Thinking about change... what don't you like about your brewery?

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Grimsawyer

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Joined
Mar 28, 2006
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Location
Salem, OR
My brewery rocks. I do love it. but as much as I love flipping all my leavers I'm kinda leaning tward simplifying it. Getting rid of my HLT and replacing it with a steam injection system that is a complete rip off of Kladue's system... a bit simpler though. Thinking of gravity feeding my mash tun to the boil kettle. I'm thinking Tri-clamp fittings and sanitary welds is the only way to go. I want to get rid of as many threads as possible and getting rid of my over complicated 8 ball valves. As nice as swegelock is I'd rather have less and less around to make clean up faster. Kinda drew up a sketch and I figure I can get rid of all but 3 ball valves(one 3-way). And I could get an RV water filter perminately bolted onto my brewery! I'm goofing with the idea of getting a welder after I get my taxes back. With that I could build a brewery that has less flamable surfaces.(my current is a chunky wooden stand, burly, sturdy, sexxxy yet highly flamable!!!) I also want one that can do stainless. After I went all grain and built my current massive brew stand/cart/etc... I find myself brewing less because of the hassle. It takes 6 hours from start till cleanup is finished if I clean it and get it ready the day before, 8 if I do it all in one day. When I use my converted cooler, 20qt and 30qt pots it takes 5 1/2, but messes up the kitchen and smells up the house(swmbo don't like it). So right now my options are 5 and one half hours and relentless heckling from swmbo or 8 hours of work. I'm thinking if I rebuild my brewery I could cut 2 1/2 hours off of my brew day and i'd stay out of the kitchen except for the inevitable snack of course! Plus if I go with a sexxxxy steam injected system I could completely get rid of my HLT and be able to increase temperatures MUCH faster as to have the capability of step mashing, which right now isn't possible. I can get one degree every 3-5 min in the middle of the summer, winter brewing i just keep it steady! I'm in the just thinking about it stages right now. Soon I'll be pricing welders and something to chop up steel tubing. Then I can make the stuff I really want to brew on.
I know what I don't like about my brewery and I am going to change it accordingly sometime in the next year. Anyone else have stuff they don't like about their brewery? Any possible solutions? Anyone wish they had done something different? Any good ideas?
 
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