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New twin Urn System

Post #1 made 15 years ago
by Beachbum
[center]Urnest and Urnold do Wort[/center]

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I was fed up with spending five or six hours and only getting a cornie plus 4 bottles out of it, so I bought a second electric urn (and bag and hopsock) to do double batches (or two different batches) in little extra time, by slightly staggering or offsetting the two brews. Instead of sitting around waiting for the next stage, I was running around like a blue arsed fly for a few hours. Great fun.

First sea-trials today for the new system. Two 40 litre urns mounted side by side on a wooden deck on top of a wheeled tool trolley.
Brew #1 - Australian Pale Ale, 60 min mash, 60 min boil
Brew #2 - English Golden Summer Ale, 90 min mash (has adjuncts), 60 min boil.

Prepare equipment, get strike liquor going, weigh ingredients etc.
#1 is on the right of the picture in the Crown Urn, will be doughed in first, #2 on the left in the Birko Urn
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The two urns work off different circuits, don't attempt this off one circuit as you will blow something.
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OK let's go, dough in #1
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Lag #1 and set timer#1 to 60 minutes
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Dough in #2, lag and set timer#2 to 90 minutes
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And under the quilt boys
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Mash out #1 (hoist the bag clear of the element, power on and heat till 75 degree mash achieved) then hoist and drain whilst bringing to boil.
Remove bag, roll the entire rig to the right, and when boiling fit hop sock and add hops. Set timer#1 to 45 mins (for kettle finings addition)
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When timer#2 sounds, repeat the process for #2 which is now sitting under the sky hook. When boiling, Set timer #2 to 45 mins

Urnest and Urnold full steam ahead - great head, boys.
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When timer#1 sounds, add kettle finings and reset timer#1 to 15 mins.
ditto timer#2 - also late hop additions for #2

When timer #1 sounds , remove hopsock, lid on the urn and steam briefly to sterilize headspace, turn power off and leave to settle. reset timer#1 to 20 mins
Ditto #2

when timer #1 sounds for the last time, fill cube #1
ditto #2

2 cubes
Cube #1
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Cube #2
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Do cleanup, and thank you Urnest and Urnold for a good brew day . :cool:







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Last edited by Beachbum on 26 Jul 2010, 21:55, edited 6 times in total.

Post #5 made 15 years ago
by Beachbum
iijakii wrote:Nice!

How much are those Urns?
Hi iijakii, I don't know where you are from but in Australia these 40L urns are around $A 250 , which would be around $US 220 - I've had the Birko Urn for nearly 2 years so it's well and truly paid for itself, and bought the Crown last week. Both Australian made.

Beer prices are pretty high in Australia - for example up to $A20 for a six pack of premium beer and even $14 for megaswill so even an investment of a few hundred dollars quickly pays off, if you are just looking at it from the point of view of $$, That's one reason why so many people get into brewing here via beer kits they can buy from the supermarket.
Last edited by Beachbum on 27 Jul 2010, 21:23, edited 6 times in total.

Post #6 made 15 years ago
by PistolPatch
LOL on Urnest and Urnold!

Great post beachbum!

BB welcome to the world of side by side brewing. Very few brewers can claim to be able to do side by side brews. As BIAB grows there will be a lot more as with BIAB you only need two vessels to side by side instead of six. This is a huge advantage for any brewer and for a skilled brewer such as yourself there is much you can do.

Good on you!
PP
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Post #7 made 15 years ago
by iijakii
Yeah I don't even know where I'd find a 40L urn here in the US. Guess I'll need to check out restaurant supply stores.

What kind of element is in yours? How long does it take to get up to boil? I'm debating about making a heatstick and buying a new kettle. I'm just unsure how i want to go about everything. I already spend too much money on this hobby lol. Really screwed myself over by buying 'starter gear' that was damn near useless.
Last edited by iijakii on 27 Jul 2010, 22:28, edited 6 times in total.

Post #8 made 15 years ago
by jmbingham
iijaki - I was looking into the urns too seem to be very popular with our friends across the pond not so much here.Id look on ebay or your local restaurant supply store. I'm thinking about converting my keggel into an E-kettel, a guy in my homebrew club just put on a little talk about how to do it looked pretty easy.
JB

Post #9 made 15 years ago
by widdley
Great post BB,

I recommend you buy another Urn then you'll have a 'proper' 3 vessel system :lol:

Question: There has been a lot of debate on the varous Australian forums re: Birko versus Crown. Now that you have both sitting side by side, do you have a preference :?:

cheers,
Dave

Post #10 made 15 years ago
by iijakii
jmbingham wrote:iijaki - I was looking into the urns too seem to be very popular with our friends across the pond not so much here.Id look on ebay or your local restaurant supply store. I'm thinking about converting my keggel into an E-kettel, a guy in my homebrew club just put on a little talk about how to do it looked pretty easy.
JB
Seems to be cause of the 110v here in the ol states.
Last edited by iijakii on 29 Jul 2010, 12:21, edited 6 times in total.

Post #11 made 15 years ago
by Beachbum
Using those heat sticks would be a perfectly good way of turning a keggle into an "urn" by any other name. After mash out it takes about 35 minutes to get to a rolling boil using the urn element alone. Before I got the second urn I was thinking of getting a heat stick to hang over the side, to get up to a quicker boil. I wouldn't do it with my new 2-urn setup as I'd probably short out the entire block, or cause Swanbank D power station to suddenly kick in :D

RE the Australian urns, my new Crown urn has an exposed element and gives a great rolling boil. Also the tap is a more robust looking quality. It's taller and thinner than the Birko which I like - less evaporation loss during boil.

There is an American brand, the "Buffalo" boiler I believe.

Post #13 made 14 years ago
by Lylo
I am in Western Canada.I brew outside with propane,and wondering if one of these heatstick thingies might help me with keeping a steady mash temp.Right now(Mid May) it is not a big problem, but with winter only a few months away....
AWOL

Post #14 made 14 years ago
by shibolet
Lylo wrote:I am in Western Canada.I brew outside with propane,and wondering if one of these heatstick thingies might help me with keeping a steady mash temp.Right now(Mid May) it is not a big problem, but with winter only a few months away....
Lylo, what type of electricity do you guys get in Canada? 220 or 110?

if you build a heatstick it will definitely help you in the cold winter brewing.

i ordered one of these from Germany.
Last edited by shibolet on 20 May 2011, 16:32, edited 6 times in total.
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 #15 made 14 years ago
by Lylo
Our normal household current is 110,but I am so close to my panel that 220 would be easy.That stick looks interesting,did you have to modify it or just hold onto your balls and drop it in?
AWOL

Post #16 made 14 years ago
by shibolet
i waited for one of my brewing mates to try it first. it works great. balls are in-tacked.
no modification required.
Cube:
fermenter: Sourdough Spelt Ale, Classic Lambic, Oud Brune, Barrel Aged Belgian Dubbel
Kegs: Bob's Black IPA, Blanc Blond, Soda...
to be brewed:
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