Scott's (Third Stage) basement brewery build

wscottcross · Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2016 6:11 pm Post subject:

I've done 2 batches in the brewery with the temporary system and I love it so far. I've been concentrating on the space and finishing up the control panel. It still takes longer than I'd like to heat 26 gallons of strike and HLT water.

I'm almost done with my 50A panel and I think I may change it to a hybrid 50A where I can either do back to back with both the HLT and boil elements running or I can have a second element in the HLT. I just need to swap out the boil element switch for a 3 way, add a third ssd with another contactor and another element connector.

I wonder if I can manage dual elements in both kettles.... I just can't stop upgrading. Smile

wscottcross · Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2016 1:00 am Post subject:

Another 250 sqft of floor epoxied on Sunday and started moving items back onto it.

wscottcross · Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2016 1:07 pm Post subject:

I kegged the first batch I brewed in the new basement brewery and I think it's the best beer I've made so far. It was another IPA, no surprise there. I was originally planning a SMaSH but wanted to use Citra and found that Citra can be rather one-dimensional by itself so I added Ahtanium to balance it out and it worked out great. I took the keg to a beer tasting party that a friend was putting on with all commercial beers. Mine was the only homebrew there but most of the guys at the party were "beer snobs" and my beer was a big hit. I overheard one guy telling another that it was the best homebrew he ever had. A couple of them filled growlers and asked me if I would make them a batch. It was great to get that kind of feedback.

KirkMN · Joined: 03 Jan 2016 Posts: 3

That looks awesome. That wood tile is sharp!

wscottcross · Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2016 12:28 am Post subject:

Well, it took me long enough, but I FINALLY got the 50A circuit finished and got to fire up the panel today. I missed one wire that ties the PIDs and timer back to the neutral bus. Once I got that installed, everything else worked just fine. So Happy to be able to finally use it!.

**kal** · Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2016 2:08 pm Post subject:

Nice job! Seems like it's coming along well... that first brew isn't far off!

Kal

wscottcross · Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2016 1:40 pm Post subject:

I brewed with it the next day and it was great! Can't wait to try that beer! The only thing I noticed was that the power switch didn't always shut the panel off. I think it's a sticky contact module on the back of the switch. Anyone ever see that?

**kal** · Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2016 1:44 pm Post subject:

wscottcross · Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2016 10:41 pm Post subject:

It is intermittent. I'll need to do some more troubleshooting to narrow it down.

**kal** · Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2016 10:58 pm Post subject:

It's most likely the contactor then. Sometimes a bad one can cause intermittent behaviour like this. If you purchased from us, email us at SpikeInnovations@TheElectricBrewery.com and we'll send you out a replacement ASAP at no cost.

Kal

jphussey · Joined: 17 Oct 2012 Posts: 171

Can you clarify for me, are you using Spike Brewing custom kettles but using Kal's electric control panel?

It seemed like the only significant difference is their heating element housing isn't that box, but the SS housing with the triclover clamp. Is that accurate?

Overall how're you liking this setup? I have a 20G Blichmann G1 I might just offload and then snap up 3 custom kettles from these guys. I prefer the EB Control Panel though...is this similar to what you went with?

wscottcross · Posted: Mon May 02, 2016 2:59 pm Post subject:

jphussey · Joined: 17 Oct 2012 Posts: 171

Is the TC element housing from Spike Brewing (pretty damn confusing with Spike Innovations...)? Or is it from this site?

wscottcross · Posted: Tue May 24, 2016 11:13 pm Post subject:

Spike Brewing welded the TC flanges on my kettles. The element housing is from here:https://www.brewershardware.com/TC15F10NPSCOV.html

David_H · Posted: Wed May 25, 2016 5:15 pm Post subject:

The Kal controller is completely independent of the actual brewing kettles. If you look around this forum you will see a large variety of keggles, Blichmanns, 55 gallon drums, Bayou Classics, etc. kettles. In most cases the process is all the same only the details of the equipment are different.

I just got 3 Spike Brewing kettles with all the bells and whistles.
Most of the custom work is not on their website. Email them with what you are wanting to do. And they will get back to you

I have 2" TC's welded to the HLT and BK. I did buy their 5500 Watt SS heating elements and housing, but both of those are off the shelf items and available elsewhere. The housing is the one from brewershardware and it is cheaper from brewershardware than it is from Spike. I found that out after the fact. Spike uses a custom push to connect fitting for all of the in-kettle connections. You don't have to use their internal connection, however I do find them convenient. They use a 5/8" OD connection for all of the drain and return plumbing (this in internal and does not affect the outside plumbing) However the HERMS coil is 1/2" OD and they have 1/2" fitting, so if you have existing 1/2" SS tubing for pickups request the 1/2" fittings from Spike. It pretty much all customizable. Just ask.

I did have a problem between the HERMS coil and the push-to-connect fitting. It leaked horribly. Spike was very quick to replace them and provide return shipping on the bad parts. The new set of push-to-connect fitting and HERMS work great. It most likely was the one in hundred (or thousand) bad part. Someones got to get it, this time it was me. My advice would be to set up the HERMS as soon as you can and check this connection. This is the only location with the push to connect fittings that leakage is of any real concern.

I am very happy with Spikes MLT screen. The kettles have the stepped bottom that allows the mash screen to sit flat on the ledge. Previously I had a 10 gallon cooler with a domed screen. The result of the deeper grain bed and smaller diameter caused slow (sometimes stuck) recirculation. With the Spikes setup the grain stays very loose and zero recirculation issues.

All in all I am happy.

masbrooklyn · Joined: 07 Jun 2016 Posts: 3

wscottcross, I believe I'm building my panel just like yours. Would you share your schematic? Having trouble locating resources. Specifically I'm using the same PIDs, Timer and AMP/Volt meter. Thanks!

wscottcross · Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2016 2:07 am Post subject:

I don't have a full schematic as I used Kal's excellent documentation for the majority. The PIDs are almost identical. the terminal numbers may be different, but the functions are pretty clearly labelled. The meter is super simple. Just power it from the two 240 hot legs and put the donut on one of the main input legs (black or red). The timer is a little trickier and took some tweaking to figure out. I posted a timer specific schematic here:http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=316826#316826

wscottcross · Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2016 8:52 pm Post subject:

Super happy with the way my homemade tap handles came out. These were made from a curly maple tree that I cut down in the back yard a few years ago. It was just sitting in the woods going to waste when my neighbor had a guy with a portable saw mill come over to slice up some oak for his dining room project. I had the guys saw the trunk into boards but I didn't know what to make with the wood at the time, so I saved it for a special project and now I'm glad I did! It's always better when you have a personal connection to the source of the materials. I just love how the wood looks rippled, but is smooth as silk.

**kal** · Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2016 9:04 pm Post subject:

Nice!

I do like that rippled look. Reminds me fudge ripple ice cream. Wink

Kal