New Brewery Build

[mattd2]

So I just got a call from the wife that a package from INZ Hydro has arrived fro me at home, I picked up some fittings from a local fabricator this morning, keggles (HLT/BK & MLT) last week, got my pump (Resun MD40), silicone tube should arrive on Thursday, BK/HLT element is already wired from the previous brewery.

So I think I've got everything covers... Yeah Right!

I thought I should really track my build a little better than I usually do things.

Was going to go camping tonight but the weather is crap so tonight I will:

• Take photos of kegs
• Piece together my all the keg/pumps fittings/valves
• Possibly order electrical box/switches
• Post 2nd blog with pictures so far

 

Update 1 - March 21, 2012: (just found you can edit blogs!)

A quick update since I have been busy lately and have got some stuff together. Had my first brewnight in a long time on the new equipment and it went great. So much easier having a control panel for all the stuff!

[mattd2]

Update time: Just realised this has been going for over a year, man time flies when your having fun. 3.5 kids kind of helps as well!

Anyway back to update time... Over the last few week I have been putting together the stand and this weekend was sorting out the pump and HEx mounting. So onwards with the pictures:

Everything set up

Pump "skid", this is not attached to the frame and will end up hanging vertically during storage so the pump fully drains.

HEx mounting, again HEx will be removed for storage (lift up then slid out) so it can fully drain.

Starting to get the hang of stick welding again

Starting off the welds weren't looking too pretty (the paint makes it look better in the photos!

Got the inlaws coming down next week, break in brew will be a Hobgoblin clone. I'll take some more pictures during brewing.

Cheers!

[mattd2]

The brewing last night went great. Having the stand really made things 200x easier. I did make a mistake of cutting the hoses shorter but not thinking to make sure they were long enought to be able to move water/wort into the top of the MLT! It all worked out in the end though and still easier.

Photos of the Hobgoblin clone brewnight (didn't even notice the weatherbomb hitting Tauranga while brewing inside!)-

Cheers!

[mattd2]

So I have gone through a few brews on the setup and everythings works pretty good... but there is always something more you can do. The 3 big pains with how it is currently setup are:

1) The temp probe is right after the pump, so when cooling the wort I don't know when I have hit the target temp on the outlet of the HEx,

2) Having to swap hoses over all the time (and having to pich the burning hot hose/fittings to stop liquid spilling everywhere!)

3) lautering is a real pain which involves somehow getting a 2 litre jug between the MLT and the fermenter I have to run-off the wort to since the HLT/BK is still full of sparge water!

So my B'day is in a few days and I had a big plan to do somewhat of a major overhaul... until the wife's camera crapped out, so guess what I'm getting for my Birthday :)

I have scaled things back to the bare minimum to address the 3 points above:

1) The temp probe is now at on the kettle return so when the HEx is hooked up it will show the wort exit temp

2) Extra hose on pump suction hose so I can stop water/wort backflowing out when I change this hose over (need to change this 3 times), the pump outlet hose will only need to be changed when hooking up the HEx.

3) I can now pump wort to either the BK or back to the HLT with valves - no need to swap hoses for this or drain wort into a bucket anymore . Sparge water will be pumped into a bucket to free up the BK to receive the wort.

Lastly I am going to try one of these spray nozzles (90° spray angle) out for the lautering return.

[mattd2]

OK more pictures, got the fittings in and put together. Just waiting on the spray nozzle now.

[JumpR]

The brewery is looking good Matt!

[mattd2]

Thanks Gary, brewed on it last night and I think the new recirc is going to be an awesome addition. Much easier going from recirc to kettle. Had one small issue with the pump suction line getting full of trub during the boil and took me 5 minutes to work out it wasn't block on the discharge side, which might make me IPA a bit more bitter than intended. Looking forward to the next brewday.
Are you still in Tauranga?

[JumpR]

Hey Matt, yep still in Tauranga.  Have been out of town for work a bit and have missed the last few catch ups over at Mt. Brewing.  Have also been going through a rough brewing patch, bombed in my two entries to soba (tried and failed at water adjustments) and have been having (low) carbonation issues with my brews.  I think I am cold crashing too long in the FV and using a too flocculant yeast, which is hampering bottle conditioning.  Will catch up soon.