Efficiency Mods: The Results

So going back to a story previously told in regards to measuring efficiency, I now have some results to share. Disappointed with how poorly I missed my target volume efficiency, I went about some new modifications. Simple, yet elegant. I put a few things into the sytem just tonight alone.

First, I installed a sight glass into the boil kettle. This sight glass protudes out of the keg and runs parallel on the outside of the keg in a vertical position. Picture this as the handle to a milk carton. The handle on the milk carton shows the level of milk equal to that of what is in the container. The sight glass serves the same purpose as a keg is non-transparent. It measures up in increments of 1 gallon, starting at 3 gallons and ending at 15 gallons. I can use a ruler to get half gallon, two-third gallon increments, etc if need be.

The installation consisted of drilling a 9/16" hole near the bottom of the keg, inserting a threaded elbow, washer, and silicone gasket. It took all but 10 minutes to install and already serves a timesaver. Now when I have to put 13.3 gallons of mashed wort into the boiler, I just look over and turn off the pump as needed.

My second test was to conduct an evaporation rate experiment. I put in about 11 gallons of water and heated to 150F. I then shut off the flame, and pumped out 1 gallon so my remaining volume equalled 10 gallons. I stopped at 150F because normally when I mash i am in the 150-155F range. I adjusted and recorded 3 various gas valves to maintain consitency on future brewdays.

1.) Opened propane tank valve to 'full open'
2.) Opened boil kettle burner valve to 'full open'
3.) Opened adjustable propane regulator 1.5x and even took a picture to eyeball it up next time.

After that, I let her rip and get to a full rolling boil for about 1 minute. This is when I will add hops and start my 60 minute, 75 minute, or 90 minute boil timer. For this experiment I set my 60 minute timer. I had exactly 10 gallons and had been maintaining 212F for 1 minute. It just so happened to be 8:54 PM. Needless to say, at 9:54 PM I put the flame out. I had just under 8.5 gallons remaining. According to Beersmith (software I use), my evaporation rate is at 12%.

12% is a little on the high side, but it may be something I work on down the road. I may have to do another experiment where I crank the heat from mash temp levels to boiling and then adjust the flame to maintain a very soft, gently rolling boil. It may make a difference, it may not. We may never know.

At least I know I have a 12% evaporation rate. I adjusted my equipment profile on beersmith to calculate for that. Last bacth we brewed started with 13.3 gallons of beer and ended up with about 8.5 -9 gallons in the fermenter. My target was 11. The equipment profile was set up for 9% evaporation, hence the loss. Now, the same recipe says start with 14.4 gallons in the boil to end up with 11 in the fermenter. I can and should be able to achieve that now.

The third modification was those dreaded pumps on the wort chiller. After I boil, my goal is to get the boiled beer from 212F to about 65F as fast as possible to prevent infection/bacteria, etc. My first two batches ever went fine, but the last 4 batches gave me nothing but problems. Some of the connections used are stainless steel couplers (threaded with teflon), some were non-teflonned, and some couplers were even plastic. I had leaks in multiple spots. This is where the problem was. Where there is a leak, air gets in. When air gets in, pumps can't prime, etc.

I swapped out every plastic couple for new ss ones and taped every connection. The flow rate increases dramatically and the pumps primed instantly. Batch 1 and 2 cooled from 212F to 65 in about 15 minutes. Batches 3-7 took about 45 minutes. Tonights test run took 11 minutes.

212F - 100F took 5 minutes

100F- 90F took 90 seconds

90F- 80F took 90 seconds

80-68F took 150 seconds

I couldn't believe it. Rarely do I attempt 3 things and achieve them all. I was perplexed and surprised with joy after successfully making all 3 modifications tonight. They went as planned. Now I am planning on making a nice, creamy porter to get me through these cold days of winter.

Take care......until next time