berryman wrote: ↑Mon Apr 04, 2022 8:20 pm
Oh boy, I see someone got hit with the new interest in the brewing bug, new equipment will do that to ya. All super nice looking equipment Kealia. Question: since you don't have a pump, how do you transfer from the M&B into the fermenter?
Million-dollar question. Before I put the leg extensions on, I simply lifted the M&B onto a shelf and used gravity from the spigot. Now, the conical is taller than the conical....which I hadn't planned for.
So, my current plan is to lift the M&B back on the shelf, see if I can get some of it transferred with a tube out of the spigot (using gravity/the force of the wort) and then either dump the rest in, or use a sanitized container for the last bit.
Or, I may have to look into a pump. I'm open to any recommendations.
You lift the full mash and boil up onto a shelf? You must have some serious muscles. I hope you don't lift it by the handles. I've read that they can't handle the weight.
Depending on how high the shelf is, toy might be able to transfer quite a bit by gravity. You can transfer until the wort is at the same level, even if the spigot is well below that. You'll probably need to fill the tube before putting it into the fermenter. Once it's flowing, it'll keep going until it reaches equilibrium.
One Option is like how our old friend Roger Broeg AKA gymrat told me how he does it and has a M&B also. uses a automotive transmission jack that can drop down low for brewing and then pumped up high for gravity transfer and they do keep level all the way to the top and and have casters to roll around and would not be a bad brewing stand. My opinion would be a pump, what I use, super good aeration and not hard to clean while cleaning the M&B up after brewday. If I use PBW, I then pump it into a keg that needs some cleaning also, same as rinse water also. I really don't like picking up heavy stuff anymore then I have to anymore.
Happy Hound Brewery
“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”
― Thomas A. Edison
bpgreen wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 9:27 pm
You lift the full mash and boil up onto a shelf? You must have some serious muscles. I hope you don't lift it by the handles. I've read that they can't handle the weight.
Depending on how high the shelf is, toy might be able to transfer quite a bit by gravity. You can transfer until the wort is at the same level, even if the spigot is well below that. You'll probably need to fill the tube before putting it into the fermenter. Once it's flowing, it'll keep going until it reaches equilibrium.
I do lift it by the handles - sounds like I'm asking for trouble there. I guess a pump is in my future.
berryman wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 1:44 pm
One Option is like how our old friend Roger Broeg AKA gymrat told me how he does it and has a M&B also. uses a automotive transmission jack that can drop down low for brewing and then pumped up high for gravity transfer and they do keep level all the way to the top and and have casters to roll around and would not be a bad brewing stand. My opinion would be a pump, what I use, super good aeration and not hard to clean while cleaning the M&B up after brewday. If I use PBW, I then pump it into a keg that needs some cleaning also, same as rinse water also. I really don't like picking up heavy stuff anymore then I have to anymore.
Looks like pricing for pumps is all over the place. What do you use?
bpgreen wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 9:27 pm
You lift the full mash and boil up onto a shelf? You must have some serious muscles. I hope you don't lift it by the handles. I've read that they can't handle the weight.
Depending on how high the shelf is, toy might be able to transfer quite a bit by gravity. You can transfer until the wort is at the same level, even if the spigot is well below that. You'll probably need to fill the tube before putting it into the fermenter. Once it's flowing, it'll keep going until it reaches equilibrium.
I do lift it by the handles - sounds like I'm asking for trouble there. I guess a pump is in my future.
I'm almost certain that I've read that brewer's edge says the handles are not designed to be used to lift it while it's full. Even if they didn't, just looking at the construction, I'm somewhat surprised the handles haven't sheared off on you.
I use a printer cart, but the mash and boil it's only about 4 feet of the ground. That's enough to drain into a bucket and produce a lot of froth for aeration. But it probably wouldn't be much help for your new fermenter.
I never move mine when it's more than about 1/4 full.
bpgreen wrote: ↑Thu Apr 07, 2022 11:59 pm
I'm almost certain that I've read that brewer's edge says the handles are not designed to be used to lift it while it's full. Even if they didn't, just looking at the construction, I'm somewhat surprised the handles haven't sheared off on you.
I'm sure I read in the Williams FAQ that you shouldn't do it. I also use a wheeled cart that is high enough that my fermenter(s) are below the spigot. But it would take a "hella cart" to work with his setup. I could physically lift it (I've lifted my "big cooper" with 7.5 to 8.5 gallons of wort onto a 5' shelf) but I would be afraid to.
Just to let you know that I took your advice/warning seriously, I have a pump from Northern Brewer arriving tomorrow - just in time for my next brew day!
And the upside is that I can also use it to recirculate the mash in my M&B, should I decide that I want to. But I'd need to pull a connector on it to slow the flow rate if I wanted to do that. Right now, the overnight mashes are just so damn easy that I don't see my self doing that.
bpgreen wrote: ↑Fri Apr 15, 2022 11:20 pm
I think that's a smart move. Is be really sad if I lifted a full mash and boil, and a handle break, and lost the entire batch.
My pump arrived yesterday - one day late to use on my latest brew. I ended up using a sanitized 1/2G Pyrex container to transfer from the M&B to my conical. But I'm ready for the next one!
pump jg.jpg (78.58 KiB) Viewed 15543 times
I did a dump last night to get the trub out:
Trub.jpg (119.54 KiB) Viewed 15543 times
And now the sight glass seems to be full of either yeast, or lighter colored trub. We'll see when fermentation is done and I dump this out, too.
It's going to make yeast harvesting a snap.
