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We got the natural gas line extended yesterday. We also ran a new set of electrical outlets to the structure. No more propane and extension cables draped across the garage floor. Here are a couple of pics.
Both of the burners are on in this picture, but they are burning so clean that you can barely see the blue flame in the pictures:
A little more closeup view. You can see the larger burner under the hot liquor tank in the back. There is some orange coming off the tips, but I don't think it's enough to be worried about.
I'm hoping to do a water test tomorrow. A new container for my glycol reservoir should be here tomorrow as well. Maybe I'll get a brew in before the group brew in a couple of weeks.
maltbarley wrote:I have to ask Brian: can you consume it all?
No. My liver couldn't handle it. I have a few friends who haven't been brewing much lately, so we will probably end up just splitting it up between us. I'll give some 20 gallon batches a shot too (as the 10 gallon batches would seem to go too quickly sometimes).
If the system works well, it might also give us as a club another option for mini-group brews. It would be pretty easy to split 5 gallons out between 8 - 9 people. Kind of a mini-event like we did at the Bruery. Or maybe brew one large batch of a "house" beer for the festival. I don't know. I had never planned to use this system at home, but it's here and I might as well do something with it.
So, for the metal guys out there, any suggestions on the best way to attach a piece of sheet metal to the back side of that frame? Those burners throw off a lot of heat and I'm trying to keep the wall of the garage from heating up too much. I had this problem before, and I just laid a piece of sheet metal against the wall to dissipate the heat. This worked fine for the one burner, but now with the two burners I'm looking for a little more efficient and permanent solution.
So far I have attached a layer of 1/4" hardibacker board (supposedly somewhat flame retardant) to the wall of the garage and cut sheet metal to fit across the back of the frame. The frame itself is 12" away from the wall. In doing a couple of water tests, this seems to be working fine so far. I don't have the sheet metal permanently attached to the frame though. Aside from screwing it in, is there a better (easier) way to attach it? Just drilling two holes to secure the gas pipe in the steel was a PITA. It seems like there would be an easier way than drilling four holes for each piece of sheet metal I have (3). Currently the way I have it it should be fine for brewing, but if any of you are around on the club brewday, I might solicit your advice.
Last edited by brianc on Thu Jun 04, 2009 4:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Well, other than using screws, in a high-heat situation; you could either weld it on or bend and fold it so it hangs on. I'd be happy to tack it down in a few places with my TIG, but I imagine moving that thing over here is a bigger PITA than drilling more holes.
For drilling the holes, make sure you use sharp bits with steady pressure and lots of oil to keep the bit cool. Don't let the bit spin without removing material or you'll just heat up the metal and harden it. This goes 10 fold for SS.
You could also use metal plumber's tape to wrap around the frame and then bolt to the shielding. It's somewhat ghetto but no drilling of the frame is required.
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