Wildburky mash system

[wildburkey]

Hi Guys, I am preparing to try make some of Brendan's simple all grain bourbon and decided to just use a boiler kettle pre made. Here is a pic of the kettle I purchased and the wort chiller I made today. I still need to insulate the boiler kettle and am waiting on enzymes to arrive by post but can't wait to give this a try. My idea is to incorporate the boiler kettle into a 3 tier mash tun for AG beer brewing some time soon using an old esky with a home made manifold and reckon I will purchase a HLT. I have decided to use gas heating for now and will look at installing electric elements with temp controllers down the track.

[benpandaae86]

Hey mate im goin through the same thing with a mash tun build and it was suguested to me to use my boiler to heat water and pump hot water through your coil to heat the mash im gonna use this pump its on its way

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 91&alt=web

[wildburkey]

Cheers Ben, are you using a separate mash tun or did you mean to say mash water? I am going to try use an old bbq which the pot sits on perfectly and had planned on using a small pot of boiling water on the stove running through the immersion chiller as a HERMS coil in the kettle to save energy and help bring temp up (I read some where on the forum to do this). I plan on using just the kettle for the whole process. I don't really want to waste gas but I might try it out with 50Ltr of water tonight to make sure I am able to get it up to 100c and use the water for a bath.

[benpandaae86]

Ive got a spare keg that im makin into a mash tun just need to save for my coil my pumps on its way i have all my grain to do mtn moonshines mash

Gotta watch the base of ur pot the grain may burn same if u put a elec element in

[wildburkey]

OK, I thought there was no need to heat with the grain. Just bring the mash water up to temp and then add cracked corn to the kettle was my plan, obviously I would need to heat some water in a seperate pot after 6hrs when it's time to mix but beginning to see the advantages of mashing in an esky. I haven't checked out mtn moonshiners mash yet so here is prob where I am getting a bit confused with heating the mash. I like the idea of having no risk of burning mash in the way Brendan mashes :-)

[benpandaae86]

The mash.needs to be heated an rest at different temps to get a full conversion of starches as mentioned here

http://www.aussiedistiller.com.au/viewt ... =12&t=5399

[wildburkey]

Sry to spam the thread :teasing-blah: I prob should have started a thread. I was impressed with my ability to bend a peice of pipe and thought ya'll might like to look at some shiny things. I never thought but I probably should have asked mac before I bought the kettle :angry-banghead: , could be a bit of extra coin for 5 star building mash tuns? I see where you are coming from now Ben, I'm looking at the simplified version which just uses insulation to hold temp and the drill mixing process to cool before using the imersion chiller from my understanding - http://www.aussiedistiller.com.au/viewt ... =25&t=5787

[woodduck]

If you want to do a bourbon/ corn mash you've got the right idea wild. Just follow Brendan's thread and you'll be right. You want to be careful heating corn "porridge", it tends to burn and stick as I've found out :laughing-rolling: You just need to make sure you've got plenty of insulation around the tun like the stuff he recommends in the thread. I use 1 wrap of that then an old swag mattress around that aswell.

Good luck :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Btw good job on the coil

[Sam.]

Now you have your own thread, keep the updates coming :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[1 2many]

:text-+1: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[wildburkey]

Thanks Sam, I will keep ya'll up to date as I go.

[Whiskyaugogo]

Awesome mate, once I started down the all grain have never looked back! :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[benpandaae86]

Cool buddy i hadnt found brendans easy mash thread

[wildburkey]

I realised the Esky I was planning on using for this project was too small this morning so decided to go shopping. I bought a 75L esky, tank connection, some 20mm threaded pipe, and a 3/4" ball valve. I know the faucet is not necessary for the recipe I am using but figured I might as well add it now for AG beer brewing down the track. I stuffed up when I drilled the hole in the esky because it is flush with the floor inside - preventing me from putting the tank connector nut on :oops: . Any ideas on what i can do to fix the connection would be greatly appreciated. The hole was too tight for the tank connection so i filed it just big enough to screw the thread through the esky wall and as is it only has a slight leak when testing with cold water, I'm thinking of using stag paste but not too sure if it would be suitable for food products. Also wondering what your thoughts are on using brass fittings eg. is it safe for food stuffs and will using different kinds of metal cause corrosion?

[wildburkey]

I have filed the bottom of the plastic tank connector nut and put a wedge in underneath the male part of the tank connector outside of the esky to even up the pressure on the inside seal and straighten things up. It still leaks a bit but is straight and tight now so i just need to find a food grade temp resistant sealant :think:

[wildburkey]

Thinking this stuff looks the goods - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Food-Grade-RTV-Silicone-Sealant-Adhesive-Red-High-Temp-10-3oz-/281065082260

[stretch69]

Brass fittings are fine, just pickle them first

[wildburkey]

I sealed the tank connector to the esky with stag paste, I am going to heat 50L of water tomorrow to see if I can bring it to boil using the BBQ then run the water into the esky and leave to cool so I can test for plastic or sealant tastes in the water. Maybe I'm just paranoid but I am beginning to doubt the idea of using plastics with hot liquids. Here is a link to the style of system and method I am planning to use for brewing beer.

[1 2many]

I use the gravity setup and it works great, the only thing I would suggest is to make a a manifold ontop of the grain bed to cover the entire area when you sparge you will get a better yield out of your grain rather than have a hose in the one spot. Like below. :handgestures-thumbupleft:

290904 036.jpg

[wildburkey]

I have been quite busy and put the project aside for a while, during this time I decided to change a few things on the mash tun. Today I finally started trying to solder a manifold, here's a few pics of how the project is coming along for any one that might be interested - I suck at soldering I know :oops:
I stopped before soldering the elbows while I decide weather to put T pieces in to extend back a little further to some end caps but not really sure it would achieve all that much - I'm going to play around drawing up some designs this evening before going any further.
Also considering putting a fake floor in to even things up and have realised that the wheel arches are going to be a pain in the ass :?