BIAB Kettle Fittings. What is your set up?

[Foosier]

I have been doing BIAB for a while and pouring the cooled wort into my fermenting bucket. While I have been lucky and have never had a spill, I figure it is only a matter of time before I do. Plus pouring the kettle is awfully heavy.

I have been looking to get a ball valve and pickup tube, but I keep thinking this could end up snagging my bag. How do you have your kettle fittins set up and do you do anything special to avoid snags?

 

[Magic8Ball]

I like the BIAB setup to be as simple as possible. IMO don't use any plumbing on the pot. I use a 1/2" auto siphon to fill my better bottle after chilling the wort. No lifting or fittings needed. Use the fitting money get a bigger kettle, immersion chiller or a fancy new BIAB bag with pulley. K.I.S.S Full disclosure: I have a three vessel all grain setup to with cam locks, sight glass, pickup tubes, pumps etc. But I love BIAB because its so simple and fast. If I would have found BIAB first, I may never have gone to the three keggle route at all.

 

[signmastr]

I use a ball valve with a side pickup. I put a tamale rack (cake rack w legs) in to keep everything off the bottom. My 44qt pot is also electric.

 

[ODI3]

I had a 1/2' coupler welded into the side of my pot. the Megapots have a thick bottom so their is enough room to put the coupler at the bottom of the pot and still have room for the pot to sit flat on the ground. I wasnt a big fan of the pickup tube route.

I have a few pics of it here.
http://www.londonbrewers.ca/blog

 

[MaxStout]

I use a perforated basket inside my brewpot. Like this rig. Easy to hoist out and the bag doesn't snag on the valve inlet or thermo.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I like the BIAB setup to be as simple as possible. IMO don't use any plumbing on the pot.

My thoughts exactly! Easy enough to siphon out of the kettle. If you want to use a drain port, it really should be very easy not to snag the bag, simply use your brew spoon b/w the bag and kettle to move the bag away from the fitting while lifting the bag. A poly voile bag is pretty hard to damage IME.

 

[Foosier]

This is why I love this board. Ask a question, get tons of answers. Lots of great ideas. I don't know why I never thought of using the autosiphon. Guess that will be my interim process until I decide to add a fitting.

Wilser, your' point about using the spoon is a good one too. I would figure that a port with a 1/2 inch fittin on the inside of the pot with no dip tube would be pretty snag resistant, but using the spoon could certainly eliminate all other issues.

I don't see myself using a steamer basket though. That seems like too much extra equipment. It certainly is not needed to keep from burning the bag. I just never have my burner on while the bag is in without stirring constantly.

Excellent tips once again. HBT for the win!

 

[241]

Autosiphon is ok... but I really hate my auto siphon. It works fine, I just don't like dealing with it losing suction/sanitizing/storing it or breaking the racking cane. Then there's that tubing. Don't even get me started on that blasted tubing.

My second autosiphon just broke so I will be getting a ball valve and elbarb pickup from brewhardware with a hose barb and some silicone tubing. To me, opening a valve and walking away is much more in line with the simplicity of BIAB than siphoning. And the elbarb is not a pointy thermometer so snagging on the bag will be a non issue. But to each their own!

 

[Foosier]

I was thinking a simple elbow would be a good snag free fitting. Either than or just the 1/2 npt fitting only. It would drain the bulk of the pot.

If you go the elbow route report back so we know how it works for you.

 

[el_caro]

I have no fittings on my 7.5g pot but am thinking of installing a spare drain valve that I have. I use a 13" pizza tray as my false bottom and would cut it to fit over the valve.
Think I will have a pickup like this one Booby installs.



I am thinking the drain port would serve another purpose if I lash out and get a little pump also to recirculate the wort / whirlpool while chilling. That will mean a little modification of my immersion chiller to accommodate the whirlpool pipe as per Jamil's chiller .

http://www.wortomatic.com/php/articles.php?ID=11

 

[TaylorBrewed]

I have a 13.5 Gallon kettle with sight glass marked off with gallons and half gallons so I know when to stop the water for my mash. This also helps with telling after I add the grains and do my mash how much was absorbed by the grains and also for boil off and my final amount of wort into carboy. I also have a 3 piece ball valve that has a fitting on it that fits a ss quick connect that is attached for a 3 foot hose that I place in the carboy so I don't spill any wort. The one thing I would do differently If I designed another kettle it would be not placing a hole half way up in the kettle for a thermometer. This thing although nice when bringing my water up to temp, gets in the way when mixing my grains and does not give a accurate temp when I'm mashing because the bag rest on the temp probe. I just use a hand held thermometer during mash to get good reading.

 

[bababooey]

I have a ball valve with a center pick up tube. I'm not saying it's better than anything else but I've yet to have an issue.

 

[el_caro]

I have a ball valve with a center pick up tube. I'm not saying it's better than anything else but I've yet to have an issue.

Do you whirlpool and if so does the centre pickup tube not negate the whirlpool effect?
How does the thermometer work for you near the bottom of the vessel - does it give an accurate representation of mash temperature?

 

[bababooey]

No, unfortunately I do not whirlpool.


The temp gauge seems to be very accurate however I always monitor with a digital sensor too.

I'm happy with this set up overall..I just get bad efficiency because its apparently too big of a chore for my LHBS to crush my grains finer than normal.

 

[Rake_Rocko]

I have a ball valve on my keggle. I like it because I use a counterflow chiller to chill my wort. When the time comes to chill, I hook up my hose to the valve, and open the valve and let her chill. I love it!

If you want to put a dip tube in there or something, just use a false bottom to avoid snags.

 

[flips]

I just found a helper to help pour out for the first year or so. I got a really good deal on a false bottom so I added that and a ball valve. It is nice for batches that have a lot of hops, so the false bottom catches it. It is also nice to just open the valve and let it drain while I am cleaning up.

The downside is that it makes clean up tougher because there are more places for stuff to get in. I now give a very through rinse immediately after transfer. I use garden hose flushing into the kettle from the ball outlet. Quite a bit more messy so it makes it really tough to clean inside.

flips

 

[Euphist]

I got one of these

from a caterer going out of business. Nothing inside that will snag the bag and the faucet comes apart really easy for cleaning. The only problem is, that it is unlikely that you will find one for $50 like I did...

 

[schmitt777]

Just added a ball valve to my kettle and looking for a stainless pick up tube. Anyone have any recommendations

Also need to find some hi temp hose to run from the kettle to a plate chiller. What do you use where do you get it?

 

[ulsh72]

Bargainfittings.com for both hi-temp food safe silicone tubing, as well as a SS pickup tube... and any other fittings you may need.

$5 flat rate shipping is nice...

Just added a ball valve to my kettle and looking for a stainless pick up tube. Anyone have any recommendations

Also need to find some hi temp hose to run from the kettle to a plate chiller. What do you use where do you get it?

 

[Bmooreskier]

This is what I bought, came with spigot which is soooo helpful. Nothing on the inside to snag the bag either

 

[Pointyskull]

I have a 15 gal Bayou Classic that I have enhanced with:

- thermometer (Blichmann from Williams Brewing)
- sight glass (Brewhardware.com)
- ball valve (Amazon)

I use two round grill grates to keep the bag off the kettle bottom (in case I need to heat during mash).

 

[schmitt777]

Bargainfittings.com for both hi-temp food safe silicone tubing, as well as a SS pickup tube... and any other fittings you may need.

$5 flat rate shipping is nice...

I just put in my order. Thanks so much !

 

[ulsh72]

You're Welcome!

I just put in my order. Thanks so much !