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BIAB Electric Brewing System from HighGravity.com

Post #1 made 11 years ago
by funkhouserb
I'm a long time 3-tier all grain brewer from California who is being seduced by the lure of digital electric BIAB brewing. While I welded my own 3-tier setup, I don't have much electronics expertise like viewtopic.php?f=24&t=1026 so I'm looking into pre-made options. The Braumeister is out of my price range, but this unit seems more affordable:

http://www.highgravitybrew.com/productc ... 8p3987.htm

So what does the collective wisdom of this group think of this setup from HighGravity.com? 10 gallon electric digital BIAB for just over $1000 USD? You guys have more experience than I do with this stuff, but given my desire to avoid doing my own electronics, does this seem like a reasonable setup for the price?

Cheers,
Last edited by funkhouserb on 26 Nov 2012, 07:41, edited 2 times in total.
Bill
www.simplehomebrew.com
www.woodfiredpizza.org

Post #2 made 11 years ago
by thughes
I posess no more "electronics expertise" than the next guy! I just read a lot, studied even more, asked a bunch of questions, and then forged ahead with my build. Got lucky that it worked on the first try and didn't burn down the house or electrocute me. I reckon I have @ $750 (USD) in parts tied up in my rig plus the time spent building it and working the bugs out (that includes the GFI-protected electrical subpanel I had to install in my basement).

That being said, $1000 for a system that gets delivered to your door and all you have to do is take it out of the box, plug it in, and brew with it doesn't seem all that unreasonable, especially for someone that doesn't have the time or ambition to learn the engineering side of things. You could punch one of your existing kettles and install your own element, purchase a cheaper control box from High Gravity, and skip the pump/recirc plumbing but you did state that you have been "seduced by the lure of digital electric BIAB brewing" so I'm thinking you want all the bells and whistles. So.....it all comes down to what your priorities are: your time or your money?

Either way, it's great to hear from another 3V brewer that is finally making the step up to BIAB. :thumbs:

---Todd
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Post #3 made 11 years ago
by 2trout
That looks like an awesome system Funk!

Does your current setup use an electric heat element or gas. Id be interested to know why you are moving to electric. Ive been debating the move to electric to skip the constant fear that I will run out of propane. Plus I pay mountain pricing for propane here, so electricity should save me a few bucks. High gravity has some good looking setups!

trout
"All I know is that the beer is good and people clamor for it. OK, it's free and that has something to do with it."
Bobbrews
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Post #5 made 11 years ago
by shibolet
i upgraded to a pump for recirculating but i don't recommend it. it's just too much trouble. i stopped recirculating during the mash.
Cube:
fermenter: Sourdough Spelt Ale, Classic Lambic, Oud Brune, Barrel Aged Belgian Dubbel
Kegs: Bob's Black IPA, Blanc Blond, Soda...
to be brewed:

Post #6 made 11 years ago
by joshua
No recommedation. Needing to clean a pump is a hobby, taking much more time!!!
Honest Officer, I swear to Drunk, I am Not God.
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Post #7 made 11 years ago
by BobBrews
BIAB attracts people with it's simplicity and excellent resulting beer. KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) is the mantra for most of us. We have tried many ideas of extracting every last drop of wort, adding different grains at different time, Adding hops at different times. New equipment to do something better. All of these things boil down to this. The simpler the method is, the better the beer is. The less we do while brewing the less chance we have to screw it up!

I am know for doing things simply. As simple as possible! I must be getting quite a reputation for this for I have overheard people saying "Here comes the simpleton"!
tap 1 Raspberry wine
tap 2 Bourbon Barrel Porter
tap 3 Czech Pilsner
tap 4 Triple IPA 11% ABV
Pipeline: Mulled Cider 10% ABV

http://cheesestradamus.com/ Brewers challenge!
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Post #8 made 11 years ago
by thughes
I watched the video for that HighGravity rig in operation and was surprised that they didn't have issues with the fact that they were recirculating at full flow rate. Unless you have a very course bag or are using rice hulls and a very course crush, the liquid can not drain back through the grain bed fast enough to keep up with the draw of the pump (especially with the stock basket). Ask me how I know this......

If you follow my thread you'll see that I don't recirculate any more either. While it is handy to eliminate temperature stratification during the initial heating of the water, a good stir accomplishes the same ends. I found that if I recir too fast it will actually pull wort from under the grain bed faster than it can filter back down through, resulting in cavitation on the surface of the element and subsequent burning of the wort (had to dump two batches because of this). Recirculating slowly actually cools the wort because you are exposing it to ambient air temps as it travels through the pump and lengths of hoses. I have found that my pot, with a full load of grain and water in it has enough thermal mass that tossing a blanket over it allows for no more than a 3-4 F drop over 90 minutes (I can always direct fire and raise temp if need be). More details here.

Bottom line: Pump and recirc is nice "bling" but in retrospect I can advise that there are better things to spend money on....such as more brewing ingredients!

---Todd
Last edited by thughes on 27 Nov 2012, 21:25, edited 2 times in total.
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Post #10 made 11 years ago
by funkhouserb
Wow, the jury sounds unanimous on this one: recirculating during mash is more trouble than it is worth. Great advice, everyone. Thank you. Given that I want to use an electric set up and would like to brew with a minimum of electronic tinkering on my part, what do you recommend? I have searched for 40 liter electric hot water urns and it seems they are all in Australia! I could pay the shipping but wondering what United States brewers are finding available?
Bill
www.simplehomebrew.com
www.woodfiredpizza.org

Post #11 made 11 years ago
by thughes
I couldn't find a true UK/Aussie style urn here in the States.

Punch one of your existing kettles, install a water heater element with this nut kit according to Kal's book (or buy the pre-assembled kit from him), and control it with a home-made PWM or the High Gravity EKC . Simple, elegant, relatively cheap.

---Todd
Last edited by thughes on 27 Nov 2012, 23:41, edited 2 times in total.
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Post #12 made 11 years ago
by funkhouserb
thughes wrote: I found that if I recir too fast it will actually pull wort from under the grain bed faster than it can filter back down through, resulting in cavitation on the surface of the element and subsequent burning of the wort
I contacted Dave at High Gravity about this issue and he replied:
"The sprinker head provides a good deal of restriction, so there is no problem with opening the ball valve all the way."

I'm leaning back toward that setup for accuracy of mash temp issues. Seems like if I use a manual controller and push a thermometer into my grain bag I may have a hard time accurately controlling the temp because of the lag time between increasing the element's power and the delayed registration of the temperature in the grain. With a constantly recirculating wort (and the probe installed inline) it seems like temperature changes will be quickly monitored.

Or maybe I just like the bling. ;)
Last edited by funkhouserb on 01 Dec 2012, 23:19, edited 2 times in total.
Bill
www.simplehomebrew.com
www.woodfiredpizza.org

Post #13 made 11 years ago
by thughes
Sprinkler head huh? That's one solution I haven't tried (although using a stainless steel shower head had crossed my mind). Maybe I'll experiment more when the memory of those 2 burned batches finally fades away.

About the bling....we all have succumbed to the lure of shiny things, it's OK!

---Todd
WWBBD?
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Post #14 made 11 years ago
by lonetexan
I WAS in the recirculating camp but I am quickly getting out of it. You will not get any more efficiency from recirculating than by simply giving it a stir every 15-20 min.

I have an electric kettle powered/controlled with an Auber PID, use it to get to the proper strike water temp, drop in the grains then set the pid on 5% on manual control. Helps maintain the temp over the 90 minute mash w/o recirculating with just a few stirs every now and then. The only time re-circulation really helps is for a mash out.

Not sure how Bob and Todd handle the mashout or if they do one.

By the way, go over to HBT and search for posts from ScubaSteve. He was in the circulation camp but finally gave it up as well after lots of modifications to a steamer basket.

Post #15 made 11 years ago
by thughes
Mashout? I set the PID for 170, recirc full blast, and stir like cray.

Never considered just setting the PID on a very low manual setting during the mash without recirc, gonna have to try that.

---Todd
WWBBD?
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Post #16 made 11 years ago
by Aces high
I was recirculating through a HERMs unit controlled by an STC1000. If you are going to recirculate, this is a good cheap way as you can control the mash temp and ramp when you want to. I was using one of the "little brown pumps" to pump it around.

it was pretty good set up, but like everyone else on here, i got bored with it and went back to a pot and a bag. Its just simple and gives good results. I still use the pump to do the whirlpool cause im too lazy to do it by hand, but thats all.

Post #18 made 11 years ago
by funkhouserb
After much soul searching (and pocketbook investigation), I returned to the KISS system. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone for your advice.


SS Kettle/basket/spigot
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007TV" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... venwebs-20
Electric Kettle Controller
http://www.highgravitybrew.com/productc ... 6p3084.htm
Heater
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BP ... venwebs-20
Locknut/ O Ring
http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.ph ... duct_id=95
Last edited by funkhouserb on 03 Dec 2012, 03:07, edited 2 times in total.
Bill
www.simplehomebrew.com
www.woodfiredpizza.org

Post #19 made 11 years ago
by thughes
Your refusal to succumb to the lure of the bling is to be commended sir! Let us know if you need any help/advice on bolting that system together. Good luck and have fun.

---Todd

wishing
he
had
been
as
sensible
when
building
his
system
WWBBD?
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Post #20 made 11 years ago
by PistolPatch
thughes wrote: ---Todd

wishing
he
had
been
as
sensible
when
building
his
system
:lol: :lol: :lol:

But you had fun Todd :peace:.

Will look forward to seeing the final pics funk. :luck:
Last edited by PistolPatch on 03 Dec 2012, 20:44, edited 2 times in total.
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Post #23 made 11 years ago
by thughes
^^ That's the way I did it (except I used a single gang box so the element could be mounted as low as possible in my kettle).
Image
Last edited by thughes on 04 Dec 2012, 23:12, edited 2 times in total.
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Post #25 made 11 years ago
by thughes
funkhouserb wrote:I keep looking for the "Like" button to let you all know how helpful you have been. Thanks a bunch. Bill.
Send us beer. :drink:
Last edited by thughes on 05 Dec 2012, 09:59, edited 2 times in total.
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