There has to be a better way to drain BIAB over a kettle at mashout without using a hoist

CornyKegs 728
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bracconiere said:
wonderful human being, you just gave me the solution, being sliping something underneath wasn't the problem...here we go!


https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/i...Z3WwihwV8XWjEYDxhDEdHtqzEb32fQtBoCqbgQAvD_BwE
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1647765464...7G%2Ft%2Fw%3D%3D|clp:2334524|tkp:BFBMqv7tj59f

much cheaper too, i know i'm not much of help directly...but i'm hoping to inspire creativity here....

or here's one that would probably fit the whole bag easy...22"x~7" deep...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1647765528...hKufZkLnXQ%3D%3D|clp:2334524|tkp:BFBMqv7tj59f
Click to expand...

Something like that would work--allow the wort to drain while keeping it from going over the sides. Except the galvanized part. If I could find some huge SS funnel...
 
MaxStout said:
What I need 3 hands for is the next step--holding the bag in place in the colander, squeezing it, all the while keeping wort from running over the sides.
Click to expand...

My method has been to lift the bag with 2 hands, let drain a little until it's light enough to briefly hold with one hand, slide colander under bag, slowly lower bag into colander while spinning bag to twist the excess material..

The twist tightens the bag and keeps the grain in tight ball. It can't relax and slump onto the side holes...

I keep twisting as much as I can as my primary squeezing... Then I use the kettle lid to push down on the twisted bag...

Minimal side flow... Zero if I'm careful.
 
jtratcliff said:
My method has been to lift the bag with 2 hands, let drain a little until it's light enough to briefly hold with one hand, slide colander under bag, slowly lower bag into colander while spinning bag to twist the excess material..

The twist tightens the bag and keeps the grain in tight ball. It can't relax and slump onto the side holes...

I keep twisting as much as I can as my primary squeezing... Then I use the kettle lid to push down on the twisted bag...

Minimal side flow... Zero if I'm careful.
Click to expand...

Yep, I do the twist to tighten up the bag, and tie a prusic loop around the neck just above the grain ball. My problem is the large mass that flattens out in the colander vs the skinny kettle below.

I'm thinking the best idea is the big colander you linked, with the side holes plugged so that it drains only through the bottom.
 
Dr_Jeff said:
How about using a c-clamp on the top shelf of the a cabinet, hook your hoist to it, then when done, you can remove the clamp, no holes or hook, and keep the Mrs. happy
Click to expand...

I might incorporate something like that, along with the colander. Use a spring clamp to hold up the top of the bag, clipped to the cabinet door (but not suspend the bag from it). That would at least keep that part of the bag out of the way.

I have a wood shop, so plenty of these on hand.

1636296545953.jpeg
 
MaxStout said:
Something like that would work--allow the wort to drain while keeping it from going over the sides. Except the galvanized part. If I could find some huge SS funnel...
Click to expand...


says this one is 13-5/8" wide, you said your kettle was 12-3/4? so it might work.....


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VVSCMF...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
edit: thinking something like that big enough, you could incorporate a sparge too....i think i saw one that said it had a 3 gallon capacity, that way you wouldn't need to squeeze the bag at all.....

also @Jaybird , would probably make you something to your design specs!? :mug:


here's another one, says it has a 3 gallon capacity for the extra large size....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2549483303...4LCyFMfGBB72HdvpDKFmpCnBjOyd6h9UaAlRoEALw_wcB
 
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something else would be cut a 3" hole in the bottom of a 5gallon bucket...it's what i use for my mill hoppers works pretty good....


it'sake squeezing easier, just fill another 5 gallon bucket with weights and let it sit on top of the bag in the bucket?
 
bracconiere said:
says this one is 13-5/8" wide, you said your kettle was 12-3/4? so it might work.....


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VVSCMF...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
edit: thinking something like that big enough, you could incorporate a sparge too....i think i saw one that said it had a 3 gallon capacity, that way you wouldn't need to squeeze the bag at all.....

also @Jaybird , would probably make you something to your design specs!? :mug:


here's another one, says it has a 3 gallon capacity for the extra large size....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2549483303...4LCyFMfGBB72HdvpDKFmpCnBjOyd6h9UaAlRoEALw_wcB
Click to expand...

Brac, are you becoming a dairy farmer in your state of un-sobriety, first the milk pail fermenter and now a milk filter.

Moooooooo 🐄🐄🐄
 
It looks like I'm a bit late to the party but from my BIAB days after lifting the bag I would slide one of the round grates from my bullet style smoker to let the bag sit on and I used the clamps mentioned above to a cabinet, not to support the weight but to keep it from spreading out too much (you could also use a cooling rack too) and after most drained off I would sparge the whole bag in another pot of 168F water then drain with the same prosses before the boil.
good luck
 
even hdpe "drum funnels" are like $50-60->120....i don't think there's going to be something cheap....
 
bracconiere said:
damn, but you say something like that would work for your needs? so i'm not wasting my time thrift shopping?
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the searching. That ss milk strainer looks about spot-on. I did order the 15" colander that @jtratcliff linked upthread. If that doesn't work, I'll look around for some deal on a milk strainer, now that I know such a thing exists. Maybe I'll just have to bite the bullet and get one. I can afford it, but I'm a cheap bastard.
 
Oxo makes a large stainless salad spinner. You could spin-dry the spent grain in 2 or more batches to recover more wort, then dump the grain straight in the trash.

I've thought about building a motorized salad spinner out of two nesting buckets, using skate wheels as bearings to support a 3gal bucket with drilled holes inside a 5 gallon bucket. Would make it a simple matter to sparge and get even more sugars out but IMHO, the juice isn't worth the squeeze.
 
still just on the topic of "easier"...what about something like this? not this one in particular, but something like it...with some feet of some sort? be easy to just click it up notch as the bag drains?

https://buymbs.com/p-1554-qual-craf...yezBvrMeCX4Mzm3IqhPEe3BmML54OMoYaApKBEALw_wcB

(my orginal thought was one of those kinda step jacks the boys just slap, and it goes down slapping all the way, whatever they're called...but something the size for a kitchen counter?)


edit: if you got one with the right angle and distance, just click it up a notch every 5 minutes or something? :mug: (this is the grunt work to make BIAB the easier way to brew that needs to be done right? easy never is easy at first! ;))

but you asked "there's got to be a better way?" one of my favorite questions! i've been thinking my self this whole time, damn i'd just get a ball valve for a cheap cooler big enough for the bag, and a step stool or something to put on the counter next to the pot...lol, but this is BIAB, so i've been playing along... :p 🤕
 
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What about a big passing sieve/chinois? That'll probably work if you can find a big enough one....
 
It's not pretty, but I just use a large sanitized cooler. I lift the bag up, let it drain for a few minutes, then drop the bag into a sanitized cooler next to the burner, then I use heat resistant bbq gloves and squeeze the heck out of it. Toss the grain into the trash or compost, and dump the liquid I squeezed back into the kettle.
 
HopSing said:
Exactly! Find a stainless steamer basket that is an inch to inch and half smaller in diameter and a little shorter in height to brew kettle. Bag goes into basket, basket goes into kettle. When mash is over, lift both. Use three of these S hooks (small size). They have a small ball attached to the end so it does not damage the bag.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HATSN66/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
View attachment 748151

View attachment 748152

Easy to sparge. Easy to squeeze the bag if that is your thing. I just let it drain while waiting for it to come up to a boil. I also adjust which hole to hook the s hook to so when the wort touches the bottom of the steamer, I know I've reached my pre-boil volume, even if it is not done draining.

The other benefit over a hoist is I can move where I am brewing. Indoor, outdoor, different location, it does not matter. It also has 0 risk of damaging a bag during a hoist.

~HopSing.
Click to expand...
Beautiful. Great find on those "s" hooks!
I like that better than the oven rack.
 
soccerdad said:
There's always the Old zapap. 2 buckets. I with holes drains into one without.
Click to expand...
I like simple. I use two plastic buckets from Lowes. Drill about 30 holes into one. I pull my bag out of the kettle and put it into the one with holes. Let it drain into the other, then dump what I collect into the boil. After that I dump my bag into the bucket without holes to carry my spent grain out to compost. Cheap.
 
I just received the big Chinese colander that @jtratcliff suggested earlier. It was $8, plus $13 shipping. It's a big honkin' thing but just might work. For just over $20, it's worth trying. I'll need to cover the holes on the sides with some gaffer tape. The colander is 16.25" dia., including the flange. It sits right on top of the Megapot, but it seems to slide around easily, so I attached four #10 ss bolts into holes near the bottom to keep it in place atop the kettle. Haven't tried it on a BIAB yet.
colander1.jpg

colander3.jpg
 
MaxStout said:
I just received the big Chinese colander that @jtratcliff suggested earlier. It was $8, plus $13 shipping. It's a big honkin' thing but just might work. For just over $20, it's worth trying. I'll need to cover the holes on the sides with some gaffer tape. The colander is 16.25" dia., including the flange. It sits right on top of the Megapot, but it seems to slide around easily, so I attached four #10 ss bolts into holes near the bottom to keep it in place atop the kettle. Haven't tried it on a BIAB yet.
View attachment 748897
View attachment 748898
Click to expand...
No. No gaffer tape. This will leak bad stuff into your beer
 
foil tape?
https://www.amazon.com/3M-Foil-Tape-3381-Silver/dp/B00A7I5L86
tape on inside of colander so wort contacts metal side, not glue side thru the holes?


Edit to add:

Or even just aluminum foil... or plastic wrap...

Doesn't need to be completely water-tight... just harder for wort to flow thru than out the bottom...
 
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Miraculix said:
No. No gaffer tape. This will leak bad stuff into your beer
Click to expand...

Good to know.

I do have some foil HVAC tape that might be better.

Edit: I might hold off on the HVAC tape. That stuff is kind of permanent--once I attach it, it's not coming off. Maybe try lining the sides with aluminum foil instead.
 
Miraculix said:
No. No gaffer tape. This will leak bad stuff into your beer
Click to expand...

Good call. In my 20+ year career as a stagehand I've held in my mouth pieces of at least a dozen different brands of gaff tape. Each tasted terrible and left its flavor behind.

Pro tip: Hold the tape with the dry front part of your lips.
 
MaxStout said:
I just received the big Chinese colander that @jtratcliff suggested earlier. It was $8, plus $13 shipping. It's a big honkin' thing but just might work. For just over $20, it's worth trying. I'll need to cover the holes on the sides with some gaffer tape. The colander is 16.25" dia., including the flange. It sits right on top of the Megapot, but it seems to slide around easily, so I attached four #10 ss bolts into holes near the bottom to keep it in place atop the kettle. Haven't tried it on a BIAB yet.
View attachment 748897
View attachment 748898
Click to expand...
Gaff tape. Now there's a man with some theater in his background. 😊
 
DBhomebrew said:
Good call. In my 20+ year career as a stagehand I've held in my mouth pieces of at least a dozen different brands of gaff tape. Each tasted terrible and left its flavor behind.

Pro tip: Hold the tape with the dry front part of your lips.
Click to expand...

Or better yet, not put tape in your mouth. :p

It does have a strong "rubbery" smell to it. Probably tastes worse than it smells. Don't want 150F wort taking that along.
 

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