Steam extraction ideas, please

[guypettigrew]

In the next few months a single storey extension will be built on the side of our house. One part of it will be a utility room and brewery for my home brew. Usual 25 litre length. Nothing commercial!

The plans are currently with the local council. Our architect reckons the plans should go through with no problem.

How do I get rid of the steam from the boiler? I don't want a Heath Robinson 'tube through the window' type of set up. The architect is asking around for ideas.

I've tried the boiler under the extraction hood in our kitchen. Hopeless. Steam condenses round the edge of the extractor and on the wall. Within 10 minutes water is dripping back onto the worktop.

Earlier today I called into a local brewpub and asked the brewer how he got rid of the steam. He uses an enclosed kettle with a vertical 10cm pipe from the top of the kettle and then two right angles to take it down to a drain. He runs cold water into the pipe after the second right angle for the full length of the boil to condense the steam. No water jacket, just cold water running into the steam pipe!

Currently looking at commercial extraction canopies, but my instinct tells me there must be other ways.

Guy

[themadhippy]

Usual 25 litre length.

open the window an put a fan the other side

[chefgage]

Usual 25 litre length.

open the window an put a fan the other side

This. I looked at all sorts of ideas as i brew in the kitchen but ended up siting the boiler near the window and then positioning a fan so it blows the steam out if the window.
I did find though that some fans are better than others for this purpose. I have one fan that is totally useless for blowing the steam, its a square frame type thing. The usual round frame type fan works to get rid of the steam.

[IPA]

This what I use and it is very effective.

[guypettigrew]

Thanks for the ideas so far.

Siting the boiler in front of a window probably won't be possible, sadly.

Your idea looks good, IPA. Is there a fan somewhere in the set up? And is there any problem with condensation collecting in the tube and running back into the boiler?

Guy

[lord groan]

I tried a few things before settling on the simplest I could come up with. I tried a hood - too much dripping condensation, an open door - meh, then I made a removable panel on the outside of my brewshed located just above the top edge of the boiler, screwed 4 old computer fans across the gap and wired them to a 12v supply, a strip of dpc which slopes down to the outside runs under the fans to catch drips and channel them out. They can easily clear all the steam from the boiler and although they also get condensation on them that runs out of the shed. Obviously with a proper extension as your brewery your walls will be a lot thicker so you'd need to modify this a bit, but hopefully its something to think about?
What about one (or two) of those bathroom extractor fans - http://www.screwfix.com/p/manrose-mg100 ... _container
My brewshed:
assorted fans at rear

[IPA]

Thanks for the ideas so far.

Siting the boiler in front of a window probably won't be possible, sadly.

Your idea looks good, IPA. Is there a fan somewhere in the set up? And is there any problem with condensation collecting in the tube and running back into the boiler?

Guy

The fan is situated between the two lengths of tubing and no the condense does not run back into the BM. Even if it did it would be sterile.

[Fil]

I tried a few things too, and now also rely on a natural air flow out the door to carry the boil steam out supplemented with a fan as needed.

[orlando]

I use a domestic cooker hood. The key to it is to remove the filter panels and place an empty ex-ice cream carton under the motor, that was where a lot of condensation gathered. It extracts to the outside.

[guypettigrew]

Thanks for all the suggestions, much appreciated.

After an internet search I found a company called 'Just Fans'. They responded very quickly to my query and have suggested a wall mounted fan which will change the air in the room every 30 seconds. The brewery room will be about 30m3. The fan will vent to the outside through a downward pointing 90 degree bend so the beer smelling steam doesn't bother the neighbour too much.

Seems like a good solution. Except I now need to work out how to get fresh air into the room. If the extractor is placed too close to an open window (to let fresh air in) then the steam will just end up going round in circles!! But perhaps that won't matter. Ah well, a problem for another day. We're still at least a couple of months away from getting the extension built.

Guy

[IPA]

Thanks for all the suggestions, much appreciated.

After an internet search I found a company called 'Just Fans'. They responded very quickly to my query and have suggested a wall mounted fan which will change the air in the room every 30 seconds. The brewery room will be about 30m3. The fan will vent to the outside through a downward pointing 90 degree bend so the beer smelling steam doesn't bother the neighbour too much.

Seems like a good solution. Except I now need to work out how to get fresh air into the room. If the extractor is placed too close to an open window (to let fresh air in) then the steam will just end up going round in circles!! But perhaps that won't matter. Ah well, a problem for another day. We're still at least a couple of months away from getting the extension built.

Guy

If the intake is not situated directly above the boiler believe me you will have a steam filled room especially in winter

[guypettigrew]

If the intake is not situated directly above the boiler believe me you will have a steam filled room especially in winter

Once the room's built and I know where the boiler will be going I'll be able to decide exactly where the fan goes. I'm planning on it being in the wall directly behind the boiler and about 30cm above it.

At an extraction rate of 60 M3 a minute the company reckons it should be able to handle the steam. I explained I boil for 90 minutes with a loss of about 12 litres of liquid during this time.

Fans with an extraction rate of up to 275 M3 a minute are available, although this might be going too far. I'd probably have to hold onto something solid to make sure I'm not pulled through! Also, this will be an indoor room with central heating. Shouldn't ever get much below 20C.

If it's a complete failure I'll just have to start thinking again!

Guy

[joe-mc]

Hi Guy,
I'm in a very similar situation.
How did it work out with the fan?
Any good?
Joe

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[guypettigrew]

Hi Joe

The plan changed! The big rebuild turned out to be too expensive and time consuming. It was 'downsized' and the existing garage dry lined and set up as an indoor brewery with a cellar included. The project has only just been finished, so the first brew won't be until Friday or Saturday. The fan I ended up with will change the air in the brewery (5m x 3m x 2.5m) about twice a minute on full speed. Hopefully that'll be enough to keep the room clear of steam during the boil.

The final project is in this thread.

I'll update the build thread when I know how well the whole set up works.

Guy