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Author Topic: Upgrading  (Read 6095 times)

Offline Jeff M

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Re: Upgrading
« Reply #15 on: December 28, 2013, 08:08:04 am »
Good to know about copper:)  Looks good jim, keep us posted!
Granite Coast Brewing Company.
Building a clone of The Electric Brewery to use as a pilot system for new recipes!

Offline denny

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Re: Upgrading
« Reply #16 on: December 28, 2013, 09:56:42 am »
Is that a pickup tube for your BK?  Looks good man, altho im not sure about copper/bronze in hot wort.  Arnt there some issues with how acidic wort is and the reactions it can create in copper?

pH during the boil isn't low enough to be a problem for copper.  After fermentation, though, don't use copper.
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Offline klickitat jim

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Re: Upgrading
« Reply #17 on: January 02, 2014, 04:53:21 pm »
Goodies came today! This is going to be a sweet rig.

Offline klickitat jim

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Re: Upgrading
« Reply #18 on: January 02, 2014, 07:39:38 pm »
Doing a test run with water. No leaks!!!! Rookie solder job held great.

I immediately see a need to build a 4" weather proof J box with a switch and a 20' cord. Mount it next to the pump.

Offline euge

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Re: Upgrading
« Reply #19 on: January 02, 2014, 07:46:49 pm »
Looks nice. Very minimal. Right up my alley. Great job!
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. -Richard P. Feynman

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Offline Pinski

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Re: Upgrading
« Reply #20 on: January 02, 2014, 07:51:43 pm »
Doing a test run with water. No leaks!!!! Rookie solder job held great.

I immediately see a need to build a 4" weather proof J box with a switch and a 20' cord. Mount it next to the pump.

Looks great Jim! If I'm seeing things correctly,  I think that pump might work a little better if you flip it so that the inlet is on the bottom and outlet is on the top. There's a couple great threads pinned to the top of the equipment and software section by someone from March pump that is pretty helpful.  Cheers, thats exciting!
« Last Edit: January 02, 2014, 07:56:01 pm by Pinski »
Steve Carper
Green Dragon Brewers
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Offline klickitat jim

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Re: Upgrading
« Reply #21 on: January 02, 2014, 09:11:15 pm »
Inlet is on top.

Just ran a test. Pumped the 150ish from MT to BK nicely. But the chiller was the huge victory!

From full rolling boil I started my timer. Flame out and recirculation started immediately. This was 7.75 gallons, started MT with 8, measure 1 quart dead space. So, 7.75 gallons at full boil, flame out, pump on, chill water wide open... 212° to 80° in 3 minutes! 70° in 5 min, 65° in 7 min, 60° in 9 min, and bottomed out at well temp, 55° in 14 min?

I had a little flaky gunk in there and it all ended up dead center of the BK.

I used the pump to dump it, and my little soldered copper elbows worked great. Drew it down to about a pint of dead space and left the gunk still in the center.

This system is going to rock!

Next upgrade is a 3 burner stand with Tejas high pressure burners. That ought to do me for years and years

Offline klickitat jim

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Re: Upgrading
« Reply #22 on: January 02, 2014, 09:13:26 pm »
Pinsky,  I trimmed up my input line so it doesn't have that sag in it. Had to look back at the photo to see what you were talking about...

Offline euge

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Re: Upgrading
« Reply #23 on: January 02, 2014, 10:19:06 pm »
What is the inlet water temp?
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. -Richard P. Feynman

Laws are spider-webs, which catch the little flies, but cannot hold the big ones. -Anacharsis

Offline klickitat jim

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Re: Upgrading
« Reply #24 on: January 02, 2014, 10:39:30 pm »
About 50° on cold days, about 60 in the summer. Guessing 55° ish today. That's where it stalled tonight. When I invent one that will get it below tap temp I'll be a rich man.

Offline Pinski

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Re: Upgrading
« Reply #25 on: January 02, 2014, 11:56:50 pm »
Pinsky,  I trimmed up my input line so it doesn't have that sag in it. Had to look back at the photo to see what you were talking about...

Actually I was referring to the orientation of the pump itself.  As I understand it, if the pump is set up with the outlet facing downward, air bubbles can get trapped in the pump and reduce it's effectiveness. If the outlet flows upward air bubbles can escape the pump housing. 
Steve Carper
Green Dragon Brewers
Clubs: Oregon Brew Crew & Strange Brew
BJCP Certified

Offline klickitat jim

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Re: Upgrading
« Reply #26 on: January 03, 2014, 12:15:05 am »
That's probably true. I figured that out quick. I start opening down stream. MT, then pump. You can see it fill and flow through. Then put the power to it.

Offline klickitat jim

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Re: Upgrading
« Reply #27 on: January 03, 2014, 12:18:24 am »
Guess I meant upstream

Offline klickitat jim

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Re: Upgrading
« Reply #28 on: January 06, 2014, 07:04:41 am »
Pinsky,  I trimmed up my input line so it doesn't have that sag in it. Had to look back at the photo to see what you were talking about...

Actually I was referring to the orientation of the pump itself.  As I understand it, if the pump is set up with the outlet facing downward, air bubbles can get trapped in the pump and reduce it's effectiveness. If the outlet flows upward air bubbles can escape the pump housing.

Had a hard time wrapping my mind around this till I looked at the pics that the March Pump man posted. Thanks for pointing it out. I'll be swapping it around so the out is on top.

Offline Jimmy K

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Re: Upgrading
« Reply #29 on: January 06, 2014, 07:37:50 am »
Build a similar hook pipe out of pvc for the end of your water supply hose and you can hook it on the side of the kettle. Then you won't have to hold the hose when filling.

Although, this is a good way to get distracted and overflow your kettle too.
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