Extractor system advice

[BrewerRob]

Good evening all.

I am hoping desperately for a bit of advice from some more experienced Brewers about the best extraction kit (when boiling).

We are currently in the midst of transforming our garage into a space where I can brew. Amongst the kit ill be investing in, significant is the Speidel Braumeister 20L + the Stainless Steel hood.

What I envisage and have seen pictures of is other people being able to directly connect some kind of hosing (plastic / metal) to the top of the hood and in some circumstances this is placed straight out of a window (much like my mum used to do with the Tumble Dryer). The problem I have is that my space won't have any windows. We also don't want the cooker hood option as the space is also going to double as a tiny bar area so having a cooker hood on the wall is not the aesthetic we're after.

I guess I need some sort of extractor fan but...which? An inline one or just a standard bathroom one? What extraction rate do I want? Is there an extraction rate which is too much?

PLEASE NOTE:
Please be specific with any recommendations as my DIY is utterly hopeless at best. I'm hoping for someone to say "yep, this is what you need:..." I can then hand it to someone who knows what they doing.

Many many many thanks.

 

[Personal91]

What sort of budget do you have as you could get a consealed extractor that would be silent or a noisey screaching bitch of an extractor that to top it off is ugly!

 

[BrewerRob]

Hi Personal91 and thanks hugely for your response.

In true awkward fashion...i'm not sure. Id prefer it to be right first time rather than having several £20 / £30 / £40 inadequacies. I don't even know a Ball Park. I'd be happy spending £100+ if it was right and kept the room dry. I have an electrician Friend with a Trade Account with Screwfix so can get a bit of help with the £

 

[Clint]

Is the garage roof flat or pitched? If pitched I'd say your best option would be a roof window..like a velux. .as , as we know, hot air rises....
The cooker hood may well be your best option otherwise. ..but I think a stainless steel hood would look ok...get one of those electric grill things in and dual purpose it..
My wife has a dog grooming shop...hair dryers going all day so condensation is a problem. She has the windows open but this only part cures the problem. She runs a dehumidifier 24/7.
Sounds like you have a nice project going on...keep us updated!

Cheers

Clint

 

[BrewerRob]

The garage roof is flat, fireboard plasterboard. It's an internal garage with bedroom above so any kind of roof window is a no go.

I think i'm going down the route of a high extraction rate in-line fan. When boiling attach a flexi hose straight to the top of the Braumeister and it'll then be straight outside. don't really want a cooker hood on the wall of the bar. :)

Thanks Clint

 

[Ale]

My only thought on that is if you have a flexi hose from the top of the Braumeister to an extractor fan it will take out steam which would otherwise condense and remain in the wort which will mean your brew volume will reduce a lot more than it would otherwise and as you have the 20L Braumeister (nice bit of kit, I take it money is not an issue in your considerations if you can afford that), this may mean losing a couple more liters from the wort. I'm guessing here, maybe more experienced brewers can say if they think it will impact on final volumes.

When I complete the set up in my garage I will just be having the door open and a 12" fan blowing towards the door. I'm planning to get new garage doors soon and looking at hinged ones with windows rather than the current up and over, maybe the type where you can have a third of the total width as a door. I'm also hoping money will stretch to having new sheds built so the garage is just for use as a gym, brewing and possibly a desk as a quiet place to "work".

 

[BrewerRob]

To be honest Ale this issue had indeed occurred to me and was hoping for some one with more brewing knowledge and experience than me to be able to shed some light on this. Alas, as yet i've not had any such insight. All i can say is, yes mate, we are both thinking on the same lines.

The Braumeister is an extravagance and indeed indulgence but it's something i've saved long and hard for. I'm far from flush but is a result of hard saving.

A desk and quiet place to "work" sounds ideal. I think any bloke cohabiting needs such sanity space. :)

 

[Crystal_Ball]

I too have a 20L BM and im also looking to vent the steam out of the kitchen as its dripping down the walls during the boil! Those beer coloured water marks aren't that attractive!
I was planning on getting the SS hood and attaching 100mm flexible ducting hose and hanging it out of the window. I cant imagine you will lose any additional liquid during the boil as without the hood the open surface area is greater without the hood on the BM.
If I was in your situation and brewing in the garage (which might be what I have to do in the future) I would look at the cooker hood or tumble dryer kits in Screwfix and see about attaching them to the garage wall. You (or someone else) would need to drill a 100mm hole for this. I don't know if you would need some sort of air movement other than the natural motion of steam?
Im about to get one of these installed in the bathroom. Whether it would work in the garage I don't know but its meant to be a bit of a beast in terms of extraction.
http://www.envirovent.com/home-ventilation/products/kitchen-extract-fans/cyclone-7/

 

[BrewerRob]

Ah good stuff Crystal Ball. How are you finding it? As good as all the reviews suggest? I've watched just about every video on YouTube and it looks ace. Can't wait to splash the [considerable] cash.

That is what I was trying to avoid and exactly the route I was thinking of going down - (flexible ducting attached to the SS Speidel Hood). What I was unsure about is do I require some means of 'extracting' the steam or will it exit of its own accord.

As a member previously wondered, is too high an extraction rate a good thing? Is it going to result in a lower efficiency (as it's all been pulled out) or is the steam thats being boiled off the stuff we want rid of? I just don't know?! I don't know who the ask? I suspect someone specialising in extraction volumes for Home Brewing is something of a niche!

Until someone can categorically say it's not the way to go i'm going to be attaching some Aluminium Flexible Ducting to the top of the Stainless Steel Hood, this will lead up to an in-line fan attached to the wall and then straight out of the top of the fan and out of the wall (through a bored hole) and appropriate vent covers on the outside)

I'm still at a loss.

P.S. Thanks Crystal_Ball. I'll look in to that Cyclone 7.

 

[Dads_Ale]

This is my system:

I used to use it without a extractor but you need the lid closed and this caused a few boil overs.

You can vary the ferocity by having a bigger gap at the lid and the extract fan has two speeds.

One thing to look out for is condensation collecting especially if you mount the fan horizontally.

 

[BrewerRob]

Dads_Ale that's brilliant. Thank you very much.

What fan is that then (specific)? Where would I get it from? The fan would be mounted vertically on the wall and then boxed in (for aesthetic purposes).

 

[Dads_Ale]

Dads_Ale that's brilliant. Thank you very much.

What fan is that then (specific)? Where would I get it from? The fan would be mounted vertically on the wall and then boxed in (for aesthetic purposes).

This looks to be the same.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-M...hash=item19d839281a:m:munuwYnBl585qvqqoJgmmOQ

 

[Anneon]

What fittings did you use to fit the hose to the lid?