With all the talk about chugger pumps over the last week or so, I've starting looking around for bits and pieces with the intention to do a complete rebuild ( at some stage).
So far I've found a store on ebay in Germany that sells plate chillers at a much more competitive price than here.
So basically I'm looking for any tried and tested websites or sellers for all the bits and bobs associated with a full HLT , mash & boiler setup. Stainless preferably. All quick disconnect and as automated as possible without forking out for a Braumeister system.
Looking for best price quick disconnects, thermowells, valves, and all the other fun stuff that goes with a nice fancy setup.
This for me is a project that I plan on slowly putting together and have ready when I eventually have the space for it.
Also good to have a list of suppliers all in one place.
Cheers
Nigel.
For stainless pipe fittings e.g. ball valves, ferrule fittings try searching the dailyappliance2010 store on ebay. The stuff is a good bit cheaper than the US where you can also get great stuff. http://www.mcmaster.com/ is a site I have used in the past for every kind of plumbing related thing you can imagine. They won't ship to europe but if you can get somebody with a US address (or use the US equivalent of parcel motel) they are an option.
I spent a bit of time looking at the build plans on the http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/ where they detail all of the steps, parts and instructions for building an electric brewery. Even if you don't follow what they do there web site has loads of useful/interesting information on different aspects of building the brewery as well as details of multiple sites where you can buy stuff.
Shanna
Morebeer have everything if you have a US contact who will forward it to you.
Angel homebrew in Uk are good. Very responsive to email unlike gomebrewbuilder.
Dont buy the female QDs from my beerandwine. They don't seal propely.
Defo buy a bigger surface area plate chiller than you think you need.
Brew hardware in the US but as HB says you need a friend.
@nigel_c
I'm in the process of doing an electric brewery clone. In terms of your OP I would have this advice. Plan your build, review it, plan it again, review, plan, review, and then start sourcing. I started collecting parts in February last year and have changed my mind a few times in terms of design and have had to order extra equipment from the same supplier more than once, doubling my shipping costs.
Be very clear about how you want your brew rig to look like, what components you want to use, how they will all work together. But most importantly, base it on how you want to brew, the brewing style you like and the types of beers you want to make, how often you brew, the space you have.
I've made some changes compared to the electric brewery site because I wanted greater flexibility in what I could do. And at this stage I believe it will deliver.
Check out my build thread as I list some of the companies that I have bought from.
http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.com/forum/index.php?topic=5267.0
PM if you have any questions or would like to chat about it in greater detail.
Quote from: Hop Bomb on April 30, 2014, 10:18:03 PM
Morebeer have everything if you have a US contact who will forward it to you.
Angel homebrew in Uk are good. Very responsive to email unlike gomebrewbuilder.
Dont buy the female QDs from my beerandwine. They don't seal propely.
Defo buy a bigger surface area plate chiller than you think you need.
How can you order from Angel?
Order from Angel Homebrew by emailing them directly. They'll open the site so you can order from outside of the UK
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Cheers :)
Yep. The electric brewery is mighty fine.
I'm looking to build the rims tube.
http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24952
Anybody know where I could get the pipe fittings? First bit of googling has come up with nothing.
Would be looking for the following.
QTY------ITEM #----------DESCRIPTION
1--------S4N11/2X6--------MALE NPT NIPPLE 1 ½" X 6"
2--------S4T11/2------------FEMALE NPT TEE 1 ½"
1--------S4B11/2X1--------1 ½" MALE NPT X 1" FEMALE NPT BUSHING
3--------S4B11/2X1/2-----1 ½" MALE NPT X 1/2" FEMALE NPT BUSHING
1--------S4B1/2X1/4-------1/2" MALE NPT X 1/4" FEMALE NPT BUSHING
I've found a rims tube on eBay and works out at about €90 delivered. Would still need disconnects, thermowell and the actual element so am looking to possibly build the lot myself. (With a little help from mates in the know)
www.homebrewbuilder.co.uk (http://www.homebrewbuilder.co.uk) ?
Would be looking for more of a plumbing suppliers that could pick up the parts in. Thanks anyway.
Ah decisions decisions. The more I look into it HERMS looks to be the better system. Less chance of grain scorching and using the HLT to kill 2 birds basically. Anybody care to put the final nail in the RIMS coffin and persuade me HERMS is the way to go?
I plan of getting a plate chiller so my coil chiller could be put to a new use.
Nigel you chaps still doing a brewday at some point love to show you how simple it is especially with a chugger.
By far the best sysyems are the herms set up where small coil fits into a kettle loads on homebrew.co.uk they are the most responsive and easier to transfer heat into your wort again without burning it, don't bother with coil in your hlt.
Dempseys is good too if you ever get the chance.
Mashed today for 90 mins
Temp minute 1 67 degrees
Temp minute 89 67 degrees
didn't budge the entire time
invest in a decent pid not the cheap ebay ones.
Nigel,
Basically you will not get NPT fittings in europe. They are USA.
However 1/2" and 3/4" fittings are virtually interchangeable.
They are both 14 threads-per-inch.
The main difference is the thread angle (60 degrees for NPT and 55 for bsp). This then leads to a slight diff in diameters.
However as we are using "tappered" fittings then the difference will be compensated for.
Once you have a couple of threads engaged with some ptfe tape then you are good to go.
HOWEVER: Please don't try this in HP hydraulic circuits!
Its is possible to get NPT/BSP converter couplings/nipples but in our cases prob. not worth it .
So nigel, if you want to use all npt then no problems order from the US (recall OZ brewer iirc paid €100 plus duty on his fittings order!
Otherwise stick to europe for bsp! And yes the whole of europe uses bsp (as does China) for its pipe threads.
What would Mr Joseph Whitworth have thought
That was a "Ok where can i get this stuff and rebuild it here" type post. I like the small footprint of the rims system but after a bit more research I prefer the controllability of HERMS. Less extreme, direct and easier control than the RIMS plus I get to reuse some of my current setup.
Getting all my stainless fittings from the states was 90US in shipping and 60 euro in duty. It appears that you have a good chance of avoiding the duty if you use USPS for shipping. I used shipito.com, but chose DHL as there was a quicker shipping time for only a few more euro. Should have chose USPS option on hindsight.
However - because I went the route of a herms coil in the hlt, I could not get the size of coil in stainless in ireland or uk for the price I paid in the states. So even with duty and shipping, approx 125euro. It was still cheaper than getting everything here.
Don't be put off the on the herms coil in the hlt. It does work and there are a few threads on the uk homebrew forum where people have done that and got the results they wanted, and certainly in the US they are getting good results. I know of two threads one where the herms was in the hlt but they moved it to the small boiler, even though step temps were working with acceptable times, and one where they went from separate herms pot to putting it into to the hlt.
It seems to be one of those debates like herms vs rims. I believe a lot rims people will tell you they get no scorching and that it works well and herms supporters will tell you otherwise. I went with the herms in the hlt as it was one less pot to deal with, but I've added a fair bit of power to the hlt, a separate herms pot would probably be cheaper in this regard, but I'm probably only adding 0.70c euro extra to a brew. And a good pump is important as well.
Have a real good think about what you want to brew and how you want your system to work. Plan it, review it, research again and do it all over a couple times before you start purchasing. Like I said in my brew thread, I could have knocked off a good few euro in shipping costs if I hadn't changed my mind a few times. Give yourself plenty of time, do it slowly, get it right and do it safely.
On the topic of Herms coil each to his own but having researched it extensively my own experience and conclusion on the herms coil in the HLT is not positive, Nigel ask yourself how quickly you can raise the temp of 2-6 litres of water by 1 degree vs 30 and how accurately you can control it, avoiding temp layers like I get in my HLT before it stir it.
I am currently playing around with step mashes, even with modified malts!
This is also relevant if you want to raise temp quickly to say 75 over last 10 mins in mashing out.
Your target for a herms coil should be a system of 1 degree a minute step without dimming the street lights.
It's all research at the moment. The chuggar group buy started it off really. Plan on doing the research and start collect parts over the next few months and rebuild my current setup with the intention of upgrading again when space permits.
For that reason I'll be going not welded and just transplant onto larger mash,boiler etc when I can.