Valve & Starter Test + 8 gal. Boil Time
This is my first blog post about the AutoBrew project though I've been working on it on and off for about a month. Future posts will include a lot more on why I'm doing this project and where I'm going with it, but for this post it's a simple video documenting testing the burner system.
I started the project with the boiling kettle instead of the mashing tun which may seem a little backwards, but the boiling kettle is really going to be the heart of this system, so building from it and working my way out seemed most logical.
For this test, I hooked up an electronic ignitor, gas burner, pressure regulator and solenoid valve. My goals for this test are fairly straight forward.
1. I wanted to make sure the solenoid work work as an on/off switch for the gas without leaking
2. I had the electronic ignitor working (when I first got it, I had a ton of problems with the ignitor arcing between leads, through wires and all kinds of other weird interactions)
3.Boil time for roughly 8 gallons
The results:
Everything worked perfectly. The solenoid worked well for an on/off switch for the gas without any leaking. I got the electronic start properly insulated and grounded so that the electrode arced only to the burner. Finally, I got 8 gallons to boil in roughly 25 minutes! Previous tests took an hour for 10 gallons, but it was also done at midnight in 30 degree F weather and a propane tank ran out on me halfway through.
Takeaways:
The 165 kBTU burner should work for this project, but looking into a 300 kBTU burner for even quicker boil time might be worth it for the final product.
Aside:
Sorry for the quality of the video, it was completely off the top of my head and I had already started working before I had the idea to do the video. Next time I'll try to rehearse a little more!