sink/kettles/bench arrangement

[pedactyl]

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Hi All - I'm currently working through a brewery build in my somewhat cramped garage. I have been debating the arrangement of the various pieces of equipment. I originally thought I'd go with the arrangement Kal used in his first build but it appears it might be hard to use the sink while doing a boil. The plumbing was installed around the original design, but the walls are still open, so I can adjust things if necessary. The space is basically a 8ft by 7ft corner. Easier to see with the pictures below. The 8ft wall has a window in the middle and a bathroom wall to the left. The 7ft wall is an interior wall that can't be moved, however the space to its right is open. I already have the sink (~30in x 30in) and the bathroom can't move, but pretty much everything else is flexible.

I did some rough sketches of the different possible arrangements I could think of:

#1 - original, requires no additional work
#2 - middle sink placement - I see that Tiny did a build like this but not everyone loved the idea - small amt of additional plumbing
#3 - L shaped design - plenty of space for kettle cleaning - small amt of additional plumbing
#4 - opposite wall - same advantages as #2,3. control panel placement might be difficult.
#5 - opposite wall alt - same advantages as #2,3,4. more continuous bench space. same control panel difficulty.
#6 - alt directional brew, sink on right hand side. Will require some clever plumbing, but not impossible.

Thoughts?

[Ozarks Mountain Brew]

does the window open? if so I would put the boil kettle under or in front of it just for ventilation if your not going to use a hood

[pedactyl]

Yes, it does open, but I plan on having a hood. I think it'll be too cold to brew in the winter with it open.

[Ozarks Mountain Brew]

so all I can say is your going to need enough space on that extra table for allot of brewing junk so i would keep it as big as posible

[kal]

Any limits on hood placement?
Where’s the control panel going?

I’d say you have a few viable options here. I like having the boil beside the sink so that nothing needs unplugging from that kettle when cleaning. I use a table on the other side of the sink for cleaning the MLT (only one cable to disconnect).

Kal

[kal]

Any limits on hood placement?
Where’s the control panel going?

I’d say you have a few viable options here. I like having the boil beside the sink so that nothing needs unplugging from that kettle when cleaning. I use a table on the other side of the sink for cleaning the MLT (only one cable to disconnect).

Kal

[Tungsten]

If #1 doesn't require any additional work then I'd go with that. It doesn't have any disadvantages versus the other setups in my opinion. That said I do like #6 as well.

That door is pesky though. Can it be a pocket door?

[Ozarks Mountain Brew]

I agree I like #1 the best, but Kal has a point the only place for the panel is over the mlt, mine is there so its no issue actually, but you'll be reaching

[Ozarks Mountain Brew]

I said that wrong mine is over the mlt but yours will be over the HLt and some steam

[pedactyl]

Thanks guys, to answer a few of the questions:

The hood can go anywhere, it's a vaulted ceiling, low end (left hand of picture) is 8ft, high end (right hand of picture) is at least 12ft high.

As far as the panel goes, I could redraw, but all the scanning... Here's some text explaining where the panel might go. While I'd rather not, it seems like the panel could probably go over the HLT. Steam should be minimal with the lid on. (I am definitely not the expert here though.)

#1 - original - over the bench on the right hand side (not above any of the kettles)
#2 - middle sink placement - over the bench on the right hand side (not above any of the kettles)
#3 - L shaped design - over the bench on the right hand side, but further toward the bottom of the picture (not above any of the kettles)
#4 - opposite wall - over the HLT?
#5 - opposite wall alt - over the HLT?
#6 - alt directional brew, sink on right hand side. - over the HLT?

It's too late for a pocket door. I thought about it during the build, but it was just such a pain. If those doors get off their track, they are pretty tough to fix.

And just to summarize, the only reason I'm hesitating with option #1 is due to the -potential- difficulty in cleaning the MLT...

[Ozarks Mountain Brew]

if you leave enough wire you can unplug the temp probe and carry each kettle to the sink, thats what I do

[kal]

#1 - This is like my first setup. I don't like this one because you can't really use the sink to wash to MLT until after the boil is done and you've moved the boil kettle out of the way. I like to tilt the MLT and boil in sideways towards the sink to spray them out.

#2 - Solves the above but it doesn't give you any working space beside the sink. I find most of the time I spend in the brewery is doing non brew day things and having a table beside the sink is handy.

#3 - I like this one. Solves #1 by giving a spot to the left of the sink for the MLT cleanout while the boil's going on, as well as a spot to put things when cleaning other times (solves #2).

#4 - don't like this one as both boil and MLT need to be unplugged/moved to clean.

#5 - Works pretty much as well as #3.

#6 - same as #4.

I'd probably go with #3, with the panel above the lower right bench. But that's just me. I suggest you go through my BREW DAY STEP BY STEP and see what if anything you wish to change based on how you want to brew and then figure out what layout makes sense for you. IT's here: theelectricbrewery.com/brew-day-step-by-step

Good luck!

Kal

[kal]

#1 - This is like my first setup. I don't like this one because you can't really use the sink to wash to MLT until after the boil is done and you've moved the boil kettle out of the way. I like to tilt the MLT and boil in sideways towards the sink to spray them out.

#2 - Solves the above but it doesn't give you any working space beside the sink. I find most of the time I spend in the brewery is doing non brew day things and having a table beside the sink is handy.

#3 - I like this one. Solves #1 by giving a spot to the left of the sink for the MLT cleanout while the boil's going on, as well as a spot to put things when cleaning other times (solves #2).

#4 - don't like this one as both boil and MLT need to be unplugged/moved to clean.

#5 - Works pretty much as well as #3.

#6 - same as #4.

I'd probably go with #3, with the panel above the lower right bench. But that's just me. I suggest you go through my BREW DAY STEP BY STEP and see what if anything you wish to change based on how you want to brew and then figure out what layout makes sense for you. IT's here: theelectricbrewery.com/brew-day-step-by-step

Good luck!

Kal

[pedactyl]

Very helpful, thanks for the comments. Agreed Kal, seems like #3 or #5 would work best. Leaning toward #3 at the moment. Sorta depends if I want to have the kettles in a line or not.

Curious on #6, what if the kettles in were shifted over to the right with the boil kettle in the corner? Would that still make it hard to clean the boil kettle? Since I'd have to tip it forward, instead of to the side?

[kal]

[kal]

[pedactyl]

Yep, I went through the brew day as you suggested last night. While I think #6 would work (wort chiller placement possibly a problem), it's not really any better than 3 or 5. Plus #6 is way more build work. I'd need to adjust all of the plumbing and would feel the desire to rework the panel for the alternative direction of the kettles. Pretty sure I'm going to go for #3. Appreciate all the advice!

[kal]

Don't want to hijack, but here's the work in progress in case anyone's curious!:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_QYk4MACX0/

Looks great!

Kal

[kal]

Don't want to hijack, but here's the work in progress in case anyone's curious!:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_QYk4MACX0/

Looks great!

Kal