madkayaker
Pro sparkey Pro Welder
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Any good the brew?
- Thread starter brewdexta
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brewdexta
The biggest tool in the box
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Not bad, I've been brewing from raw materials for years, before I made this shiny kit I did most of it in a Burco nappy boiler (adds a bit of flavour and colour
) and a plastic bucket with a thermostatic element.The first brew on this kit was pants, I had electrolytic action in the heat exchanger and I washed copper salts into the beer.
I've had one infection, not sure of the cause but I improved my cleaning and disinfection regime and seems OK now. But the other 5 brews have turned out really well, at least by the speed that they tend to disappear when friends come around 
I do experiment quite a bit with recipes and some are better than others. My safest winning recipe is the Timothy Taylors landlord clone.
Shox Dr
Chief Engineer to Carlos Fandango
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A drop of taylors eh. Toured Theakstons and Black sheepjust before xmas, a bit different from 20yrs ago. Well the lack of freebeer was.
Do a bit of brewing myself, aalthough mines clear and err a bit stronger
. Only made two lots in the last yr, but was on the button.
Where about in yorks are you, our local is willing to let a few of us start a mirco brewery, would be nice to see your setup 1st hand
Do a bit of brewing myself, aalthough mines clear and err a bit stronger
. Only made two lots in the last yr, but was on the button.Where about in yorks are you, our local is willing to let a few of us start a mirco brewery, would be nice to see your setup 1st hand
brewdexta
The biggest tool in the box
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I'm over in West Yorkshire up in t'Pennines between Halifax and Burnley but not too far from the M62. PM me if you want a closer look or even take part in a brew, be warned though, I may show you my welding tackle (I said welding!). My brewing is better than my welding - I think that's probably a good thing!
rustyoldford
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Cant you but a high temp propeller assembly with drive shaft and then fit your own motor to suit ? May be the best way as i do know the medical pumps do use a platinum coated pipe to avoid chemical sticking which is quite pricey stuff the pumps are the cheap parts lol
waldershelf
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Peristaltic pumps are very good, efficient, accurate and relatively cheap to produce. In my experience working in the water treatment business the major problem is tube life. You can use pretty much any flexible tubing and it will work but for long term reliability you need tubing made for the job. £14 per foot for 1/2" tubing will buy you some of the proper tube for the job in none aggressive food grade tubing. (It's a few years since I worked in the industry but I expect prices today are similar)
brewdexta
The biggest tool in the box
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Hi WS
This project is in a queue at the moment but I'll be picking it up very soon. I think platinum cured silicon tubing is the way to go, it doesn't collapse at boiling temps, its food grade and you can get it for around 4 to 5 quid a metre for 1/2" bore. I'm guessing this is probably what you used however there are loads of grades and formulations. As I'm only an occasional brewer, I can stand throwing a bit of tube away relatively frequently however if it was a working brewery then I can see getting exactly the right grade for the pump to be important,
Cheers
Andy
This project is in a queue at the moment but I'll be picking it up very soon. I think platinum cured silicon tubing is the way to go, it doesn't collapse at boiling temps, its food grade and you can get it for around 4 to 5 quid a metre for 1/2" bore. I'm guessing this is probably what you used however there are loads of grades and formulations. As I'm only an occasional brewer, I can stand throwing a bit of tube away relatively frequently however if it was a working brewery then I can see getting exactly the right grade for the pump to be important,
Cheers
Andy
waldershelf
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Yes you can, it is often done that way in industry.
I also work in the water treatment industry, we use peristaltic pumps for chemical dosing. They dont run 24/7 but I cant say ive ever heard of any pipes needing to be replaced. There isnt a great deal of friction but the pipes are stressed by the rollers, so you will need something tough/durable to withstand the constant squeezing action. If I were you i'd just give it a go and see what happens. You may find you never need to change a pipe.
BTW whats your reason for going for a peristaltic pump?
BTW whats your reason for going for a peristaltic pump?
brewdexta
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Cost, ease of priming, lack of cavitation, ease of flow control and ease of cleaning are my main reasons.
Micro-brewery pumps are expensive, usually a pig to prime even with bleed valves, need a lot of effort to clean out the hops and grains. I've been using solar pumps (used on solar water arrays, not solar powered) as they are cheap, can stand boiling water, are relatively easy to control flow however they loose power at slow speeds, can be blocked by the odd grain, cannot be dismantled so a sod to clean and are pigs to prime.
I've tried commercial beers pumps and they are no better, and can be a few hundred quid. So a large 3 or four rotor peristaltic pump or two made out of old brake drums seem the way to go. I shall use silicon pipe as it keeps its shape at high temps, replacing it should be easy and cheap. This is currently way down my project list but tends to get near the top after I brew, which is about 4 or 5 times a year.
Cheers
Andy
Micro-brewery pumps are expensive, usually a pig to prime even with bleed valves, need a lot of effort to clean out the hops and grains. I've been using solar pumps (used on solar water arrays, not solar powered) as they are cheap, can stand boiling water, are relatively easy to control flow however they loose power at slow speeds, can be blocked by the odd grain, cannot be dismantled so a sod to clean and are pigs to prime.
I've tried commercial beers pumps and they are no better, and can be a few hundred quid. So a large 3 or four rotor peristaltic pump or two made out of old brake drums seem the way to go. I shall use silicon pipe as it keeps its shape at high temps, replacing it should be easy and cheap. This is currently way down my project list but tends to get near the top after I brew, which is about 4 or 5 times a year.
Cheers
Andy
waldershelf
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Try pumping 100 twaddle caustic soda in cold weather, you will have problems whatever tube you use.
Maker
Most folk just call me; Orange Joe
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the snooper
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well you do have to brew it firstErr, sounds like your getting brewing confused up with distilling.
Brad93
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What about a few of these? Handle the temp as they're used as oil pumps in performance engines.
Should be easy enough to dismantle.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerotor
Should be easy enough to dismantle.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerotor
Shox Dr
Chief Engineer to Carlos Fandango
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Err, sounds like your getting brewing confused up with distilling.
No; brewing comes before the distilling
brewdexta
The biggest tool in the box
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Possibly but they would have to be food safe too. The good thing about peristaltic pumps is the only thing in contact with the beer is a bit of tube so very simple to clean, not easy to block and they are effectively self priming.
However having effectively a Wankel engine pumping beer does appeal to me, and the double entendres alone would make it worthwhile. The first production rotary engined car was the NSU - which stands for non-specific urethritis, why would somebody name a car after VD?
