Modification to Boiling Bucket - Steam outlet

[boingy]

For recent brews I have been doing the boiling in a poly bucket sitting on top of our cooker. The reason for this location is that I am able to use the kitchen extractor hood to extract the steam. However, I have started to fear for the longevity of the extractor hood. I found I needed it on full speed and over the course of a typical boil it had to removed the steam from a gallon or so of water. Consequently there was water dripping out of the hood and in general it seemed like not such a good thing to be doing.

So... inspired by the DIY ethic of this very forum I have modified my bucket to add a steam outlet pipe on the side:



The hose (ordinary garden stuff) leads across the kitchen and out of the window. The outlet is simply one of those tank connectors from screwfix (someone linked to it on a recent post) plus a couple of inches of 15mm copper pipe. Garden hose can be slipped over the pipe if you heat the hose end in boiling water and use washing-up liquid as a lubricant.

I just completed another brew and the hose worked perfectly. I clipped the bucket lid on tightly and blocked up the vent hole with a nut and bolt. You need to make sure the steam always flows downhill to ensure that any condensation flows out of the pipe rather than blocking it.

There are a few dangers to worry about:

1. The pipe is the only pressure outlet so it must NOT get blocked.
2. The pipe gets very hot.
3. At full boil the poly lid on the bucket started to bow upwards quite alarmingly. I "solved" this by sitting a full 2 litre jug of water on the lid.

All in all a successful mod. Mind you, the end of the drive did stink of steamy, malty hops lol.

[Kristoff]

Now, that is a GOOD idea - well done, I think I may be making that mod aswell

[delboy]

What sort of evaporation do you get with that setup? I would guess its going to be way down on the typical rate with the lid off (thats a very small aperture for the steam to be vented from).
Also supposedly a lot of non too tasty compounds are evaporated off during the boil (DMS for one) with a side take off i would imagine the majority won't be vented but will instead condense on the lid and drip back into the beer.

I think a few other people have done something similar but they have went for a large aperture in the lid of the boiler and large sized tube (the type you seen on a tumble dryer) to take away the steam.

[Garth]

As Delboy has said, I would be worried the hop nasties etc would be dripping straight back into the beer rather than getting boiled off, made this mistake with my first ever AG, left the lid off ever since.

[Kristoff]

Now, that is a GOOD idea - well done, I think I may be making that mod aswell

As Delboy has said, I would be worried the hop nasties etc would be dripping straight back into the beer rather than getting boiled off, made this mistake with my first ever AG, left the lid off ever since.

Maybe I won't then

[delboy]

Now, that is a GOOD idea - well done, I think I may be making that mod aswell

As Delboy has said, I would be worried the hop nasties etc would be dripping straight back into the beer rather than getting boiled off, made this mistake with my first ever AG, left the lid off ever since.

Maybe I won't then

I think the principle is fine and if using highly modified malts like Marris otter you probably won't get as much problems with off flavours, but i think this pacticular setup would really struggle with lager malt which produces a lot more DMS (cooked cabbage flavour).

A bit of tweaking though and it might be the ideal solution for those boiling indoors

[boingy]

It's a good point but in volume terms it boiled off a similar amount of liquid to my previous boils. The rate at which the steam pours out of the end of the hosepipe has to be seen to be believed. There is a fair amount of condensation in the pipe which gurgles away from the boiler too. Of course, it is impossible to say what percentage of steam condenses back into the brew but I don't think it was very much. I'll let you know how the brew turns out. It certainly tasted fine when I pitched the yeast.

[delboy]

It's a good point but in volume terms it boiled off a similar amount of liquid to my previous boils. The rate at which the steam pours out of the end of the hosepipe has to be seen to be believed. There is a fair amount of condensation in the pipe which gurgles away from the boiler too. Of course, it is impossible to say what percentage of steam condenses back into the brew but I don't think it was very much. I'll let you know how the brew turns out. It certainly tasted fine when I pitched the yeast.

Well if you are getting a good evaporation rate then thats the main thing, that would suggest that you are getting a good vent. I suppose you could argue that your lid is being heated by the steam to the extent that a condensate isn't readily forming on it and the pressure you are producing with the boil is actively forcing the steam out of the side vent. The other ways i mentioned of venting through the lid aren't airtight (AFAIK) so in this instance the steam is vented merely by its inherient ability to rise and not reallyby any build up in pressure, maybe you are on to something with the pressurised setup

I still think a batch of lager malt would be a good test though if it came through that without any DMS flavours then you are on a winner i think!

[boingy]

We might need someone else to test the lager malt theory - I never brew with it

My biggest concern about the setup was that the wort is boiling at a slightly increased pressure. In the same way that a pressure cooker gives slighly different results to normal cooking I wondered whether the boil would be affected. However, I suspect that this will not be the dominant variable in my brews heheh.

[Aleman]

DMS is not going to be a problem, it's boiling point is ~35-37C IIRC . . . now it is possible ( but very very unlikely) that the airspace in the boiler above the boil is under this, but I would expect that the airspace would be pretty much 100C . . . its full of steam after all. this means that the DMS will stay in the airspace . . . which is continually being flushed with steam . . . so out the pipe it goes. . . . . The real issue is going to be during the initial phases of cooling where DMS is still being produced at a prodigious rate . . . this is the time you need the wort uncovered . . .after about 40C the rate of DMS production falls rapidly, so you could restore the lid at this point. . . . although I try not to do so until the wort is under the BP of DMS

[jonny8ball]

carnt you get the bigger diameter tank connector for the steam to get out quicker and safer like the 22mm or the 28mm instead of the 15 as used on this one

http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;jsess ... button.y=0

[leewink]

Sounds like a good idea to me, whats in the steam will come out the outlet over the boil length.

I am having a 50ltr stainless made at the malt miller as we speak, and I plan to boil with the lid one, im having 5 x 60mm holes bored in the front side of the lid, as I cant see any point in evaporating litres out of the boil.

I have done a test with my old plastic boiler, covered the top with the lid about 2/3, and it made no difference to taste, and saved evap.

If someone can tell me exactly what is caused by leaving the lid on, and what exact "nasties", then maybe i'll reconsider.

[leewink]

... although i wouldnt want to boil a great deal in litres worth in it, thats gonna be one feirce boil with it lidded.

[BarnsleyBrewer]

Do it like mine, never get any off taste.
When brewing I allow the pipe in the middle to sag and collect the condensation then drain away.


BB

[boingy]

Blimey, I hadn't noticed this one had been resurrected after more than two years...

The hosepipe worked fine but these days I have moved on to an ali boil pan and I now use a 32mm poly waste pipe for the steam outlet. Details of it are posted somewhere on here. The same principles apply - try to get the condensate to run away from the boiler rather than drip back into it.

As for the boil vigour, I boil with gas so I can turn it down to get a decent rolling boil. You really don't need a super-vigorous boil.