Condensation in garage

[DCBC]

How do you feel about coring a 150mm hole and putting some ducting and a fan in? I have a S&P TD Mixvent fan which does the job on an uncovered 40L rolling boil. You may or may not need a vent hood, you might be able to get away with putting a collection 'collar' over the BK.

 

[Bill_g]

I have only brewed in the garage once or twice and I used a spare 4" extractor with ducting and a collection hood suspended over the kettle. The hood was just a cone made out of cardboard. It worked moderately well & I didn't notice any major condensation issues. The problem for me is that my garage is used as a workshop, so I have a lot of expensive machines with cast iron tables ... very prone to rust damage. So I've reverted back to the patio and gazebo if I need it. I use a wind shield for my propane burner but it's best all the same to choose a nice day.
I think that the knack to getting an indoor set up to operate without condensation will be to collect the hot damp air directly above the kettle and burner if you use one and vent it straight outdoors via ducting. If buying from scratch I'd go for 6" rather than 4". But it's important to get that humid air out before it hits any cold surface, so IMHO an extractor hood suspended as close as is practical directly over the kettle will make a massive improvement.
With the weather being generally horrible this time of year I'd love to brew indoors but I'm banned from the kitchen and would be very upset if my machinery got damaged, so it's weather forecasts & the patio for me. it's also close to the garden tap & drain to be honest, so much easier for the plate cooling phase.

 

[crowcrow]

Don't forget, if you do garden brew - to add some insulation to your boiler, 2 towels seems to keep a rolling boil at 1500w rather than needing the full 3000w.