Home-brewery ventilation

[u/9tuckm31]

Hi Gang,

We have recently bought and end of garden building which will be used for my office and home brewery. Inside the space is a 2m x 1.5m room which will be for brewing and the storing of equipment.

I am currently designing the setup of windows, power, lighting, plumbing and more importantly ventilation.

My current plan is in the space will be a 1m wide by 500mm tilt and turn window and cooker hood, thay will shift the steam outta the room. By then I plan to have a 50l setup with a 2.4kw element. But im worried this is not enough and I should maybe plan for more.

Am I being daft or should I scale up my plan ?

This is the sort of low profile cooker hood i am looking at -》 https://www.diy.com/departments/cooke-lewis-clvhs60a-stainless-steel-inset-cooker-hood-w-60cm-grey/3663602429463_BQ.prd

All advice welcome

[u/mikeschmidt69]

I have a 2.5m x 1.8m brew room with 20L system and ventilation is very important. I have a vent pipe right above my system with a blower to outside. It does OK. A couple of thoughts....

• try to make sure your ventilation doesn't drip back into you brew
• maybe consider also a condensing system, if I switch/upgraded my system this is something I'll probably consider.

[u/9tuckm31 → u/mikeschmidt69]

Sorry mate not sure what you mean by a condensing system ?

[u/gofunkyourself69 → u/mikeschmidt69]

The first one is an overlooked point. The vent should slope down slightly to where it exits the building. Otherwise it will condense and run back down.

[u/pissonhergrave7]

If it is an option for you, look into a steam condenser. Way better than a vent imo.

[u/9tuckm31 → u/pissonhergrave7]

Yeah seen some options but it looks like you need to clamp the lid down for it to work and my system does not lock in its lid.

[u/storunner13]

Unless water use is a big concern, I would go for a steam condenser.  Just need a TC port on your lid or at the top of your kettle wall. 

Much quieter than a vent hood and easy to setup/configure for your needs.  Reduces power use too.

 https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/steamslayer.htm?srsltid=AfmBOooPxhO3zA87l1GryKxuA2rmxMinr_VOa3KorhdrBKVFoWeLrxTP

This one is in the USA, but I would bet someone in your area is selling a setup similar to this. Otherwise all you need is a triclamp tee and a sprayer along with some threaded fittings to bring it all together.  

[u/9tuckm31 → u/storunner13]

Thanks for this mate, been scouring the net and there are some of these available but im not sure it will work with my system as the lid needs to be clamped down for it to work it seems.

[u/DumpsterDave → u/9tuckm31]

The lid should not need to be clamped down with a proper setup. As long as the lid is sized right for your pot, the temperature difference will create a negative pressure at the outlet which will "suck" the steam out as it condenses it and stop it from leaking out around the lid.

[u/storunner13 → u/9tuckm31]

/u/DumpsterDave is right. You don't need a sealed lid or clamps, just a well fitting lid--which you should have as long as you haven't dropped your kettle off a building.

Steam condenser is the way to go on this. Especially if you're planning a floor drain for your brewery which will make the condensing water easy to drain.

Plus, I don't think the linked vent hood is big enough to handle the steam from boiling.

Also, I might increase your heat capacity. 2.4kW is way low for a standard 20L batch. 3.5kW at the very least, but 4.5kW is better.

[u/beefygravy]

This looks like a standard cooker Extractor and I have one of those and it's absolutely nowhere near enough, I also have to open a bunch of windows to get some airflow. I'm sure there are ways to calculate what flowrate you might need

[u/MmmmmmmBier]

Get a steam slayer. Worth every penny.

[u/rdcpro]

The hood is a good idea, I put one in myself. But don't forget to accommodate makeup air too.