Easy & Cheap Stainless Vent Hood

[stickyfinger]

Wow, pretty neat and cheap. I was wondering if the HLT really needed ventilation if you use a lid. Are people still satisfied with these setups? Anything you would change about it if you did it over?

 

[ballz50401]

Wow, pretty neat and cheap. I was wondering if the HLT really needed ventilation if you use a lid. Are people still satisfied with these setups? Anything you would change about it if you did it over?

I have never heated my HLT past 185F and have had no issues with just leaving the lid on. I'm still satisfied with my design for my needs. My basement is about 700 sq. ft. (350 on the brewing side and 350 on the finished side) and my vent hood is located about 15 ft. from my furnace so the 4" inline fan works pretty well for me. A 6" inline fan would probably be a better choice for garages or larger basements.

 

[stickyfinger]

Why does your furnace location matter?

 

[inkedfireman]

If you have a gas burning appliance like a hot water heater or a furnace in the same area, and they use ambient room air for combustion (don't have an external air intake) you run the risk of backdrafting them if you have an exhaust fan going when they are operating.

In other words, your fan is pushing air out, it has to be made up from somewhere. If your chimneys are the path of least resistance, air will be pulled in from them, as well as the exhaust/CO from your furnace/HWH if they are operating.

 

[stickyfinger]

Sure. I didn't think of that. My furnace is high eff. so that's ok. My wtr htr has a monster draft too. Thanks for that!


I guess it would still be best to provide makeup air though, maybe through a basement window on the other side of the house?

 

[NewBrewB]

A variable speed control will help too, if you don't need the full potential of the fan at a rolling boil

 

[rdavidw]

Here is my vent set-up:











Works great. Zero heat, humidity and smell in the house. I mounted the bowl up too high so I then added the skirt to make the opening lower and larger. I then hung a light in it. I have a veritable speed controller mounted on the wall behind it. Its not pretty but it works very well.

 

[bloombrews]

How is the smoke Hefe? I use cherrywood smoked malt. Sounds like a good mix - smoked malt with the banana/clove of the Weizen yeast...

 

[stickyfinger]

Wow, that's an ugly exhaust hood!

 

[Woodbrews]

That thing looks like a Saturn V rocket engine. Be careful!

 

[stickyfinger]

there is a lot of shiny-ness in that brewery, like something from a NASA story

 

[ballz50401]

How is the smoke Hefe? I use cherrywood smoked malt. Sounds like a good mix - smoked malt with the banana/clove of the Weizen yeast...

It turned out very well! Great summer brew to enjoy next to a late night campfire. I used 25% Beechwood smoked malt and 3% Cherrywood smoked malt.

 

[pinky1]

for everyone who has done one of these did you all put the fan right at the bowl like the one pictured, or did some of you put the fan mid duct? I have to run about 5 foot total of duct from the bowl to the window and just due to ease of set up and stability, I was hoping run about two feet of the duct from the bowl, then have the fan, and then run another 2-3 feet of duct to the window. Does anyone see this being a problem? I dont think it would really matter where in the line the fan is but I might be wrong. Thanks

 

[NewBrewB]

I haven't assembled mine yet but I really like your idea. That will make it way easier to pull the hood out of the way when not brewing..... I agree though...shouldn't make a diff where the fan is in the system--its more about the length of the run...

Actually maybe it does matter. These fans have got to be better at pushing air than pulling it... Any HVAC people out there care to comment? I'd love to install the fan about 4' from the hood/bowl.

 

[stickyfinger]

I don't know how performance is affected by moving the fan (seems like you lose pull going one way and lose push going the other way and it is a tossup as long as you don't have any leaks.)

Seems like the reason he installed the fan right at the bowl is that he uses the plastic tube of the fan to poke through the bowl and then affix a clamp to hold it. If you move the fan to another location, you have to figure out a way to attach the duct to the bowl. Also, you have to come up with a way to hold up the bowl so that it doesn't tear down your flexible duct.

 

[Minbari]

I would think CFM is CFM. weather you are pulling it through the duct or pushing it through, if you have 200 CFM of air moving, after losses, then you have that much air moving.

planning on doing this for my setup as well, since I am in my basement and my test boil quickly showed how much water goes into the air.

Found a 15.25" diameter stainless mixing bowl at costco for $8! just need a fan now!

 

[Qtrhoss]

I like the "Bowl hood" idea but the system I built would be a bit big for the 30 quart bowl. Considering I am a bit of a junk yard rat, (brew table burners out of old propane water heaters and such) and I love the idea of re-purposing stuff, I think I may have a solution that will better cover my system.

Every time I have gone to a scrap yard or even the county dump, there are always old bar-b-q grills there - Many are stainless steel, with just the burners or racks burnt up. That leaves a very nice stainless steel hood and some of them are BIG. Easy off would make short work for cleaning the inside. I can trash pick one of these for a few bucks, depending on size, because they sell "Picked" stuff for $.20 to $.25 per pound. Many times they just tell me to take smaller, lighter weight stuff for free if I bribe them with a 6 pack of home brew now and again! I am sure that there are scrap yards near many of you that would love to try some perfectly aged, home made goodness.

It amazes me how people react when you offer them a beer of friendship!

Thanks for the starter idea! Saturday, it is off to the salvage for a grill hood! I might even be able to find an old furnace blower for my fan!

 

[NewBrewB]

I'm afraid to try junkyarding.....it would definitely lead to me becoming a hoarder with various items I might be able to use "for a project". Love the SS grill cover idea though.

 

[stabu]

What kind of fan would I need to push 30 feet of ductwork?

 

[Stealthcruiser]

What kind of fan would I need to push 30 feet of ductwork?

Electric...........

 

[stabu]

Electric...........

Duh, I was wondering if 190cmf would work or would I need more.

 

[NewBrewB]

After a lot of shopping around and reading reviews, I went with this one:

High Velocity Inline Duct Fan-6" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002EC01XS/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

530 cfm I expect it to be more than I need but I have always gone with the mantra "Buy big or buy twice". Also, even though my run is only about 8' I really don't want ANY moisture condensing and dripping back down... Figured this would push everything out before it has a chance to cool/condense

 

[ballz50401]

Duh, I was wondering if 190cmf would work or would I need more.

I would probably recommend going with a 6" inline fan for runs longer than 10 ft. You can always get a variable fan speed controller to help control your cfm's too.

 

[adroc]

I just finished my build based off the SS mixing bowl. No idea why it uploads the image sideways.

 

[ballz50401]

I just finished my build based off the SS mixing bowl. No idea why it uploads the image sideways.

Fixed that for you. Your system looks great!

 

[NewBrewB]

This picture is what "beer porn" is all about... Flawless.....

 

[stabu]

I can't get a hole cut in mine. I have a 6 inch bi metal hole saw, no luck. Any ideas?

 

[ballz50401]

I can't get a hole cut in mine. I have a 6 inch bi metal hole saw, no luck. Any ideas?

I used a jig saw with a fine tooth blade.

 

[adroc]

I used an angle grinder and a dremel.

 

[Minbari]

Stainless is tough stuff. I would try a metal cutting blade in a jigsaw, then clean it up with a dremel

 

[adroc]

Fixed that for you. Your system looks great!

Just curious how you fixed the image?

 

[ballz50401]

Just curious how you fixed the image?

I saved your image to my desktop, opened the file, hit the rotate picture button, saved the new image, and uploaded it to my reply.

 

[ballz50401]

Double post.

 

[adroc]

Thats strange because the image was aligned correctly before I uploaded it.

 

[adroc]

I just brewed using the new ventilation system and it worked wonders. I had two simultaneous 60 minute, 8 gallon boils going with the fan on at bout 30% and had 0 issues with condensation, not even a drop. Hopefully I will have the same results during the winter and spring.

 

[SmokeyMcBong]

This is a brilliant idea!! The only thing I would say is to be careful how far away from the hood you put the fan IMO. I'm thinking that you want most of the moisture going through the fan as steam. If the fan is a great distance away from the hood, the steam will be water in the ducting. I'd assume that moving liquid water could shorten the life of your fan greatly.

 

[rayf]

May I use your picture of this exhaust system to describe to a friend on another forum?

 

[ballz50401]

Feel free to use any pictures from this thread.

 

[rayf]

Feel free to use any pictures from this thread.

Thank you!


BTW, this is an awesome idea! I will be getting the parts I need ordered tomorrow.

Do you think this should be hooked up to a gfi breaker or outlet?

 

[ballz50401]

Thank you!


BTW, this is an awesome idea! I will be getting the parts I need ordered tomorrow.

Do you think this should be hooked up to a gfi breaker or outlet?

Gfi outlets are always a good idea in wet locations.