Homebrewers Association | AHA Forum
General Category => Equipment and Software => Topic started by: thebigbaker on February 04, 2014, 11:04:13 am
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I just stumbled upon this Kickstarter project from Bru Gear. Their kettles and fermenters look good and seem to be at reasonable pricing. I haven't done so yet, but I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on one of the kettles. According to Homebrew Finds, sounds like delivery of the kettles is estimated for June.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2055692701/bru-gear-stainless-steel-brewing-kettles-and-ferme (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2055692701/bru-gear-stainless-steel-brewing-kettles-and-ferme)
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I'm in the same homebrew club as Phil, the founder/owner/partner/whatever pf Bru Gear. The Bru Gear products are awesome. Very high quality similar to and some will say exceeding Blichmann. If I had the money and space, I would be buying the full 1BBL system. For now, I'm trying to see if I can scrounge up the $995 to get the set of 20 gallon kettle/HLT/tun so I can use them on a nice system later.
These prices are really a steal for this high of quality and Phil is a genuine stand up guy. If you find products you like and have the funds, I'd highly encourage you to pull the trigger.
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His stuff looks nice, id be interested in checking out a conical but i dont see much info about them on the kickstarter page.
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Man if I had nine grand sitting around he'd have one donor for sure. Heck if I had 4500 bucks with nothing better to do...
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Phil has some great stuff and an amazing reputation around the Phoenix area. If you need to see any of his products just send him a message, he has been incredibly responsive to any questions I've had and made modifications like adding in the whirlpool ports to all 3 brewhouses with nothing more than a simple request.
If you've got the cash for any of his products it's well worth it. I've been working out the logistics of opening up a brewery in the area and his project has allowed me to lower my opening costs significantly, I just pulled the trigger on his 3 BBL system.
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I went in for a 14g Conical. They look nice, but time will tell for this dubious East Coast boy:D
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Looks like he is going to hit his goal, get in now while you can:)
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Looks like he is going to hit his goal, get in now while you can:)
I believe you can still donate and receive the prizes after funding as long as it's reached.
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Sometimes campaigns will add a bonus if they hit their plan with loads of time left.
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Man that is nice stuff! Very tempted to redo my brewery and go with an induction HERMS. Though I'm not sure if the induction element is included.
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with induction there isn't really an element. You would need an induction stovetop or induction cooktop to use induction to heat the kettle. I did sign up for one of his induction kettles. Basically it has a piece of iron sandwiched between 2 layers of stainless steel on the bottom of the kettle. The induction cooktop would then heat that piece of iron directly and the heat would rise and be passed to the wort in the kettle.
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Man that is nice stuff! Very tempted to redo my brewery and go with an induction HERMS. Though I'm not sure if the induction element is included.
Phil is very quick at answering questions and is quite infromative. Send him an email via his brugear website and he will contact you:) His kickstarter is also very sensitve to feedback so hes been changing things to fit his customers needs etc.
Cheers,
Jeff
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I understand how induction works. I guess a better question is whether we supply the "cooktop" or is it included. I'm kinda reading this as induction capable. An email is in order...
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Ah. Yeah I assume no cooktop is included.
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Looks pretty cool, I got in about a week ago- I went in for a 14gal fermenter.
His work looks pretty nice, hoping this goes through!
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Prompt response! No induction elements currently available but are in the skunkworks. Looks/sounds promising.
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Goal has been exceeded. I spoke with Phil a few days ago and he said that his prices will be higher then the kickstarter prices, so if you are interested better get in on it now while its a deal:)
Jeff
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Just curious if anyone knows, are the capacities (5 gallon boil kettle for example) the full capacity, or the recommended batch size? I know I would not want to brew a 5 gallon batch in a 5 gallon pot.
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Just curious if anyone knows, are the capacities (5 gallon boil kettle for example) the full capacity, or the recommended batch size? I know I would not want to brew a 5 gallon batch in a 5 gallon pot.
Not sure what their full capacity is, but I think 5 gallon kettles are ideal for extract batches and maybe 2.5 gallon batches. I do a lot of 3 gallon batches and those usually call for about 4.25 - 4.5 gallons of wort and I wouldn't be comfortable doing these in a 5 gallon kettle. Not saying it's not possible, but you would have to be real careful with boil overs. The price for the 10 gallon kettle is just $40 bucks more and a great deal at $150.
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After tossing the idea around, I finally pulled the trigger on the 10 gallon kettle.
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I wonder how long it's going to take just to fill the kickstarter orders. The kickstarter page says June of this year but that seems quick to turn around that much work, especially if they need the kickstarter funds to buy the base materials.
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I wonder how long it's going to take just to fill the kickstarter orders. The kickstarter page says June of this year but that seems quick to turn around that much work, especially if they need the kickstarter funds to buy the base materials.
I think the kettles will come from China, or someplace similar, and he will add the fittings. Maybe the conicals as well.
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Just curious if anyone knows, are the capacities (5 gallon boil kettle for example) the full capacity, or the recommended batch size? I know I would not want to brew a 5 gallon batch in a 5 gallon pot.
Not sure what their full capacity is, but I think 5 gallon kettles are ideal for extract batches and maybe 2.5 gallon batches. I do a lot of 3 gallon batches and those usually call for about 4.25 - 4.5 gallons of wort and I wouldn't be comfortable doing these in a 5 gallon kettle. Not saying it's not possible, but you would have to be real careful with boil overs. The price for the 10 gallon kettle is just $40 bucks more and a great deal at $150.
Right. If the 5 gallon size pot is an actual 5 gallon capacity, it would be recommended to step up to 10 gallon for a 5 gallon batch. Or up to 15 for a 10 gallon batch. But I was not able to find if the "sizes" were actual capacity or batch sizes. I would assume probably actual capacity.
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I wonder how long it's going to take just to fill the kickstarter orders. The kickstarter page says June of this year but that seems quick to turn around that much work, especially if they need the kickstarter funds to buy the base materials.
I think the kettles will come from China, or someplace similar, and he will add the fittings. Maybe the conicals as well.
Somewhere in the kickstarter, it said that they would use the funds to buy a roll of raw materials. I was assuming that meant a roll of stainless sheet metal, which they would use to build the kettles and fermenters out of. Not positive though.
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Somewhere in the kickstarter, it said that they would use the funds to buy a roll of raw materials. I was assuming that meant a roll of stainless sheet metal, which they would use to build the kettles and fermenters out of. Not positive though.
Would be nice if it was more clear on the site. Personally I don't mind items coming from China, though I do buy American where I can.
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I went for a 20gal kettle w/Tri-Clover fittings... It will be interesting to compare against my Blichmann 20 gal. kettles. I wish Blichmann would have a Tri-clover fitting version of their kettles.
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Man I want it. Also can afford a new 20gal with all the bells and whistles. But don't need a new kettle or brewery. >:(
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Not sure what their full capacity is, but I think 5 gallon kettles are ideal for extract batches and maybe 2.5 gallon batches. I do a lot of 3 gallon batches and those usually call for about 4.25 - 4.5 gallons of wort and I wouldn't be comfortable doing these in a 5 gallon kettle. Not saying it's not possible, but you would have to be real careful with boil overs. The price for the 10 gallon kettle is just $40 bucks more and a great deal at $150.
I settled on 3.5 primary gallons/3 gallons kegged when I rejoined the amateur brewing ranks after an 11-year hiatus from the hobby. I brewed 5.5 primary gallons/5 gallons kegged for a decade before taking my hiatus, but 5-gallons is just too much beer (I like to be able to brew every three to four weeks). The problem with 3.5-gallon primary/3-gallons kegged batches of is that no one manufactures a kettle with the correct geometry. Most 10-gallon kettles are too wide for 3-gallon batches. The shallow liquid column makes immersion chilling inefficient at best.
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Man that 14 gallon conical is tempting. I wonder how much prices will go up after the drive ends.
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Man that 14 gallon conical is tempting. I wonder how much prices will go up after the drive ends.
IT includes shipping, so my guess would be about 600 bucks after shipping.
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Man that 14 gallon conical is tempting. I wonder how much prices will go up after the drive ends.
IT includes shipping, so my guess would be about 600 bucks after shipping.
Ah you're killin me. Ok, I'm going to request some photos to get a closer look.
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Man that 14 gallon conical is tempting. I wonder how much prices will go up after the drive ends.
IT includes shipping, so my guess would be about 600 bucks after shipping.
Ah you're killin me. Ok, I'm going to request some photos to get a closer look.
HE has a few photos on his regular website but they are prototype pieces and will be changing a bit. Its def a grain of salt scenario, but since hes trying to capture the homebrew market if he messes it up hes out of business IMO.
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:D
Just got in for the 15 BK, cant wait for June!
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Just kickstarted for the 14 gallon conical. Now, 5 months to design build a roll-in temp control chamber.
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Pinski- you won't be sorry. I've had a 14 gallon from Stout for 3 or four years now, love it.
Bruce
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Acctually Phil just put out a statement that he will have a cheap cooling alternative for any of us that bought a fermenter. may be a good grab!
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Acctually Phil just put out a statement that he will have a cheap cooling alternative for any of us that bought a fermenter. may be a good grab!
I saw that, eager to see what he has in mind.
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Great to come home from work today and find my brand new 15 gallon Pro Boiler PB15i sitting here waiting for me. It is gorgeous! Take a look(http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/09/23/dafb4c313a733580e71c260f6bc7c05b.jpg)
(http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/09/23/03ae0dcbdc9c5b27905814deaa0f3b3b.jpg)
(http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/09/23/585191069952d6fc5663dd178c9ee02c.jpg)
(http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/09/23/af37ec17742274db264697507089a479.jpg)(http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/09/23/9b3c70810d75f9e86f5c8816a211f586.jpg)
Can't wait to brew with it and get used to it!
Sent from The Alpine Brewery using Tapatalk
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That looks nice, and very shiny.
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Thanks and yes it is
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Nice, I like it. Enjoy !
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Shiny yea, heavy... Hell yeah! Never played with tri clamps, in kettle thermo, or valve before. Gonna take some getting used to... Maybe start next weekend, fingers crossed.
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I want one. Can't decide between the 15 and 20. 15 gallon batches would only happen a few times a year, but I think the extra space might be nice to nearly eliminate the chance of a boil over.
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There is at least one person on here that feels that a 15 gallon kettle is a bad choice for both 5&10 gallon batches. I imagine he would also feel that a 20 is not enough for 15 gallon batches. I have been playing around in beersmith since I "bought" this kettle in February and it looks like my best best to avoid boil overs is ferm cap or 8 gallon batches. Sure I will experiment with a lot of different batch sizes in this kettle though to figure out its sweet spot
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Well, I make 5.5 gallon post boil batches (that collect 7 gallons of wort) in the same 10 gallon SS pot I've had for 15 years. That's seemed to work out pretty well for me so far. :)
EDIT - Prior to that I used an 8 gallon enamel coated canning pot, collecting 6-6.5 gallons of wort to boil down to 5. That was a little tighter fit, but I made it work.
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My typical pre-boil for 10 gallons would be about 13.2 for 13.7 based on 1 or two fermentors. Guess 20 is the magic number.
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I think the argument is that 15 is too big for 5 gallon batches due to boil evap rates due to column height vs surface area. Luckily I have a new 7.9 gallon fermenter coming soon so I don't have to stick to 5 gallons and I can also do close to 10 gallon batches and split to experiment with yeast or dry hop variations. I'm sure I will enjoy learning what this BK can do for me
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I bought this 15 gallon because my 7.5 gallon causes a lot of headaches for 5 gallon AG batches and I did not want to buy a 10 gallon now only to realize later that I really need a 15. This kettle will do everything I need it to, and if it's not efficient enough due to boil off rate, I can easily add some water somewhere in the process to get the results I want, so I will love it
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Got my 10 gallon Bru Gear kettle delivered a couple of days ago. Haven't brewed on it yet, but the construction looks very solid and I really like the gallon measurements etched inside the kettle. Excited to try this out very soon. I normally do 3 gallon batches, so I'll be doing more 5 gal batches and split 3 gallon batches to experiment with yeast. I've been soooooo busy the past yr and things are finally calming down, so I'm looking forward to brewing much more often...and being back on the forums!
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I got my 10 gallon induction kettle from them yesterday. It's very solid. I like that they sent the NPT fittings with it so I can still use my cam lock fittings... but always have the option of tri-clamp later (currently I only use tri-clamp on my stainless conical).
I have a low power 1800W induction cooktop... sadly It took somewhere a little over 2 hours to get 8 gallons of 62F water to boil in it with the lid on. This is better than other brew kettles I have tried on it... I have some insulation coming to try and reduce the time needed... It may just be used as a normal kettle though since I have no 220V power in my condo :-/
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I have a low power 1800W induction cooktop... sadly It took somewhere a little over 2 hours to get 8 gallons of 62F water to boil in it with the lid on. This is better than other brew kettles I have tried on it... I have some insulation coming to try and reduce the time needed... It may just be used as a normal kettle though since I have no 220V power in my condo :-/
I have learned that kettle design and quality makes a huge difference when using an induction range. I can bring 5-gallons of run-off to a boil with the lid off when using my American-made 24-quart Vollrath Tri-Ply 77620. I have to cover and insulate the kettle that I made from a Chinese-made 27-quart Vollrath Optio stockpot to get it to boil 4.5 gallons of run-off. Both kettles are classified as being induction in ready.
Sadly, eight gallons is too much to boil with any kind of speed with an induction range on a 120V/15A circuit. However, the circuit that feeds counter-high receptacles in most American kitchens is usually 20A. If you have access to your breaker box, I would check the rating on the kitchen circuit breaker (the circuits should be named in the box). if it's 20A, you can install a 2200W 120V/20A Blichmann BoilCoil, which will be almost 100% efficient.
I posted this math on another thread, but I will re-post it here with your numbers:
1 calorie = amount of energy required to raise a gram one degree Celsius
1 milliliter of water = 1 gram
1 Watt = 0.2388 calories per second
2200 Watts = 2200 x 0.2388 = ~525 calories per second
1 gallon of water = 3785 milliliters
Time to raise one gallon of water one degree Celsius = 3785 / 525 = 7.2 seconds
Time to raise eleven gallons of water one degree Celsius = 8 x 7.2 = 57.6 seconds
Tap liquor temp = 20C (68F)
Boiling temperature at sea level = 100C (212F)
Temp delta = 100 - 20 = 80C
Time to raise 8 gallons of liquor 80 degrees C = 80 x 57.6 / 60 = 76.8 minutes
Strike liquor volume = 4 gallons
Tap liquor temp = 20C (68F)
Strike liquor temp = 77C (171F)
Strike liquor Temp delta = 77 - 20 = 57C
Time to raise 4 gallons of liquor 57 degrees C = 57 x 7.2 x 4 / 60 = 27.3 minutes
Sparge liquor volume = 5 gallons
Sparge liquor temp = 77C (171F)
Sparge liquor Temp delta = 77 - 20 = 57C
Time to raise 5 gallons of liquor 57 degrees C = 57 x 7.2 x 5 / 60 = 34.2 minutes
Run-off voume
Run-off temp = 66C (151F)
Boil temp = 100C (212F)
Temp delta = 100 - 66 = 34C
Time to raise 8 gallons of run-off 34 degrees C = 34 x 7.2 x 8 / 60 = 32.64 minutes
If you continuous sparge, heating and collecting the run-off can be performed in parallel as soon that the run-off column height exceeds that of the BoilCoil.
One last thing: If you have an electric range, then you have a 240V circuit in your kitchen. Not only is this circuit 240V, it is usually capable of carrying 50A of current, which is more than enough to handle 8-gallons of run-off. A 4400W heating element will cut the times listed above in half.