Brewing shed

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Ajhutch

Ajhutch

Landlord.
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Since moving house last year we've got plenty of garden space and there's bilateral agreement to redo a bunch of it at some point. There's some decking that we want to take up and there was electric cable run around the fence to it which was running garden heaters and the like. There's a decent chance I could get my dream of a dedicated brewing space and it would be rigged with electricity. So I'd like to throw it open to discussion as to whether others use a shed solely for brewing, what you have in there, how big it is, how you handle ventilation, will th electric circuit run around the garden likely be able to cope, and any other issues I should think of.

I was thinking if I could fit an 8ft x 8ft shed I could probably build a structure for a three tier system down one side and a run of units down the other side to include an under counter fridge or two and a storage cupboard. Would be a fun DIY project too. If anyone's done a project like this and could link to a thread that'd be great, I looked back a few pages and didn't see any.

Cheers!
 
I used to work in the electricity industry (but not as an electrician). I would say you need to ensure the circuit to the shed it sufficient to power all that and possible a brew kettle as you dont want to overload it. You also need to make sure it is properly installed including shielding in case someone puts a spade through it. My house has a big garden and the person we bought off had run a normal extension lead through some water pipe to the green house with a dodgy wired up plug in the shed. I do NOT recommend something like this. The worst case scenario is it causes a fire or blows your electrics. I will be getting new sheds soon but the plan is to free up space in the garage so it becomes my man cave with only brewing stuff, my gym and a few small bits like tools and stuff for the car. The rest can be stored in the sheds.
 
My brew shed is an all electric 3 pot system, i run 2 x 5500kw elements in 2 x 100ltr pots,this is fed off a 30amp circuit from a seperate consumer unit as i have 2 in the house one for the main house,and a seperate one in the house extension to run my 2 pond pumps and filters etc,This is attached to armoured cable from the consumer unit to the shed.Dont use extension leads or any other cable if your using big elements,you will blow the bloody street up.As regards ventilation i open the shed door when boiling,as you need to have the lid off on the final boil,i get alot of condensation inside,the walls of my brick shed are lined with cheap pond liner glued to the walls,and silver insulation over the top,if i was doing things different i wouldnt have used the silver insulation as it easily gets damaged.I have built a double cupboard lined with polystrene then lined with silver insulation,this takes 4 x 5 gallon fermenting buckets and is my fermenting chamber,heated with a greenhouse tube heater,on top are my pots on a tiled surface no lifting just put the tube from the final boil into the cupboard below with your fermenting buckets and fill up.

attachment.php
 
BREWERS DROOP said:
My brew shed is an all electric 3 pot system, i run 2 x 5500kw elements in 2 x 100ltr pots,this is fed off a 30amp circuit from a seperate consumer unit as i have 2 in the house one for the main house,and a seperate one in the house extension to run my 2 pond pumps and filters etc,This is attached to armoured cable from the consumer unit to the shed.Dont use extension leads or any other cable if your using big elements,you will blow the bloody street up.As regards ventilation i open the shed door when boiling,as you need to have the lid off on the final boil,i get alot of condensation inside,the walls of my brick shed are lined with cheap pond liner glued to the walls,and silver insulation over the top,if i was doing things different i wouldnt have used the silver insulation as it easily gets damaged.I have built a double cupboard lined with polystrene then lined with silver insulation,this takes 4 x 5 gallon fermenting buckets and is my fermenting chamber,heated with a greenhouse tube heater,on top are my pots on a tiled surface no lifting just put the tube from the final boil into the cupboard below with your fermenting buckets and fill up.

attachment.php
Click to expand...

When you switch it on, do all the lights in Burton on Trent go dim? :mrgreen:
 
BREWERS DROOP said:
My brew shed is an all electric 3 pot system, i run 2 x 5500kw elements in 2 x 100ltr pots,this is fed off a 30amp circuit from a seperate consumer unit as i have 2 in the house one for the main house,and a seperate one in the house extension to run my 2 pond pumps and filters etc,This is attached to armoured cable from the consumer unit to the shed.Dont use extension leads or any other cable if your using big elements,you will blow the bloody street up.As regards ventilation i open the shed door when boiling,as you need to have the lid off on the final boil,i get alot of condensation inside,the walls of my brick shed are lined with cheap pond liner glued to the walls,and silver insulation over the top,if i was doing things different i wouldnt have used the silver insulation as it easily gets damaged.I have built a double cupboard lined with polystrene then lined with silver insulation,this takes 4 x 5 gallon fermenting buckets and is my fermenting chamber,heated with a greenhouse tube heater,on top are my pots on a tiled surface no lifting just put the tube from the final boil into the cupboard below with your fermenting buckets and fill up.

attachment.php
Click to expand...



That looks the mutts :thumb:


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
BREWERS DROOP said:
My brew shed is an all electric 3 pot system, i run 2 x 5500kw elements in 2 x 100ltr pots,this is fed off a 30amp circuit from a seperate consumer unit as i have 2 in the house one for the main house,and a seperate one in the house extension to run my 2 pond pumps and filters etc,This is attached to armoured cable from the consumer unit to the shed.Dont use extension leads or any other cable if your using big elements,you will blow the bloody street up.As regards ventilation i open the shed door when boiling,as you need to have the lid off on the final boil,i get alot of condensation inside,the walls of my brick shed are lined with cheap pond liner glued to the walls,and silver insulation over the top,if i was doing things different i wouldnt have used the silver insulation as it easily gets damaged.I have built a double cupboard lined with polystrene then lined with silver insulation,this takes 4 x 5 gallon fermenting buckets and is my fermenting chamber,heated with a greenhouse tube heater,on top are my pots on a tiled surface no lifting just put the tube from the final boil into the cupboard below with your fermenting buckets and fill up.

attachment.php
Click to expand...
Looks good. But have I read that correctly. 2 x 5500 watt elements. That's 11kW. You would need nearly 50 amps to run that?
 
Ale said:
I used to work in the electricity industry (but not as an electrician). I would say you need to ensure the circuit to the shed it sufficient to power all that and possible a brew kettle as you dont want to overload it. You also need to make sure it is properly installed including shielding in case someone puts a spade through it. My house has a big garden and the person we bought off had run a normal extension lead through some water pipe to the green house with a dodgy wired up plug in the shed. I do NOT recommend something like this. The worst case scenario is it causes a fire or blows your electrics. I will be getting new sheds soon but the plan is to free up space in the garage so it becomes my man cave with only brewing stuff, my gym and a few small bits like tools and stuff for the car. The rest can be stored in the sheds.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback, and to others for their comments. It's funny in this house, there are fused spurs seemingly everywhere, literally every kitchen appliance has its own along with towel rails, extractors and the like in bathrooms. However from what I can tell the external sockets are on the same ring as the other ground floor sockets. I'm currently brewing just outside the back door using an external socket. The cabling to the end of the garden is properly shielded and is attached to the fence not underground so that's all positive. If I ever did this I would absolutely get the shed wired by a professional, it would be the woodwork and internals that I'd do myself.
 
BREWERS DROOP said:
My brew shed is an all electric 3 pot system, i run 2 x 5500kw elements in 2 x 100ltr pots,this is fed off a 30amp circuit from a seperate consumer unit as i have 2 in the house one for the main house,and a seperate one in the house extension to run my 2 pond pumps and filters etc,This is attached to armoured cable from the consumer unit to the shed.Dont use extension leads or any other cable if your using big elements,you will blow the bloody street up.As regards ventilation i open the shed door when boiling,as you need to have the lid off on the final boil,i get alot of condensation inside,the walls of my brick shed are lined with cheap pond liner glued to the walls,and silver insulation over the top,if i was doing things different i wouldnt have used the silver insulation as it easily gets damaged.I have built a double cupboard lined with polystrene then lined with silver insulation,this takes 4 x 5 gallon fermenting buckets and is my fermenting chamber,heated with a greenhouse tube heater,on top are my pots on a tiled surface no lifting just put the tube from the final boil into the cupboard below with your fermenting buckets and fill up.

attachment.php
Click to expand...

That looks amazing, thanks for ththe picture. I would have to use a wooden shed so I do wonder if the condensation would be too much for it. I might have to continue to brew outside and just use my shed for fermentation and storage.
 
Ajhutch said:
That looks amazing, thanks for ththe picture. I would have to use a wooden shed so I do wonder if the condensation would be too much for it. I might have to continue to brew outside and just use my shed for fermentation and storage.
Click to expand...

Thoughts on this off the top of my head, have an open section with a roof over it for the boil, maybe a porch on the shed or you could put big windows each end so the air can flow through. Maybe for still days you could put a fan blowing the air through.
 
Ajhutch said:
Thanks for the feedback, and to others for their comments. It's funny in this house, there are fused spurs seemingly everywhere, literally every kitchen appliance has its own along with towel rails, extractors and the like in bathrooms. However from what I can tell the external sockets are on the same ring as the other ground floor sockets. I'm currently brewing just outside the back door using an external socket. The cabling to the end of the garden is properly shielded and is attached to the fence not underground so that's all positive. If I ever did this I would absolutely get the shed wired by a professional, it would be the woodwork and internals that I'd do myself.
Click to expand...
The fused spurs will be for appliances as you are not meant to have outlets behind appliances and not be able to have access to them to isolate. Also fixed wiring points like radiators and fans have to have local isolation.
Do you know what size the cable is that is already installed and also what is the length of run? I can advise on loads etc as I am an electrician.
 
hoptoit said:
The fused spurs will be for appliances as you are not meant to have outlets behind appliances and not be able to have access to them to isolate. Also fixed wiring points like radiators and fans have to have local isolation.
Do you know what size the cable is that is already installed and also what is the length of run? I can advise on loads etc as I am an electrician.
Click to expand...

Yes, it was all rewired fairly recently as the previous owners did a big renovation, so it's well done up to regs at least as they were then, much better than where I lived before. I'm not sure the specifics of the cable outside, but I'll potentially drop you a PM over the weekend when I can get outside and have a good look.
 
Last edited:
All the above looks fantastic. One or two things you might consider, water supply and drainage.....just a thought...
 
I've got an 8' x6' brew shed that I insulated and lined with T & G. In it I have a 6' worktop at the end with under counter brew fridge, braumeister, 12 Cornies. And SS Brewbucket. I've fitted an extractor fan but also leave the doors open when boiling. Condensation is the major issue so I've just bought a domed lid which I will connect straight to the fan with insulated ducting to hopefully avoid condensate running back into the brew.
I would suggest going for a bigger than 8 x 6 shed if you can manage it with as much head height as possible.

Brian
 

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