Brunken Dastard's Big Bad Brewery Build

[onelegout]

Hello there!

My name's Henry, and I'm building a shiney 10 gallon HERMS brewery.

The brewery will consist of 3 decommissioned kegs turned into keggles. I've decided to make this an E-Keggle system, fully PID controlled heating system and pump system.

I'm still not sure whether it will be single tier or two tier, but at the moment it's looking like it will hopefully be a single tier setup, just means I've gotta save my pennies to get a second pump.

The main goal of this project is to learn new skills. Before yesterday I'd never used an angle grinder before, or any other power tools! I'm also teaching myself MIG welding for the frame of the brewery, which is harder than it looks!

quick pic of the kegs with the tops cut out,

quick pic of my rubbish welding (only had a half hour practice)

Lots more pics will come soon!

For now, I need some advice. First and foremost I need to find a decent heating element for the boil kettle and HLT. It has to be one I can buy in England. Any recommendations?
Cheers,
H

 

[Aleman]

Don't look at those kegs too closely Shane :rofl:

 

[onelegout]

I decided to remove the pics of the kegs until I hear back from Coors regarding the legality of me owning them! I emailed them a week ago though and no reply!

Edit: P.S. who's shane?

 

[Muddydisco]

Shane is UnclePumble and works for said Brewery.
As long and as the weld holds it doesn't matter how neat it is :lol:

 

[unclepumble]

I decided to remove the pics of the kegs until I hear back from Coors regarding the legality of me owning them! I emailed them a week ago though and no reply!

Edit: P.S. who's shane?

Me I happen to work for Coors, IF you using converted Kegs make sure you get them from a reputable source, and have a receipt, as the penalty's if caught with them are steeper than you would imagine.

Look Here http://www.kegwatch.co.uk

Just out of interest who did you email at Coors, I can asked them to reply back a bit more sharpish, if you like.

UP

 

[onelegout]

Pics of the keggles will come when I've heard back from kegwatch or coors :)

I've been looking at these http://www.heatingelementcompany.co.uk/ ... roduct=287
2.75kw heating elements.

I was wondering how many I will need for each keg (for the hot liquor tank and boil kettle).

Will one element per kettle be enough?

Thanks!
H

 

[unclepumble]

Are you brewing inside or out, cos if out you would be better with a propane burner, on the boiler anyway.


UP

 

[onelegout]

I'm going to be brewing outside, but would really prefer an all-electric system :)

 

[unclepumble]

I'm going to be brewing outside, but would really prefer an all-electric system :)

Two in the HLT and Two in the Boiler reccomended for speed otherwise it will take ages to heat up outside uninsulated.

I would still err to a propane burner on the boiler though, they are not expensive, and heat up to a rolling boil fast.



UP

 

[Aleman]

plnty of insulation and you can get away with using one 3Kw element in the kettle and HLT . . . especially if you put the HLT on a timer so its good to go as soon as you are up.

Take a look at teh water boiler elements from teh Heating Element Company. they do a really nice one (The Wall Mounted Water Heater which only requires two 13mm holes in the kettle . . .much easier to machine than a 38mm one

 

[onelegout]

Ok I decided to be safe and go for 4 elements, 2 in each :)

I plan to run these 4 elements and a pump from a single heavy duty waterproof 240v plug outlet that is next to where the rig will go. Is this possible?
I don't know much about electrics so this is all a bit confusing to me

 

[jamesb]

I plan to run these 4 elements and a pump from a single heavy duty waterproof 240v plug outlet that is next to where the rig will go. Is this possible?
I don't know much about electrics so this is all a bit confusing to me

No chance.

What's the wattage of the elements you're using?

 

[onelegout]

lol ok they're 2750w each making the total a mahooosive 11kw!

What's the best way of powering it?
Cheers
H

 

[Bru4u]

Propane, to be honest, an average electric shower is 9.5Kw, has it's own dedicated mcb. I'd bet the cable running to the socket is 2.5sq, just not enough

 

[Aleman]

I would Suggest that you use Industrial Commando Plugs and Sockets

As these are rated at 16A.

You will of course require an extended Ring Main to supply these from your fuse box . . . . . Although you could always use 2.5mm Arctic flex and make your own extension leads to run them from separate sockets in your house. . . . not that I would recommend doing that.

My new brewery has a 40A separate circuit and that only uses two 3KW heaters.

It is for these reasons that my large brewery uses Propane for heating . . . . The propane burners I use are man enough for up to 20BBL (2 by 19KW!!), so my tiny 1/2BBL brewery is well within spec for the burners.

 

[Aleman]

Propane, to be honest, an average electric shower is 9.5Kw, has it's own dedicated mcb. I'd bet the cable running to the socket is 2.5sq, just not enough

A 9.5Kw Shower should have at least 6mm Cable!! Depending on Run of course . . . May even end up at 10mm depending on installation conditions and run length.

 

[onelegout]

So what I need to do, is find out how many amps each circuit of the house's mains system is rated for, ie what amperage each breaker is, then I can see if the two nearest circuits will be enough to power it?

 

[Aleman]

Correct.

Generally in modern houses there will be a couple of ring mains (One upstairs, one downstairs, You may be lucky and get a Separate Kitchen Ring) which are rated at 32A, so the ring main will easily cope with supplying the brewery demands at 11 KW . . . . Until She switches on the dishwasher, washing machine and makes a cup of tea . . . at that point the MCB generally trips

If you do go down the extension lead route ideally you want to keep them as short as possible, and feed them from two separate double sockets . . i.e each element plugged into its own double socket, as you can overheat the wall plates given the length of time we run the boiler and HLT for.

 

[onelegout]

OK thanks for the help :)
Looks like I'm going to have to use only one 2.75Kw heater per kettle, hopefully if I insulate them well all should be fine.
My kitchen has a separate ring which is 32a. Will I be ok to run the kettles and pump off that as long as I use seperate sockets?
Thanks,
H

 

[Dunfie]

I've been looking at these http://www.heatingelementcompany.co.uk/ ... roduct=287
2.75kw heating elements.

Do those elements come with cables or do you need to order them seperately? I have a 50l stock pot to convert into an HLT.