eBIAB Drain Question

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wattieuk

eBIAB Drain Question

Post by wattieuk » Fri May 12, 2017 5:12 pm

I am about to start an eBIAB build - I have a 50l Thermopot and 2.4kw element from Brewbuilder.
This plus loads of stainless elbows/taps etc was purchased about 2 years ago and has sat in the garage after a house move.....

Anyway, about to build and I'm having 2nd thoughts about a deck drain - looking around most seem to be side exit.

Question - for an eBIAB setup should I keep to my original plan and go for the bottom/deck drain or should I opt for a side exit?

aamcle
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Re: eBIAB Drain Question

Post by aamcle » Fri May 12, 2017 6:49 pm

Both will work, if you have the bit's for bottom drain there is no reason to not to use them. My BIAB is based on a 40 litre Buffalo boiler and is bottom drain.


aamcle

Fil
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Re: eBIAB Drain Question

Post by Fil » Fri May 12, 2017 11:41 pm

if you have access to a belt sander the bottom drain option is the easiest to finish neatly ;) as well as providing you with minimal deadspace losses. i would suggest a front/side bottom drain as its both cheaper( less materials) and with a forward tip will reduce deadspace losses to mls.
ist update for months n months..
Fermnting: not a lot..
Conditioning: nowt
Maturing: Challenger smash, and a kit lager
Drinking: dry one minikeg left in the store
Coming Soon Lots planned for the near future nowt for the immediate :(

wattieuk

Re: eBIAB Drain Question

Post by wattieuk » Sat May 13, 2017 7:38 am

Thanks both,
This will be my first all grain attempt once built, tried a few tin extract kits over the years but didn't like the results. Listened to a HomeBrewRadio podcast on BIAB and I had to give BIAB a try, having not even tried a BIAB on a stove or plastic bucket I'm relying on forums like this to try and navigate a good build from the kit I have. I had a plan in my head when I bought the kit, but I can't find the article I used. It was a Thermopot, with Kettle, bottom exit and used Stainless Barbs + Silicone hoses rather than any copper work.

I think my main concern over the bottom drain was would I transfer any rubbish/crud from the bottom after boil into my FV? Whereas if I went for side exit whilst I would have dead space I could leave an inch or two for the rubbish/crud/drop-out....

During BIAB would I see any such rubbish dropping to the bottom? Am I best to leave it behind or is this what I want to get into the FV?

AFewTooMany

Re: eBIAB Drain Question

Post by AFewTooMany » Sun May 14, 2017 7:20 am

With a bottom drain you will get a bit of carry over into the fv (which isn't the end of the world) but if you ever decide to go to 3v the same pot will make an excellent mash tun

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Fil
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Re: eBIAB Drain Question

Post by Fil » Sun May 14, 2017 9:45 pm

depends on how your filtering your hops, with a bottom drain kettle a common solution is a false bottom. with free flowing flower hops and a post boil rest these will fall over a fb adding an extra filter to remove break and other trub. if employing a cfc you could consider recirculation to emply the hop bed filter to minimise the impact of cold break in the FV too.

However if that concerned about the trub you can always rack off it once it settles or invest in a conical to dump it.

fwiw i have a minimal deadspace kettle that i drain fully via a cfc directly into the fv cold break and all ;)
ist update for months n months..
Fermnting: not a lot..
Conditioning: nowt
Maturing: Challenger smash, and a kit lager
Drinking: dry one minikeg left in the store
Coming Soon Lots planned for the near future nowt for the immediate :(

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Kev888
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Re: eBIAB Drain Question

Post by Kev888 » Sun May 14, 2017 10:33 pm

The bottom drain makes rinsing/flushing etc easier IMO. Whether it draws more gunk into your FV depends on how good your hop filter is. Or if you don't intend to use one, having the drain towards one edge of the base will help, combined with whirlpooling (e.g. with a paddle) which will concentrate debris in the middle. The edge location also helps if your bottom drain has a raised lip, since tipping the pot towards the drain leaves even less dead-space. You can also put a small up-stand in/on the drain to increase dead-space when you want to leave stuff behind - e.g a bit of tight fitting silicone tube pushed into the drain.
Kev

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