First Brew Day set for March 1st!!!

Well if all goes as planned and my White Labs WLP200 Best of Both Worlds yeast is still alive after 3 months in the refrigerator, Sunday March 1st will be the first brew day on the new electric system!

I will be making a 5 gallon batch of Norther Brewer Irish Red Ale All-Grain.  I have made this recipe several times and love the way it comes out with the WLP200 yeast.  The yeast is very fast and clean fermenting.  In my opinion it comes out very lager like which makes it an extremely good session beer.

Testing has gone well with a few exceptions:

• I had to add a fan to the heat sync for the boil kettle.  Even though the SSR was properly paired and installed with the sync it would over heat and stick in the closed position after being on at 100% for more than 20 minutes.  The fan seems to have solved the problem.
• My design for the measuring the temp of the outgoing HERMS liquid was way to complicated  and used too much hose and too many fittings.  The result was a temp drop of 5 degrees between the HLT and MLT during HERMS.  With the sensor assembly screwed directly into the HERMS coil output, it only drops 2 degrees.
• The long dip tube on the HLT return port was swirling the water around the bottom of the pot but not causing enough turbulence around the HERMS coil so I removed it and aimed the elbow directly at the coil.  Before I was getting about 1 degree gain in the coil where as now I am getting 3 at the same HLT temp!
• I stretched the HERMS coil out a little more to also help reduce temperature stratification.

Fermentation controler completed!

There are plenty of websites out there that have plans for these and the wiring is easy so I won't go into any real detail.   The main component I used was an STC 1000 controller from Amazon.  This controller has a lot of bang for the buck.  It is a dual mode device, that is it can cycle between both heating and cooling with out having to manually make the change.  In the pic, the bottom outlet connects to a heat source and the top plug connects to the cooling source.  What I am planning to do is use an old chest freezer to do the cooling and tape a FermWrap to the front inside as the heat source.  I purchased a long thermowell that I am going to mount through a fermenter lid to house the temperature sensor.

Can't wait to try making a Lager!

Stir Plate 2.0!

This is my second try at a DIY stir plate.  I made it by taking a 12 volt computer fan with a couple of high powered hard disk magnets glued to the top, and screwing on a plastic surface through some rubber spacers. By using rubber spacers you can do some very fine adjustments to get the magnets as close as possible without letting them touch.  The fan I used for the first model was not nearly as heavy duty.  When the flask with the stir bar came in contact with the surface the magnets would pull the actual fan up against the plastic.  I am guessing that the motor's shaft was loose.  This one works GREAT!

Now all I need is to plan the brew date and get that yeast starter going!

Sink Installed!

I now have easy water access and a far better way to clean my gear!  When the plumbers did the install I also had them add a cold water valve above the left bowl so I could directly connect quick connect hose either directly or through a water filter.

Test, Test, TEST!

Testing has begun! Here are the things I have completed since the last update...

• Sight glasses on both kettles calibrated and labeled.
• Vent fan installed in stainless bowl for vent hood
• Control panel and vent hood mounted.
• All the wires have been connected routed including temperature sensors. 
• Temperature sensors tested.
• 13 gallon wet test of kettle elements using PWM and temperature controller.
• All the hoses and fittings pressure tested at boiling temperature.
• Whirlpool test in boil kettle.

In testing I only found two faults that needed to be corrected.  One was an overtightened hose clamp on the HLT outlet hose fitting and the other was my failure to put a clamp on the HERMS coil inlet.  Due to the proximity of pump #2 to the HLT I am finding that the output hose is tending to kink.  I am thinking that replacing the straight fitting with the elbow type will solve it.  I also found that I am going to need further testing on the boil kettle SSR.  When it is on at 100% on the PWM for more than 5 minutes or so it seems to be sticking in the closed position requiring me to turn off the element to reset it.  I guess that is what I get for buying a cheap SSR.  More on this later...

Here is an updated list of things yet to do:

• Purchase a 10 foot piece of hose and an extra connector to facilitate both filling and draining the kettles and MLT during the cleaning process.
• Purchase a couple of elbow type quick connects to replace straight ones that are tending to kink hoses.
• Troubleshoot possible problems with boil kettle SSR.
• Install outdoor vent and hose to vent hood.
• Find a way to route cables to keep them up off the floor but still allow me to swivel and move the control panel on its mount. 
• Do a full run through to simulate a brew day.

Lots of Progress in Fe-BRU-ary!

Current State - 2/12/15

The pumps are now mounted and I have started measuring and building the quick connect hoses.  I have also ordered a 2 bowl laundry sink which the plumber should have installed early next week.  I hope to have the ventilation hood built and installed over the weekend along with mounting the control panel.  If everything goes as expected I should be ready for a test run before the end of  next week and a brew day Saturday the 21st or Sunday the 22nd!!!

Remaining Projects

These are the remaining projects that need to be completed before I can set the first brew day:

1. Installation of a two bowl laundry sink next to the brewery with an extra hose connection valve on the cold line for use when filling the HLT. 
2. Mount the control panel to the wall using a re-purposed TV wall mount.
3. Mount the two Chugger pumps to the mash tun wire rack.
4. Measure and assemble all quick connect (BL and BigC) hoses.
5. Installation of the vent hood above the boil kettle. This includes modification of a 30 quart stainless bowl as the hood itself, mounting of the 190 cfm exhaust fan through the top of the bowl, mounting the motor and bowl to a re-purposed TV wall mount and install of the outside vent and flexible hose.
6. A full test and walk through of the brew process using only water.  

I will be calling the plumber today to set an appointment and based on their availability I will determine when to order the sink. Tonight I will be cutting the stainless bowl for the exhaust fan and mounting the pumps to the MLT wire shelving unit.   Wednesday night I will be borrowing my Dad's hammer drill to get the two TV mounts bolted to the wall and I am hoping to have a friend come over this weekend to help get the outside vent flapper and hose installed.