My attempt at a 20 gallon, future-prrof system with stout tanks

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bemerritt

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My apologies if this is better fitted in a different section. This is an electric setup with new equipment that will be done by myself. So this seemed like a good place to put it.

So thanks to a bonus and an awesome SWMBO that is allowing me to spend some of it, it is time for me to put together my dream system that I have convinced her/myself is future-proof. For this reason I am going to go with stout kettles. Since they are the longest lead time item, that is the purchase I am making first (and need opinions to make sure It all makes sense). I went with Stout because I love that they are all welded tri-clamp fittings. There should never be a reason for me to upgrade my equipment.

As of now I live in an apartment and do 5 gallon recirculating eBIAB in my keggle with two 120v elements (right now one element is 1650W and one is 1500W). I ferment in carboys located in two wine cooler ferment fridges controlled by the stc-1000. A four tap keezer and a two tap kegerator are responsible for the distribution. The kettle set up is shown below.

snc2.jpg


Eventually we will be buying a house and I will have 240v at my disposal. But for now I have to settle for two 120v circuits.

So my plan is as follows.

19.8 Gallon HLT
Herms coil
2 Electric ports
Sight glass
Thermowell with thermometer
All of the Tri-clamp stuff that comes with it

20 Gallon Bottom draining Mash Tun
False bottom
Recirculation fittings
Thermowell with thermometer
All of the Tri-clamp stuff that comes with it

21.5 Gallon Brew kettle
2 electric ports
Sight glass
Tangential inlet
Thermowell with thermometer
All of the Tri-clamp stuff that comes with it

I will predominantly do 5 or 10 gallon batches. As long as the elements are low enough in the kettle. Once I upgrade to 240v, I think I could squeeze in a 15 gallon batch. Although it might require a low OG and topping off with water post boil.

I would love comments and opinions on this kettle set up and also have some questions.

-Am I trying to do too much with this system with regards to wanting the ability to do 5 to 15 gallon batches?
-Since I will be going electric using pids, I am not sure if I need the thermowell and thermometers. I would plan on monitoring the temps in a Tee fitting at the outlets of the kettles and the outlet of the HERMS coil. I asked John if this would decrease the price if I don’t need them.
-Once I move to 240v and only need one element port, any ideas on what else i could use that port for?
-Speaking of two ports, any ideas on the best orientation for them? In my current pot I have them at 3 o clock and 9 o clock, but am not totally sold on that.

Once the pots are on order, I’ll start acquiring the parts and equipment to compliment these stainless beauties

-14 gallon stout conical
-Plate chiller
-Additional chugger pump
-New control panel that will require two 20 amp circuits (I will most likely use this as a temporary panel until the 240v enters the picture)

As these things get rolling I’ll update this regularly with pictures. Admittedly, this might be more for personal gain because it helps writing things out and having to justify decisions. I would never try and do something like this if it wasn’t for the endless time spent on here reading everyone else’s endeavors, so thanks for that. I am sure I will have a ton of questions along the way, and this will allow me to ask them all in one place rather than littering the board with one-off specific questions.

Thanks in advance!
 
Love the setup. All very similar to what I would dream up if I had the $$$.

The One thing that I would verify is how high the water level would be in the pots for 5 Gallon batches. May not be a very deep level and the return line in the BK may have a ways to fall.
 
Ya, that is my main concern as well. But when the solution is just to make more beer, there could be worse problems. One solution i thought of is to make a slightly larger batch and use the extra wort for the starter of the next batch.
 
For the HLT, I'd go with the biggest you can afford. I built a 25gal. Due to the element height sometimes I wish I'd given myself a little more available water. And for what it's worth, I could have bought the HLT from stout for about the same price.

I tried to order the 30 gal bottom draining mash tun from those guys and they forgot to add the bottom drain to my mash tun so make sure they don't drop the ball.

I also have their 20 gal boil kettle. It seems like it's designed for the brewer that uses pellets and hop spiders exclusively. The reason I say that is you are unable to filter through the main outlet. I tried this accidentally once and ended up with two march pumps filled with leaf hops. So I added a dip tube and filter to mine and went and got an end cap for the (now useless) main outlet. And as for whirlpooling in the vessel, you will also have to use a hop spider or pellets since delivered from the manufacturer there's no way to keep the hops whole out of your pumps. Now, with my dip tube in the center of the vessel I don't whirlpool.

You will need many more gaskets and clamps than are provided with your initial order from stout and for that I'd suggest brewers' hardware. They are much more responsive than Stout, ship faster, and generally have better pricing on heavier clamps.

I like their mash tuns. And their HLTs are reasonably priced. If you're waiting on shipping a mash tun you might as well just wait for the HLT from those guys but if I had the money so spend again, I'd just buy a boilermaker for my BK and then get a couple more threaded tri clamp fittings.

IMAG0321.jpg
 
Thanks for the response. I heard back from stout and might be adjusting my order a little bit.

My whole hang up is needing to be able to use 110 now and 240 later. But I think i can get away with one 2000W element in the HLT. The benefit to that is then my HLT and Mash tun will be in stock and arrive late december. As opposed to the two element port BK which will be a special order due to arrive in May. The other option I have toyed with is making a heat stick to use while I am still on the 110v setup. Any thoughts on that? I feel like if I go that route it is just me being impatient. haha.

In the time being I would use my current keggle as my bk.

Interesting notes on the boil kettle. I currently use pellets and forsee myself to continue to do so. Have you ever used hops and whirlpooled in their kettle? Curious how well it works. As of now i use an immersion chiller and and then filter out the pellet gunk on the way to the fermenter. But when I move to a plate chiller I will need to remove the gunk prior to chilling.
 
My apologies if this is better fitted in a different section. This is an electric setup with new equipment that will be done by myself. So this seemed like a good place to put it.

So thanks to a bonus and an awesome SWMBO that is allowing me to spend some of it, it is time for me to put together my dream system that I have convinced her/myself is future-proof. For this reason I am going to go with stout kettles. Since they are the longest lead time item, that is the purchase I am making first (and need opinions to make sure It all makes sense). I went with Stout because I love that they are all welded tri-clamp fittings. There should never be a reason for me to upgrade my equipment.

As of now I live in an apartment and do 5 gallon recirculating eBIAB in my keggle with two 120v elements (right now one element is 1650W and one is 1500W). I ferment in carboys located in two wine cooler ferment fridges controlled by the stc-1000. A four tap keezer and a two tap kegerator are responsible for the distribution. The kettle set up is shown below.

snc2.jpg


Eventually we will be buying a house and I will have 240v at my disposal. But for now I have to settle for two 120v circuits.

So my plan is as follows.

19.8 Gallon HLT
Herms coil
2 Electric ports
Sight glass
Thermowell with thermometer
All of the Tri-clamp stuff that comes with it

20 Gallon Bottom draining Mash Tun
False bottom
Recirculation fittings
Thermowell with thermometer
All of the Tri-clamp stuff that comes with it

21.5 Gallon Brew kettle
2 electric ports
Sight glass
Tangential inlet
Thermowell with thermometer
All of the Tri-clamp stuff that comes with it

I will predominantly do 5 or 10 gallon batches. As long as the elements are low enough in the kettle. Once I upgrade to 240v, I think I could squeeze in a 15 gallon batch. Although it might require a low OG and topping off with water post boil.

I would love comments and opinions on this kettle set up and also have some questions.

-Am I trying to do too much with this system with regards to wanting the ability to do 5 to 15 gallon batches?
-Since I will be going electric using pids, I am not sure if I need the thermowell and thermometers. I would plan on monitoring the temps in a Tee fitting at the outlets of the kettles and the outlet of the HERMS coil. I asked John if this would decrease the price if I don’t need them.
-Once I move to 240v and only need one element port, any ideas on what else i could use that port for?
-Speaking of two ports, any ideas on the best orientation for them? In my current pot I have them at 3 o clock and 9 o clock, but am not totally sold on that.

Once the pots are on order, I’ll start acquiring the parts and equipment to compliment these stainless beauties

-14 gallon stout conical
-Plate chiller
-Additional chugger pump
-New control panel that will require two 20 amp circuits (I will most likely use this as a temporary panel until the 240v enters the picture)

As these things get rolling I’ll update this regularly with pictures. Admittedly, this might be more for personal gain because it helps writing things out and having to justify decisions. I would never try and do something like this if it wasn’t for the endless time spent on here reading everyone else’s endeavors, so thanks for that. I am sure I will have a ton of questions along the way, and this will allow me to ask them all in one place rather than littering the board with one-off specific questions.

Thanks in advance!

May I ask which electrical box is that, I am looking for something like that.
Thanks !!
 
I am in a similar spot as the OP, but I'm sticking to 5-10gal batches. Also, going direct fire RIMS for now, and will go electric soon.

......but if I had the money so spend again, I'd just buy a boilermaker for my BK and then get a couple more threaded tri clamp fittings.


Why?

Just to save some money, or do you think the Boilermaker Kettle has better features for something specific?

I ask, because I'm about to order new equipment. Pretty sure I'm going with Stout MLT and BK. It's only a tad more than Blichmann, and I like the finish, fittings and design. Never used either, so I'm all ears!

I really like the wood brew stand DD. I've been debating on wood vs. stainless too. Maybe I'll do wood with a stainless top :rockin:
 
I am in a similar spot as the OP, but I'm sticking to 5-10gal batches. Also, going direct fire RIMS for now, and will go electric soon.




Why?

Just to save some money, or do you think the Boilermaker Kettle has better features for something specific?

I ask, because I'm about to order new equipment. Pretty sure I'm going with Stout MLT and BK. It's only a tad more than Blichmann, and I like the finish, fittings and design. Never used either, so I'm all ears!

I really like the wood brew stand DD. I've been debating on wood vs. stainless too. Maybe I'll do wood with a stainless top :rockin:

Honestly, It's because I think the BK from stout is a poorly designed piece of ****.;) It would have been more expensive to build using a boilermaker but only because of the fittings that I'd need to add. I already have the chassis punches from building the heating elements. I don't mind the weldless fittings too much though. The stout BK has a concave bottom which on paper sounds like a great idea because you can whirlpool and then remove wort. But if you're on a single tier system pumping can be the issue by removing wort too fast. And whole hops fit right through the main drain that stout installs and then welds flush leaving nothing to attach a filter to. The immersion chiller works for it but if you're using a plate chiller (therminator) it's a bad idea to pass all that ground up hop material through it because it can become clogged. The therminator manual specifically instructs the user not to pass hop particulate through the chiller. Meaning you either need to use whole hops and/or a filter of some sort or pellets. The stout BK does have it's advantages though. It's small diameter reduces boil off and after 130 gallons through it since may I'm accustomed to it. While I'm not a huge fan of all the blichmann gadgets I do think their pots are worth the money and their designs are well thought out. I've seen their hop filter for the BK in action and it does wonders.

The stainless steel top would be a great addition to my stand!:rockin:
 
You are the first person I have seen post that they didn't like the Stout BK (or anything from Stout actually).

So, since I use one of those stainless mesh filter things that hang on the side of the kettle for my hops, I will probably like the Stout Kettle... correct?


The only reason I am really tempted to go with Blichmann completely, is because of the plug and play electric stuff they are coming out with. I don't have a lot of time to DIY a whole system, and even though it's gonna cost me more than I think it should, I may go Blichmann all the way. I guess for those doing custom build systems, Stout is hard to beat.
Decisions, decisions.... :confused:



Sorry for the thread hijack, but it seems to be leading to some interesting discussion (at least for me *selfish*).

Cheers,
Kurt
 
I agree about the bk. The bottom has an unbelievable amount of dead space, which means in a 5 gallon batch the heating element sits closer to the surface than I'd like. I do like the whirlpool feature a lot though.

Perhaps you can ask to get a bk without the doomed bottom and a tc fitting welded on the inside.

My other issue is with the herms coil. With a center inlet chugger pump, I can only get 1 gpm through it. I'm not sure how fast you can recirc without grain bed compaction, but I bet it is faster than 1 gpm.

Due to the tight spiral and location of the coil, the recirculation port in the hlt wasn't doing a great job. The hot water inside the coil was significantly lower than the water outside the coil, where most of the recirc action took place. I put a tee on the recirc port, and divided up the return flow to both inside and outside the coil, my temp control problems went away.

The bottom outlet on the mlt is incredibly useful for cleaning.
 
Well I'm not getting good feedback from them on the custom bk with two element ports. Without putting them on blast, I'll just leave it at that.

With that said, I have rethought this whole endeavor over the last couple days, but I think I am going to move forward with it. The only negative is the money, but I guess I'll have to deal with it. No other setup meets my needs like this one.

Tomorrow I think I will be ordering the hlt and mlt. As well as the 14 gallon fermenter. It will take a while to get the whole thing up and running, but at the end of the day, it will be a system that I will never need to upgrade and that is priority one.
 
May I ask which electrical box is that, I am looking for something like that.
Thanks !!

I actually got it from work for free because it had some holes in it. But it is from McMaster, I don't have a part number though. It is 14x10. A tight fit on the inside, but I really like how it worked out.
 
A couple quick notes from my own experience:
1. +1 to getting the largest HLT you can afford, especially if you want to do back-to-back batches
2. If you want to do 10 gallon batches and not use some sort of dip tube, I strongly recommend the 20 gallon kettle. My 15 is just too short and I've had a couple boil overs.
3. Upgrade the element ports to 2"TC and go with Still Dragon's element housings. They're great.
4. I have had the trub issue but only when I didn't whirlpool and tried tilting the kettle to get out more wort. Clogged pump. I haven't yet done anything with while hops but if I did would use a hop bag.
 
So in parallel I am thinking about whether it makes more sense to convert 3 kegs. My plan would be to have all of them be bottom draining. Ideally I would have the couplers welded on. I found a welder on CL and this is the pic of the quality he can achieve. Thoughts?

cqqh.jpg


I certainly have seen better. when asked if he shields the back with argon, this is the response I got:

"Also, regarding the welds. All welds are food grade, and back coated with a product called Solar Flux. It's the same process as backing the weld with argon, but much cheaper. the welds can be backgassed, but there is an extra charge to accommodate filling 3 kegs with argon."

Not too into the fact that they choose the cheap way out with the solar flux. It seems like it would cost pennies to fill the keg with argon given that you have it on hand and have the setup, which they should obviously have.

Thoughts on the weld quality? I am going to request some shots from inside the kegs.
 
A couple quick notes from my own experience:
1. +1 to getting the largest HLT you can afford, especially if you want to do back-to-back batches
2. If you want to do 10 gallon batches and not use some sort of dip tube, I strongly recommend the 20 gallon kettle. My 15 is just too short and I've had a couple boil overs.
3. Upgrade the element ports to 2"TC and go with Still Dragon's element housings. They're great.
4. I have had the trub issue but only when I didn't whirlpool and tried tilting the kettle to get out more wort. Clogged pump. I haven't yet done anything with while hops but if I did would use a hop bag.

how much deadspace would you say is in the boil kettle?
 
bemerritt said:
how much deadspace would you say is in the boil kettle?

I've measured it at just under 1.5 gallons. Which means to account for boil off, dead space and wort lost to pumps and hoses, I need to start with approx 14 gallons of wort.

The kettle does hold more than 15 gallons but I've never tried filling to the brim to measure it out.
 
You are the first person I have seen post that they didn't like the Stout BK (or anything from Stout actually).

So, since I use one of those stainless mesh filter things that hang on the side of the kettle for my hops, I will probably like the Stout Kettle... correct?


The only reason I am really tempted to go with Blichmann completely, is because of the plug and play electric stuff they are coming out with. I don't have a lot of time to DIY a whole system, and even though it's gonna cost me more than I think it should, I may go Blichmann all the way. I guess for those doing custom build systems, Stout is hard to beat.
Decisions, decisions.... :confused:



Sorry for the thread hijack, but it seems to be leading to some interesting discussion (at least for me *selfish*).

Cheers,
Kurt

I love my MLT from those guys. I still have to adjust my mill gap a little but other than that it's amazing. Even if it isn't the way I wanted it. Their workmanship and quality is amazing and everything is pretty heavy gauge stainless. Especially compared to the cheap pot I used for my HLT which was $180 from brewers' hardware and came with a 3 piece ball valve and weldless bulkhead... And if you did order custom you'd have plenty of time to DIY the rest of the stuff. It takes months for them to fill custom orders. Oh, and make sure if you use paypal that you have your address updated. They shipped my pots to the address I was at 2 years ago (don't use paypal that much) which the owner of the house refused(thankfully) and I had to go to the UPS facility to pick them up. And their excuse was they use what's on paypal, not what's on the paperwork I filled out at the time of payment.:drunk:

I agree about the bk. The bottom has an unbelievable amount of dead space, which means in a 5 gallon batch the heating element sits closer to the surface than I'd like. I do like the whirlpool feature a lot though.

Perhaps you can ask to get a bk without the doomed bottom and a tc fitting welded on the inside.

My other issue is with the herms coil. With a center inlet chugger pump, I can only get 1 gpm through it. I'm not sure how fast you can recirc without grain bed compaction, but I bet it is faster than 1 gpm.

Due to the tight spiral and location of the coil, the recirculation port in the hlt wasn't doing a great job. The hot water inside the coil was significantly lower than the water outside the coil, where most of the recirc action took place. I put a tee on the recirc port, and divided up the return flow to both inside and outside the coil, my temp control problems went away.

The bottom outlet on the mlt is incredibly useful for cleaning.

I have had a similar problem with a buddy's mead and the element not being covered enough. And the dead space is pretty serious.

I want to say they have a regular pot that can be used as a BK. They had a bunch of different options on the HLT pots that would be very easily adapted to boiling.

I'm confused on your temp problems. How were you running the HERMS? Was your coil in the HLT or MT?

That's why I wanted a bottom outlet! Also so I wouldn't have dead space there too.
 
So in parallel I am thinking about whether it makes more sense to convert 3 kegs. My plan would be to have all of them be bottom draining. Ideally I would have the couplers welded on. I found a welder on CL and this is the pic of the quality he can achieve. Thoughts?

cqqh.jpg


I certainly have seen better. when asked if he shields the back with argon, this is the response I got:

"Also, regarding the welds. All welds are food grade, and back coated with a product called Solar Flux. It's the same process as backing the weld with argon, but much cheaper. the welds can be backgassed, but there is an extra charge to accommodate filling 3 kegs with argon."

Not too into the fact that they choose the cheap way out with the solar flux. It seems like it would cost pennies to fill the keg with argon given that you have it on hand and have the setup, which they should obviously have.

Thoughts on the weld quality? I am going to request some shots from inside the kegs.

That looks like a pretty good weld to me. I've seen a lot worse.

I'm not sure if your thoughts that it would cost pennies to fill the kegs with argon are correct. If you think about it, each keg is 15.5 gallons so if they fill it completely you are looking at something along the lines of 45 gallons worth of argon. I have been going through the same situation looking to get my kettles welded and the quotes I'm getting aren't cheap and both reputable shops that I've contacted that I feel confident in doing this type of work noted a significant cost for the argon.
 
@ bemerritt, I don't know much about welding but I know 2 pro welders that say you can't get around back gassing a stainless weld without it sugaring(and that leads to oxidation and corrosion). The only reason I'm commenting on something outside of what I know is I just had a 4" ferrule welded into a keg and that was a subject of conversation. So take that with a grain of salt.
 
ok, maybe not pennies, but certainly worth the couple extra dollars to back gas it. he said he could do it for an extra charge. but as it stands, 3 kegs with the bottoms cut out and 11 welds (4 1" NPT weld spuds for elements, 7 1/2" NPT couplers) is quoted at $583. That's less than the stout HLT. Granted, without the herms and hardware, but i think I am still getting over the cost of the stout tanks.
 
Hmmmm...........Back gassing the welds won't take that much Argon. You make a "dam" around the fitting being welded in, and restrict the flow of Argon exiting the fitting.

That said, Argon aint cheap, and the welder that mentioned using a specific type of flux is correct, it will work, but probably not as "cosmetically" pretty as with backup gas.

The welds shown look fine for what we are doing.

Probably not "X-Rayable, nuclear grade" but perfect for "wort grade".
 
Hmmmm...........Back gassing the welds won't take that much Argon. You make a "dam" around the fitting being welded in, and restrict the flow of Argon exiting the fitting.

I tried to talk to both the welders about this and both just wanted to fill the whole keg/kettle with gas. For mine, with 2 x15gal and a 20gal kettle they basically had a line item for "50 gallons" worth of argon.

I plan on having all my holes cut before I bring them my kettles and the cost was right around $200 for the welding and gas so I'm not worried too much. If it was $580+ then I would probably start thinking about weldless fittings!
 
Well, after much thought, I am going to go through with stout. That is, as long as they can get me what i want (2 element ports in each hlt and bk). It will take more money and a longer time until i can brew on it, but this project is about a future proof, dream system, so thats what it's going to be. The welding and all that would definitely yield a beautiful, performing system, but i would hate to want to upgrade down the line.

Is the benefit to 2" tri clover the ability to use the "wavy" camco elements? What adapter would i use for the elements. it appears as the brewers hardware one does not come in that size.
 
wow, very nice. love the simplistic approach to it. definitely ordering those when the time comes. do you have any pics of your system? Would love to see the bling!
 
ok, one more question before I order. Should i do anything different with the thermowells? It seems as i would be monitoring the temperatures on the outputs rather than in the middle of the pots. Any thoughts?
 
My plan is for the HLT and MLT the temp probes will be placed in a T fitting on the output from the kettle. Since I will essentially always be recirculating liquid in those 2 kettles this should give an accurate temp reading. For the BK I am just putting a fitting in the side of the kettle, since the object here is boiling of the liquid there should be enough movement of the liquid on it's own and less stratification that a temp probe just about anywhere should be accurate.
 
My plan is for the HLT and MLT the temp probes will be placed in a T fitting on the output from the kettle. Since I will essentially always be recirculating liquid in those 2 kettles this should give an accurate temp reading. For the BK I am just putting a fitting in the side of the kettle, since the object here is boiling of the liquid there should be enough movement of the liquid on it's own and less stratification that a temp probe just about anywhere should be accurate.

Just what i was thinking. I am going to have them remove the thermowells on all pots. And add a recirculation port on the BK in case i ever feel like doing BIAB or some sous vide cooking in it. Both of which are almost certain at some point. Thanks!
 
Camco ripple 5500 W. If I would do it again, it'd get a straight element for the hlt, easier to get in and out without taking out the herms coil. Not that I ever remove that one anyways though
 
I saw that dudes add on CL as well. Are you in the San Diego area? He wanted $160 to cut the top off a keg and do two welds. I told him that I will pass, cut them myself and dimple/solder for that price.
 
I saw that dudes add on CL as well. Are you in the San Diego area? He wanted $160 to cut the top off a keg and do two welds. I told him that I will pass, cut them myself and dimple/solder for that price.

Ya, I'm in San Clemente, close enough. I appreciate what he's trying to do, it just wasn't right for the direction I wanted to go in.
 
Ok, I think after several days of communication Stout and I are on the same page. The quote looks as follows. I figured I would show you all since sometimes some info isn't exactly on their sight. This is how it breaks down.

vr8q.jpg


I was going to blur out the price, but I figured it would only be a matter of time until someone asked. So hopefully someone can use it when deciding if this is the way they would also like to go.

I'm going to hit that buy button in about an hour, so if you see anything that looks way off, let me know! This is only the 4th quote I have received from them, I'm sure they would like to do it one more time.;)
 
Just bought em! super stoked.

I have never had a kid, but i feel like these pots have a due date and I have so much to get done before then. haha. Time to start hounding ebay for some cheap tri clamp fittings. Hopefully santa helps out a little as well.
 
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