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Does anyone have an exploded diagram/parts list for a ventmatic faucet. I stupidly took one apart last week to give it a good cleaning, and think I misplaced an O ring. At any rate, it’s leaking now and I can’t seem to figure out why.
Thanks,
Norm
5 gallons
single infusion 152df
9 lb 2-Row
1 oz Northern Brewer @ 60
1 oz EKG @ 20
1 oz EKG @ 10
Safale 04
Low gravity pale ale. I just wanna see what happens when you take 2-Row and some Noble hops and make beer. Thought others might have experience with something this slimmed down?
Going to brew this in a couple days.
I was going to try to post the entire article, but there are just too many images and, frankly, I’m lazy.
Here is some of it…
Building The Beast
I am a long time homebrewer and have always strived to produce the very best product that I can, given the variables inherent in any hobby that involves nature and science.
One of the most difficult to control and most important to the finished product is temperature. Keeping close control of the fermentation process yields big rewards in consistency, clarity, finish and flavor profile.
I built a version of the venerable Son of Fermentation Chiller and used it successfully for many years but was never happy with it. It was a royal pain to change ice, sometimes daily, in the hot Sacramento summers and you could never leave a batch in it and go away for even a 4 day weekend. The variability and temperature swings were troublesome from a brewing standpoint and I grew weary of bending down to the ground attempting to gently lower 6 gallons of beer in a glass carboy into and out of it.
I was convinced I could do better.
I spent hours hashing over ideas with various people including The Engineer (a licensed and skilled Mechanical Engineer and brewer) and the Asperger Kid, a brewing buddy that has read and experimented with more brew-tech and methodology than even he would care to admit.
In the end, I came up with several requirements that the new fermentation chiller must have.
1. It must be self contained. Once set, it should not require any intervention to maintain temperatures for extended periods up to months at a time
2. It must accommodate the capacity that I need to my brewing schedule and if possible, enhance that schedule.
3. It must be able to maintain two separate temperature zones. One at fermentation temperatures of 50 70 degrees F. and one at lagering/cold conditioning temperatures of 32 45 degrees F.
4. Normal fermentation chores such as changing blow off reservoir fluids, monitoring Co2 production and visually checking progress should be accomplished without having to open the chamber.
5. The fermenter should be at a convenient height for the loading and unloading of full carboys, ideally with enough room to transfer directly from the fermenter eliminating the need to move full carboys more than one time.
6. It should cost less than 50 dollars to make.
A tall order you say? Read on.
I started by obtaining for free, a small dorm fridge from someone who was not using it. They were glad to have it gone and I was happy to have obtained one with an actual freezer compartment rather than a bar fridge, counting on its low temperature surface and higher cooling ability to assist my efforts in redesigning it for my needs. A small dorm fridge would not ordinarily be considered for a project such as this. After much consideration and consultation, a strategy of efficiency increases, insulation improvement and potentially huge cold sinks available, I could pull it off.
Finished product….
Full story including a ton of pics here - http://knewshound.blogspot.com/2009/01/building-beast.html
