ag systems...

[pms67]

I started of with kit brews then biab
now I have a ace brewery system
if it was me I go with a ace as at the end of the day you will go the same route as I did
so go the ace system first you wont regret it
and it is nice and clean and easy system to use
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNJO2u6G15g

How much is the ace?

 

[Clint]

Right,thanks chewing. ..understanding that a bit better now with the gf reference. So, would you sparge or not with biab? Is sparging better? What sort of results versus the two? With the peco type boiler with temp control. ...set up with bag and sparge water volume and set to mash. Would that be a full (33 l eg) volume to account for grain absorption? Then squeeze and set to boil? Or....mash with just mash water volume and sparge up to boil volume?

Cheers

Clint

 

[chewie]

You can sparge (more a simple rinse) if you want as it will get your efficiency up a bit, you can simply top up the peco to the level you need with a kettle full of boiled water after the boil if its still a bit on the low side. I would most certainly do a simple rinse over of the grains once they have been lifted out of the peco, i used an oven grill shelf to rest the grain bag on, you could go further and use a metal roasting tray with some holes drilled thru it to allow for drainage if you are worried about spillage, some folk use a simple hoist to pull the grain bag out and let it hang there to drain whilst the boiler is coming up to the boil, lots of ways to do it just go with what suits your situation best.

 

[Clint]

Hmm. ...been looking at some biab calculators online....my last brew would have equated to just over 5.1 kg as ag...I put the boiler size as 33 l and the calculator alerted me to the fact the boiler was too small for the 23 l batch...so I would need a 40/50 l boiler? How would the peco at 33 I work with these calculations?

 

[dps51]

@pms67 payed £335 for mine from ebay but I think they have gone up a bit

 

[dps51]

@pms67
found this on ebay
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ACE-Micro...277467?hash=item3f41d2db9b:g:b8oAAOSwal5YHGtg

 

[pms67]

That looks so much better than my Burco boiler,need to speak to swmbo 🙏

 

[Fore]

If you go with a peco or some home made version then it will always be useful for heating sparge water if/when you go for a GF or similar so there is no loss in equipment that's redundant later on.

The large BIAB bag can be used later on for leaf hops in a GF, something like an inkbird will give you temp control on the peco and double up for control on a brew fridge if you go that route.

That's really good advice. Once started in this hobby you almost certainly want to grow further into it. So any equipment you can carry along with you through that journey will save you in the long run.

 

[Clint]

Ace system.. £319, need to add sparge water heater... £18 for a Wilko pot eg,or up to £100 for an electric boiler,then add wort chiller. .from £25 - ish if you make one. If you buy everything you're looking just under £500.
Just looking...they have one with a steel wort chiller for £349 and sell a boiler for for around £78..so better at just over £400.....

 

[IainM]

Hmm. ...been looking at some biab calculators online....my last brew would have equated to just over 5.1 kg as ag...I put the boiler size as 33 l and the calculator alerted me to the fact the boiler was too small for the 23 l batch...so I would need a 40/50 l boiler? How would the peco at 33 I work with these calculations?

Ignore the online BIAB calculators. They are for "true" BIAB, where all the grain and all the water go in at the same time. Instead you can do the mash, recover half the wort volume, then dunk sparge in a bucket to get the other half. This way the peco is more than big enough, even for high gravity brews.

 

[Clint]

Ok makes sense...just trying to consider all the options and what would be best for me..

Cheers

Clint

 

[ElvisIsBeer]

I'm spending way too much time pondering this decision...

 

[Fil]

you can diy for less than £100 for a basic kettle element heated PP bucket 3v system..