Looking for most budget eBIAB set up

[mykrausenhurts]

I am trying to get back into homebrew with a small footprint in the budget and physical space department. I had been looking at using a DigiBoil Electric Kettle for the purpose of BIAB. I am also hoping to do No Chill in the actual kettle overnight with the help of an added gasket to form a proper air seal. I was curious if you guys thought this was the best solution currently for my needs. Are there better options out there for what I want to do? Thank you so much for any assistance!

 

[Carolina_Matt]

I think that would be the cheapest option for eBIAB. Do you have 240V access, or will you be using a regular 120V plug? Either way, it probably makes sense to spend the $20 on a jacket to assist with heating times.

If you're not in a rush, I assume Morebeer will have a 10-15% sale soon enough.

 

[mykrausenhurts]

I think that would be the cheapest option for eBIAB. Do you have 240V access, or will you be using a regular 120V plug? Either way, it probably makes sense to spend the $20 on a jacket to assist with heating times.

If you're not in a rush, I assume Morebeer will have a 10-15% sale soon enough.

Thanks for the response. Yes, I will be using 120v as I am in the US. I will probably buy the jacket on your advice to speed up the boil times.

There are people saying it is not intended to mash in this produced but I don't see how it could be a problem. Do you think that is advertisers trying to up sell people into a higher model? If I add a false bottom or something to keep the BIAB bag off the side of the the kettle I can't see how it would be a problem.

 

[Bobby_M]

You do know we use 240v regularly in the US too?
1600w will work but painfully slow. The 17 gallon 3500w is nice.

 

[lump42]

Thanks for the response. Yes, I will be using 120v as I am in the US. I will probably buy the jacket on your advice to speed up the boil times.

There are people saying it is not intended to mash in this produced but I don't see how it could be a problem. Do you think that is advertisers trying to up sell people into a higher model? If I add a false bottom or something to keep the BIAB bag off the side of the the kettle I can't see how it would be a problem.

A BIAB bag wouldn't be a problem and a false bottom won't be necessary unless you want to recirculate the mash (it's cheaper/simpler to stir the mash instead). You'll just be treating the digiboil like any other kettle. Just turn off the element when you hit strike temperature, and drop in the bag. It'll likely drop a few degrees over a 60 min mash, but that really won't matter much. Pull the bag out before you turn the element on for the boil and proceed as normal.

 

[Carolina_Matt]

lump42 is correct. Morebeer and other vendors even have an option to add a BIAB bag on the product page. I doubt they would do that if BIAB isn't feasible with this.

I think they mention no-BIAB because it can mess with the temperature sensor, but if you turn off the element during the mash then it will be fine. Keep the jacket on it, and put a blanket over it during the mash, and it should be fine.

 

[mykrausenhurts]

You do know we use 240v regularly in the US too?

No I was not aware of that. It was my understanding that standard wall power was 120v

A BIAB bag wouldn't be a problem and a false bottom won't be necessary unless you want to recirculate the mash (it's cheaper/simpler to stir the mash instead). You'll just be treating the digiboil like any other kettle. Just turn off the element when you hit strike temperature, and drop in the bag. It'll likely drop a few degrees over a 60 min mash, but that really won't matter much. Pull the bag out before you turn the element on for the boil and proceed as normal.

Good point, sounds like this might be my best option then.

 

[lump42]

No I was not aware of that. It was my understanding that standard wall power was 120v.

Standard wall outlets in the US are 120v 15a. There are 240v circuits going to special appliances like electric dryers, ovens, stoves, and A/C. This means that 240V units are an option, especially if you have an electric dryer or stove that's easy to unplug. Or for a modest fee an electrician could add a 240v outlet where you need it for brewing.

 

[Bobby_M]

Even if you dont recirc, leaving a liquid gap under the bag can allow the system to maintain heat.

 

[mykrausenhurts]

Standard wall outlets in the US are 120v 15a. There are 240v circuits going to special appliances like electric dryers, ovens, stoves, and A/C. This means that 240V units are an option, especially if you have an electric dryer or stove that's easy to unplug. Or for a modest fee an electrician could add a 240v outlet where you need it for brewing.

I see. Currently being in an apartment that is not an option for me. Everything will function appropriately with 120v still though correct?


Also, what do yall think about fermenting in this vessel as well? I think if I bring it to a boil to avoid the possibility of infections it might be best to just leave the wort in the kettle to ferment after it has come down in temperature. Because there are locks on the lid to this vessel I was considering making a food safe silicone ring around the top to make sure it is air tight and installing a air lock.

Terrible idea or might work?

 

[lump42]

Even if you dont recirc, leaving a liquid gap under the bag can allow the system to maintain heat.

Yes but for a budget system, the few degrees lost won't make a difference in the end product.

 

[lump42]

I see. Currently being in an apartment that is not an option for me. Everything will function appropriately with 120v still though correct?


Also, what do yall think about fermenting in this vessel as well? I think if I bring it to a boil to avoid the possibility of infections it might be best to just leave the wort in the kettle to ferment after it has come down in temperature. Because there are locks on the lid to this vessel I was considering making a food safe silicone ring around the top to make sure it is air tight and installing a air lock.

Terrible idea or might work?

If you use liquid yeast, you'll likely want to open the container and aerate before pitching or make a healthy starter. I've heard proponents of dry yeast claim that there is no need to aerate them, but I haven't really looked into it myself for the validity. Sanitation is important, but a healthy yeast pitch will out compete almost any other contaminants that are floating through the air during a transfer.

 

[sicktght311]

Also FYI, dont seal your kettle airtight when you do a no chill. Liquid shrinks as it cools and your kettle will try to contract under negative pressure ensuring some damage. Kinda like stainless steel fermenters and people who try to plug them up to cold crash

 

[mykrausenhurts]

Also FYI, dont seal your kettle airtight when you do a no chill. Liquid shrinks as it cools and your kettle will try to contract under negative pressure ensuring some damage. Kinda like stainless steel fermenters and people who try to plug them up to cold crash

Gotcha, I am assuming that only works with the plastic containers because they are flexible.

Would allowing the wort to chill int he fermenter wrapped with sanitized aluminium foil be acceptable for no chill?

 

[ZmannR2]

You do know we use 240v regularly in the US too?

No I was not aware of that. It was my understanding that standard wall power was 120v

This statement alone makes me wanna say stay away from electrical brewing lol!!

 

[ZmannR2]

Also FYI, dont seal your kettle airtight when you do a no chill. Liquid shrinks as it cools

Liquids do not shrink as they cool....only gasses do

 

[ZmannR2]

Gotcha, I am assuming that only works with the plastic containers because they are flexible.

Would allowing the wort to chill in the fermenter wrapped with sanitized aluminium foil be acceptable for no chill?

It probably only works with a plastic container because they aren't perfectly air tight. But as long as you pitch the next day and had the lid on for a few minutes of the boil (to sanitize the lid itself) I wouldn't worry about a perfect seal. That foil will do nothing for you. Just leave the lid on and don't touch until you pitch. Unless youre talking about the foil stuffed into the bubbler hole.

Now I'm confused here because you said you want to overnight chill in the kettle at first, now you mention the fermenter. My suggestion is find a fridge to set either of those vessels in overnight (or leave in your air conditioned home and that should work fine too (as long as you don't mind 75-80 degree fermentation). For simplicity I would find a system that boils and ferments in the same vessel.

You are worried too much about contamination simply from a non air tight container.....sanitize like crazy and the yeast will ward off the bad stuff as soon as it kicks off!

 

[mykrausenhurts]

It probably only works with a plastic container because they aren't perfectly air tight. But as long as you pitch the next day and had the lid on for a few minutes of the boil (to sanitize the lid itself) I wouldn't worry about a perfect seal. That foil will do nothing for you. Just leave the lid on and don't touch until you pitch. Unless youre talking about the foil stuffed into the bubbler hole.

Now I'm confused here because you said you want to overnight chill in the kettle at first, now you mention the fermenter. My suggestion is find a fridge to set either of those vessels in overnight (or leave in your air conditioned home and that should work fine too (as long as you don't mind 75-80 degree fermentation). For simplicity I would find a system that boils and ferments in the same vessel.

You are worried too much about contamination simply from a non air tight container.....sanitize like crazy and the yeast will ward off the bad stuff as soon as it kicks off!

In regards to your confusion, why can I not do both? I most likely will not do this because I would prefer NOT to tie up my kettle for long periods of time... but if I decided to allow the wort to chill over night as you describe what would prevent me from aerating the wort and pitching yeast directly into the kettle as well? I was just curious if that would be possible?

I just thought it would be amazing to mash, boil, and ferment in one single vessel.

 

[doug293cz]

Liquids do not shrink as they cool....only gasses do

Wrong! Liguids shrink when they cool, just much less than gases. For example water/wort shrinks about 4% cooling from boiling to room temp.

Brew on

 

[bkboiler]

Technically if u have an electric stove, this will likely be on 240V, so a single burner on there may be more powerful (slightly) than a 120V dedicated brew rig.

Alternatively, u could always buy an 1800W induction standalone burner and get a triclad pot and just do regular BIAB on that. U can bring up to temp and use some reflectrix insulation to hold temp pretty well especially if you brew indoors.

These options tend to make sense for 2.5gallon batches. For 5, you could use a heat stick or try a split boil until u move into a place with a dedicated 240V plug...

 

[mykrausenhurts]

Technically if u have an electric stove, this will likely be on 240V, so a single burner on there may be more powerful (slightly) than a 120V dedicated brew rig.

Alternatively, u could always buy an 1800W induction standalone burner and get a triclad pot and just do regular BIAB on that. U can bring up to temp and use some reflectrix insulation to hold temp pretty well especially if you brew indoors.

These options tend to make sense for 2.5gallon batches. For 5, you could use a heat stick or try a split boil until u move into a place with a dedicated 240V plug...

I like the way you think hah.

I currently have two 4 gallon stainless steel pots but they are very thin bottoms. If I make a false bottom do you think that would work for a 2.5 gallon batch? I probably should practice small anyways before moving up to larger batches.

 

[bkboiler]

I currently use a 4 gallon to BIAB...but I kinda do it modified.
I mash at 1.25 qt /lb in my 4 gallon pot and heat my sparge water up in a 2 gallon pot on the back burner...
Then I lift the bag and run the wort into my brew bucket with spigot. I put the bag into the bucket and dump the sparge water over the top then run it all back into the 4 gallon pot.
Could just go buy a 6 gallon pot and BIAB in one vessel and I may eventually do that for simplicity, but I've been really liking the results I've been getting from batch sparging.

Cheers!

 

[bkboiler]

Oh and as an ease of use thing...I have been using my 6.5 gallon bucket to ferment my 2.5 gallon batches... The headspace doesn't affect anything for my turnaround times and I can rack through the spigot straight into the keg... So easy!
So after Brew day I just transfer the cooled wort into the same bucket I used for sparging and slap the lid on while I chill it down in my fridge to final pitching temp.
The yeast layer and trub layer is minimal since I installed a diptube on my boil kettle and stopped dumping the entire boil volume into the fermenter. Also, I used a hop spider and if dry hopping a hop canister to cut down on debris in the fermenter which helps with the spigot not clogging...
If you purge the keg with CO2 this is a very easy no fuss method to get very close to a closed transfer with lower risk of clogging a keg fitting...

 

[ZmannR2]

Wrong! Liguids shrink when they cool, just much less than gases. For example water/wort shrinks about 4% cooling from boiling to room temp.

Brew on

Not in the amount at which to "damage a sealed kettle/fermenter" during a cooldown....that is from the air contracting

 

[bkboiler]

Actually water which is generally regarded as "incompressible" is known as such because of the high amount of pressure to compress it. So a 4% change in specific volume corresponds to a large crush pressure on a vessel. That being said, the air which also fills the vessel absorbs that movement and only takes a small amount of pressure to move that much distance. so there's an equilibrium of forces as well as partial pressures.
If your vessel was full to the brim with water it could crush it...