Home made sculpture?

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zeno
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Home made sculpture?

Post by zeno »

So my brew buddies ran accross these plans for a home made sculptute for all grain brewing using 3 full size kegs with the tops cut off.. Anyone ever herd of doing this? See any problems with the idea?
Freon12
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I am working on the same thing.

Post by Freon12 »

I would have to send a picture to explain it.
I used a morebeer design and 20 gallon kettles.

It is nearly finished and I have not tried to use it yet.


Steve
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loaded question...

Post by bredmakr »

I've been using my home built stand for the past year and love it.

I developed the design based on the morebeer 10 gallon system and actually pulled it off with significant savings.

Couple of things to keep in mind: 1) are you going to use a pump or gravity to move liquids, and 2) do you or a friend know how to weld?

Other things to consider. My system is all weldless connections right now and I wish I had gone the extra mile to have all welded ports on my vessels. Lots of lost time to checking and fixing leaks. Then of course you are going to need FIRE! I use propane right now but later hope to change out my burners to run off of natural gas. If you have an outdoor NG valve (say with an outdoor grill) NG is much easier and cost effective.

Search the internet for 3 tier brewery, look at what you find and get ideas. The Red Barn Brewery site is one of the best I've seen. And of course if you would like pictures of my system I'd be glad to email you some.

Good luck and be sure to keep asking questions.

Mike
broon
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make sure you cut the kegs right

Post by broon »

I currently do the same thing. I've found the weldless fittings from weld-b-gone work great for seals. I have added some large washers to ensure quality seals. I don't have a stand yet so I'm using a platform on saw horses and gravity. I have been mashing in a keg but heat loss was greater than the cooler I use for smaller batches so I've invested in a larger cooler.

I cut one keg around the sides (my mash tun) which is ok for mashing. The other two, especially the boil kettle need to have large holes cut in the top. Otherwise your kettle won't hold enough wort. 10 gallon brew days are always an event so I don't do it too often. The last weekend this month is the next brew day so I'll take some pictures of the whole process.
fitz
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Instead of a cooler

Post by fitz »

Instead of a cooler that can be scratched and harbor bacteria, a keg sat inside of a plastic drum, inulated well, will hold heat much better, and be easier to be sanitized. My out door wood burner has a 1 1/2 to 2 inch layer of spray foam on it, and it is WELL insulated.
jayhawk
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Sanitized tun?

Post by jayhawk »

Sounds like you have a sweet tun design. But why do you find it necessary to santize your tun? To me it seems unnecessary because you will be boiling the wort and the acid rest some people use to acidify the mash (via the naturally present bacteria on the malt) is done at temps well below conversion.
broon
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Like a trash can?

Post by broon »

So did you set the mash keg inside a large (55 gal) plastic trash can or something of the sort? I imagine then you could line the barrel/trash can with insulation? Do you have any pictures of your set up?

I've also considered putting the keg on the burner and stirring constantly. But I currently only have one burner and I need it to heat the sparge water.
fitz
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Have a sister-in-law

Post by fitz »

I have a sister in law that is head of the cleaning Dept. at an area "University" They have all sorts of cleaning chemicals that are delivered in different sizes of plastic barrels. I cut the top off of one that left approz. 2 inches around the keg. a bulkhead connected to a hose bib on the outside, and you have your tun.
A couple holes drilled near the bottom of the plastic barrel makes the application of insulation easier. A wooden barrel for the outside would make the system even more attractive, but there goes the weight of it also.
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