For my last brew I decided to insulate my mash tun because the projected temperatures were below 20 degrees Fahrenheit and we needed to hold our temps very well without doing HERMS.

After some research on the homebrew talk forums I found that a lot of home brewers have success with Reflectix wrap. This stuff is essentially just bubble wrap with an aluminum backing, but it provides a simple and easy to apply insulating layer. It comes in rolls of 24” wide which is almost perfect for my keggle. I picked up a 25ft roll along with two rolls of reflectix aluminum tape. I would definitely recommend getting the tape because it helps bind multiple levers together very well.

Creating the complete wrap took a few hours but was well worth it.

Getting Started

You will need the following items for this project

• Scissors
• 24” x 25ft roll of Reflectix Insulation
• 2 rolls of Reflectix aluminum tape
• Sharpie for tracing
• 2 hrs of time

Step 1 – Cut the first Wrap

Wrap the insulation around the kettle and cut to length giving yourself plenty of extra. Next, cut the width of the wrap so that the handles of the keggle are free to grab, this is about 4-5 inches off the 24” wide piece. Next, cut all your gaps and holes to enable it to fit around all your fittings. After that it should be easy to mark the length while around the keggle so that you have a seam in the front of the keggle.

Step 2 – Cut Remaining Wraps

This really depends on how much wrap you have and how much insulation you think you need. I created 4 wraps, so during this stage I created 3 more. To save time, use your first wrap as a template for your remaining wraps. Though make sure that every wrap you add gets a little longer because the diameter is getting bigger. If you don’t your outer wraps will be too short. I just eyeballed it, but if I was doing it again I would just do the math. I’m guessing each wrap adds at least 3/8 inch in diameter, so with 3 wraps this will add up. If you make a mistake, you can always hide it with the outer wrap. The outer wrap is the most important one to size because it’s the one everyone will see. Cut the holes and gaps last and do them each by hand to make sure they line up with everything. Note that simply drawing outlines from your first wrap on the later wraps won’t work because the circumference is changing with each wrap. Make sure all the seams line up in the same place at the front.

Make the last wrap 4-6 inches longer than the rest. You will use this to keep the wrap closed with Velcro. Plus it will cover the seem with insulation but still make it easy to remove the wrap for cleaning.

Step 3 – Bind Wraps Together

Next put all the wraps in place around the keggle. Line all the seems to the same place in the front middle of the keggle. Use the tape to bind all the layers together while they are in place. This will ensure the proper curvature is maintained. Once you have tacked it together on the top, take the piece off and finish tacking on the bottom and any bare spots so that you have one big wrap.

Step 4 – Apply Velcro

If you didn’t get Velcro, I would recommend it. Apply the grabbing portion of the velcro to the underside of the last wrap on the shorter side (left side for me). On the longer part that overlaps, apply the fabric side of the velcro. Make sure that when you position the strips, that you do so with the wrap held and stretched tight. This will ensure you have a nice tight seal when closing the wrap.

Step 5  - Make a Lid

This is real easy. Take the remaining 4-5 inch strips that you cut off for the width and start wrapping them around the top of the keg with the main wrap in place as a guide. Bind where reflectix touches itself with tape. When the strip is done grab another and start it where the other left of, binding with tape. Do this until you have the same number of wraps as your main wrap. You should have just enough length to do it. While in place, bind the layers together at the seams using the tape, similar to how you did for the main wrap. Do this on the top and bottom and make sure its solid before continuing. Next, cut a square piece that fits over the top of the keggle. Place it on top and cut off the edges. Make sure to leave a bit of overhang. Something like a 1/4 inch will work fine. Tape the lid shut on all sides of the top so there are no places for heat to escape.

I only used on layer for the lid, but you could do more. You would just need to make the lid a little higher to accommodate the extra padding at the top

Step 6 – Brew some beer

The high for the day in which I first used this wrap was 19 degrees F. What I observed is that the wrap did an awesome job, only really losing 1 degree after a long time once the mash temperature had stabilized. In my opinion well worth it. If I ever switch to electric I will certainly do the same thing for my HLT and BOIL kettle.

Two brews ago I began having issues with my temperature probe connections. The ETC controllers were getting readings that started to climb and never stop. The connections on the QD box in the stand turned out to be a little bad, so I switched to plugging the probes directly into the panel. This eventually stopped working as well and after some testing it became clear that the DC power plug connectors I was using were not making good connections.

For the last brew I updated my system so that the temperature sensors now use RJ11 jacks and plugs. I got the idea from the Brewtroller guys who have been using them for a while. The RJ11 jacks do seem a bit outdated and don’t have the cleanest look when mounted to a panel, but the connection is solid, the plugs are easy to attach to the sensor, and there very good reliable QDs.

The fix I made is a little ugly because I left some of the existing plug holes in place, but overall it works very well. We had no problems whatsoever during the last brew. Also, I was able to wire one RJ11 cable for the panel to the QD box on the stand to support both sensors because the wire I have a 6 strand and the plugs I have 4 leads.

This is the third post in a five part series on the updates made to my beer stand for the Jan 3rd brew. Here are links to the previous post:

• Brew Stand Update #1 - The Stand
• Brew Stand Update #2 - Panel, Wiring, and Power
• Brew Stand Update #3 - Gas and Water Control
• Brew Stand Update #4 - Oxygenation and Probes
• Brew Stand Update #5 - Everything Else

Theres just a few things left to talk about.

1. Stand power management (Pictures 1-3): this was another main concern of mine, how to properly power the stand. My requirements for power were as follows: the ability to plug in power (no dangling extension cords), panel/pump re-movability, and protection water. Pretty much all of these has been met, except for maybe some more rigorous water protection. Plug-in power will be provided by a standard IEC power entry plug (kind used to power PCs). I attached a water proof outlet box to the bottom of the stand (Picture 1), with an the embedded IEC connector. The back of this connection goes directly into an outdoor GFCI receptacle using a standard AC plug. The GFCI is then goes directly to the panel which connects to another IEC plug. Standard AC plugs were used to connect to the GFCI in case I want to remove it in the future. This maybe necessary if I connect the stand directly to a GFCI circuit. Lastly, picture 3 shows that the power power cord is also connected to the panel using standard plugs so that the pump can be removed for cleaning. See description #3 below. 
2. Power protection (Picture 2): Some of this was described in description #1 above, but its important so I created a separate bullet. The system uses an outdoor GFCI inline plug to prevent shorts and electric shock if water gets into any of the circuits causing a voltage swing. This should prevent against any inadvertent water splashes or panel malfunctions. 
3. Pump Management (Picture 4-5): the pump regularly needs to be cleaned to ensure good operation and sanitation. This was relatively easy before, but even easier now because it is removable. I purchased a pump mounting bracket from MoreBeer that allows the pump to slide into place. Thus, when I'm ready for cleaning, I can detach the pump AC wire and slide the pump out.
4. Bottle Opener (Picture 6): I'm always running in the house to get one, or looking for the one that I previously brought outside, so this made prefect sense. 
5. HERMS temperature control (Pictures 7-9): this is a wonderful side affect to having the HLT temperature controlling probe. The HLT kettle also has a coil built in for HERMS and on the outlet a temperature gauge for checking the exit temperature of the wort. By monitoring this temperature we could ensure the mash temperature is maintained by adjusting the gas level to meet the desired heat. To automate this I purchased a screw in 2 inch thermowell that was put in place of the temperature gauge. The cool thing is this thermowell is designed to take the exact same temperature gauge that was removed. Thus, if I want I can screw in the temperature gauge into the thermowell for the same results, OR, I can place the HLT temperature probe into the thermowell for automated control from the panel. w00t! 

Picture 1	Picture 2	Picture 3
Picture 4	Picture 5	Picture 6
Picture 7	Picture 8	Picture 9

This is the third post in a five part series on the updates made to my beer stand for the Jan 3rd brew. Here are links to the previous post:

• Brew Stand Update #1 - The Stand
• Brew Stand Update #2 - Panel, Wiring, and Power
• Brew Stand Update #3 - Gas and Water Control
• Brew Stand Update #4 - Oxygenation and Probes

Inline Oxygenation

I have been putting off this upgrade for a while and the electronics upgrade seemed like the perfect time to add the convenience. My primary concerns for adding inline oxygenation were:

1. How to control the amount of infused oxygen without visual feedback. This is important for getting the right amount of oxygen in the wort, cause too much is a waste, and in some cases detrimental. Controlling the amount of oxygen is also important for reproducibility. 
2. How to contain and feed the oxygen stone with disposable oxygen tanks so that it is convenient 
3. How to clean the oxygenation assembly easily without hassle.
   

For number one, I decided to build a little regulation assembly, complete with pressure gouge. This works by using a 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch NPT converter that goes from the disposable oxygen regulator to a 3-way 1/4 inch NPT union. The top of the union is connected to a pressure guage (max 30 psi), the right is connected to the regulator, and the bottom connected to a small ball valve. Now with the combination of the regulator, pressure gauge, and ball valve I can control exactly how much gas is being let into the wort. The gauge gets readings with both static and dynamic pressure, so it should be pretty easy to establish a workable PSI range for oxygenating.

For number two, I used the platform used by the chiller to also hold the disposable tank. I attached a big galvanized u-bolt that barely wraps around the tank holding it in place against the stand. It has enough contact to hold it in place but also allows me to remove it when empty. In addition to this, I have attached a stainless steel quick disconnect to the end of the oxygen regulation assembly. This allows for the assembly to easily be detached from gas source for removal of either device.

For the oxygenation assembly itself, I went with one sold by MoreBeer that has two stainless steel tees, connected with a small stainless nipple. The oxygenation stone screws into one end of the tees and has a 3/8 tube connection for the gas on the opposing side. On the opposite side of the assembly a brew probe is screwed in with a 2 in probe to take temperature readings. This leaves one 1/2 inch NPT port for the wort inlet and one for the outlet. The inlet is connected to the therminator chiller using a stainless steel quick disconnect and the outlet has a plastic quick disconnect with shutoff for a tube connection to the fermentor.

Probe Management

I struggled for a while on the best way to wire the stand. Once I decided on the position of the panel this got a little easier, but still left a few decisions to be made. My goal was to ensure that kettles could be moved fairly easily from the stand without much hassle. The main issue being that the HLT was going to have two connections (probe and float switch) and the mash one (probe), which called into question how I manage the wires. Instead of having long wires dangling from underneath the stand I decided to have the three movable connections wired directly to an outlet box. This way I could embed additional quick disconnects into this outlet face which allowed me to remove all of the HLT and mash wires easily. I placed the box under the mash platform to try and protect it from water. I'm hoping this will be enough cover, but if not I have some plexiglass I can use to create a splash guard. The outlet box is also positioned in a place that will allow the HLT probe to reach the back of the kettle for HERMS temperature control which will be very useful.  The only other issue of concern is heat from the burners melting the wires. Right now they seem to be far enough from the heat source. If it does turn out to be a problem, I plan to do a little cable management with galvanized pipe to help shield some of the wire from the flame. The other option is to put some heat and flame resistant heat wrap over the wired for protection. 

The only other piece to the puzzle is the float switch plug. To make this HLT  wire free I connected a female quick disconnect to the float switch itself and embedded it into a 1/2 inch NPT coupler that is attached to the external portion of the float switch. The coupler was filler with hot glue to keep the connector in place and allow for easy wire removal. This works surprisingly well.

Next Brew Stand Update Post

Next post I will be going over everything that remains. Should include things like stand power management, pump mounting, and any other odds and ends.

This is the third post in a five part series on the updates made to my beer stand for the Jan 3rd brew. Here are links to the previous post:

• Brew Stand Update #1 - The Stand
• Brew Stand Update #2 - Panel, Wiring, and Power
• Brew Stand Update #3 - Gas and Water Control

Gas Control

Gas control is one of the key new components to the system because it will allow me to keep the HLT at a set temperature without me having to watch over it. This works for keeping the water in the HLT a particular set temperature by using the main thermowell in the side of the tank, or can be used to control the wort exit temperature from the HLT coil during HERMS by using the thermowell on the back.

To do this I am employing the temperature controller in the panel, and a Honywell V800A1088 gas solenoid valve. The valve is designed for use with a gas heater, but works great for this application too. The valve has two 3/4 in ports, one for input and one for output, which can be reduced to 1/2 in (which is what I am doing). It supports both liquid propane and natural gas (conversion kit is included), running at low pressure. It has a built in pilot and thermocouple connection. The pilot is very convenient to have, but the thermocouple is a bit annoying because it requires about 1-2 mins of heat before it will allow sustained gas flow. This is a safety mechanism for when its used in the home. I'm working on something that would trick the thermocouple port into thinking it has heat, which should add some convenience to the process. The gas solenoid is activated with a 24 v signal, at which time the gas opens and the pilot lights the burners. 

The burner is a cast low pressure with a 1/2 inch pipe fitting and approximately 21 little burner jets. It's very similar to the 92K BTU burner that MoreBeer.com sells, but the one I have has a pilot port and came with the two fitted pilot pieces that screw in. The solenoid and burner is connected with a 12 in piece if steel gas pipe, and the pilot is connected with 1/4 in copper tubing that is rated for higher heat. The cool part about all this is that the new burner fits into the old burner stand pretty snugly. If that didn't work out I would have had to fabricate a new metal stand to hold the kettle, which would have been a pain in the ass. To feed the solenoid I am using a standard 11 inch water column low pressure regulator. I think I got it from ace, or I may have just purchased it directly from Mr. Heater. Either way its a pretty simple and cheap part.

Water Control

The water control features I added probably weren't that necessary but it definitely adds some time saving features. The primary change to the water control was the addition of a water solenoid. This is hooked up to the water inlet so that no water can enter the system unless the solenoid has been opened by the panel. Next I switched over to a 3-way ball valve to redirect flow between the filter housing and chill water and added a singular ball valve for the water feed to control the rate. The water inlet also has a stainless steel quick disconnect that we tried out during last brew.

The filter housing was moved directly under the HLT portion of the stand to make room for the gas solenoid. This works out fine because it allows me to bolt the casing to the stand, which turns out to be much sturdier than using the mounting bracket I have for it. I also added a plastic quick disconnect on the outlet of the filter housing that has an auto shutoff. This way we won't spray water all over the place when removing the hose from the filter housing when the water is still on.

The last important feature of the water control is the float switch. The float switch sits at the top of the HLT and is used to shutoff the water flow during filling when the water reaches the top of the tank. In essence, its my auto-fill component or overfill protector. It works by keeping a closed circuit when the water is lower then its position. When the water gets high enough it lifts the float device and opens the circuit, which triggers the panel to close the water solenoid. Pretty cool.

Next Brew Stand Update Post

Next post I will be going over the inline oxygenation and probe management components.

This is the second post in a five part series on the updates made to my beer stand for the Jan 3rd brew. Here are links to the previous post:

• Brew Stand Update #1 - The Stand
• Brew Stand Update #2 - Panel, Wiring, and Power

Control Panel

The control panel itself has been mostly complete for months and has been waiting for me to find away to attach it to the stand, and decide upon how to best wire it to the stand. I will discuss all of these below, but first let me describe whats on the panel.

In the upper right is a power indicator LED and lighted toggle switch. The power indicator lights up when the stand has been given power. To turn the panel on the lighted toggle switch is pressed, at which time it will light up indicating power flow. Next, from top to bottom we have the water control row, HLT control row, and the mash/pump control row. The water control row currently only consists of a momentary switch that will toggle the water flow on and off. Eventually I envision there may be more of these for other valves, as well as a LED indicating when flow is occurring. The second row is for controlling the HLT heat. The toggle switch on the left determines how heat is applied. When the toggle is up, heat is applied only when the temperature controller to the right is triggered, otherwise it's off. When the toggle is down the gas is on. When the toggle is in the center position the gas is off. The LED to the right of the row indicates when the gas is on. The third row, which is used to control the mash heat and pump works the same way the second row did. The primary difference being that it controls whether the pump is on or off. This will be used to regulate the mash temperature by stopping the pump (and HERMS) when the mash is overheating and starting it when it is under heated.

Mount

I spent a decent amount of time trying to decide how to mount the panel to the stand in a way that was flexible and non-intrusive. I originally planned on a fixed location for the panel but really couldn't decide on the best way to do it. At some point I decided that the right side of the stand was the best out of way place even though this put it the furthest from all of the components. I began to draw up plans for a fixed mount when it dawned on me that maybe the panel could be mounted using a movable LCD stand with a desk mount. After some research I settled on a cheap LCD arm (Ergotron 45-174-300) that was simple but still somewhat flexible. I was able to get this from Amazon for only $66.

The second piece to the puzzle was mounting the panel to the LCD stand. I struggled with this for a while, trying to come up with a solution. Luckily I was able to find a standard VESA mount quick release designed for use with LCDs that is very durable and easy to use. The one that I got is made by HP, model number EM870AA. I purchased it from buy.com for $29.99, so all in all not a bad deal. You can see from the fourth picture above that to unlock the release you slide a metal tab to the right or left and the panel will slide out (picture 3 above). To secure the quick release mount I cut a piece of plywood up square that consumed around 75% of the back of the panel. I then positioned the quick release on the plywood, marked the holes, and drilled the holes into the plywood. I took a larger drill bit and took out 1/8 inch of wood around each drilled hole for the bolts to sit. The bolts could then go through the holes and sit flush with the back of the plywood. The holes with the bolt heads were then epoxied in place and the whole piece of plywood was epoxied to the back of the panel. After that it was just a matter of lining up the mount to the bolts and securing it with lock nuts.

In order to mount the arm to the stand I had to cut a notch out of the side (picture 2 above), but this was easy enough to do. The clamp holds very tightly and is more than enough to hold the arm and panel. 

Wiring

Most of the changes to the panel occurred in the wiring. I originally had setup the panel to use a romex connector. If you look at the left picture below you can see it, it's a white thing in the middle left, thats the female connector. The romex connectors were just to flimsy and hard to deal with, so I went with using DC power plugs (size M from radio shack). These plugs are fairly tough, have decent holding power, and should be able to handle the 24 v current the stands components draw. I have one plug in the back for each main component of the system: HLT probe, mash probe, float switch, gas solenoid, and water solenoid. To mount these plugs I was originally using a small piece of aluminum, but quickly realized that by doing this all the connectors ran together. I narrowly caught this before shorting the whole panel. To fix the problem I replaced the panel with 1/8 inch Plexiglass. In addition to the DC plugs, I added another computer style IEC power plug for the pump. This line feeds back into the pump so that the panel can appropriately control it. 

The internal wiring of the panel is a little more complex. At some point I may post on the specifics, but for now let me just give you the overview. The panel takes 120 v power in from one of the AC plugs on the back. This is used to power the LEDs, temperature controllers, pump, and a 24 volt transformer. The transformer is used to power the gas solenoid and water solenoid. In addition there are two relays inside. The left most relay is a 2-step sequencing relay which when triggered holds its state. When its triggered again it swaps state. This relay is used for the water solenoid so that the momentary switch can turn the water on and off. The float switch also ties into this relay to prevent overfill. The second relay is for activating the gas solenoid, which requires 24 volts. This is needed because 120 volts is used to power the temperature controller and LED. When the heat component gets triggered, either by the toggle switch or controller, the 120 volts is sent to the relay coil, which triggers the release of 24 volts to the gas solenoid. Thats about it really.

Next Brew Stand Update Post

Next post I will be going over the new Gas and Water components. 

I finally decided to go ahead with major renovations to the brew stand, just in time for the next brew (#19 - Lambic). Many of the changes were outlined in my previous post on the lambic, but I wanted to post a few times to ensure the changes are fully described. This post will be the first of five posts that I will be making in the days leading up to the Jan 3rd, 2009 brew to try and describe the new features and the building process.

Looking over the changes now, I can see that I have made changes to almost every part of the system. From the stand itself, to water, heat, and oxygenation. Very few things have remained untouched. To start off, let me present you the new stand as it looks completed to date.

The Stand

Picture 1	Picture 2	Picture 3

It feels great to finally have this all done, but I wish the end result was more magnificent and showed all the work that went into it. Lets me begin by outlining some of the structural changes on the stand:

• Now Made From Titanium Steel (Pictures 1-3):  at least thats what the spray paint can said. Yea, its the same old wood stand. I was going to clean it up and just laquer the stand a few times with some outdoor laquer, but I got convinced painting was the way to go. So I sanded the thing fairly heavily, applied wood filler to many of the joints, sanded some more after the filler dried, and then began applying paint. I started by applying primer to try and cover up the wood and filler. For this I used RustOleum Painters Touch White Primer. I decided to use spray paint because for some reason I felt it would be cool if the stand looked metal. While it looks pretty good, I'm not a good spray paint technician, and I think the stuff I picked is a little too sparkly. To get this look I used two cans of RustOleum Universal Metalic Spray Paint. The shininess has dulled a little now but when I first applied it all I could see was these glitter pieces everywhere, which made it look a little fruity. Once the metallic coats dried I applied several coats of clear protector in the form of RustOleum Painters Touch Clear Matte Spray Paint. This actually helps bead the water/wort off the stand very well, which should help keep the stand clean and sugar free.
• Tiled Mash Top (Picture 4):  the pedestal portion of the stand that holds the mash kettle is now tiled to protect the underlying wood and hopefully help retain heat. I had always planned on having some kind of stone, slate, or tile here to protect the stand. I even measured for it when originally creating the stand, which explains why until now the HLT kettle always sat about 1/4 inch higher than the mash kettle. To do this I used some extra tile we had lying around from the basement and cut four pieces to shape using my new Bosch Angle grinder. Always need an excuse to buy a new tool. I picked up some multi purpose tile cement and grout, and went to town. It worked out pretty well. I do have some concern because I didn't use bathroom cement and grout that is design for water and high heat, so I may be re-doing this, but for now its great.
• New Wheels (Picture 5):  this isn't really that much of a change really. The old wheels were 2 inches and just a tad bit small. The new ones are 3 inches and give the stand a little more height and support. It turned out to be a really good idea because the stand is MUCH heavier now, so more rolling ability is helpful. Nothing really special about the wheels per say, they are just standard 3 inch casters purchased from Home Depot. Two of them have locks to prevent the stand from moving.
• Fixed HLT Stand (Picture 6):  the HLT burner stand used to be removable and secured with cleats, but because my new burner must be fixed so does the stand. To secure it I drilled holes through the bottom of the HLT stand and system stand, securing both together with decent sized bolts and locknuts. It is definitely securely fastened now, but it also makes the stand much heavier.

Picture 4	Picture 5	Picture 6

Next Brew Stand Update Post

In the next update post I am going to go over the control panel, panel mount, and panel wiring.