[oscarvan]

OK, ordered a stainless conical vessel with lid today..... Will give it legs, the mother of all cooing coils inside and a dump valve at the bottom. Get the march pump to pump wort from BK to WC (Wort Cooler) right at flame out. Cool and drain the trub from the bottom of the cone, then fill the buckets....meanwhile the BK has been rinsed out and is receiving the next batch. I should be able to take 2-3 hours off my double-double batch brew day......

If I read this right, you are buying a conical simply to cool wort? there are much cheaper (and easier to clean/sanitize) ways to chill wort than that.

Not buying a 'spensive conical fermenter, If it's called something else and not brewing related it's suddenly cheaper....... and not just chilling. Chilling AND separating the trub, while freeing up the BK....

Check here: http://www.toledometalspinning.com/products/hoppers/priceList.asp

BTW, these CAN be used to make an inexpensive conical fermenter.

[maxieboy]

10g from boil to ale pitch temp in 10 min here. Therminator, gravity feed(2 ft. of head), self fabbed hop strainer(214 sq. in area), give the wort a good swirl. No worries about trub to fermentor(mostly cold break, tons of hot break left in BK), never a hint of a clog. I could probably use all pellet but haven't yet. Lotsa 10g IPA batches w/8-12 or more oz of hops in boil and have used 1- 1 1/2 oz whole hops to aid in straining. As always, YMMV. 

[Thirsty_Monk]

Check here: http://www.toledometalspinning.com/products/hoppers/priceList.asp

Boy you are handy.
Good for you.

[oscarvan]

OK it's done..... Just put it all together. Was going to use a service cart, but not enough height to gravity feed into the buckets. (I like the splashing for aeration purposes.) So I'm walking around HD and see saw horses with extendable legs....nice and tall! That was it....... Did water only runs today, brewing tomorrow. Will see how that pans out.

[Jimmy K]

I can't lift a 100 pound 200º BK and move it around....

Wimp ...

just kidding

[dak0415]

I can't lift a 100 pound 200º BK and move it around...

Even if you could, I wouldn't have much confidence in the handles.  Now I could see pot and burner on casters.

[oscarvan]

OK, did a first brew with the new setup yesterday....... (two ten gallon batches)

First and foremost..... Getting the wort out of the BK so it's ready for the next batch makes a HUGE difference.... Although I managed to time the strike temp on the second batch and flame out on the first one to be within seconds of each other.... A little multi tasking there.... In the end it took an hour off the brew day, and the kettle sat vacant for a half hour, so I can tighten that up some more. I don't mind letting things sit at the end, when I can go into the house and do other things, but the active slopping around I like to keep under 8 hours. I did.

The pump works. The high temp hoses are a little wimpy....they kink easily.

The chilling was awesome. Even though the water coming out of the tap was in the 60's (it runs through the house before it goes back underground and to the barn) I got the whole batch to low 70's in under 30 minutes.... Plus, no huge hurry as the next batch still has to sparge, boil etc....

Trub separation was not as awesome as I thought it would be. Got most of it out, but it still cost me 1/2 gallon and then during the last two gallons some more spit out.... Seems the wort channels through the trub in the bottom, and then at the end the last of it on the walls lets loose..... May have to let it sit longer and still use a strainer.

Overall pretty darn happy with it.