best keggle sight glass location?

[liquid134]

im in the process of purchasing what i need to convert this 15gal keg i have. already cut the top off, so just pricing and comparing different parts.


anyway, i was looking on brewhardware for a sight glass. whats gonna be the best height to be able to read 5gal batches?

i would like to do the combo temp gauge but it says its not normally recommended.... why is this?


thanks in advance!

 

[Barnesie]

Is this for a brew kettle or other vessel? Direct fired?

If this is for a HLT, you can mount it as low as possible, just be sure to mount it away from the venting points on the lower skirt.

I mounted mine right at the bottom of the keggle on my brew kettle, but I am regretting that. Although the sight glass reaches all the way to the top of the keg rim, I still have boil-overs inside the sight glass when doing a 10 gallon batch. If I were to do it again, I'd mount it at about the 4 gallon point so I have a lot more real estate above 10 gallons.

 

[Monster Mash]

If this is a boil pot I would not recommend a sight glass at all, as Barnesie said it tends to boil out and it is a pain to clean after every brew. For a HLT or MT put it as low as you can get it.

They don't recommend a sight glass temp gauge combo because the temp gauge is usually half way up the pot

 

[liquid134]

well i was gonna plan on using this converted keg as a boil kettle. im starting with 5 gallon full boils and eventually might kick it up to 10 gallons.

im going to buy a weldless kit from homebrewstuff (cheapest i found for valve, weldless adapter, dip tube and false bottom) of course, i dont "need" to use the falsebottom on a boil kettle but i figured itd be nice to have the option

still quite new to all this, just trying to get a decent setup going from the start.

 

[Barnesie]

Going beyond not needing a false bottom on a brew kettle, I'd venture to say that you don't actually WANT one on a brew kettle. It's not going to filter out anything of merit, so it's really just one more thing to get in the way.

Side dip tubes are great in a brew keggle, false bottoms would not be great.

I can also recommend brewhardware.com. The owner is a forum member with great prices and I've gotten just about all my stuff from him.

 

[Tarks]

If you don't have a sight glass on your kettle, how do you know the volume? I'm just curious because I have a sight glass that is so dirty that I can barely see the volume any more. What are the alternatives? A stick with notches?

 

[mcwilcr]

If you don't have a sight glass on your kettle, how do you know the volume? I'm just curious because I have a sight glass that is so dirty that I can barely see the volume any more. What are the alternatives? A stick with notches?

I put markings at every .5 gallon between 1&15 gallons on my mash paddle. Works pretty well for me but sometimes I do wish I had a sight glass.

 

[Barnesie]

I hesitate to claim what most people do, but a stick with notches is pretty darn common.

You know they have brushes that can clean a sight glass? I mean, with a bit of elbow grease and pbw of course.

 

[jflongo]

Do you think boil overs will happen with 7 - 8 gallon boils? I just ordered a sight glass and thermometer for my boil keggle.

 

[sennister]

I am also interested in this thread. I recently used a plasma cutter to zip the tops off 3 kegs and am starting plan out what I need for fittings and such.

Those are good points on a sight glass on a boil kettle. Wouldn't it also get dirty on a MT as well? Maybe if there is a screen of some sort on the bulkhead for the MT that would keep some of the grain out. Unless it was mounted low enough to be below the false bottom.

Another place that has good prices is Bargainfittings.com.

 

[Barnesie]

My sight glass runs from the bottom skirt to the top of the keggle itself. Boilovers start at about 10-11 gallons in volume at a rolling boil. 7-8 gallons has been find thusfar.

That being said, if you know where your volumes start, you can mount a sight glass on a boil kettle at about the 4 gallon mark and extend your sight glass well above the top of your keggle for some extra room. You'll never really need to measure below 4 gallons.

I'd also suggest that your mash tun won't really be served by a sight glass at all, so I wouldn't use one there. It's most useful in the HLT and potentially useful in the BK. You won't ever need to measure liquid volumes in a MT, only liquid volumes going in and coming out.

 

[sennister]

I'd also suggest that your mash tun won't really be served by a sight glass at all, so I wouldn't use one there. It's most useful in the HLT and potentially useful in the BK. You won't ever need to measure liquid volumes in a MT, only liquid volumes going in and coming out.

I was kind of thinking the same thing. That is why I was shocked to see someone mention not the BK but rather the HT and MT. HT was a given, BK makes sense.

I was planing on a combo Thermometer and sight glass but that makes sense that I may want the thermometer closer to the middle of the kettle. Though if I did a sight glass at the 4 gallon mark like some have mentioned would a combo be fine?

At this point I am undecided on heat source. I am strongly leaning toward electric and will primarily be doing 5 gallon batches unless someone wanted to go in on it and split a batch. Then it would be nice to have the capacity there for 10 gallons. At this point I haven't found a beer I like enough to go for a full 10 gallons. I am having too much fun trying different stuff.

 

[Barnesie]

At this point I am undecided on heat source. I am strongly leaning toward electric and will primarily be doing 5 gallon batches unless someone wanted to go in on it and split a batch. Then it would be nice to have the capacity there for 10 gallons. At this point I haven't found a beer I like enough to go for a full 10 gallons. I am having too much fun trying different stuff.

Here's an easy alternative to a combo unit, get yourself the CDN instant read thermometer for about $16. It's more accurate than any installed mechanical thermometer, you can measure anywhere in the pot you like and you can move it from place to place and use it in your kitchen when you're not brewing. Thermometers in vessels aren't really my thing, they're more expensive and less accurate then almost any handheld thermometer.

As far as the 10 gallon thing, I'm with you there and I thought I'd be sticking with 5 gallon batches forever, however I'm now brewing with more people and we're splitting a lot of batches here and there so it gets to be very useful to have the additional capacity.

Also consider that you're only getting about 50 glasses of beer from a 5 gallon batch, which seems great until you brew an amazing tripel ale that gets crushed in under two weeks. Next thing you know you start giving serious thought to 10 gallon batches.

 

[jflongo]

I will probably mount my sight glass around the 3 - 3 1/2 gallon mark. And then mount my thermometer around the 3 1/2 - 4 gallon mark.

 

[Bobby_M]

I'm aware that some people do have boil over issues in their sight glasses. Many times it is due to heat washing around the side of the pot and creating the boil in the fitting under the tubing. A heat shield drastically reduces the odds of this happening. Of all the people that still claim boilovers even with a shield installed, 99% of them are using the combo unit. The only thing I can speculate is that the added mass of the tee puts more heat into the liquid in the tubing.

That's not the primary reason that I try to lead people towards separate sight and thermo ports, but it is one good reason. I personally prefer the more compact package you get when the sight and thermo are nicely tucked against the pot. You get more resolution on the sight (2 gallon mark shows up on the tubing) and less boiling in the tube. If you still get boiling with a standalone sight AND a heat shield, you might want to evaluate the vigor of your flame because you're putting a lot of heat into the atmosphere and wasting a ton of gas.

PS: use the long round brush for cleaning the interior of the tubing.

 

[Tarks]

I'm aware that some people do have boil over issues in their sight glasses. Many times it is due to heat washing around the side of the pot and creating the boil in the fitting under the tubing. A heat shield drastically reduces the odds of this happening. Of all the people that still claim boilovers even with a shield installed, 99% of them are using the combo unit. The only thing I can speculate is that the added mass of the tee puts more heat into the liquid in the tubing.

That's not the primary reason that I try to lead people towards separate sight and thermo ports, but it is one good reason. I personally prefer the more compact package you get when the sight and thermo are nicely tucked against the pot. You get more resolution on the sight (2 gallon mark shows up on the tubing) and less boiling in the tube. If you still get boiling with a standalone sight AND a heat shield, you might want to evaluate the vigor of your flame because you're putting a lot of heat into the atmosphere and wasting a ton of gas.

PS: use the long round brush for cleaning the interior of the tubing.

Great advise Bobby. I purchased all my combo units from you and you are right, even with a heat shield I get boil overs, although minimal. I didn't order the cleaning brush at the time, wish I had though. It's time I need to replace the thermo (glass is cracked) so I think I'm going to separate the site glass from the thermo this go around.

 

[sennister]

Here's an easy alternative to a combo unit, get yourself the CDN instant read thermometer for about $16. It's more accurate than any installed mechanical thermometer, you can measure anywhere in the pot you like and you can move it from place to place and use it in your kitchen when you're not brewing. Thermometers in vessels aren't really my thing, they're more expensive and less accurate then almost any handheld thermometer.

As far as the 10 gallon thing, I'm with you there and I thought I'd be sticking with 5 gallon batches forever, however I'm now brewing with more people and we're splitting a lot of batches here and there so it gets to be very useful to have the additional capacity.

Also consider that you're only getting about 50 glasses of beer from a 5 gallon batch, which seems great until you brew an amazing tripel ale that gets crushed in under two weeks. Next thing you know you start giving serious thought to 10 gallon batches.

I have an instant read thermometer that I use now. For my first few brews I have been doing about a 3 gallon partial boil with extract kits in a 16 Qt SS stock pot. My first brew was this past November and I have 4 under my belt so far.

For now I will keep doing these as I build up my AG stuff which will be Keggle based and I my plan right now is to jump right into electric keggles. Probably do a single PID controller for now and build up my control panel over time. So the thermometer that I am looking at installing will be used for controlling the PID and the heating element. I will still likely use the instant read for verification from time to time.

While I could do the turkey burner (I have two of them) the ones I have kind of suck. They are cheap ones so relatively low BTU and they have that stupid 10 minute timer thing which I could bypass. Then there is messing with propane tanks which I would rather not do. Last thing I would want is to be halfway done with a boil and run out of gas and have to steal the tank from my grill. For now I have been brewing on the electric stove in the kitchen where the largest volume I can get to boil is about 3 gallons. Those brew sessions were over the winter though.

The other problem I would have with a 10 gallon batch is lack of storage. I skipped the entire bottling thing and went right to ball lock kegs. I am currently up to 5 but my keggerator only holds 4 and I like to have a variety. I am sure in time I will find a beer I really like and would want to do 10 gallons. For now I am enjoying some more variety and the brew process and am working on technique. That will start over with the AG process once I start that. I would rather do smaller batches early on to brew more often to get better at it then not have to upgrade equipment if I went in on it with someone or wanted a 10G batch for myself.

 

[passedpawn]

FYI, for any electric brewers out there, the sight gauge boilovers don't apply to them. Put that gauge as low as you can get it on the HLT.

 

[deadfall]

I bought bobby's site glass and installed it as low as I could go. I have the banjo burner. My first brew I saw it was going to be an issue. I grabbed a piece of coil stock. And just cut out a piece that hooks on the site glass. It looks like the first one bobby came up with except it hooks over instead of being permanent. If or I should say when I order from bobby I'll just buy the on that clips on.

 

[jflongo]

I just ordered this from his site, should be getting it tomorrow. Did you guys make sure you didnt' install the sight glass over one of the holes at the bottom heat venting?

 

[deadfall]

I just ordered this from his site, should be getting it tomorrow. Did you guys make sure you didnt' install the sight glass over one of the holes at the bottom heat venting?

I actually center all mine on one side of the handles. I guess you could try to do both.

 

[sennister]

FYI, for any electric brewers out there, the sight gauge boilovers don't apply to them. Put that gauge as low as you can get it on the HLT.

That makes sense that electric wouldn't have boilover issues in the sight glass.

I guess for the HLT I will have to research how much water I would typically have in there for a 5 gallon vs 10 gallon batch and place it according to that. That will also dictate on the low end of volume where the element needs to be as well as thermostat.

 

[Monster Mash]

I'd also suggest that your mash tun won't really be served by a sight glass at all, so I wouldn't use one there. It's most useful in the HLT and potentially useful in the BK. You won't ever need to measure liquid volumes in a MT, only liquid volumes going in and coming out.

They are very helpful in the MT. You can fill the strike water with the correct volume without opening the lid and while sparging you can keep an eye on the level of the mash.

Almost every brewer I know has a sight glass on the MT.

I have mine marked at 1 gallon increments and no grain ever gets up into it.

 

[deadfall]

I have one on my mash tun but the water never makes it in it. The grains seem to clog it before to much water gets through. I actually just plugged it off. Might have something to do with the size of the opening.

 

[Monster Mash]

I have one on my mash tun but the water never makes it in it. The grains seem to clog it before to much water gets through. I actually just plugged it off. Might have something to do with the size of the opening.

So when you put your strike water in the sight glass doesn't fill? Are you putting your grain in before the water?

 

[Barnesie]

They are very helpful in the MT. You can fill the strike water with the correct volume without opening the lid and while sparging you can keep an eye on the level of the mash.

Almost every brewer I know has a sight glass on the MT.

I have mine marked at 1 gallon increments and no grain ever gets up into it.

That is the fun of brewing, you don't know any brewers without one and I don't know any brewers with one.

Strike volume is easy to measure from a HLT with a sight glass, so a sight glass on the MT just duplicates an existing function of the HLT. As far as monitoring a sparge, I prefer to do that actively and visually at the mash rather then rely on any external tool or function, but that's obviously my preference.

 

[deadfall]

So when you put your strike water in the sight glass doesn't fill? Are you putting your grain in before the water?

No. I just mean I find its not a accurate way to measure after I've added the grains. It gets plugged. Anyhow, I found it wasn't useful for me.

 

[sennister]

No. I just mean I find its not a accurate way to measure after I've added the grains. It gets plugged. Anyhow, I found it wasn't useful for me.

What about putting one of those screens on it like some people do when they don't have a false bottom? It would hold the grains back from the opening and may help.

 

[Monster Mash]

Strike volume is easy to measure from a HLT with a sight glass, so a sight glass on the MT just duplicates an existing function of the HLT. As far as monitoring a sparge, I prefer to do that actively and visually at the mash rather then rely on any external tool or function, but that's obviously my preference.

I guess if you are doing smaller batches that works. Since my strike water is usually around 15 gallons and the HLT is 30 I prefer to have them both filled before the brewday and have them preheated automatically so the sight glass takes all of the guess work out of it.

If you are heating in the HLT, transferring to the MT and then refilling the HLT I could see how a sight glass won't help.

 

[jflongo]

Here is where I'm planning on putting mine, how does that look?

 

[deadfall]

looks good to me.

 

[cfrazier77]

How close is it to the next hole in the keg skirt to the left? Trust me, you don't want it close. I made that mistake and had to plug the hole.

 

[jflongo]

How close is it to the next hole in the keg skirt to the left? Trust me, you don't want it close. I made that mistake and had to plug the hole.

My thermometer you see is 1 couple of inches to the left on one, and about 3 inches up from one. The sight glass will be no where near one. It will be about a foot away.