BIAB Electric Brewing System

[YNOT2K]

You really should have contacted them to discuss your issues before making the statement you just posted.

Just give them a fair chance. In your business you would expect the same respect. No?

while i respectfully disagree, i have edited my previous post to "soften" it for you.

i sent a message to HGB and am awaiting a response. i explained the issues to them in detail, something i did not do here in my previous post.

they will either resolve the issues or not, and i will certainly report whatever happens here as well.

i'm not bashing HGB at all - just reporting the facts so far.

 

[P-J]

while i respectfully disagree, i have edited my previous post to "soften" it for you.
...

Soften it for me? You publicly post a possible very damaging --- Geeze... Nevermind...

I see, bash 'em first and then explain. Good job.

Carry on with it. You are on your own.

 

[YNOT2K]

Soften it for me? You publicly post a possible very damaging --- Geeze... Nevermind...

I see, bash 'em first and then explain. Good job.

Carry on with it. You are on your own.

P-J, i did not bash them. you are wrong.

i just talked to Dave at HGB and he is going to take care of me.

it is obvious that they are going through some growing pains with this very popular product, and Dave is more than willing to make me happy.

i'll report back more as i test/use the system.

 

[Epimetheus]

If the pump is starved, an adjustable valve downstream of the pump can throttle down the flow rate so it does not pump itself dry. Throttling the flow causes the pump to work harder and it may overheat or otherwise shorten its life.

 

[crooow]

P-J, i did not bash them. you are wrong.

i just talked to Dave at HGB and he is going to take care of me.

it is obvious that they are going through some growing pains with this very popular product, and Dave is more than willing to make me happy.

i'll report back more as i test/use the system.

Any updates on your situation, YNOT2K? I was looking at this system but then came across this thread...

 

[NWMushroom]

I am at a stage where I can fill people in with my experiences...

When the system arrived, it worked fine but I needed to do a LOT of tightening around all of the bulkheads to make the system leak free. I also had to use a LOT of teflon tape. You really want to have a good supply of teflon tape and a couple of vice grips on hand to set this system up to be leak free. It's a shame it didn't arrive leak free in the first place.

I was initially sent the wrong plug but a new prong was sent to me as soon as I brought this to their attention (I needed a plug with 3 straight prongs) so I could replace that myself.

After the first test run, the controller stopped registering the temperature and would switch off the heating element. I was sent a replacement temperature probe cable, but the issue remained. I was then sent a new controller and that fixed the problem.

I did my first brew this week and everything went well. I still need to work on my processes to get my brew day down (my first time brewing electric, using a pump, using a platechiller!) but overall it went smoothly.

Hopefully the initial quality of the system when it leaves HGB improves - but I will say that they worked with me to send me anything/everything they thought I may need to get the system working.

I feel confident that should anything go wrong in the future, I'll be taken care of.

 

[YNOT2K]

Any updates on your situation, YNOT2K? I was looking at this system but then came across this thread...

one successful brew day is in the books. :rockin:

i would definitely recommend this system, but don't think that you're going to pull it out of the box and be brewing in 20 minutes - you won't be.

some assembly is done before it leaves HGB and there is more for you to do as well. check all connections as NWMushroom has stated above, because the bulkhead fittings installed already will likely not be water tight. the only "change" i made to the system was suggested to me by NWMushroom - disassembly and reassembly of the bulkhead fitting through the lid, moving the 2 o-rings both to the inside to help seal that one. it worked well.

i also plan on adding a ball valve in the hose after the pump instead of throttling the ball valve on the kettle before the pump.

got a bit more boil-off than my test had shown (ended up at 1.060 instead of my target of 1.056), but hit all my other numbers.

i'm brewing again on the 11th.

 

[theknub]

i chalk 1.056 to 1.06 as a beer 'addition'

 

[YNOT2K]

i chalk 1.056 to 1.06 as a beer 'addition'

i agree!

i'm not sure why i thought it was worth noting, but i am a bit picky in general.

 

[kzimmer0817]

Any updates from those of you who have purchased this system. I'm still quite interested. I enjoy DIY, but I simply don't have the time.

Have you been able to iron out the difficulties? Is the system performing satisfactorily? How is the recirculation working? etc.

Thanks,
Keith

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

Any updates from those of you who have purchased this system. I'm still quite interested. I enjoy DIY, but I simply don't have the time.

Have you been able to iron out the difficulties? Is the system performing satisfactorily? How is the recirculation working? etc.

Thanks,
Keith

I've done I think 6 batches now and I love the system. A few bugs to iron out but it saves so much time off my old brew day before the system.

Recirc is no issue at all but you have to use the bag that comes with the system or a bag with a similar mesh size. The batch I did using my old tighter mesh bag caused me problems with starving the pump. I lost control of that mash and it got hot and I can definitely tell in the finished beer. It's not bad, but definitely sweeter than it should have been.

The only other thing that is a minor annoyance is the controller. When I set the mash temp to 154 it gets there and then will bounce between 154 and 156 for the mash time. I don't like that its always high. I'm sure this could be corrected in the controller response, but for now I've worked around it by setting my setpoint a degree lower. So now it fluctuates around the midpoint I want instead of always being above.

All in all I'm very pleased.

 

[YNOT2K]

Any updates from those of you who have purchased this system. I'm still quite interested. I enjoy DIY, but I simply don't have the time.

Have you been able to iron out the difficulties? Is the system performing satisfactorily? How is the recirculation working? etc.

Thanks,
Keith

i have 3 brew days on this system and overall, i am pleased. one issue that i had mentioned earlier in this thread appeared to have been resolved, but is now back. i'm working around it. sigh.
i'm brewing again in a week or so. the beers so far have been pretty good, not great, and i've been able to hit my numbers pretty well. i'm a new brewer so can't yet pinpoint what i can do to make the beers better. could be process, recipe, etc. i'm glad i started out with ebiab all grain. i think i can adapt, modify, repair (sigh) and use this system for quite a while.

 

[kzimmer0817]

Recirc is no issue at all but you have to use the bag that comes with the system or a bag with a similar mesh size. The batch I did using my old tighter mesh bag caused me problems with starving the pump. I lost control of that mash and it got hot and I can definitely tell in the finished beer. It's not bad, but definitely sweeter than it should have been.
All in all I'm very pleased.

Thanks for the update. I had a feeling that the type of bag would matter. The Aussies and many other proponents of BIAB recommend the fine meshed Swiss Voile which is much finer than the paint strainer or laundry bags. I think folks - not limited to this particular system - tended to have recirc problems when they used the voile bag with the basket.

Another point mentioned in other threads is that it is important to have the valve placed AFTER the pump. You decrease the rate of recirculation by restricting AFTER the pump, not before it. This particular system appears to rely upon a sprayer inside the lid to provide the backflow resistance.

It might be helpful if someone would interpose an additional ball valve after the pump and post their results.

Regarding the temperature fluctuation, I wonder if the dwell in the PID can be adjusted such that it turns the element on with only a single degree drop from the set temp.

Thanks again,
Keith

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

No problem. I had the laundry bag that I used before and it was great. I liked the drawstring and the fact it felt substantial. I'm concerned for how long the paint strainer type that came with the system will last. That said, I'm not sure of any other driver for going finer. The coarser mesh lets more junk into the pot, but since starting to use hop bags, I really have almost no debris. My beers have come out clear as can be.

On the batch I used the voile I was able to get a recirc going but I had to tinker with the bag and had it pulled pretty tight before it was stable. That may mean its just on the edge and if you throttle back the pump with a valve it may work OK. It's just not something I'm planning to do though when it works just fine with the coarser bag.

I'm sure the PID can be adjusted and I really should know how to do that being a chemical engineer, but controls class was a long time ago. I probably just need to read the manual. The way it's set up out of the box, or at least mine, is that it fires as soon as it falls back to the setpoint. That might be OK if it didn't overshoot 2 degrees after that. Not a huge deal overall though.

 

[Sippin37]

Any updates from those of you who have purchased this system. I'm still quite interested. I enjoy DIY, but I simply don't have the time.

Have you been able to iron out the difficulties? Is the system performing satisfactorily? How is the recirculation working? etc.

Thanks,
Keith

While I actually started this thread because I thought this system would be perfect for me, I realized that being the only beer drinker in my house I was having a hard time putting away 5 gallons quick enough to fulfill my love of brewing. So instead I went ahead and spent $600-700 and built this 2.5 gallon system here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f170/110v-recirculating-ebiab-2-5-gallon-batches-341219/

It is pretty much the same exact system just produces half the amount of beer in the end. It is a win/win for me because I get to brew more and also still brew inside which was my primary reason for wanting to go electric. I just wanted to mention this to anyone in case they thought a 2.5 gallon system would fit them as well and they could save a little bit of money in the end. It will take some time doing the wiring and drilling, but in the end I am happy as can be.

Cheers!

 

[kzimmer0817]

While I actually started this thread because I thought this system would be perfect for me, I realized that being the only beer drinker in my house I was having a hard time putting away 5 gallons quick enough to fulfill my love of brewing. So instead I went ahead and spent $600-700 and built this 2.5 gallon system here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f170/110v-recirculating-ebiab-2-5-gallon-batches-341219/

It is pretty much the same exact system just produces half the amount of beer in the end. It is a win/win for me because I get to brew more and also still brew inside which was my primary reason for wanting to go electric. I just wanted to mention this to anyone in case they thought a 2.5 gallon system would fit them as well and they could save a little bit of money in the end. It will take some time doing the wiring and drilling, but in the end I am happy as can be.

Cheers!

Thanks for bringing some closure. I think there was some benefit from your thread. I'm actually thinking that I should do the same thing. I don't drink a lot of beer - perhaps 1 a day. My son, with whom I had hoped to do most of my brewing, is no longer at home. Therefore, it might be more interesting for me to brew smaller batches of different beers more often. I could experiment with it.

I currently have the 7.5 gallon SS pot that I purchased with my beginner's kit. I could install an element into it and save on the purchase of a kettle. I would probably still go ahead and do 220V controller (possibly High Gravity's simpler device).

Thanks for starting this thread. Please start a new thread to show your current work.

Thanks,
Keith

 

[kzimmer0817]

On the batch I used the voile I was able to get a recirc going but I had to tinker with the bag and had it pulled pretty tight before it was stable. That may mean its just on the edge and if you throttle back the pump with a valve it may work OK. It's just not something I'm planning to do though when it works just fine with the coarser bag.

When I first started researching BIAB appr 2 years ago, I began on the biabrewer.com forum. There was much talk about the bag material with particular emphasis on the fine-meshed voile over the coarser paint strainer or laundry bags. I forget the exact reasons. I think the finer bag allowed for a bit finer crush to be used thereby increasing efficiency. Also, the finer bag did not leave behind as much junk in the kettle.

When I discovered HBT, I stumbled upon, and was most encouraged by, builds by thughes, johnodon (no longer brewing, but his thread is still up), jsguitar, and voltin. I think they all used recirculation, the swiss voile bag, as well as the basket. Thughes abandoned recirculation as well as the basket, IIRC. Somewhere on HBT are is a thread that asks who's recirculating during mash (with BIAB) and another that asks who's still using the basket. It seems that many are abandoning one or the other or both.

One common problem with recirculation was that of starving the pump. Spacemanspiff, it sounds like this is what is happening when you use the voile bag. On the thread(s) where this is discussed, it was mentioned that there should be a valve at the pump outlet to control the flow and that the flow should be quite slow. IOW, you open your kettle valve completely but shut down your post-pump valve considerably. On Kal's website in his section "Brew Day Step by Step" he shows the pump valves barely open during the sparge.

Anyway, bottom line #1: if folks are having trouble with recirculation, it would be interesting to hear the results if you insert a 2nd valve at the pump outlet.

Bottome line #2: Something that negates much of what I repeated regarding the bag just occured to me. Many brewers perform a brief manual recirc after dough-in using a pitcher until the wort loses its cloudiness. Apparently, the grain bed acts as its own filter. This could provide justification for using the coarser bags for those who feel that recirculation is important for maintaining consistent mash temps.

Sorry about being so long-winded. While some people might abandon a project because they jump into it without thinking things thru, I, OTOH, often spend way too much time overthinking the project and performing many "dry runs" in my mind that I never embark on the project. I need to find the happy medium.

Thanks,
Keith

 

[jeffmeh]

FWIW, I use a very fine voile bag with a fine crush. Occasionally with a huge grain bill I will drain into buckets before lifting the bag, and it drains more than fast enough for recirculation.

+1 on having a valve on the pump output to regulate flow.

 

[SanMarzano]

Did you guys order the 3 prong or 4 prong outlet versions?

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

I got the 4 prong and put a GFI breaker in my panel.

 

[YNOT2K]

4 prong here too.

 

[DrHops]

3 prong plugged into a GFCI protected spa panel.

 

[SanMarzano]

u can GFCI a 3 prong?

 

[DrHops]

u can GFCI a 3 prong?

Yes you can. A friend of mine who is a master electrician installed it. It is a 50 amp GFCI protected spa panel that I bought off eBay for $40 a few months ago. The 3 prong outlet is hooked up to that.

 

[kzimmer0817]

Yes you can. A friend of mine who is a master electrician installed it. It is a 50 amp GFCI protected spa panel that I bought off eBay for $40 a few months ago. The 3 prong outlet is hooked up to that.

I'm not an electrician, but the scientist in me tends to make me want to understand how this works. So . . . I googled how a 220V GFCI breaker works.

I had previous thought that the GFCI breaker compared the neutral and ground wires (hence the need for 4 wires), but that is apparently incorrect.

If I understand it correctly (after reading some links), the GFCI breaker constantly monitors the current thru the 2 hot wires of a 220V line. If there is any mismatch between the two, the breaker will trip.

If something electrical comes loose in or around our control panel or kettle causing a bit of current to leak directly to ground, the current in the 2 hot legs will be unequal and will cause the circuit to trip.

Apparently, the neutral wire (3rd wire) in the 220V cord to the appliance is not necessary for the GFCI to operate. For example, many 220V motors have only 2 hots going to them, no neutral.

According to someone responding to a GFCI question on a forum having to do with wiring a boat lift (a potentially wet environment), the neutral wire from the 220V lift motor doesn't even need to be connected for the GFCI to operate. But . . . the breaker itself requires its neutral wire to be connected in order for the "TEST" button to function correctly. The test button sends a tiny bit of current thru the neutral thereby creating a mismatch between the two hot legs being monitored by the breaker causing it to trip.

If my thinking is correct, this process provides the reasoning behind the EPO button that P.J. includes in all his panel drawings. Pressing the EPO button shunts a tiny bit of current down the ground wire creating a mismatch between the two hot wires thereby mimicking what would happen if a ground fault were actually occurring. This mismatch is sensed by the the GFCI breaker (either in the main panel or in the spa panel adaptation) and the breaker is tripped.

EDIT: just clicked on a link in another thread that took me to High Gravity's EBC II and noticed the following statement in that item's description:

Standard 220V, 30A 3-Prong "Dryer" Plug with 6 ft. cord. GFCI type breaker cannot be used with the 3-wire model. Order the 4-wire version with separate neutral and ground to support a GFCI installation.

So I'm still a bit confused. BUT . . . . (as I also read on another forum) a ground might be requred since there is also a 110VAC circuit in this controller for the pump. I guess we'll wait to hear from others more expert.

Respectfully submitted,
Keith

 

[SanMarzano]

Standard 220V, 30A 3-Prong "Dryer" Plug with 6 ft. cord. GFCI type breaker cannot be used with the 3-wire model. Order the 4-wire version with separate neutral and ground to support a GFCI installation.


I think this is due to 240 being split into 110 in the controller and neutral is needed to GFCI the 110 side as well? Thats my guess

 

[DrHops]

Standard 220V, 30A 3-Prong "Dryer" Plug with 6 ft. cord. GFCI type breaker cannot be used with the 3-wire model. Order the 4-wire version with separate neutral and ground to support a GFCI installation.

I think this is due to 240 being split into 110 in the controller and neutral is needed to GFCI the 110 side as well? Thats my guess

The quote refers to their controller, not to electricity in general.

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

Lots of valuable information in this post regarding BIAB using the High Gravity system. I'm planning to buy the 62 quart High Gravity model in a few months, once we get settled into our next house. The only place I would be able to brew is in the garage with the doors closed so the neighbors can't see what I'm up to.

What size, how many cfm, would you recommend to exhaust the boil vapors outside and prevent the garage from becoming a steam room? I know the guidelines used for a sizing bathroom exhaust fan recommend changing the air 8 times an hour.

To calculate the CFM's needed to comply with the ACH guidelines you're supposed to multiply the length times the width times the height of the brewroom, to get the total cubic volume of air in the room.

Next multiply that number by eight, to represent the number of air changes per hour, and then divide that number by 60 to get the number of cubic feet per minute needed. I wonder if this formula works as good for hot wort vapors and hop aromas as it does for bathrooms.

 

[SanMarzano]

Got mine today. Waiting for the electrician to swap my outlet and install a spa panel next week

 

[NathPowe]

The only place I would be able to brew is in the garage with the doors closed so the neighbors can't see what I'm up to.

So your neighbors hate awesomeness?

Or perhaps they like it too much and dip into your supply too much?

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

So your neighbors hate awesomeness?

Or perhaps they like it too much and dip into your supply too much?

You can pick your friends but you can't pick your neighbors.

Just my luck I'll have either end of the spectrum the neighbor on the left hates the smell of brewing beer while the neighbor on the right loves drinking my homebrew. Either way I'm not used to attracting a crowd during brewday, close friends and family excluded of course. I guess I'm just an introverted indoor basement brewer at heart.

 

[NathPowe]

You can pick your friends but you can't pick your neighbors.

Just my luck I'll have either end of the spectrum the neighbor on the left hates the smell of brewing beer while the neighbor on the right loves drinking my homebrew. Either way I'm not used to attracting a crowd during brewday, close friends and family excluded of course. I guess I'm just an introverted indoor basement brewer at heart.

Right on man. Just messin' with ya. You'll have to post once you get your high gravity system up and running. It's a pretty sweet-looking and tempting setup - I've been eyeing it as well. This thread is great for getting feedback on it. Good luck with the neighbors and enjoy the brewing.

Cheers.

 

[SanMarzano]

I did my test run today with water. Below is what I noticed;

1)Check all fittings I had issues primarily on the lid where the T fitting meets the lid and the thermo coupler
2)As noted by someone else the mash temp fluctuates 2-3 degrees higher than the set point. This can be adjusted by lowering your set point by a degree or two
3)the controller has a slight buzz, anyone else hear that?

Test run was with 6 gallons of water at 84 degrees
a)Took 16min to get to 156 degrees and 31min to get to a boil
b)Evaporation was 1.5 G per hour (doe that seem right?)

Looking forward to brewing on it soon

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

I did my test run today with water. Below is what I noticed;

1)Check all fittings I had issues primarily on the lid where the T fitting meets the lid and the thermo coupler
2)As noted by someone else the mash temp fluctuates 2-3 degrees higher than the set point. This can be adjusted by lowering your set point by a degree or two
3)the controller has a slight buzz, anyone else hear that?

Test run was with 6 gallons of water at 84 degrees
a)Took 16min to get to 156 degrees and 31min to get to a boil
b)Evaporation was 1.5 G per hour (doe that seem right?)

Looking forward to brewing on it soon

Definitely check the fittings. If others end up getting this system, save yourself some pain and disassemble the fittings, throw a couple wraps of teflon tape on there, and re-tighten it. I've had no issues after doing that and I've got about a dozen batches on the system now.

As for your other observations, I've recently discovered a lot depends on where you've got that analog dial set. Based on your times and evap., my guess is you have it cranked. I do that to come to mash temp and go to boil, but I've found you need to feather it down to better control the mash. I think that's why it seems to overshoot so much. I took the dial down between 1/2 to 2/3 during my last batch and it held temp much better. When I had it too low, it actually was missing on the low end. So the sensitivity could certainly be tuned better, but you can adapt with the analog dial.

I also don't have it going full out on the boil. I took it up to where I get a nice boil and made a mark that's probably around 2/3 to 3/4 full. At that setting, I have a steady boil, but only get about 1 gal/hr evaporation. If you've got it full tilt, 1.5 gal/hr sounds right. I think I tried that once. No reason you can't do that I suppose if you plan for it, but I was concerned about the extreme boil causing junk to build up on my element.

One other reason I love this system. On my last couple batches, I was having an issue where my sprayer tip was coming loose. No big deal and I put it back on. Well on my last time, I cross-threaded it and ruined it. I went to High Gravity to ask for a replacement. Even despite telling them it was my own dumb ass that broke it, they sent me a replacement assembly no charge. Can't beat that customer service.

 

[SanMarzano]

Definitely check the fittings. If others end up getting this system, save yourself some pain and disassemble the fittings, throw a couple wraps of teflon tape on there, and re-tighten it. I've had no issues after doing that and I've got about a dozen batches on the system now.

As for your other observations, I've recently discovered a lot depends on where you've got that analog dial set. Based on your times and evap., my guess is you have it cranked. I do that to come to mash temp and go to boil, but I've found you need to feather it down to better control the mash. I think that's why it seems to overshoot so much. I took the dial down between 1/2 to 2/3 during my last batch and it held temp much better. When I had it too low, it actually was missing on the low end. So the sensitivity could certainly be tuned better, but you can adapt with the analog dial.

I also don't have it going full out on the boil. I took it up to where I get a nice boil and made a mark that's probably around 2/3 to 3/4 full. At that setting, I have a steady boil, but only get about 1 gal/hr evaporation. If you've got it full tilt, 1.5 gal/hr sounds right. I think I tried that once. No reason you can't do that I suppose if you plan for it, but I was concerned about the extreme boil causing junk to build up on my element.

One other reason I love this system. On my last couple batches, I was having an issue where my sprayer tip was coming loose. No big deal and I put it back on. Well on my last time, I cross-threaded it and ruined it. I went to High Gravity to ask for a replacement. Even despite telling them it was my own dumb ass that broke it, they sent me a replacement assembly no charge. Can't beat that customer service.

Thanks for the tips. As for the 60 min boil, I did not have it running full on, rather I dialed it back a bit. It was 95 degrees and dry here..I wonder if thats the issue. One thing I noticed was that the spray head was a rainbird shrub sprayer.......Anyway we can find out if they are food safe?

 

[kzimmer0817]

OK. I hate to keep asking the same questions, but . . . how are folks enjoying their High Gravity Electric BIAB system? Any new kinks to iron out?

How is the EBC-SV controller working out?

Are you still using the basket and is it draining well for you?

I should be ready to restart brewing in a few months as I get some other projects going around the house - including some plumbing and electrical work.

Thanks,
Keith

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

OK. I hate to keep asking the same questions, but . . . how are folks enjoying their High Gravity Electric BIAB system? Any new kinks to iron out? How is the EBC-SV controller working out? Are you still using the basket and is it draining well for you? I should be ready to restart brewing in a few months as I get some other projects going around the house - including some plumbing and electrical work. Thanks, Keith

Still love it. I've learned how to better use the analog dial to help maintain the mash temp better which was one of my issues I was having. I keep it at about 50% and my mash easily stays within a degree.

I still use the basket and have no problems. Honestly, the thing has half inch holes in it. For those that think the basket is the cause of drainage problems, well, fluid dynamics isn't a strong suit. However, I have discovered the bag plays a huge part in proper draining. Using the more coarse bag that came with the system I have absolutely no problems. When I used a finer mesh bag I had though, I did run into issues if I didn't have the bag perfectly positioned. So I've stuck with the coarse bag and haven't looked back. My beers are perfectly clear and I crush pretty fine. If you insist on the fine mesh bag, some others have gotten around it by throttling the pump. Maybe bigger basket holes would help that, but I'm not too sure why when the problem is getting the fluid out of the bag through the finer mesh.

 

[Wrecked]

Got mine yesterday and set it up for a mock brew this morning. All I can say is AWESOME! The system ran flawlessly after Dennis at High Gravity was nice enough to help the electrically stupid (me) trouble shoot my spa panel GFCI. The EBC-SV controller is a breeze to use and the power adjustment knob makes dialing in your temps very smooth. I couldn't be happier with the system and the technical support from High Gravity. Now to add a sight glass and a whirlpool port and get to brewing.

 

[NWMushroom]

Well I've been using the eBIAB system for about 6 months now and am really enjoying it. It took a while to figure out where I want the analog power knob for mash (a feather under 1/2 way / 12 o'clock) and boil (about 1 o'clock gives me a boil off rate of 1g per hour).

I have also incorporated a plate chiller that will chill my wort down to 60 or so in about 7 minutes.

Cleaning is great - I rinse the kettle out, add about 7 gallons of PBW solution, set the temperature to 150 and circulate for 15-30 minutes. I then switch the wort in/out hoses for the plate chiller and do the same again. After that, a rinse of hot water and then I run a couple of gallons of StarSan through both ways for a minute or so. The element gets nice and shiny without needing any scrubbing.

I am getting an efficiency of around 75-80% on brews around 1.050-1.060. In the 1.070 range, I am looking at around 70%. The highest gravity brew I have done on this is an imperial stout (OG 1.085) - I got 60% efficiency, but that was when I was still learning the system.

I brew in the basement with all the windows open. It can get a little steamy, but nothing major. If I owned the place I'd look at getting a vent installed, but I only rent so...

Attached is a picture of my current setup. Any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

 

[mrwizard0]

It can get a little steamy, but nothing major. If I owned the place I'd look at getting a vent installed, but I only rent so...

You should at least put a fan in there for your landlords sake