39 replies to this topic

[zymot]

Why is this topic making me channel my inner Rube Goldberg??Seriously, I have found over the years that I never seem to regret the money I spend for quality in something I enjoy using, on the other hand I often DO regret the money I do not spend when those "savings" result in marginal or worse form or function. I have this logic to hold true for purchases of all kinds at all price points, from potatoe chips to commercially produced beer, and from brewing equipment to cars, houses, and vacations.

I have wasted much more money in the name of saving money, than over spending and buying too much.

[HVB]

Why is this topic making me channel my inner Rube Goldberg??Seriously, I have found over the years that I never seem to regret the money I spend for quality in something I enjoy using, on the other hand I often DO regret the money I do not spend when those "savings" result in marginal or worse form or function. I have this logic to hold true for purchases of all kinds at all price points, from potatoe chips to commercially produced beer, and from brewing equipment to cars, houses, and vacations.

As I get older I am starting to buy more things that I once would have made. Most of it now comes down to time. With a 3 year old, a new one on the way and work I just do not have the time. I did build my electric brewery form scratch because I had most of the parts already and it was the 3rd revision and I knew how I wanted it and why. Thinking back I should have bought the hop rocket from the start instead of wasting the time buidling my own version. It was a good learing experiance but I could have used that time more wisely.

[Mindblock]

As I get older I am starting to buy more things that I once would have made. Most of it now comes down to time. With a 3 year old, a new one on the way and work I just do not have the time. I did build my electric brewery form scratch because I had most of the parts already and it was the 3rd revision and I knew how I wanted it and why. Thinking back I should have bought the hop rocket from the start instead of wasting the time buidling my own version. It was a good learing experiance but I could have used that time more wisely.

YUP, as we get older we are faced with the reality that we can always get more money, but we can never get more time.....

[zymot]

Sometimes I have to tinker and try ideas.Last night I built a prototype for a hop leaf & pellet "screen" for the boil kettle. If it works as I hope, will make the life of a homebrewer much easier.I could buy the Blichmann Hop Blocker or the Hop Stopper screen. But the idea came to me, and I have to give it a shot.

[MtnBrewer]

Sometimes I have to tinker and try ideas.Last night I built a prototype for a hop leaf & pellet "screen" for the boil kettle. If it works as I hope, will make the life of a homebrewer much easier.I could buy the Blichmann Hop Blocker or the Hop Stopper screen. But the idea came to me, and I have to give it a shot.

Please keep me appraised. If it works, I might be your first customer. There are a lot of half-solutions to this problem but nobody has ever really nailed this with a complete no-fail solution.

[HVB]

Sometimes I have to tinker and try ideas.Last night I built a prototype for a hop leaf & pellet "screen" for the boil kettle. If it works as I hope, will make the life of a homebrewer much easier.I could buy the Blichmann Hop Blocker or the Hop Stopper screen. But the idea came to me, and I have to give it a shot.

Please keep me appraised. If it works, I might be your first customer. There are a lot of half-solutions to this problem but nobody has ever really nailed this with a complete no-fail solution.

I played around with making one for a while. Again, realizing my time is limited, I just bought a 6 5/8" x 18" SS strainer for my hops. Mainly for leaf hops but pellets should work just fine. Now if I can just get the table top tiled I can test it out.

[zymot]

Please keep me appraised. If it works, I might be your first customer. There are a lot of half-solutions to this problem but nobody has ever really nailed this with a complete no-fail solution.

If it works, I will provide plans for the design. (and the design is self evident) Just about anybody should be able to make one with a $15 order from McMaster and an hour in the garage. There ain't no money in selling a $15 gizmo to home brewers.

I played around with making one for a while. Again, realizing my time is limited, I just bought a 6 5/8" x 18" SS strainer for my hops. Mainly for leaf hops but pellets should work just fine. Now if I can just get the table top tiled I can test it out.

This is not a hop spider. If it works, you can throw leaf and/or pellet hops in right into your kettle.

[djinkc]

Sometimes I have to tinker and try ideas.Last night I built a prototype for a hop leaf & pellet "screen" for the boil kettle. If it works as I hope, will make the life of a homebrewer much easier.I could buy the Blichmann Hop Blocker or the Hop Stopper screen. But the idea came to me, and I have to give it a shot.

I have a box for "those projects" that has a lot of braids and screens. Hope yours works better than mine. I just use a FB for whole and whirlpool for pellets anymore.

[Mindblock]

I have a box for "those projects" that has a lot of braids and screens. Hope yours works better than mine. I just use a FB for whole and whirlpool for pellets anymore.

YUP.....I have a false bottom in the Sabco that works VERY well as long as there are some whole hops in the mix. I try to use whole hop flowers for all FWH and 60 minute additions, and if I need to use them, pellets are reserved for late additions. I use a CFC and recirculate cool wort back into the BK until the effluent is at or close to my target temp, and the pump over actually catches a lot of break in the bed of whole hops on the FB as well.

[zymot]

I have a box for "those projects" that has a lot of braids and screens.

My first shot at a batch sparge, I used what looked like the prefect SS braided hose. Cost ~$12.00 After the 3rd batch of swearing over stuck sparges, I got a $20 straight 12 screen from Zymico. Now I look for off the shelf design for purpose solutions first.

Hope yours works better than mine. I just use a FB for whole and whirlpool for pellets anymore.

What is an FB?

[matt6150]

What is an FB?

False bottom?

[chadm75]

I got a first hand look at one of these yesterday and was very impressed. It's compact and easily mountable (insert joke here) to any RIMS/HERMS system. It will take some handywork getting it hooked up to my direct fire mash burner but should be too hard. I'm very close to diving in on the Blichmann TOP!

[chadm75]

This past Saturday, I used my Blichmann Tower of Power for the first time. My neighbor is a Union pipefitter and has helped out on many of my DIY brew projects. He helped me install the gas solenoid on my Brew Magic frame and then mount the electrode on my mash burner. The latter seemed to be the trickiest part. Reason being is you have to get the tip of the electrode very close, but no touching, one of the holes in the burner. Too close and it grounds itself and doesn't spark. Too far away and it the spark won't make the connection to the steel burner. So that took some fiddling around until I got it perfect. Once everything once was connected and firing, this thing ran perfectly. I've been frustrated by some Blichmann products in the past but was thrilled by my first brew with the TOP. I have a RIMS and it does take about 10 mins of circulating the wort for the temp to regulate and even out. I mashed my Summer Golden Ale at 151° and it consistently held that temp within about .5-.7 of that target temp. Good enough for me to very honest because it gives me the freedom to be doing other things when I'm recirculating the mash and not having to constantly be watching my my mash temp. It also gave me the ability to "mash out". The last 10 mins of the mash, I raised the temp to 170° and recirc'd for 10 mins. Some people do this, some don't I know. But I figured I'd give it a shot and see what happens!Very happy with my TOP!

[zymot]

I think if I won the lottery, a Blichmann system is how I would go. I think the solenoid and auto spark starter would be too cool to pass up.Until then and as long as my house needs a new roof, no Blichmann for zymot.ETA I am glad (and jealous) somebody is having some brewing fun.

Edited by zymot, 10 April 2013 - 10:37 AM.

[Mindblock]

CONGRATS, man.....I trust that you are going to love the temp control and reproducibility you are likely to achieve with RIMS brewing. File away this lesson that I re-learned a couple of weeks ago.....when using adjuncts like flaked oats or corn in the grist, put them on top of your grain bed.....less potential for them to "escape" and gum up your RIMS.....no need to ask how this lesson was reinforced, but suffice it to say that an Oatmeal Stout was involved, and CO2 was employed to blow the Brew Magic lines out and resume recirculation of the mash.

[HVB]

and CO2 was employed to blow the Brew Magic lines out and resume recirculation of the mash.

Thread bleed but have your ever taken your Brew magic RIMS apart to clean it or do you just do a CIP?

[chadm75]

I hope I don't jinx myself here but I haven't yet had a stuck mash using my RIMS. I had a couple of them when I was using an Igloo cooler and ended up using the ole' lungs to blow air back through the drain tube to un-stick it. From then on, I've added rice hulls to every mash to hopefully prevent those. They are a HUGE PITA!

[positiveContact]

If it works, I will provide plans for the design. (and the design is self evident) Just about anybody should be able to make one with a $15 order from McMaster and an hour in the garage. There ain't no money in selling a $15 gizmo to home brewers.This is not a hop spider. If it works, you can throw leaf and/or pellet hops in right into your kettle.

whether it works or not let us know. maybe someone will have an idea to improve it either way.

[zymot]

whether it works or not let us know. maybe someone will have an idea to improve it either way.

i was just thinking about this. Initial tests were positive. But it is not dialed in. It worked pretty good, but there a couple procedure things to work out.Turns out I will be working out of town for the next year and will shut down my brewing operation. With this reality, I will be releasing what I have so far and if others want to experiment and improve the design, that would make me very happy. I have determined this has no commercial potential as a homebrew product. I am not going to get rich selling $19.95 hunks of sheetmetal.I have some pictures on a digital camera to post and I will do some CAD drawings along with the notes of what I found.I will leave it up to the home brewing community to dial in and refine zymot's Hop Ramp™.Some forgotten name on the board of green once said, "If you want to get something done, tell a homebrewer he can't do it." (true that)

[Mindblock]

Thread bleed but have your ever taken your Brew magic RIMS apart to clean it or do you just do a CIP?

CIP, occasionally with full industrial strength caustic / acid treatment......full breakdown of all of the hard plumbing is possible but would be a relatively major PITA, and best avoided if possible.....