aubiecat,
did you cut the electrical plug off of the pump and rewire it with the 15 amp twist lock? I see a regular 110V single outlet in the picture of all the parts on the table.
One draw back of using a twist lock for a 110v plug is you can't plug the pump into a regular outlet in a pinch
I was setting here looking at my parts and had that same thought. I think I may go with the hospital grade single outlet facing down. I dont think there will be enough strain on the wire to make it come loose. I am using your post as a play book and ordering all my supplies to follow along step by step. Just got off the phone with Auber 5 min ago. Thanks for blazing the trail for me!!
I like how you have the control panel at a slight angle. Since I won't have a drawer handy, I was thinking of possibly putting some rubber feet on the back and making something like a lectern that they have in church to prop it at an angle for easy viewing.
I can't thank you enough for posting this. I'm not afraid of doing the electrical work, but the idea of punching a hole in a brand new $100 kettle was rather unsettling. I will go with the Greenlee punches, since this is already costing me a small fortune. At the rate I'm going ($150 a month or so), it's a race between next winter and me brewing inside. I still need to buy the Auber parts, a cart, the stainless fittings and hoses and a pump. Pretty much all I will use of my current setup is the rope ratchet and my immersion chiller.
This really ought to be a sticky.
Ha Ha, the last real hurdle is for me to mount the control box on a pedestal. I plan on coming off the front right post of the cart with a mount. I just need to sit down and think it out. It was laying on the drawer because I couldn't wait to get it up and running.
About punching a hole in a kettle, believe me, I know how you feel. When I first punched the holes in my kettle I felt almost nauseous. There is always that little gnawing feeling of doubt about if you put the holes in the right place. Then you start putting the fittings on and it all starts coming together.
Just sit down and look at everything and consider the type of element you'll be using. A ripple element has to be father off the bottom of the kettle because of its shape. You have to consider whether or not you're going to be using a steamer basket and is the element going to fit under it.
I put the sight glass and the valve outlet as close to the bottom as the washers would let me.
Plan, plan and plan. You'll never regret spending a few hours sitting down and contemplating your plane of attack.
BTW, the Greenlee punches are the cat's whiskers. They are worth every penny. A clean, perfectly round hole is a thing of beauty.
I didn't even think about the weldless mounting method for the element. That would alleviate any problem with respect to size and shape of the element.
My kettle is the 44qt. (11 gal.) model and the 4500watt element I have is perfect for this setting. It takes 20 minutes to get to 154° and then another 20 minutes to get to a rolling boil. During the boil I dialed it back to 60% on manual and it still held the boil. Needless to say I am very pleased so far.
NOTE: Let me give you guys a forewarning about cavitation (air in the pump head) in your system while recirculating during the boil. The amount of gas bubbles created during the boil and the multiple 90° turns on my system creates harsh cavitation. Remember running a March pump dry will destroy it so keep that in mind when you are going to recirculate during you boil.
On my system cavitation begins around 203°. I have read extensively on this and it is a very common problem with these systems.
Fluid dynamics seems to be the main culprit. Some of the remedies that have been mentioned are cutting down the flow, via your valve, on the out feed side of your pump. Decreasing the number of 90° bends will increase smooth flow and decrease the turbulence of a quick turn around a sharp corner.
A larger dip tube in the kettle or no dip tube at all.
Or simply not recycling during boil mode.
Each system is a little different so you have to tinker with it to find that sweet spot.
I'm not getting rid of my 90° bends so I will play around with the valve a bit and see what happens.
Excuse my ignorance, but why would you have to recirculate during the boil?
Don't people usually recirculate during the boil through the CFC to sterilize it? That is what I was planning to do.
Blake,
I'm planning a build much like yours. I, too, studied the builds by thughes, johnodon, voltin, jsguitar, and others. I keep trying to decide if I'm going to build a cheap controller using a PWM first, then move up to a PID controller. Gotta few questions if you don't mind:
1. I think I see one of the Auberins black project boxes in the photo on your post #3 (thughes, johnodon, and jsguitar used this). Apparently, you decided to use a 12 x 12 x 6 plastic box, correct.
I was going to use the Auberins box but I saw that with what I wanted in the build I was going to run out of room real quick. I have short fat fingers so I went with the Home Depot plastic box so I would have plenty of space. It has worked out beautifully and stays very cool with the internal fan design.
2. Do you recirculate during mash to maintain temps? Do you recirculate while heating up to mash-out temp?
Yes I always recirculate during mashing to maintain a consistent temp. I never turn the pump off when I am mashing no matter what mash technique I am using.
3. Regarding your basket: I know Todd made his basket into Swiss cheese but still felt that it drained too slowly and impeded his recirculation during mash, so he has abandoned the basket. What has your experience been with the basket thus far?
I went back and put as many large hole in the basket as I could. It improved the flow a little but not what I was hoping for. I still use the basket because it makes my life easier when I pull the malt out to drain. Each brew is a bit different due to different type of grain so I adjust the flow with the cut off valve till I see the fluid stop falling in the sight glass. It has worked very well so far.
I have a plan to make a huge improvement with basket. I have acquired some 1/2" heavy stainless mesh from work. I am going to build a custom basket with that mesh so the will be very little fluid resistance during mashing.
4. I trust that you set the PID to Manual Mode once you get to boil. Do you find it difficult to make rapid adjustments if you notice an impending boil-over, or have you figured out where to manually set your PID once you see the boil about to happen?
Yes I use manual mode for my boil. 100% till it's rolling and I pull it back to 75% until I drop the wort chiller in. I turn it back to 100% to compensate for heat loss cause by the chiller.
I don't recommend trying to time it with the PID because it takes several seconds to reset once you punch in the numbers.
I don't usually have trouble with the threat of boil overs unless I have a huge grain bill. There is normally plenty of head space in the 11 gallon pot. Once the boil starts I go get the Fermcap S and stand there with it just in case. I never needed it till last weekend when I was brewing a Belgian Strong Dark. I waited till the hot break was within an inch from the top and then I put a couple of drops in. The hot break dropped out like a rock.
5. Are you doing full volume BIAB with no dunk sparge or additional rinse after lifting the bag?
I only do full BIAB. It's just too easy and it makes great beer.
6. After receiving the comments others have posted, would you do anything different if you were to do this again?
So far everything, with the exception of the basket flow, has performed almost flawless.
I haven't had a hint of a leak from either type of through wall fittings. The solder and solderless fittings are both great. The only deciding factors should be personal preference or possible future improvements.
The mounting position of the heating element has worked out well, about 1/2" under the basket.
I am so glad I bit the bullet and got the quick disconnects. Heavy and fool proof.
I have made a couple of improvements so far.
I put a larger barb for the pickup tube, from 1/2" - 5/8", to help combat the cavitation that can occur during boil/recirculation.
I changed out the site glass from the thin site glass with the heavier 1/2" model.
The free flow basket that I am going to build should just about get this rig right where I want it.
Thank you for posting so many details of your build.
Keith
Can you tell me what size of knockout punches you used for the for the heating element, ball valve, and sight glass? I'd like to use the harbor freight punches but I'm not sure how the size relates to actual inner diameter. Thanks.
Measure twice, cut onceHarbor Freight punch sets are "Electrical Conduit Punches" & punch a hole for the conduit fitting.
Here are the stated sizes and the actual hole size:
Die - Actual Hole
1/2" = 7/8"
3/4" = 1-3/32"
1" = 1-11/32"
1-1/4" = 1-11/16"
So, with that stated, be very careful.
P-J
I was able to brew a BIAB Russian Imperial Stout, 6 gallon batch, in a 15 gallon pot, with 26 lbs. of grain and 12 gallons of water. That was the absolute limit.
I can't mash anything over about 12-13 lbs because of the water volumes.
The Belgian Dark I just brewed was 1.100 but that was due to the addition of 1 lbs. of corn sugar and 2 lbs. of candi syrup.
For me to brew a beer that big getting the sugars from malt only would require me to do partial mash.
I have considered getting the larger kettle because I want to do some larger beers without having to use malt extract.
I was reading your mesh false bottom thread and found the link to this build at the bottom. You do great work.
Build Questions:
I apologize at the outset for my ignorance on the topic of electricity. We all have a certain skill set, mine is not Amps, Watts and Volts! After reading your write up (great job BTW), I do have a few questions. From your pics and list of components I am a bit confused. It appears you are using a 50 amp sup panel. Did you also put a 50 amp breaker in the main box? What gauge wire did you run from panel to sub-panel. I thought you needed to run 6 gauge, but I dont see 6 gauge wire in your purchase list. From your purchase list it appears you may have used the 40 amp wire? Thereafter, did you then use the 30 amp wire from the sub panel to the control panel? Then the 10/3 SJOOW cord from the CP to the Kettle? Did you decide to use the 50 amp sub panel to give yourself the ability to expand? Are there any issues using a lower gauge wire (higher number) off of the main panel? Again, apologies for what may seem to many to be very simplistic questions, just not fond of frying myself.
This is one of the cleanest and best documented builds, and I have read many of them. Thanks for your contribution to the group.
John
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