My New Single Vessel Brewery

[floydmeddler]

I set myself a goal: To build a single vessel brewery that sill fill a corny. Here she is:

[floydmeddler]

More pics

[floydmeddler]

Sorry for sideways files. Click them and they should turn 'upright'. Does so in Chrome anyway.

I brewed on her today and it went perfectly. Too perfectly actually... I found it all a bit disconcerting!
So happy with it. Love how it looks and how it performs. 72% efficiency. Happy days!!

Total cost was around £300. Not cheap - however. I wanted to treat myself. I deserve it after 10 years of making beer!!

Can't wait to brew again.

[floydmeddler]

All packs away beautifully.

[jaroporter]

nice work dude. looks nice n compact. like the look of the controller - is that a repurposed bench heater or something?!

[floydmeddler]

Cheers man. No - It's this project box https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200x175x70mm ... 2749.l2649

[FermentedCulture]

Very cool.

[donchiquon]

That’s a great build - congratulations


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LeeH]

I like how you have put the pump in that box. Tidy job.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[chefgage]

Looks very good that . I have a three vessel system but was looking to build a single vessel system. Theres something about building your own system thats more satisfying than just buying a ready made one.

But i must admit i went the buy a grainfather route.

[MashTim]

Nice and neat. When viewed on a phone using Tapatalk the photos are oriented correctly, but in the forum webpages they are not!

[cerbera84]

good work! i have a few questions!

a) regarding the malt pipe, what holes/slits are in the base?
b) how are you avoiding an overflow?
c) is the lid of the malt pipe fixed to the malt pipe during recirc?
d) do you stir during the mash?
e) are you sparging?

Cheers
Ben

[floydmeddler]

Thanks all.

Cerbera,

a) regarding the malt pipe, what holes/slits are in the base?

There is no malt pipe. Currently there is one 6cm hole in the centre and a false bottom sits over that. However, I'm planning on punching another two 6cm holes as there seemed to be bit of a threat of an overflow yesterday.

b) how are you avoiding an overflow?

I had to throttle back on the flow to prevent an overflow from happening. Hopefully two more holes will allow for faster drainage drainage.

c) is the lid of the malt pipe fixed to the malt pipe during recirc?

On the lid there is a camlock connect. The wort recirculates through that. Was crystal clear yesterday.
d) do you stir during the mash?

Noooooooo. I want super clear wort.

e) are you sparging?

No. This is a no sparge brewery. I could if I wanted to but doubt I ever will due to time. I'm over the moon with 72% efficiency so all seems to be working out nicely.

Hope that answers your questions.
Floyd

[floydmeddler]

Damn. I'm now thinking that I have a bit of a design flaw. The grain became quite compact near the end of the mash. Is this down to not having a malt pipe? Will my plan to make two more holes make a difference with overflow/grain compacting?

Any advice welcome!

Damn... knew this was too good to be true...

[cerbera84]

Hi Floyd,

I wouldn't panic just yet! What I refer to as the malt pipe is purely your inner pot. I was keen to understand how yours worked. My thoughts are that if you are recirculating with the lid on, it seems to me that it would be quite difficult to spot an overflow issue before it was too late? My MaltMother build used a central overflow pipe (like a Grainfather) to avoid this issue - mine works well in this area, but I myself am planning a redesign on this part to build it in stainless instead of copper and brass. I'm also weighing up simple recirculation (hole in lid) against an even distribution of recirc wort (eg. shower head type arrangement).

I like your use of eyelets to raise the inner pot up. I currently use a stainless trivet but its far from ideal. Your efficiency of 72% is impressive, I am hitting about 60-65% with a 5 litre sparge.

Don't give up - I find my build is developing as time goes on.

Cheers,

Ben