Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

I originally wanted to copy a 50L braumeister , since theyre so compact and efficient, but in order to copy one you need a custom element which according to aussie home brewers can cost between $200 and $300 .... so at work i have a fair few beer brewers that do HERMS , RIMS and BIAB that i can count on for details. Since i will mainly be using this for peated scotches ,,, then later on ill be movie onto beers ,,, mainly IPA , little creatures, fat yack etc. so this is going to useful for a long time.

This is the base that im going to use , its a 60L aluminium pot
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/200824357741 ... 1423.l2649

Ive already sourced my voltage controller , for the time being its going to be manual using a PID and voltage SSR-25
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/230753283975 ... 1497.l2649
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/280776557335 ... 1497.l2649

Eventually once its all running im going to a PIC programmed controller with a digital display, so its automatic ,,, but baby steps first.

i figure this way with constant water feeding over the element via the pump there is a reduced risk to scortch the grain and unlike the braumeister you can fill to any level , unlike a braumeister that cant do smaller batches than what its designed for ??? ...

Any thoughts ???

this is the website of the ebay place http://handyimports.com.au/catering-kit ... /pots.html

they also do combo pots , ie a 60L + 80L for $202... nice idea on the suction ports :handgestures-thumbupleft:

once i get my pot , Mac has kindly offered to investigate the possibilities of a custom element ,,, i never thought of asking. which means that i could just copy the braumeister since it was the element that was giving me troubles ... I'll keep you all posted with pics.

also can someone suggest pumps ? I was looking at 2 of these in parrallel

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/12V-DC-Mini- ... 6071832%26

Interested to see how this turns out. I've been looking at doing something more 'automated' myself. Been doing AG (BIAB) brews for a few years now, but the effort/time needed for a brew day has put me off lately.

I was looking at doing something like this. It would be controlled by a BrewTroller. The top left input is a motorized ballvalve to allow automatic filling with water. I would use a 'bubbler' setup to detect how full the kettle is. The two valves on the right are used to empty the kettle, as well as recirculation during the mash. The bottom valve connects to the pump on the stand, and then from the pump to the top valve (using camlocks). Still working out the basic design, but for now, it doesn't seem like it will be too hard to put together seeing as I have the keg setup already, just a matter of having the funds.

Linny wrote:also can someone suggest pumps ? I was looking at 2 of these in parrallel

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/12V-DC-Mini- ... 6071832%26

Looks similar to the 'little brown pump' (http://gryphonbrewing.com.au/product_in ... cts_id=502), and they have some pretty good reviews. Generally they last long enough for most people until they decide (read: have the funds) they want to upgrade.

There is a 'mid-range' pump between the one you listed and a march pump though. The 'klaxin' pumps get a pretty good rep as well, but you're looking a bit more for them.

http://kaixinpump.en.alibaba.com/produc ... _pump.html

Here is a thread over at AHB that has quite a bit of information on them:
http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/67670-kaixin-pumps/

I'm still deciding on the pump as well for my setup.

LX77 wrote:I think Chugger pumps are in the same ball park as March ?
http://www.chuggerpumps.com/
Was thinking of two of them for my setup.

+1 for chugger pumps. Definitely a great alternative to March Pumps!

LX77 wrote:I'm going for a direct copy of the "electric brewery" controller. I have everything to put it together, but still sourcing a bloody 22mm green lee style punch.
The brewtroller is pretty cool :music-deathmetal: , looks like two projects I'll have to keep my eye on :D

I love the 'electric brewery', but I don't think I'd be able to drop that kind of cash anytime soon :laughing-rolling: When you get yours done I'd love to see some pictures. That thing is a damn masterpiece. His basement build is absolutely ridiculous.

The BrewTroller seems like it has a lot of potential for setting up an auto build without having to spend big bucks, but I like the simple, yet professional look of the electric brewery.

Those punches look handy, would much rather that than risk a step-bit. Surely there must be something like that here in Aus, seems a bit expensive to get from the US :angry-banghead:

Have you sourced all your parts locally for the controller?

Its fine LX ... its good talking about ideas ,,, call it fine tuning :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Any more progress on this yet Linny?

Found this awesome little setup the other night on HBT. Might have a few things you can look at for ideas.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/single- ... ne-311273/

If I ever get started on my build anytime soon, I'll be keeping that thread nearby because I just know I'll end up destroying an expensive pot if I do it my way first :lol:.

Yeah there is progress but the plan has changed (like it always does) :angry-banghead: well l already ordered the Voltage Controller . So I'm Waiting for that . but l found a 1" ferrule In the Shed and I'm Stealing a element from the hooker (Bubbler) Since I Only use One . l also have a Spare keg So I'M just going ghetto style with He toP of the keg cut open with a grain basket and a Circulating pump and the element and drain in the bottom. only need to order the pump tomorrow . figure I can Save about $300 . the beer brewers at work reckon l Still should get close to 80% Conversion which is good.

Haha, I know what you mean.

I'm sure you'll do great with that setup. My 19L BigW pot with just a voile bag got me 80% efficiency so once you get it up and running and have a few runs under your belt you'll be right. Having a few brewers you can contact is just a bonus.

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

Have you decided on the pump yet?

(Edit) if you remove the top completely you can actually get a bigw pot inside...just need to drill the holes in it :lol:

yeah i run THe Same setup Atm with the big W pot . Since l'M now Just Circulating water rather than pushing water through grain I'M just going to use a 12 VDC micro magnetic pump from ebay

Well I finally started my Tun ,,, had a few peices and valves laying around (from my VM still project that got over taking from my bubbler) still need to get a 1" BSP blank and my PID voltage controller & pump is still on its way :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Im not in a real hurry as ive still got 4 gens of makers mark clone to run, then im onto the peated scotches :dance:

Well a bit of a Update , well getting thing's to "work" is becoming a pain LOL ... slowly but surely things are showing up from ebay . but as its all coming in I'm noticing where ive made mistakes or whats come in the mail isnt quite like what the picture was ....

most of my issues are coming from the controller side of things , first off was the famous PID controller stuff up that i managed to fix here




then the thermo couples showed up today .... no way theyre water tight, so off i go looking , the best it seems that a water tight thermocouple is $50 , my two thermocouples cost $2 each :laughing-rolling: , so i decided to silver solder the back of 1 of them with the butane torch the result is below



chucked the soldered one and the original one in a pot of water , both read the same micro voltage :handgestures-thumbupleft: so i think my little mod is going to work :happy-partydance:

Nice trick linny , i like it. :handgestures-thumbupleft: :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Bit of a update , still waiting for my pump ...but i figured i could get started , the bottom pick up is upside down but i put it that way to show it off

still have to drill the holes for the top but im pretty happy with it so far :handgestures-thumbupleft: hopefully this weekend i can weld all my ferrules on

Well not much has been happening with this ,,, its not like me. I usually get in and get it done, but between deciding how i actually want to attack it and sourcing parts its becoming a nightmare. Not Much has actually changed , just been drilling holes and waiting for more parts still.... though in the meantime i have with the help of my next door neighbour made a bottle capper , crude but it works better than the one i have now. Cleaned some hand me down bottles today so they just have to be sterilized later.... now to finish this mash tun so i can actually drink a beer !

Well lots of progress made ,,, all the heavy lifting is done :handgestures-thumbupleft: and its all plumbed up with no leaks. I do have to solder the top arm , but im figuring out what im going to do with the false bottom. All what left is now to wire up the controller and build the box for it ,,, then to make it pretty :happy-partydance: :happy-partydance:

If i ever was to build this again , i would flip the keg upside down and cut the bottom as the lid, since i didnt have enough room on the bottom and needed to weld feet on, and drilling the holes on the top ring i would go slightly smaller ( i used a 3mm drill )

More Progress today :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Thats awesome linny should work great , your giving me ideas. haha