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hennesse
Joined: 04 Feb 2011 Posts: 38 Location: United States: Virginia
Drinking: On Tap: Quickie ESB
Working on: Primary: Body, Body, Body IPA, 2ary: Paducah Pale Ale
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Link Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 4:55 pm Post subject: Re: Bending SS tubing: Ronnie and Rotundo |
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Kal,
I am planning on the 20-gallon Boilermakers. These would give me the option of 5 or 10 gal batches.
It turns out that "Ronnie" used to brew his own beer, and the coiling discussion has gotten him interested in brewing again! So there's a good possibility I can get the tubing coiled professionally at minimum cost. I'd better strike while the iron is hot. So what diameter coil is best for the 20 gal Boilermaker?
kal wrote: | hennesse wrote: | Question: What is the proper diameter of the coil for a Blichmann BoilerMaker ??? |
Depends on what size Blichmann Boilermaker. They all have different diameters.
This is why I only mentioned in the instructions that the coil should be done to place it "near the wall". This is not critical. Mine's around an 0.5 - 1" inch or so from the wall.
Kal |
On another subject - I'm studying your control panel section. The more I read, the more I realize just how well thought out your system is! One observation - you mention that SSRs "tend" to fail closed. The manual for the SSR I have says that "NORMAL failure condition is contacts closed". Yuck.
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rosenjm
Joined: 21 Dec 2010 Posts: 249 Location: Ballston Spa, NY
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Link Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 8:49 pm Post subject: |
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I'm using the 20 gal and my coil is about 15" in diameter, the kettle is about 17.5" in diameter. That leaves about .5 - 1 inch all the way around (it isn't perfectly round )
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hennesse
Joined: 04 Feb 2011 Posts: 38 Location: United States: Virginia
Drinking: On Tap: Quickie ESB
Working on: Primary: Body, Body, Body IPA, 2ary: Paducah Pale Ale
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Link Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 2:07 am Post subject: |
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Thanks! I'll pass this on to Ronnie (and Rotundo) so he'll know how to bend it. BTW, I ordered a 20 gal BoilerMaker today. I think I've reached the point of no return!
Dave
rosenjm wrote: | I'm using the 20 gal and my coil is about 15" in diameter, the kettle is about 17.5" in diameter. That leaves about .5 - 1 inch all the way around (it isn't perfectly round ) |
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konrad
Joined: 02 Feb 2011 Posts: 29 Location: Mass
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Link Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 2:17 am Post subject: |
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rosenjm - what is the part number for the 90 degree elbows?
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rosenjm
Joined: 21 Dec 2010 Posts: 249 Location: Ballston Spa, NY
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Link Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2011 11:21 am Post subject: |
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McMaster Carr part #5943K216
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Feurhund
Joined: 01 Feb 2011 Posts: 89
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Link Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 9:24 pm Post subject: |
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I got my elbows and a new coil. No luck finding a metal shop that would help me. Any word on issues with the ball locks not lining up because of the threading and fitting with the elbows.?
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milldoggy
Joined: 23 Dec 2010 Posts: 569 Location: Pottstown, PA
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Link Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 9:44 pm Post subject: |
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To line them up, you need to add Teflon tape, it will be trail and error till you find the right amount of tape, at least that what I have to do with my welded fittings and elbows
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rosenjm
Joined: 21 Dec 2010 Posts: 249 Location: Ballston Spa, NY
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Link Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 11:43 pm Post subject: |
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I just measured the distance between the top and bottom of the coil, punched the holes the same distance. I then attanced the valves, and elbows just like Kal did, just point one elbow one way and the other the other way. Everything went in OK.
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Porkbutter
Joined: 19 Feb 2011 Posts: 24 Location: Grand Rapids, MI
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Link Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 12:18 pm Post subject: |
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Stainless is a great substance, able to withstand a lot of abuse & has plenty of "cool factor". On the other hand, is there any reason NOT to just use copper for a coil? Copper gets used all the time for immersion chillers, and the Blichmann plate chiller uses it for the brazing that is exposed to the wort. No problems with these devices. Copper is completely compatible with brewery chemicals such as PBW & Starsan, as long as the contact time is not prolonged too far. And, most importantly, it is easy to work with.
_________________ The Far Flung Isles of Langerhans Brewhaus
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milldoggy
Joined: 23 Dec 2010 Posts: 569 Location: Pottstown, PA
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Link Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 12:21 pm Post subject: |
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I am going to use copper. I only concern I read about is the in the hlt it is in contact with only water on the outside. In a bk the acidic wort passifies it, but raw water does not. I could off with my terms. Either, I am using copper for my hex
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Porkbutter
Joined: 19 Feb 2011 Posts: 24 Location: Grand Rapids, MI
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Link Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 12:38 pm Post subject: |
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milldoggy wrote: | I am going to use copper. I only concern I read about is the in the hlt it is in contact with only water on the outside. In a bk the acidic wort passifies it, but raw water does not. I could off with my terms. Either, I am using copper for my hex |
The acidity of the wort actually dissolves trace amounts of copper (good thing for your yeast), but not enough to worry about. This is why most municipalities adjust the water they deliver to be a little alkaline if needed so that it doesn't corrode copper plumbing over time. Most water is already somewhat alkaline, but I use only RO water, which is always a bit acidic. If the water in contact with the outside of the coil is alkaline (likely for most people), it may darken the copper with use. Soaking it in something acidic like Starsan or white vinegar mixed with water will brighten it back up.
_________________ The Far Flung Isles of Langerhans Brewhaus
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milldoggy
Joined: 23 Dec 2010 Posts: 569 Location: Pottstown, PA
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Link Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 12:41 pm Post subject: |
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That was much better than my hungover explanation
Copper is fine, going to fill mine with sand and coil it this week.
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kaikoasurf
Joined: 15 Dec 2010 Posts: 96
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Link Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 11:59 am Post subject: |
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After using the jig made out of wood (clever idea). Could a touch of heat from a torch help keep the coil perfectly in line? Or does it stay perfectly coiled after you take it off the jig? Also I think I'm going to get my fittings welded by a professional instead of using compression fittings to make the coil bomb proof.
-Steve
_________________ Pour another one for me and two for you.
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kal Forum Administrator
Joined: 12 Dec 2010 Posts: 11116 Location: Ottawa, Canada
Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter
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rosenjm
Joined: 21 Dec 2010 Posts: 249 Location: Ballston Spa, NY
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Link Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 11:19 pm Post subject: |
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kaikoasurf wrote: | After using the jig made out of wood (clever idea). Could a touch of heat from a torch help keep the coil perfectly in line? Or does it stay perfectly coiled after you take it off the jig? Also I think I'm going to get my fittings welded by a professional instead of using compression fittings to make the coil bomb proof.
-Steve |
It doesn't stay coiled when you take it out of the jig. I used zip ties, like Kal talks about to hold it in place until I got it secured into the fittings. Once in the fittings, then as Kal said, everything is held in place. I'm sure some amount of heat would relax the metal and allow it to maintian it's new shape, but I have no idea how much or how to even go about approaching that.
As far as welding the fittings to the tubing, that seems like an unnecessary expense. I don't know, but I can't imagine it is cheap or easy to find someone to weld SS tubing like that. It seems like it would make it difficult to replace the tubing if, for some reason down the road it becomes necessary. Compression fittings are pretty secure and foolproof. I pressurized mine to the pump shutoff head and held it there for quite awhile during my testing without a leak. The HLT is pretty stable, you aren't banging a mash paddle around in it, you don't have to scrub it or get spent grain out of it. It just kinda sits there and looks shiny and gets wiped down with some Oxy clean every so often. The design is pretty bomb proof as it is. Just my thoughts... If you do get them welded, I'd be interested in the cost.
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kaikoasurf
Joined: 15 Dec 2010 Posts: 96
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Link Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 5:03 am Post subject: |
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Found a Company that will coil the tubing for me also weld on the fittings... I plan on making a jig for coil so that way it can fit my pot exactly and the fittings can line up perfectly.. I'll keep you guys updated... still waiting on the price
_________________ Pour another one for me and two for you.
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MillWerks
Joined: 16 Dec 2010 Posts: 35 Location: Seattle
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Link Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 4:23 am Post subject: tubing bender |
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It looks like it's been a while since there has been post on this topic... I'd been thinking about bending my tubing for a while and I wanted to make sure I got it right on the first try. With parts McMaster Carr and my local hardware store I made a tubing roller that bent my 22" diameter roll of SS tubing to 13" diameter (for a 10gal boilermaker). I was only able to get about 2-3" decrease in diameter per pass, so after a few passes I was very satisfied with the result.
Basically it's three pulleys, two on bottom and a drive pulley on top that is raised and lowered with a treaded bolt and two u-shaped pieces of flat steel. One that holds the drive pulley and the other has a threaded hole in the center for the adjustment bolt and the is mounted around the top of the plywood box.
I started out with 3-2" v-pulley (like the ones used with old fan belts) because they were cheap, however the tubing took the shape of the V. Then I replaced the two lower pulleys with Petzel rope pulleys that are designed to clipped onto a carabiner for climbing (1/2" rope pulleys are expensive at McMaster and the Petzel's pulleys were $3 ea). I used the 2" v-pulley for the top drive pulley because there's a set screw to lock the pulley to the shaft (3/8 bolt), which is turned with a wrench to drive the tubing through. However, I had to create a 1/2” round seat on the bottom of the drive pulley by mounting the pulley on a bolt and turing it with a drill. Then I used a round file and with the pulley turning like a lathe, I rounded it out (that was a pain in the *** and I would recommend a different pulley, but I already had everything else set up and I didn't want to change pulley size).
Give it a shot if you want and let know if I can help you create your own roller.
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rosenjm
Joined: 21 Dec 2010 Posts: 249 Location: Ballston Spa, NY
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Link Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 1:56 pm Post subject: |
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Wow! Where were you a couple months ago
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kal Forum Administrator
Joined: 12 Dec 2010 Posts: 11116 Location: Ottawa, Canada
Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter
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Castermmt
Joined: 03 Jan 2011 Posts: 863 Location: Lowell, In
Drinking: Steelhead Porter, Alt-Toids, Hefty-Weizen, Terry's Kolsch, African Amber, Pumpkin Ale, Double Dog Ale
Working on: Janet's Brown Ale, Terry's Kolsch, Pilsner
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Link Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 7:25 pm Post subject: |
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Sweet! Great idea!
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