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Events / Re: NHC Direct links email
« on: February 26, 2013, 02:39:28 PM »
I've managed to get all my 8 entries in so I withdraw my previous request.
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Events / Re: NHC Direct links email
« on: February 26, 2013, 01:54:42 PM »
Janis,
It's time to shut this thing down. There are a lot of pissed off members that are stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one hand they want to get their entries in so they can't give stop trying for fear that the competition will fill up. On the other hand this is a colossal waste of time and is just pissing people off.
Shut down the registration, figure out a new plan, and open it back up when you're ready to handle the scale so it's fair for everyone.
It's time to shut this thing down. There are a lot of pissed off members that are stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one hand they want to get their entries in so they can't give stop trying for fear that the competition will fill up. On the other hand this is a colossal waste of time and is just pissing people off.
Shut down the registration, figure out a new plan, and open it back up when you're ready to handle the scale so it's fair for everyone.
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Events / Re: NHC Direct links email
« on: February 26, 2013, 01:45:34 PM »I love the AHA, but I am very disappointed in the server overloads. I mean there couldn't be more than a couple 10 thousand people trying to get in. That isn't that bad when you consider the bandwidth of big web pages. Time to spend some money on server upgrades or better hosting maybe.
This isn't a server hardware issue. Last year a single small site handled all the volume for all 12 regions. The problem is the competition software they chose. It's clearly not designed to handle this kind of scale and that's not an easy fix where you can just throw bigger machines at the problem. Plus, they now have 12 servers to manage rather than just one.
I honestly think the AHA needs to suck it up and shut down the registration while they figure out a new plan. Especially before they start taking money for the entries. Otherwise we'll have hundreds of people wasting their entire afternoons trying to get their entries registered.
4
Wood/Casks / Re: Cask Bung / Shive Removal
« on: January 05, 2013, 02:03:55 PM »
Just to add a bit more to my thoughts, this picture would be extremely useful in the construction of your own shive extractor:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cizauskas/2491400397/in/set-72157605032890992
Those are undoubtedly 12" square tiles so the picture has a built in ruler.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cizauskas/2491400397/in/set-72157605032890992
Those are undoubtedly 12" square tiles so the picture has a built in ruler.
5
Wood/Casks / Re: Cask Bung / Shive Removal
« on: January 05, 2013, 01:44:26 PM »
Bruce,
I've had my eye on that device from UK brewing as well. Currently I just struggle away with a screwdriver, knife, and hammer. It's not a pretty affair and it's the biggest single hassle in dealing with casks.
Having done a fair number of shive extractions at this point I'm pretty optimistic that the design of that thing would work. Though, you may be able to do the same for cheaper using some black pipe and fittings. I'm thinking a 1/2" pipe for the handle, reducing bushing, and then 1/4" pipe for the bit that goes through the shive hole. You could probably put that together for about half the price from local home depot parts. I'll give this a try when I do my next cask, which will probably be St. Paddy's day.
Firedog,
Any chance we could get you to put a quick camera phone video on YouTube showing your technique?
Dave.
I've had my eye on that device from UK brewing as well. Currently I just struggle away with a screwdriver, knife, and hammer. It's not a pretty affair and it's the biggest single hassle in dealing with casks.
Having done a fair number of shive extractions at this point I'm pretty optimistic that the design of that thing would work. Though, you may be able to do the same for cheaper using some black pipe and fittings. I'm thinking a 1/2" pipe for the handle, reducing bushing, and then 1/4" pipe for the bit that goes through the shive hole. You could probably put that together for about half the price from local home depot parts. I'll give this a try when I do my next cask, which will probably be St. Paddy's day.
Firedog,
Any chance we could get you to put a quick camera phone video on YouTube showing your technique?
Dave.
6
General Homebrew Discussion / Re: refrigerator versus chest freezer
« on: November 06, 2010, 11:12:09 AM »
The other thing to consider is that depending on the design you have to lift the keg pretty high to get it over the collar on a chest freezer. Based on the way I mounted mine that was a hassle and once in a while I'd accidentally knock open a tap while lifting the keg into place. Not a lot of fun.
Also, you can end up with a lot of condensation in the bottom of a chest freezer. They're simply not designed to deal with condensation, which happens at fridge temps, so you get a pool of liquid that soon goes funky. Some people use desiccants or towels with some luck but for me it was a pretty big hassle. I had to periodically pull out all the kegs and clean things up, which is difficult due to the height of the collar.
All of this convinced me to switch to a front door fridge like this:
http://www.katom.com/598-TBB2448GS.html?CID=GoogleBase2
Keep an eye on CraigsList for restaurants that are going out of business. I picked up mine for $500. I don't have to override the temperature settings at all (saving me from using a temp controller and worrying about short cycling a compressor.)
Also, you can end up with a lot of condensation in the bottom of a chest freezer. They're simply not designed to deal with condensation, which happens at fridge temps, so you get a pool of liquid that soon goes funky. Some people use desiccants or towels with some luck but for me it was a pretty big hassle. I had to periodically pull out all the kegs and clean things up, which is difficult due to the height of the collar.
All of this convinced me to switch to a front door fridge like this:
http://www.katom.com/598-TBB2448GS.html?CID=GoogleBase2
Keep an eye on CraigsList for restaurants that are going out of business. I picked up mine for $500. I don't have to override the temperature settings at all (saving me from using a temp controller and worrying about short cycling a compressor.)
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