98 replies to this topic

[positiveContact]

A utility sink would be nice. Unfortunately, I don't have room for one. I have to use my outdoor spigot! At least I don't get really cold weather here.

 

I sometimes spray out the bits of grain that didn't make it into the compost bin with the outside hose but that's only in the warmer months.  I used to brew in the garage (now I brew and clean in the garage) and clean everything in the kitchen.  I can't believe I stuck with the hobby through that.

Edited by postSingularityHumanoid, 24 December 2022 - 08:33 AM.

[porter]

Those are nice. Makes my plastic utility sink look pretty bad but it works!

Seems like a SS sink would be a worthy investment if you continue to brew. Easier to ensure the sink is actually clean, not prone to feel gouges, etc. Treat yourself.

[positiveContact]

Seems like a SS sink would be a worthy investment if you continue to brew. Easier to ensure the sink is actually clean, not prone to feel gouges, etc. Treat yourself.

 

with my luck something would go wrong and it would leak

 

if it aint broke!

[Patrick C.]

It has a delay timer on it: I get my water and grains ready the night before, get up, pour a cup of coffee and go down to the brewery to mash in.

No idea what your plans were for the utility sink, what size you're looking for, but I got this and I think it's good for the price.

https://www.amazon.c...,aps,147&sr=8-4

I would have bought this if it were available when I was looking. I bought the above sink and a stainless shelf/table that accomplishes similar, but a one piece unit is nice

https://www.amazon.c...RhaWwp13NParams

 

Thanks for the links- I was considering a cheapo plastic utility sink, but the stainless with the table is probably worth the difference.

[Patrick C.]

Got the Anvil today- everything looks well made and ready to go, and the instructions seem pretty clear.  I feel like I could brew tonight on 110 if I was really in a hurry to get started.  I'm planning to wire an AC extension cord (NEMA 6-20 plug; 20A, 250V ratings) in to a hot tub GFCI, with a dryer plug from that to the 30A, 220V wall outlet.  Once that's hooked up I'll do a 'dry' run (just water), then I'll find out how stale my malt is.

[Hines]

Nice!

[Patrick C.]

I had hoped to be brewing by now, but some stupidity set me back-  I spent all evening installing the ventilation fan.  Probably would have cost me an extra $20 to have the electricians do it when we had the basement finished.  I guess I had grand plans for a hood or something, but wound up just putting in a high-flow bathroom fan.

[porter]

Exciting, nonetheless. When is brew day #1?

[Patrick C.]

Right now, if you count plain water as a brew.

Got the GFCI wired up and put in 3 gallons of water. Played with the pump a little (never used one for brewing), then said a prayer and turned everything on. No lights blew out, no smoke was released:)

[Gusso]

Yous guys with your high tech brewing equipment! I'll be using igloo mashes and a 10g brew pot until I'm done. Nice equipment, tho!

[Hines]

Yous guys with your high tech brewing equipment!

I never thought I would try an electric rig. Glad I did!

[zymot]

I never thought I would try an electric rig. Glad I did!

 

+1 It makes things too easy. I almost feel guilty. Or maybe I feel lazy.

 

I remember I first heard the concept electric brewing back in the green board days. There was a guy (werper - if my brain is working) making his own heatsticks. The guy went through all his design permutations. I thought the guy was crazy.

 

Now I have a Anvil 10.5 and converted my 10 gallon Spike kettle to 5,500 watt electric with a Blichmann Brewcommander. I do not miss the days of propane and fire.

[HVB]

+1 It makes things too easy. I almost feel guilty. Or maybe I feel lazy.

 

I remember I first heard the concept electric brewing back in the green board days. There was a guy (werper - if my brain is working) making his own heatsticks. The guy went through all his design permutations. I thought the guy was crazy.

 

Now I have a Anvil 10.5 and converted my 10 gallon Spike kettle to 5,500 watt electric with a Blichmann Brewcommander. I do not miss the days of propane and fire.

that was his name and his things still seem crazy to me and I have been all electric since 2005/2006.  Amazing how far the stuff has come.

[Patrick C.]

First batch is finally underway- a sort-of Vienna with 10 lb pils, 4 oz crystal 60 and 2 oz chocolate.  I mashed thicker than their instructions, to be able to sparge with more water.  I'm using roughly the same mash+sparge volume as on my previous system.  OG of the mash was well over 1.060 from a refractometer sample, so I guess the 8+ year old malt is still kicking. 

[Patrick C.]

Everything went pretty easy, but I need to rig up something to handle the sparge water so I'm not dipping a pitcher in a pot of hot water and sparging by hand.  Efficiency was around 75% or maybe a little higher- 10.3 lbs of malt got me 5.25 gallons in the fermenter at 1.056, with about a quart extra (plus what was left in the kettle).  Cleanup was not bad, and I assume it will get easier after doing it a few times and getting the timing down for everything.

 

I didn't get a stainless sink/counter-  All of the cheaper ones on Amazon had pretty shallow sinks, so I went with a regular laundry sink and a portable table for now. The sink is on stilts, partly to get the right height above the drain stub and also so I don't have to bend over to reach stuff in the bottom of it.  My plan now is to to put in some shelves or a cabinet/work bench around it, but I'm going to try to do as little building as possible.

[porter]

Glad it went well. Try it at least once without sparging to determine if it's worth the extra effort. My efficiency with the Anvil no sparging is only about 5% lower than what I got with my cooler/batch sparge setup. To me anyway, an extra $0.75 worth of grain isn't worth any additional effort.

I have a threaded faucet on the sink and use a 4 foot hose which makes cleaning super easy - no need to try to hold the unit under the faucet, basin depth isn't a factor.

Having the little brew space and having everything inside has made brewing so much more of a joy. No more hauling things in and out of the house and trying to clean in the kitchen.

Edited by porter, 14 January 2023 - 06:53 PM.

[Patrick C.]

I'm not trying to hold the boiler under the faucet, but still like having the larger tub for cleaning all the other stuff.  Got the hose connection, just need to get some QDs to switch between the spray hose, filter, and chiller.  I had hoped to do a sort of CIP and just pump everything out. I have a hop spider so that got most of the hop sludge, but it seemed like it would take forever to pump out all of the other stuff.  Most of it came out pretty quickly, but then it was easier to lift and dump it.  Gave it a light scrub and a few rinses.  How in depth do you go with the cleaning after each batch? 

 

 

Yeah, for most beers it probably would just be an extra pound of malt to make up the difference.  I'll plug in 70% for the next one and see how it goes.  

[Patrick C.]

Really liking the system so far.  Lifting the basket to drain or sparge still seems a bit kludgey, but otherwise everything has worked well for the first two batches. Mashing has been simple, and it maintains a vigorous boil at 80% (240V).  I did get some rice hulls through the false bottom on the second batch, and the drain seemed to clog a couple of times while pumping to the fermenter- not sure if that was the rice hulls or what, but switching the pump off and allowing it to back flow cleared it.  This could be a problem in the future, but I won't be leaving it unattended when the pump is running wide open.   

 

I need to add a few more bits to allow me to pump cooled wort to the chest freezer, and then pressure transfer to cornies.  Not sure that I want to get a pressure fermenter or ferment in cornies- I need to read up on my options.

[HVB]

You could always add a bag if you need to keep grain and what not out of the pump.  Just a bit more filtering.