I'm making the leap to the dark side!

[BigYin]

Amazingly enough, the Mrs was happy for me to start building an AG brewery, so before she can change her mind I've ordered the first bits for it - the barrels I'll need - one for the boiler, 2 to make the mash tun from, and one to collect the whort and then be the FV after boiling (and I snuck in an extra FV for good luck!) . Also bought some silicon tubing.

So, I'm going to draw up a design, and then would appreciate feedback on exactly what fittings I need...

The mash tun is based on Chard's design : http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-Y ... 0-STEP-1-/

I think I'll put it on a small stand to allow it to have a bottom exit tap rather than a side one :hmm:

I'm also open to suggestions for how to build a double coil one following reading muddydisco's how to guide : viewtopic.php?f=30&t=3104

So, we're on our way :mrgreen:

Still have two kits in the cupboard that need brewing, so plenty of time to get this built :thumb:

 

[Dieseljockey]

Yin hi..

Your not far behind me....I've finished my build..just held back for now on my first AG brew in almost 25 maybe 30 years..as we are off on our holls this week & I don't want to be away while my first baby is in the FV

 

[Dieseljockey]

Yin hi..

Don't know what happened ...came up as a 2nd post.. :wha:

 

[Cussword]

Good luck BY, I've only just done my second AG, it's the way forward :thumb:

 

[BigYin]

Here's the inital plan...

 

[Dieseljockey]

Looks like a done deal Yin...

Take a look Here at BB steam vent it's brill :clap:

 

[BigYin]

that's what gave me the idea for that :mrgreen: thanks! Mind you, initially I'll probably be brewing in the kitchen, but if I ever extend my shed like I want to, the bew kit could go in there and then the steam extraction may be more useful...



Anyway, I digress - one thing I don't have a really could idea of, is exactly how to make the immersion cooler :wha:

 

[Dieseljockey]

Check the old posts......one of the guys did a double cooler ...think he called it a rib cage (because it looked like a set of ribs).

 

[BigYin]

found the one by muddydisco - it says something about forming it around two different sizes of cylinder - but when I google for info on how to get the copper pipe to bend there's loads of info about tools to do that with because otherwise the pipe is likely to collapse...? that would be a right sod if you were on the last coil!!! :lol: :wha:

 

[Dieseljockey]

I've not made one yet.... 10mm is used & it's not to bad to bend around a small bucket/ smaller pot...any thing that's got a circumference that will fit your boiler. :thumb:

I've found the post about the ribcage cooler :clap:

 

[BigYin]

If anybody can give me a guide on how much 10mm copper tube I will need to make a decent immersion cooler I'd really appreciate it :drink: - can get it locally in 10m, 25m or 30m lengths - but it's not all that cheap, so would prefer not to have loads left over.... :thumb:

I'm keen to make one like muddydisco's double coil one.....

 

[BigYin]

Spent this afternoon making the mash and hops filters out if 15mm copper pipe. Have most of the slots cut for the mash filter - using 1mm thick cutting disc on my angle grinder makes short work of it - although tidying up all the little burrs takes just as long again...

Need to go get a 2mm drill bit - must have broken all mine since I can't find any. Grrrr. Spent enough already!

Top tool buy has to be a little pipe cutter from screwfix that only cost £3.50 or so and makes perfect cuts every time. Mind you, it does leave a Sharp edge inside the pipe as my finger tip found out!

Still got a few more slots to cut, but decided it was time to pack it in for the day and relax with a homebrew beer in the garden. Tough life!

 

[BigYin]

The boiler tap is finally fitted.

The tank connector wouldn't take a pipe and I didn't have a drill piece to drill it out with, so I opted to solder in a 15-10mm reducer piece as an elbow or tee piece could then slot onto that.

The two strainers are nearly made up - the majority of the cutting and drilling is, alas, still to do :lol:

Quick check to see it all fits!

 

[mickeyt69]

Good luck BY deffo the way forward mate i just done my first it tastes 1000 times better than kits cheers! :drink:

 

[BigYin]

Managed to get a bit more done today - got all the slots cut for the Mash tun :

Fitted the tap and got the strainer in place

The connection arm swivels to allow it to attach to different heights of tap just in case it needs to go into the boiler for pellet hops as I'm not certain I've got the taps fitted at the same height :lol:

Tomorrow I'll crack on with drilling all the holes for the hops strainer, maybe make up a sparge arm for the mash tun and hopefully start work on the wort chiller.

Also need to insulate the mash tun, waiting for a thermostat etc to arrive for fitting to the boiler, need to check the fittings are watertight and mark out the graduations for fill volume.

Am also going to make up a platform for the boiler to sit on on the worksurface (gravity and few bits of wood is cheaper than a pump!), and will also have to do a bit more woodwork to create some shelf space to store all this stuff out of the wife's way while it's not in use :lol:

 

[Mephistopholes]

Looking very nice man. It's looking like we're gonna finish our brewerys around a similar time. I only just found this thread.

Just out of intrest how did you cut the holes for the kettle elements?

If you want small drill bits i bought some 1.5mm ones at the weekend thinking i could drill out my mash strainer and they came in a 3 pack. I don't mind footing the cost of a postage stamp if you want one.

Also i already built my immersion chiller and it was pretty simple. theres no need to worry about fancy pipe bending equipment for it. Copper coils are pretty maleable and almost the right shape when you buy them. mine certainly isnt the prettiest but it didnt take more than ten minutes to make and cools 25 ltrs of wort down in around 30 mins. I think i got 15m of 10mm piping if i remember rightly. I would advise bending the ends of the pipes over the edge of the boiler though and connecting them away from the wort. it might seem like a bit of a waste of pipe but if you get a leak where the hose joins the copper, its much better that leak is on your kitchen floor than in your beer. I had to do a full reboil once when this happened.

 

[BigYin]

Thanks for the drill bit offer - very kind - but not needed thanks - got a pack of 10 x 2mm drill bits from screwfix for £1.84. They fit into my dremel, which will make it so much less tiring to accurately drill out the holes :mrgreen:

The holes for the kettle elemts are cut with a 38mm cutter which is part of a set from screwfix that I already had and have been able to use various cutter from it for a number of jobs.

 

[Wez]

Looks to be going very well :thumb:

 

[Sean_Mc]

Good stuff Big Yin, will be time to christen it soon :party:

 

[BigYin]

cheers lads - have two kits I bought before I made the decision to take this leap, so will kick the first of them off tomorrow, get the second one under way hopefully the following week, and once I have space to store anymore beer we're OFF!! :mrgreen: