Building my all-in-one brewery

[KOzric]

The time has come to start the intricate planning of my all-in-one brewery.
Background first: I have decided on an all-in-one brewery style, mainly due to the limited amount of space in my flat, I have just one room to dedicate to all of my belongings, not just my brewing gear. This route will hopefullly allow me to combine my HLT, mash tun and boiling pot in to one single piece of equipment.
My basic plan is all in place, now I need to decide on what I'm going to make my new brewery from. Any advice or oppinion from forum members is appreciated.

For the main body of my brewery I was thinking one of these insulated pots:
http://cgi.ebay.fr/MARMITE-THERMOS-CAPA ... 51a27c6b0b

For the 'malt pipes' I was simply thinking of one 30l and one 15l stainless steel pot with the bottoms cut off and a rubber seal in place.

For the circulating pump I'm going for either http://www.pumpsukltd.com/pump-type/cir ... eries.html or whatever cheap alternative bronze head pump my plumbing friends provide

One PID for accurate temperature control http://www.thermofix.co.uk/epages/es139 ... ducts/PID2

and an immersion coil http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HE7230-72-6ft ... 20b74f7cc7

all set up to function like a non automated speidel braumeister.

I will proved a link to my blog once I get going, but until I've drawn up the plan properly and started buying my bits there's not much point. I'm just letting the thoughts out of my head at this stage, critisism and opinion will help me finalize my plans over the christmas period. A welcome distraction from the usual family problems. :whistle:

KOzric

 

[Baldbrewer]

Oooh brewery build porn!

I look forward to this one , apart from lusting over shiny we are here to help .
Good luck and keep us informed :

 

[Dieseljockey]

Will watch with interest..... :thumb:

 

[calumscott]

Sounds fascinating! Got any rough sketches to share?

 

[KOzric]

The rough sketches are part of what I want to do over christmas, whilst I've got some extra spare time. If I plan well enough I'm hoping it'll be a quickish build and I can start AG brewing again in febuary. The extract stuff just isn't the same in my little stock pot.

 

[KOzric]

On a passing note, if anyone has any of these supplies they've got lying around and are wanting to get rid of. I'm happy to buy. My budget for this is quite tight so every penny squeezed helps.

KOzric

 

[IPA Addict]

I am curious to see how this develops. I would also like to see your drawings and sketches once you have done tyhem of course. :

 

[LeedsBrewer]

for the insulated pots its cheaper to email them directly rather than buying through their ebay company

 

[KOzric]

The initial drawing of what I intend, not as detailed as it should be and missing the wiring and immersion coil. I just wanted a rough drawing to base my plans on, all the wiring will be done by my friendly electrician anyway. http://ozricbrewing.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/brewfront.jpg http://ozricbrewing.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/brewtop.jpg http://ozricbrewing.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/brewbottom.jpg

 

[MacKiwi]

I really like the idea of the bend-to-shape rod heating element you're planning on using... I can think of a lot of applications for them...

immersion coil http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HE7230-72...7?pt=UK_BOI_Restaurant_RL&hash=item20b74f7cc7

One question though - what is the body of it made from? In the picture it looks a bit like rubber or plastic. If so, is this something that is going to be in contact with the wort?

 

[Springer]

Good luck with the build KO. That element looks interesting, presumably you have checked that it is suitable. There are cheaper options which I am sure you know about.
Top tip make sure that you buy the right PID, I have a friend who bought a none SSR output one. I, no he, now has one of the most accurately conrolled fermenting cupboards that anyone could wish for :lol:
S

 

[graysalchemy]

I have seen someone else on here suggesting those elements but are those heating elements suitable for use with food?

 

[evanvine]

are those heating elements suitable for use with food?

What sort of things would prevent them from being food safe?

 

[graysalchemy]

I don't know EV but they just didn't look like something I would want to put in my beer thats all. I don't know what they are made of, they don't look copper to me.

 

[Vossy1]

I think eskimobob may know about these :hmm:

 

[graysalchemy]

I thought i had seen them somewhere.

 

[evanvine]

they just didn't look like something I would want to put in my beer thats all.

Fair comment A, I like your thinking!

PS Just noticed the Ebay link says "Catering parts".

 

[EskiBrew]

I think eskimobob may know about these :hmm:

I know a bit...

It looks like the ones that have been posted above are like the ones that you commonly get in your oven or drill - they have a black sort of finish and are not entirely smooth. My worry would be that wort might caramelise or even burn on them and they would be a bugger to clean if that happened.

I have actually been investigating these bendable elements for a similar potential project but I have been trying to find them with a shiney stainless finish like you commonly get in your kettle - easy to clean and maintain. These are much much harder to find and so far, I have not succeeded in finding any at a sensible price. I'm still investigating but whatever happens they look like being expensive

 

[KOzric]

From what I've heard they are coated in ceramic, which is fine if you're only boiling water. I'm not sure how it would stand up to sticky wort, or being submerged in VWP on a regular basis. I guess I'll just have to experiment.
I was also thinking of using a nylon membrane as a filter, I have loads left from my university work, I was wondering if people think this might be too restricting to the water flow (it is a 0.005mm filter) or if anyone knows how nylon stands up to the chemical sterilisers as I don't fancy taking it to the autoclave everytime it needs cleaning.

 

[rajboab]

I'm low tech all the way!

How about a stainless 40L Burco/Buffalo boiler with a concealed element, insulated with camping mats and a mashing bag. BIAB stylee!

Stuart