Equipment FAQ

Questions :

• What do I need to control the temp on a fridge or deep freeze?
• What are the dimensions of a corny keg?
• What equipment do I need to brew my own beer?
• Can I use twist-off bottles?
• Is it OK to use an Aluminum brewpot?
• Where's the best place to get a big pot?
• What's the purpose of the little racking tip?
• What's the best way to mount a tap on a fridge?
• How powerful a propane burner do I need?
• Which mill is best for crushing my grain?
• Can I use the Kitchen Aid mill attachment for crushing my grain?
• How do I use a hydrometer?
• Which type of cooler is best for all-grain brewing?
• What can I use to insulate my keg?
• How do I clean and fill a "pony" keg?
  

Answers :

• What do I need to control the temp on a fridge or deep freeze?
  The easiest way is with an old controller for an in-windows Air Conditioner unit. This old Hunter unit is no longer available but I have recently seen similar models on Ebay. I have to thank Ross Reid for the great price on that! You plug the fridge or freezer into it, and plug it into the wall.
  
  The wire for the remote probe can be seen in the bottom right. It is about 6 feet long and the probe on the end goes into the fridge or freezer. This unit goes down to 5C but a simple resistor soldered into the probe line will bring it down to 2C though it will still read 5.
  
  A websearch on "Ranco Fridge Controller" will bring up retailers of a modern similar unit that requires wiring into the fridge's or freezer's control circuit. It's still easy to do but not as easy as the Hunter above by any stretch. Similar units to these can be had cheaply on Ebay as well.
  
  
• What are the dimensions of a corny keg?
  There are 2 common sizes for 5 gallon / 20 litre corny kegs. The squatter ones are about 56 cm (22 inches) tall, and about 23 cm (9 inches) across in diameter. The taller ones are 63.5 cm (25 inches) tall, and 20 cm (8 inches) wide. Around here Pepsi are the taller ones and Coke the squatter, but in other areas it is the reverse. .
  
  
• What equipment do I need to brew my own beer?
  We already have a page dedicated to this topic. Please visit it.
  
  
• Can I use twist-off bottles?
  > Should I be throwing twist off bottles away? I'm assuming I can't cap
  > them with regular caps.
  
  Invalid assumption. Though it is easier to use aluminum caps (the silver ones rather than the gold ones). Aluminum caps are pretty easy to come by, though. This topic seems to come around quite often, and there are an awful lot of people who claim you can't use twist-offs. We've been using them for quite some time with little or no problems. When we were using our old butterfly capper we did have a few problems with them, but that was perhaps 1 per batch or so. Now that we have the big bench capper, we haven't had a single problem.
  
  This having been said, there does seem to be some difference in twist-off bottles within the USA. The ones here in Canada are all very much usable. But it seems that in the USA there are some twist-offs which are made from a much thinner glass, dramatically increasing the liklihood that you'll break it while bottlling. But it's still work giving it a try.
  
  
• Is it OK to use an Aluminum brewpot?
  > I am looking to buy a new brew pot, and was wondering if I could use an
  > aluminum pot? Or is stainless steel the only way to go?
  
  First of all, there's one thing we absolutely have to get straight in answering this question : the supposed link between aluminum cookware and Alzheimer's Disease has long-since been disproven. It was based on faulty science, but unfortunately the myth lives on. It should be noted in this regard that after the first time you brew in an aluminum pot, your beer doesn't even come into contact with the aluminum anyway. The wort causes an oxide layer to form, separating the wort from the aluminum of the pot. This is one of the reasons why aluminum pots shouldn't be scrubbed too vigorously (another being the simple fact that aluminum is a very soft metal, so scrubbing could deeply pit the pot).
  
  To be perfectly honest, yes, I probably would prefer the stainless pots myself, just because they look so great, and are guaranteed to last a lifetime. Even though aluminum has far better heat transfer, the stainless pots with the aluminum foot perform extremely well, too. But I can get a 65 litre (17 US gallon) aluminum pot for about 80 dollars CDN. It would cost me over 400 CDN for a similar sized pot made from stainless.
  
  I use a 17gallon aluminum pot. Maybe someday when I'm rich that will change. Maybe not.
  
  cheers,
  -Alan
  
  p.s. Here are some links to set your mind at ease :
  http://www.neus.ccf.org/patients/faq.html#AAD
  
  
• Where's the best place to get a big pot?
  
  Perhaps the best place to procure a large pot for use in brewing is to go to your local kitchen supply or restaurant supply shop. Or if your city has a "Little Italy", go down there and find a hardware store. The Italian hardware store (Preston Hardware) here in Ottawa has a better selection of brewing hardware than most brewstores I've been into (though they don't carry any ingredients).
  
  
• What's the purpose of the little racking tip?
  > I have not used a racking tip because I did not know that I needed to.
  > Will use of a racking tip result in improved flow?
  
  No. The tip simply causes the end of the tube to suck down from above,
  instead of up from below. This helps you leave the sediment behind.
  
  
• What's the best way to mount a tap on a fridge?
  > I've never seen a refrigerator made in the last 20 years that has freon lines in
  > the side. I'm told that they are all in the back of the fridge. A freezer does have
  > them on the sides.
  
  I was recently talking to the son of a regular to this group. He (the son) works for a major company who makes the fridges for about 6 or 7 of the brandnames like G.E.,Westinghouse, Whirlpool, Sears, Eatons. I can assure you that there is indeed a very real risk of cutting a line. The tips I got were as follows :
  
  Generally speaking however you are always at some risk of hitting a line no matter how careful you are. Some units have exposed condensers or evaporators. Try and determine what you have before you begin your work The method that I use is this:.
  
  Remember: you may have 2 sets of lines in between the exterior and interior of the freezer.
  
  * Turn the unit off and allow it to come to room temperature
  
  * Start the unit up and watch the interior and exterior for "frost lines" forming on the sides. I usually mark these with either masking tape or pencil. ( These lines will represent the areas where the tubes are located) NOTE: you will usually see a pattern developing. When you have the area "mapped" you should be able to determine the safest spot to drill.
  
  * Using a pindrill (looks much like a spade bit without the long tang), very carefully drill through the outer metal casing only.
  
  * You can then use a screwdriver or an old coat hanger to probe the area for freon lines.
  
  * Depending on the size of the area you wish to remove, you may have to do this a number of times.
  
  * GOOD LUCK !!
  
  As a friend of mine at work put it ; if you are looking to miss the line, you are bound to hit it ! ( Murphy's Law, ) :)
  
  
• How powerful a propane burner do I need?
  I understand that the lower btu burners would
  > do just fine for heating sparge water and mash tun, but what really is
  > the lowest btu to bring 10-12 gallons to a good rolling brew boil? I
  > have read of some people even using 35kbtu burners to boil. Is
  > 170kbtu nice and fast but not neccessary? Can I get away with boiling
  > in temps from 30-100 degrees with just a 65kbtu burner? Should it be
  > a cast burner or a "flame thrower" type jet burner? I am not worried
  > about a few dollars difference between brands/models. I just want to
  > know what is reasonable.
  
  My circa 70K BTU burner does fine with 10 gallon batches. I have a 17 US gallon brewpot which I fill with water. It takes about an hour to an hour and a half to bring my cold water up to temp. After the sparge, it takes about an hour to bring the wort to a good rolling boil. That's for 10 gallons. I know that the 170K BTU burners will probably cut those times in half, but then you'll be using a lot more fuel. I don't feel a need at this point to cut the length of my brew day. Now that I have a dedicated brewery I've already cut an hour off just in cleanup time.
  
  Also keep in mind that the regulator you use has a lot to say about burner output. With the regulator that came with our burner we are just barely able to maintain a boil in our 64 litre aluminum pot. But replace the green regulator with a red high-pressure (3psi) reg, and it makes a dramatic improvement and can even boil a huge 200 litre pot of wort.
  Another factor to consider is CO production. If you brew in the garage or basement the is more danger of CO (carbon monoxide) with a big 170K BTU 'jet burner'.
  cheers,
  -Alan
  
  
• Which mill is best for crushing my grain?
• Can I use the Kitchen Aid mill attachment for crushing my grain?
  NOTE : most of this information comes from a discussion on rec.crafts.brewing which took place from September 4th to 11th, 1998. If you want to look up the actual discussion on-line, the subject was : Valley Mill Response
  
  Before I bought my own Mill, I used to use the Phil Mill a great deal (when I lived back in Nova Scotia and my brewing buddy there owned one). Then I moved to Ontario where I used the Schmidling Malt Mill at the local homebrew shops. Then my buddy Andrew bought a Valley Mill, so I used either it or the one in the brew shops.
  
  So I'd say I'm in a pretty good position to compare all 3 of them.
  
  Yes, I do think that no matter which of the 3 someone buys, they will be extremely happy with the crush their mill produces. I also think that all 3 of them are extremely high quality mills, and very well constructed. My decision in buying one went with the Valley Mill because for the same price as a Schmidling, you get the larger hopper, plus the adjustibility. Although I almost went with the Phil because it was way cheaper. But I got a bonus at work, and that cinched it. For the same price I saw the VM as having more features than the Schmidling (bigger hopper, adjustable), so I bought it. Another factor for me was that the Valley Mill is made right here in Ottawa where I live. So if I ever have a problem, I can go see the guy in person.
  
  For others who've voiced their opinions whenever this discussion comes up, they were glad to have a few less features in exchange for buying the mill that's been around the longest (that's the Schmidling), and the one which is made by a regular contributor to the brewing discussion groups. Those are important factors, too. It's up to the individual to choose which ones are more important, as opinions vary. The Schmidling mill has a very long list of satisfied customers, and excellent customer satisfaction. Like the fellow who's rollers were replaced for only 10 bucks. I'm sure that's not an isolated incident, either. The other mill manufacturers probably haven't been around long enough to have such an impressive list. Again, very important factors when weighing one's options.
  
  I really have to reiterate, though, that all 3 of these mills produce the highest-quality crush. And my understanding is that the Brewtek mill is right up there in step with the other 3 as well.  Some relative newcomers are the Phil Mill 2 and the Barley Crusher.  More information on these can be found over here.
  
  Over the past few years the question has come up fairly frequently as to whether or not you can use the milling attachment for a Kitchen Aid mixer in order to mill your grain for brewing. I've seen perhaps a dozen people reply to this question with first-hand experience, and every single time except once the answer is always that you get nothing but flour when doing this. Of course, the one exception is the owner of the homebrew shop Paddock Wood, and he claims that the plates are every bit as adjustable as a Corona Mill. He says it's fine unless you are an all-grain brewer. He says "running any more than a pound of barley through takes too long is and too much of a PITA." Another issue is that Kitchen Aid recommends that you only grind 10 cups of wheat kernels at a time in their mill lest you risk burning out the motor, so that is not going to work very well for all-grain brewing (mind you malted barley is a lot softer than wheat kernels so it may not be too much of an issue).
  
  Again according to Stephen at Paddock Wood "I agree totally [with the statement that you'd be better off with a mill designed for brewing], if the brewer is going to crush grain for all-grain brewing. But you know my father-in-law does 4-6 batches of extract beer a year. He makes bread twice a week. I told him to get the KA mill, and use it for his grains (it does beat the hell out of a rolling pin)". So the answer seems to be that it will work, but unless you already own it because you make a lot of bread, you are likely better off with a real malt mill. The real clincher is that since a dedicated malt mill designed to crush brewing malt actually costs less than the Kitchen Aid attachment, you might as well just buy it anyway.
  
  See our page on crushing grain for more information.
  
  A note on adjustability of mills.  Barley kernels are more-or-less of a uniform size, and the preset mills take this into account.  They preset the roller spacing according to the size of a barley kernel.  You get an optimal crush without worrying about anything.  Wheat kernels are a different size than barley kernels, but the difference is not really great enough to make a difference with the preset mills.  So the point is that if you just want a good crush, the preset mills will serve you just fine.  Myself, however, I'm a tinkerer.  I love to play around with just about every aspect of my brewery.  I love to slightly change a variable here, and another there.  Maybe replace my false bottom with an EZ-masher or a manifold, just to see what kind of difference it makes.  So I really like to have an adjustable mill as it gives me one more variable that I can tinker around with, just to see what kind of difference it makes.  Also, if you ever wanted to use exotic grains that are sized significantly differently from a barley kernel, the adjustability will be indispensable.  In fact, even unmalted rye and rice - which aren't particularly exotic - would benefit from a narrower roller spacing.  But in general if you aren't always tinkering with your brewery like I am, then you probably don't need an adjustable mill.
  
  cheers,
  -Alan
  
  
• How do I use a hydrometer?
  > I am a beginner Homebrewer. I have just transfered my
  > third batch to the carboy. I recently purchased a hydrometer
  > but, it did not come with any instructions. I have no idea how
  > to use it. Am I supposed to do something before using it for the
  > first time. It looks like the mercury or what ever in the bottom,
  > needs to be melted or something.
  
  Please help me with any hydrometer tips if you can
  
  No, you don't melt anything. A hydrometer floats. It should have come with a tall narrow hard-plastic flask with a disc on one end to help it stand up. You put your wort or beer sample in there, and then float the hydrometer. The more sugars in the wort, the higher it floats. The graduations on the side tell you just how much. The scale homebrewers in North America use is the Specific Gravity Scale, usually denoted "SG". But your initial or "original" reading before fermentation takes place is called the "Original Gravity" or "OG", and your final reading after fermentation is complete is known as "Final Gravity" or "FG".
  
  The yeast ferments the sugars into alcohol, and as this happens the SG goes from say 1.045 for an averaged-strength beer, and shrinks down to as low as 1.012 or even 1.005. The Hydrometer is never right-on, especially for high-alcohol beers because alcohol has a different base SG than water. By definition, water is SG 1.000, but alcohol is as low as 0.850 (I don't recall precisely the number).
  
  Anyway, you take a sample with a turkey baster that's never been used for anything but beer, and squirt it into the tube that already has the hydrometer in it. Never replace a sample, BTW. Drink it! It is advisable to drink your samples at all stages so that you will learn to really know your beer, and judge it's health. The odd time you screw one up you can usually catch it early enough from tasting the sample, and have plenty of time to take measures to fix things up.
  
  Make sure the turkey baster has been sanitized as per your own regimen. Put in enough liquid to float the hydrometer. If you are measuring something that has been fermenting and therefore has lots of CO2 in it, you will have to hold the base of the outer tube and give the hydrometer a really sharp, very fast spin to knock all the bubbles off the glass tube. The bubbles sticking there will float the tube and thereby throw off your reading by quite a bit depending upon how long the bubbles have been building up there. If there are a lot of bubbles you can knock some off by giving the tube a gentle tap downward so that it will spear itself down and firmly tap the bottom of the tube. Not too hard, though.
  
  The suface tension of the liquid in the tube will cause it to ride-up the side of the glass and plastic. If you get right down beside it and look in at directly a 90 degree angle (cross-section), you could see this very plainly that it rides up. Therefore your reading will always be the next one under the one where the edge of the surface cuts the glass. You'll see what I mean once you take a close look. Take your reading from the surface of the water, not from where the surfaces rises up where it touches the glass. When you spin it you have to let it come to a stop more-or-less, though a steady hand can slow it without getting the glass stuck up against the plastic wall of the flask. if that happens your reading will be off, too, so you must have a level surface on which to rest the flask.
  
  Hope this helps. One day I'll get up some photos.
  
  cheers,
  -Alan
  
  
  
• Which type of cooler is best for all-grain brewing?
  
  In the past Rubbermaid used to say when asked that their cylindrical coolers (formerly called "Gott") were suitable for use at the temperatures we use them.  But now they as well as Igloo both state NOT to use them at mashing temps. 
  
  Check out this thread in the forums on this site, as well as the below message that was posted some time ago in the rec.crafts.brewing newsgroup about a service call which was placed to Igloo.  It also gives their phone number if anyone wants to check back in to see if anything's changed.
  
  The big question is of course whether they recommend against this for health reasons, or perhaps just for legal reasons.
  
  Message dated June 13, 1999
  
  I have two 10-gal Igloo round beverage coolers, and a 5-gallon Igloo.  And yep, the plastic liner certainly does warp and wrinkle with use of hot water (180).  Didn't stop me from using them, but I would be concerned that over time the liner will eventually split or crack.  I found new 10-gallon Rubbermaids on sale for recently (they were labeled "seconds" because they didn't have any accessories...I guess a cup holder?) at a place called Ollie's Bargain Outlet (MD) so I picked up a bunch for me and my brewing friends.  So far (4 batches) they are clearly more resistant to heat than the Igloos.
  
  Re: Igloo's customer service, I had called Igloo's customer service # (1-800-364-556) to ask them about this issue.  The woman I spoke with said "Don't use hot liquids."  I queried her on the temperature tolerance of the plastic, and she repeated "Don't use hot liquids."  Thwarted, I wrote a letter to the Igloo Cust. Service address, saying that inquiring homebrewers want to know the heat tolerance of the plastic liner, etc.  They never responded.
  smkranz@aol.com (Steve Kranz)
  
  
• What can I use to insulate my keg?
  
  Get a blue foam tenting pad for sleeping on.  Make sure it's "closed cell". It will say so on it if it is.  Last year on Canada Day (our equivalent of July 4th) I lined my backpack with one and left home at 12 noon with a 2 litre bottle of water frozen, and a bunch of cans of beer.  The next morning I got up late around noon and the few cans remaining in the pack were still as cold as if they'd been in the fridge.  Just wrap it around your keg and use a couple of pieces of duct tape
  
  
• How do I clean and fill a "pony" keg?
  > I have a "pony keg" system and 3 "real" 7.75 ?? gal kegs. Where can I 
  > pruchase the tools to "de-bung" the thing to clean and refill. You guys 
  > have an extremely professional and fun site. 
  
  Well, unfortunately there are some very specific tools you need to do that, and most homebrew shops are probably not going to do it. Here in Ontario Canada you can buy the stuff to tap the keg at the local Brewers' Retail (government-controlled Beer Store). So try a local store where you can buy kegs. But that will only tap it for you, and there is another very specific piece of equipment used to clean it properly.
  
  Have you checked the "Library" on www.brewery.org, or gone to www.hbd.org and searched the archives? Those would be the best places to start to find out how to do it on a homebrewer's budget. From my "links" page you can find Beer a la Modem at http://www.isomedia.com/homes/jbell/, and he's got tonnes of links to places that may help you. 
  
  Oh, one final note : here in Ottawa there is a local company called "The Draught Shoppe" which specializes in installing kegs and tapping equipment for bars and pubs, so check the yellow pages and see if there is a similar local company near you who can help out. I know these guys here have a lot of stuff they sell 2nd hand at really great prices.
  

Last Updated 2004.02.26 @ 19:50
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