The MaltMother

[cerbera84]

Hi guys,

I previously made a somewhat failed basic attempt at a switch to an eBIAB rig last year. The system was a bit of a hash together, and suffered from insufficient drainage in the grain basket. It did produce a splendid Cascade SMASH though. A few modifications were made but ultimately I gave up and went back to my 3V setup. Fast forward 12 months and I haven’t brewed as much as I’d like, so I started giving more thought to a Grainfather-esq eBIAB rig build. I have been tinkering away in the garage and the system is ready for a brewday this weekend. Gentlemen, I present: the MaltMother™.

Untitled by Ben, on Flickr
Untitled by Ben, on Flickr
Untitled by Ben, on Flickr
Untitled by Ben, on Flickr
Untitled by Ben, on Flickr
Untitled by Ben, on Flickr
Untitled by Ben, on Flickr
Untitled by Ben, on Flickr
Untitled by Ben, on Flickr
Untitled by Ben, on Flickr

In a nutshell, I have attempted to clone a Grainfather, with the addition of a whirlpool port. This whirlpool can also be used during the continuous recirculation in the mash, which should prevent scorching from the element and also ensure an even temperature.

The grain basket is a 33 litre Bergland stock pot, with 38mm holes in the base, with a 2mm perforated SS sheet inside. It is fitted with SS legs and has a central return pipe, in case of overflow. I have adapted a 15mm to 28m copper reducer as a filter (to prevent using a top filter) �" I’ll see how this works in the brewday at the weekend. The handles have been trimmed down, and now act as guides inside the larger pot. I may attempt to use these for lifting the grain basket out. I also have an IKEA SS trivit tray to rest the grain basket on post-mash. I am planning full volume BIAB so no sparge. Will use rice hulls in the bottom to try and avoid recirc problems.

The recirculation arm was made using solder ring fittings and my heat gun (in lieu of a blowtorch) �" this worked surprisingly well. I have attached silicone tubing at the moment. I had previously made a sparge fitting by drilling a brass stop end with undercut which might be reused in this project. The arm can also be used a cleaning attachment/pump out to the fermenter/drain.

The main pot is a 50 litre Bergland stock pot (which used to be my HLT). It has a pump outlet, whirlpool/drain port, temp probe and supports the recirculation arm. There are two holes currently blanked off, which I may use in the future for an internal immersion chiller. I am using a Norm pump (Flojet GP20/12) for recirculation.

The height of the central return pipe is currently set for approx. 36 litres. I am aiming for 34 litres full volume BIAB, so hopefully I’m in the right ball park.

I will use my previously built control box incorporating a XMT-7100. I would like to look to add step-mashing functionality (which the XMT-7100 doesn’t offer) so I’m open to suggestions. I have considered using a Grainfather connect unit, but will need to research further.

There are some more images on Flickr here https://www.flickr.com/gp/132217812@N06/57m35F if you wish.

Ben

 

[MmmBeer]

Nice looking handiwork, here's to some good brews. I would like to build a setup comparable to this sometime over the next year or so.

 

[BeerCat]

Cracking job and photos mate! What sort of pump are you using?

 

[druid]

:thumb::thumb::thumb: Nice work!

 

[cerbera84]

Cracking job and photos mate! What sort of pump are you using?

cheers - it's a Flojet GP 20/12 water pump rated for 85 degrees. It's mag coupled. eBay seller Normannumpa used to sell them, not sure if he still does.

 

[BeerCat]

cheers - it's a Flojet GP 20/12 water pump rated for 85 degrees. It's mag coupled. eBay seller Normannumpa used to sell them, not sure if he still does.

Thanks. After reading your info again i saw what pump you used. Had a look on ebay and saw them around £50. Bookmarked the seller as he has some good stuff but no pumps right now. I have been using a solar pump and they stop working after a while. Unreliable and i have to take them apart often and its becoming a joke. Its a very impressive build i must say. I love the ingenuity of people to make and improve on equipment. Inspires me to build a new mash tun. :thumb:

 

[Ajhutch]

That's a great looking job!

 

[Deadhead]

Brilliant! Hope it offers you many nice brews!

 

[Norfolk79]

Looks fantastic :thumb:

 

[Ajhutch]

Looking at this in more detail, I've got a few questions. These may apply to other systems as well and may in fact be really basic stupid questions!

- Do you mash without a lid?
- It looks like you've got a choice between directing outflow from the pump to either the whirlpool (which goes into the bottom of the mash) or the recirculation arm (which goes into the top). What's the decision that you make as to where you circulate to?
- How does the recirculation arm distribute the wort evenly across the mash?
- The answer to the previous question may be related to my next question (which is almost certainly a stupid one!) - what is the copper pipe and filter bit sticking up the centre of the grain basket for?
- Have you got a way to rest the grain basket above the kettle to allow the wort to drain off after the mash? To replicate the squeezing process that we full-BIAB brewers normally do.
- What level of DIY skill would you say you have / need to do a job like this?
- How much did it cost you all in?

Again, great looking piece of kit. I had been thinking about adding some recirculation capability to my BIAB setup and this has properly inspired me.

 

[LarryF]

Brilliant work, really great looking kit, and proper SHINY!!!

 

[cerbera84]

Looking at this in more detail, I've got a few questions. These may apply to other systems as well and may in fact be really basic stupid questions!

- Do you mash without a lid?
I'll be brewing for the first time tomorrow with it, but yes I'll be mashing without a lid

- It looks like you've got a choice between directing outflow from the pump to either the whirlpool (which goes into the bottom of the mash) or the recirculation arm (which goes into the top). What's the decision that you make as to where you circulate to?
I plan to open the whirlpool port slightly to start a whirlpool past the kettle element to prevent scorching. This will also ensure an even temp as it will push the wort round past the element to the pump outlet. The recirculation arm will be open too, to move the wort round to the top of the mash

- How does the recirculation arm distribute the wort evenly across the mash?
I have added the silicone pipe on at present to see how the flows go - if I'm not happy with it tomrrow, I have also made a sparge arm type fitting for the copper recirc arm to evenly spread the wort:
Untitled by Ben, on Flickr

- The answer to the previous question may be related to my next question (which is almost certainly a stupid one!) - what is the copper pipe and filter bit sticking up the centre of the grain basket for?
That is to mimic the overflow pipe of the grainfather. The grainfather uses a top filter plate, which I may end up making, but I figured I'd try a filter just on the copper overflow pipe first - the overflow pipe ensures that the element doesn't run dry. I have also made a different copper filter piece with slots that might be better - I'll try it tomorrow but the small holes in the copper filter (1.5mm) may get clogged

Untitled by Ben, on Flickr

- Have you got a way to rest the grain basket above the kettle to allow the wort to drain off after the mash? To replicate the squeezing process that we full-BIAB brewers normally do.
I have an IKEA trivit that will go across the 50L pot and the grain basket will rest on that

- What level of DIY skill would you say you have / need to do a job like this?
It is fairly straightforward if you have the right tools - I used a jigsaw with metal cutting bit, 21mm Qmax, 38mm Qmax, angle grinder, drill, heat gun,
pipe cutter etc.

- How much did it cost you all in?
I already had the 50L pot and most of the plumbing fittings from my 3V build (probably around £150?). I bought a 33L pot (£42), perforated SS sheet (£10), some more plumbing fittings (£20), SS legs (£13)... so about £250?

Again, great looking piece of kit. I had been thinking about adding some recirculation capability to my BIAB setup and this has properly inspired me.

Cheers! Go for it, its not as hard as it looks!

 

[cerbera84]

Bookmarked the seller as he has some good stuff but no pumps right now.

feel free to drop him a message - he's probably got one sitting in his garage!

 

[Ajhutch]

Thanks for such a detailed response, really appreciate it. I looked up the overflow pipe on the GF website and I understand it now, if the level gets up to it then it flows down to the bottom to cover the element.

I might do it in stages, I think I could fairly easily do a recirculating system with a pump while still using a bag with the existing holes in my kettle, then progress to a grain basket at a later date potentially.

Good luck with your brewday tomorrow, we'll look forward to hearing back!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cerbera84]

Good luck with your brewday tomorrow, we'll look forward to hearing back!

Cheers, I'll take some more photos to show the system in action - hopefully it'll work, but I'd guess there'll be teething problems. Already ran a cleaning cycle on it and found a couple of loose connections, but with a bit of luck we might have some beer at the end!

 

[cerbera84]

a few sneek photos:

Untitled by Ben, on Flickr

Grain basket in drain mode

Untitled by Ben, on Flickr

Water level at 34 litres - I'm glad I worked out that overflow in the right place!

Untitled by Ben, on Flickr

My calibrated filling device - top of brown tape is 4 litres! easy measure for 34 litres!

 

[cerbera84]

Brewday 1: There's potential!

Brewday over guys, I did a columbus chinook IPA recipe. I plan to document the testing of this machine in order to improve it. Had a few teething problems with the system today:
a) Pump wouldn't work - I have figured out that I broke it the other day when I was cleaning it - I took it apart to make sure it was spotless and I've assembled it incorrectly and snapped the ceramic washer inside! So, I couldn't run any recirculation/whirlpooling on this test - disappointing! I also lost 5 litres while I was messing around with the pump
b) need to be able to measure volumes during boil and end of mash
c) low end volume (ended up with 17.5 litres)
d) low efficiency at 47% but with no recirculation and losing volume because of the pump this is to be expected!

A couple of things to fix before the next brewday (hopefully in a fortnight) but looking forward to correcting these little issues.

Untitled by Ben, on Flickr - save the mash!

Untitled by Ben, on Flickr - manual recirculation - oh the indignity!

Untitled by Ben, on Flickr - doughed in

Untitled by Ben, on Flickr - grain basket easy to clean

Untitled by Ben, on Flickr - recipe

Untitled by Ben, on Flickr - boil

test 1 by Ben, on Flickr - issues

 

[cerbera84]

It's time for an upgrade to the MaltMother to address the small amount of grain that became stuck under the mesh bottom. Also, I did not give much thought to having to remove the mesh for washing after the mash, which was a pain as I had to remove the legs also. So this change should address both issues:

Untitled by Ben, on Flickr
A 12" stainless false bottom instead of the mesh. Fits like a charm (thanks Treebeard!). No more stuck grain and also removes easily for cleaning.

Untitled by Ben, on Flickr
Its held in position by a extended brass nipple I had lying about, secured with a flange nut. The brass nipple also allows for height adjustment on the copper overflow pipe, so I can adjust that for different size grain bills easily

Untitled by Ben, on Flickr

I've also sourced the ceramic washer to fix the pump, so its all looking good for a brewday at the end of September.

 

[treebeard]

Phew! Looks a good fit. :thumb:

 

[cerbera84]

2nd round of testing for the MaltMother last night:

Screenshot_2017-09-30-19-40-26 by Ben, on Flickr

Untitled by Ben, on Flickr

Untitled by Ben, on Flickr

Untitled by Ben, on Flickr

Untitled by Ben, on Flickr

Untitled by Ben, on Flickr

Untitled by Ben, on Flickr

Highlights:
Got 23 litres into fermenter at 1.042 = I've reached the dizzy heights of 62.5% efficiency!
Pump working again
Mesh false bottom worked well
Clear runoff to fermenter with no whirlpool

In an attempt to raise efficiency, I stirred the mash halfway through, raised to mashout temps and cold sparged 5 litres. I recall reading that a hot sparge may raise efficiency?

Overall, very happy with how well the MaltMother works so far. Does anyone have any suggestions for raising its efficiency higher?

Cheers,

Ben