Fasten your seatbelts. Let's build the Mashimizer !

[panikry83]

Just wait until you ferment in the mashimizer.
Yeast LOVES the constant temp that a water jacketed fermenter supplies.
Mash, ferment and strip
And be able to do it twiced a week

This alone seems worth all of your effort to me.

[Fart Vader]

So after stripping the remaining trub it was time to clean the Mashimizer.
But first, check this out...

I dropped in a piece of 1" square tubing to demonstrate just how thick the sludge was (it did thicken up considerably during the strip).
We all know that it's not floating in there!

Thickness test 1.

Here's the same piece of steel standing.

Thickness test 2.

Next was the cleaning operation. Wow, lot's of scrubbing to do.
The mash kind of cooks to the sides where the top level of the mash was. Now if I can just figure out a way to self clean .... LOL.

I did do a spirit run yesterday but I decided to do that with my keggle.
Nice to have built modular. I just undid the triclamp for the element and tranfered it from the mashimizer to the keg. 30 second operation.
I know how to drive my keg. I think I will continue to use it for spirit runs. Only takes 30 minutes to heat up.

From 30L of 38% low wines I ended up with 8L @69% of keeper.
Conservative cuts (3L heads, 2.5L tails).

Bottom line.
I've doubled my keep compared to before the mashimizer!
Cheers!

[MichiganCornhusker]

I dropped in a piece of 1" square tubing to demonstrate just how thick the sludge was (it did thicken up considerably during the strip).

That's impressive.
So, because of the bain maire do you think you are taking more liquid out of the sludge than putting in with steam?
I know when I steam strip with my simple keg rig I end up increasing the volume of slop in the thumper by about 20% by the time I'm done, making the trub slurry actually thinner.

[Fart Vader]

Good question MCH.

I know I got more liquid out than I put in.
The trub wasn't that thick going in, so the steam injection did not contribute much liquid at all.
Mostly heat was injected.

That was the big unknown in this design.

[StillerBoy]

Next was the cleaning operation. Wow, lot's of scrubbing to do.

When I scorch my element during a run, I use some giddle and fryer cleaner by the name Aumor Chef.. that was the best fryer cleaner when I was in the french fry business.. really cleans up an element in no time using the cleaner at full strength and a 3M scrub pad, clean with water after, done..

Just a thought on helping the cleaning operation..

Mars

[HDNB]

wow that looks like you were distilling polenta. or making corn bread.

[Fart Vader]

Ok, I think I'm done now.
The last part of the system was the stirring paddle.

Here's the Mashimizer in all her glory with the newly installed stirring mechanism.
If you're wondering, it's one of those hundred dollar drill presses you can buy anywhere.
I took it apart, cut the support post to a shorter length and flipped the part holder upside down and turned into a mounting frame.
Of course the whole thing is removable.

Stir thingy.

Here's a couple hundred billion yeast on my stir plate assembly.
They will will be joining the party in a couple of hours

Yeast colony.

[Fart Vader]

I let the mash sit overnight so that the enzymes could do their thing.
Wort temperature this morning was 49C.

Time to try out water jacket as a wort cooler.
I hooked up the cold water to the boiler fill valve, a hose on the drain valve and turn on the tap.
It took 30 minutes for the wort to go from 49C to 22C.

Anybody want to buy a slightly used copper cooling coil?

SG was a little lower than my usual recipe, but the quantities have changed.
In my 45 gallon batches I've been hitting 1.07 regularly.
This 27 gallon batch hit 1.062

FV

[shadylane]

What temp are you going to ferment at?
And do you have a plan for controlling the temp?

[Fart Vader]

I'm not controlling the fermentation temperature at this time.
My basement is at a constant 20 degrees.
Fermentation started at 18 after I cooled it down. 12 hours later it's sitting at 19.
Seems like the water jacket is tempering the fermentation.

[shadylane]

The water jacket will make a great wort chiller.
That way you can cool the mash fast and pitch the yeast, before spontaneous fermentation can start

[Fart Vader]

Yup. Thought of that.
Works great...
Except I have to be able to balance the water outlet with the inlet, because the relief valve opens at 1psi.
I was cooling down that way, until I noticed the water level going up in the mashimizer. Then stopped.

A bit more design work to do here.

[Fart Vader]

Ok. So I figured out how to use the water jacket as a wort chiller.
Feed cold water from the bottom, water out from the connection at the top of the water jacket.
I adjusted the flow in until the vacuum break operated. This ensures that my check valve doesn't crack and add water to the wort.

Cooled this latest batch of 100% home malted barley from 90C to 30C in about 30 minutes. Agitator running.
Got an SG of 1.075 !!! 100% conversion.
She's down to 1.02 after 3 days.

[shadylane]

Hells fire and damnations
I think you've got it

[Asparknz]

Hey Fart Vader how is this rig working out for you? Are you still using it?

I have a question. Was there a conscious decision not to run the boiler under pressure? It seems to me a few extra pounds of pressure would make heat up a lot quicker

[Fruit Squeezer]

When tiging thick stock to thin, pre-heat the thicker piece with a gas/air torch, or a map-gas torch. Gas and air is better because you can use a rich flame to carbonize the thicker piece until the heat burns the carbon off, indicating it's hot enough to work.

Both surfaces should be sanded with a clean sheet of sand paper before hand.

For stainless, you MUST use pure argon or helium!
A lot of weld shops and suppliers are selling an argon/co2 mix because it's cheaper.... It works ok on aluminum, but stainless requires pure gas, not a blend.

You need to back-purge the under-side of your weld with stainless... It needs pure gas on both sides, or it will oxidize/"sugar". (I've seen videos of guys using stainless flux on the underside to shield the stainless, but haven't tried it).

If you're burning your tungsten, verify it is compatable with stainless, MAKE SURE YOU ARE ON DC NOT AC, check your ground, you should be electrode positive, shorten your tungsten length, purge more gas, don't weld in wind it will blow your gas away, and have a CLEAN tungsten sharpened by grinding down the length to a point, not ground sideways. if the tip touches the stainless, it MUST BE ground to a clean point again, EVERY TIME...IT MUST BE CLEAN GROUND!
One or more of these is your problem.

[Fruit Squeezer]

...Dammit, I got sucked into an old thread again. Lol
Hope the build went well. Lol

[Fart Vader]

Hey Fart Vader how is this rig working out for you? Are you still using it?

I have a question. Was there a conscious decision not to run the boiler under pressure? It seems to me a few extra pounds of pressure would make heat up a lot quicker

Am I still using it?
He'll yea, exceeded my expectations. I only use it about 5 times per year but it's a joy to use.
Pressure, yup didn't want any, too risky for an amateur.

[Asparknz]

I like it and im going to plan one myself. Any changes you would make to the build if you did it again? I’m thinking some bigger drains and a port for a spray ball would be helpful

[Fart Vader]

Actually there's not much I would change. I don't see a spray ball as useful because the mash kind of cooks on to the wall at the surface during stilling. The only way to clean it off is elbow grease and a stainless scrubby.

The only change maybe an additional element to speed up heating. Although an hour from room temp to first drop isn't bad.

Well worth the effort if you do build one.

[corene1]

When tiging thick stock to thin, pre-heat the thicker piece with a gas/air torch, or a map-gas torch. Gas and air is better because you can use a rich flame to carbonize the thicker piece until the heat burns the carbon off, indicating it's hot enough to work.

Both surfaces should be sanded with a clean sheet of sand paper before hand.

For stainless, you MUST use pure argon or helium!
A lot of weld shops and suppliers are selling an argon/co2 mix because it's cheaper.... It works ok on aluminum, but stainless requires pure gas, not a blend.

You need to back-purge the under-side of your weld with stainless... It needs pure gas on both sides, or it will oxidize/"sugar". (I've seen videos of guys using stainless flux on the underside to shield the stainless, but haven't tried it).

If you're burning your tungsten, verify it is compatable with stainless, MAKE SURE YOU ARE ON DC NOT AC, check your ground, you should be electrode positive, shorten your tungsten length, purge more gas, don't weld in wind it will blow your gas away, and have a CLEAN tungsten sharpened by grinding down the length to a point, not ground sideways. if the tip touches the stainless, it MUST BE ground to a clean point again, EVERY TIME...IT MUST BE CLEAN GROUND!
One or more of these is your problem.

Just a couple of mis statements here. First when you pre heat stainless you do not want to use a carborizing flame. The last thing you want in your stainless is carbon from the preheat. Do not clean with sandpaper it will leave trace amounts of adhesives to contaminate the weld puddle. I use a stainless brush or metal burrs for final cleaning. Argon is the go to shielding gas. Helium mixes work well with stainless MIG set ups but SS TIG works well with Argon, plus Helium is very expensive . A bit over $200 a bottle last time I priced it. The Argon Co2 mix is for ferrous steels. Aluminum also requires pure Argon as a shielding gas. The proper setting for TIG welding Stainless is DC electrode negative. Never use pure tungsten for Stainless. use 2% ceriated or 1.5% lanthanated. I have found those to be very universal .

[Chauncey]

so the steam from the double boiler is injected into the mash? genius.

subscribed so i can come back and read thoroughly. planning a steam build and compiling my reading material

beautiful work, over time I hope to get my fabrication skills to that level

[Gerben]

Fart Vader I really like the way you worked you're valve's in this project, do you still have the specs of the check valve, I found loads ranging from 1-160$

[Fart Vader]

so the steam from the double boiler is injected into the mash? genius.

Thank buddy, good luck with your adventure.
Oh yea, and try not to get run over while you're at it

[Fart Vader]

Fart Vader I really like the way you worked you're valve's in this project, do you still have the specs of the check valve, I found loads ranging from 1-160$

I don't have any specs, but it was a swagelok type check valve. 1psi cracking pressure. Several available on fleabay.

[Chauncey]

so the steam from the double boiler is injected into the mash? genius.

Thank buddy, good luck with your adventure.
Oh yea, and try not to get run over while you're at it

Look if there was a fat Cajun ninja award I won it. Lol

[Jason1979]

Amazing work there F Vader

[Fart Vader]

Thanks. Well worth the effort.

[Gerben]

I assume you didn't completely fill the jacket, how much did you fill it. And did you ever run dry or had to fill up during a run?

[Fart Vader]

Actually I fill it it as full as she'll go. I hook up the hose to the jacket inlet and once the jacket is full the check valve cracks and I fill the boiler that way.
Nope never ran dry or had to top up.