every batch, or just flush with clean water? It's all pre-boil so infection risk is not there, just good to get the particulate matter out between batches

It's the new coil. Someone wanted to get extensions for their original coil so I was providing them info in the size of the new coil

 

[NervousDad]

So what's the deal with the customer service of this company. I sent them an Email... Crickets, Twitter.... Crickets...,Facebook...Crickets.... They were supposed to have a pre order for the gen 2 kettles on Friday, but they didn't even bother to notify that it was delayed.

I guess the rumors are true they only want to do commercial stuff. That's a shame because it looks like the homebrew community are the ones that supported the Kickstarter. Must be nice to have a business that you don't need to take someone's money. Looks like I'll be buying from stout although it will be a bit more expensive I'll be able to get the design I need.. nestar:

 

[AF1HomeBrew]

So what's the deal with the customer service of this company. I sent them an Email... Crickets, Twitter.... Crickets...,Facebook...Crickets.... They were supposed to have a pre order for the gen 2 kettles on Friday, but they didn't even bother to notify that it was delayed.

I guess the rumors are true they only want to do commercial stuff. That's a shame because it looks like the homebrew community are the ones that supported the Kickstarter. Must be nice to have a business that you don't need to take someone's money. Looks like I'll be buying from stout although it will be a bit more expensive I'll be able to get the design I need.. nestar:

Sorry to hear that they haven't got their act together after all of this time... Their equipment has such potential but they can't do the little things like communicate with their customers (& potential customers).

 

[NervousDad]

Sorry to hear that they haven't got their act together after all of this time... Their equipment has such potential but they can't do the little things like communicate with their customers (& potential customers).

I think that's a flaw with kickstarter. While there have been some great companies that came out of it. Many don't have the hunger to sell, since they're working off of floating capital. I remember SS going through a small phase like the, but they quickly turned it around and offered fantastic support.

I just ordered my stout tanks, it was WAY more than I wanted to spend, but the quality looks impeccable.

 

[autonomist3k]

I got my new kettle on tuesday and immediately contacted them via facebook message because it had bad welds on the TC fittings. Within a few hours they messaged me back saying that they would send me another kettle. I just got notification that the second one has been sent. I'm pretty happy with how quick they were in taking care of this.

I've found that they respond to facebook messages faster than any other means of communication.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

OUTSTANDING!!!!


Man do I like seeing a plan come together...

Thanks for the feedback!

Cheers
Jay

@Jaybird, More feedback! Here are some pictures of the complete build.

 

[Jaybird]

@Jaybird, More feedback! Here are some pictures of the complete build.

HELL YEAH! Hey I don't think I can get that Whirlpool arm any closer now can I? LOL

KILLER WORK MAN!

Cheers
Jay

 

[mrkrispy]

Has anyone successfully been able to order the dip tube for Gen1 ProBoiler kettles from BruGear? I'd like to get one soon.

FWIW, I bought a ProBoiler 15gal last December but was so busy I hadn't brewed with it until last week (7 months later). Unfortunately I didn't inspect the kettle well after delivery (because I thought I would brew with it immediately), and noticed that there were several deep scratches in the inside kettle bottom, and they appear to have some rust. It appears they gouged the bottom when polishing it. I tried Bar Keepers Friend but that didn't help. In addition, the lids doesn't fit the kettle (one of them must be warped), and the TC welds don't appear to be very good quality. I guess I should have listened to the "wait for second-gen" advice haha.

 

[davidgaines]

@Jaybird, More feedback! Here are some pictures of the complete build.

Sweet sassy, what valves are you using there?

 

[sandyeggoxj]

Brewers Hardware 1" triclamp 2-piece ball valve. Nice and easy to clean. No threads.

 

[davidgaines]

Brewers Hardware 1" triclamp 2-piece ball valve. Nice and easy to clean. No threads.

You have better pictures of the valve than they do on their site. I'll have to go look again, I have a valve from them bookmarked to buy. Love your setup!

EDIT: Is this the one? http://www.brewershardware.com/TC10VBALL.html

 

[sandyeggoxj]

Yep. That is the one. Glad my picture helped! The valve is oversized but I wanted it to mate to the 1.5" TC fittings used everywhere else.

 

[JonW]

I was going to use that valve until they came out with the "quick clean" version. These come apart really quick and easy.
http://www.brewershardware.com/1-Tri-Clover-Tri-Clamp-Ball-Valve-Quick-Clean.html

 

[davidgaines]

I was going to use that valve until they came out with the "quick clean" version. These come apart really quick and easy.
http://www.brewershardware.com/1-Tri-Clover-Tri-Clamp-Ball-Valve-Quick-Clean.html

Ah yes, the quick clean. I'm going to order one and see how I like it.

 

[Vesteroid]

I used the contact form on Bru-Gears website to ask a question about the conicals yesterday and did not hear back, so I called today. A gentleman answered and said he was not at his computer so he needed to call me back in 30 minutes. That was 5 hours ago.

I gave up and ordered from another vendor.

 

[JonW]

Which place are you talking about?

 

[Vesteroid]

Bru Gear, sorry I was not clear, I have edited my post to show who I was talking about

 

[davidgaines]

It appears the customer service is all over the map. That really sucks. I've only had pleasant experiences with them, but I see so many others that do not.

 

[mrkrispy]

I emailed them from their website, from their Facebook page, and posted on their Facebook page, about 2 months ago wondering if they were shipping the new dip tubes. Never heard back from any of those. I stopped recommending BruGear to my home-brew club members.

 

[martianpc]

I did eventually receive 2 dip tubes from the kickstarter, should have gotten 3, but he sent 2 at least.