Thanks to the Google way-back machine for recovering this for me after my crash :-) I still need to fix it up some, but that will come.

Here is a page about the setup that I have settled into since I got my electric kettle circa 2004 when a good friend decided to sell it off. First thing I do is open the back door (the kitchen has 2 exterior doors coming off it) and set up my vent hood. I can only brew when it is above freezing because any colder and the steam becomes a problem even with this vent hood in place. I think if I create my own conical hood and mount the fan from this cheap vent hood into it, that I can vent the proper amount of steam and therefore brew when it is colder. Though in the summer I can of course just open a few windows and do not need the vent hood at all.

Vent Hood

In the doorframe behind the two corners of the vent hood frame I have screwed in 2 large stainless steel eye screws, and on those I hang simple stainless s-hooks from Ikea, that we use for hanging our pots and pans from another stainless shelf - but that's another story for another time. Anyway, it's easy to set up, and when you hook the hooks into place the vent hood just sits down on the top of the low-hanging part of the s-hooks so you do not even have to modify anything other than your door frame - so make sure you tell the wife first :-)

The hooks support the rear of the vent hoot, and to support the front of it I normally use two of those 5 foot fibreglass chimney sweeping rods that screw together to make longer and longer rods (photo with yellow door insulation) , but I seem to have misplaced them so I'm using a couple of my Aikido jos in the other more-recent photos :-)

Kettle

Above is the HLT / Kettle. THe yellow background is for cold weather brewing - that's a foam camping sleeping pad and insulates the door really well. In this photo the top piece is not yet fitted in. I heat my water, then mash in and add more water to the HLT. With my PID/SSR controlling the kettle, I just have to add the water and then forget it. I call it the "Ron Popiel Special" - "Set it and forget it" (ad for one of those chicken rotisserie appliances). It sure makes my brewday easy, though. I first set the PID for the temp I need my strikewater, then measure it out into the mashtun. Then re-fill the HLT to get ready for my batch-sparge. I normally mash with about 10kg / 22lb of grain and it just so happens when I fill my 45 litre mashtun for the first batch (then stir and recirc it with my pump), it (then) fully drains into a standard 27 litre brewing bucket! So my first batch goes into one bucket, then my second batch goes into a 2nd.

Once the 2nd batch has been filled from the HLT, I mix the mash, recirc with the pump a few minutes, and as soon as I open up the ball valve full blast to let it run off, I shut off the HLT and since I don't need the rest of the water I dump it into into another 27 litre bucket. It normally about half fills it. That water can get used for doing a wash so it won't necessarily go to waste. Then I scoop 8 or 10 litres of wort from the first 27 litre bucket into the kettle, and finally pick up the bucket and dump the rest in. Hot-side Aeration (HSA) be damned since I use campden tablets to dechlorinate, and a side benefit of that is anti oxidant properties of the remaining campden. Finally, I set my PID for 210F and forget it. I don't have to worry about a boilover because of the PID/SRR, and when I do notice it's up to temp (it does have a digital readout, and a serial port for a computer if I ever got around to something like that) I can switch the PID to manual to start the boil

Mash Tun

Here is my mashtun. The one with the blue foam is in operation while brewing a Schwarzbier/Dunkles in spring 2006. I fitted it with blue foam camping pad, and originally taped that on with duct tape as you can see in my Mashtun Photo Gallery. But removing the insulation became a pain and I found just an old piece of rope was a better idea. One day I'll replace that with a couple of bungi cords, but as-is the thing doesn't lose a degree over a 90 minute mash so I certainly have no need to improve it. NOte the top is double-layer, and since heat rises that's what's most important. THat's why you should always spray insulation into the coolers since they are not insulated on the top.

Boiler

As mentioned, this is the same kettle as the HLT. I end up losing only about 15 minutes in my brewday by not having the extra piece of equipment required by having dedicated one. In a sub 1000 sq ft home (just shy of 100 square meters) that can be important. After my first batch sparge fills up my first 27 litre bucket with wort, I fill up the mash tun with the water for the 2nd batch, which leaves my HTL/Kettle free. So I carefully scoop 8 or 10 litres of the wort into the kettle, then pick up the bucket and dump the rest in, after which I set the PID for 210F and forget it.

When I notice that temp has hit 210F I switch the PID to manual mode and set it for about 36 percent. As soon as the second batch sparge is drained, the first half already in the kettle is generally just about starting to boil. I add in about three-quarters of the second batch which of course ends the boil for a good 10 minutes or more. It eventually starts to boil again at which point I start skimming. I have no idea if this makes my beers any better, but I know it's not hurting them either so I skim. I use a large SS spoon with holes drilled in it - standard piece from a set someone bought us for a wedding gift. Good heavy SS in any case. I usually skim a good couple or four hundred millilitres. The only real reason I do it is to prevent boilover. I find if you skim all that stuff and tend the kettle well for the first 10 to 15 minutes, you can then adjust to it and do other things and trust that your kettle is going to do exactly what you want it to be doing (and not boiling over)

During that initial 10 to 15 minute period I also start adding some of the remaining one-quarter of that 2nd batch sparge volume. Actually that will often take 20 to 30 minutes to boil enough volume away to add the remainder of the 2nd batch, as I slowly add it. So on average I'd say I boil for 20 to 25 minutes before adding my hops, then about 55 minutes after that I start to recirc through my chiller to sanitize it, and about 15 minutes after that I end my 70 minute boil, and add any late hops if I'm using them for that recipe. Right now while I'm playing around with British malts and styles for the first time, I'm not doing much late-hopping just to get a taste for the malts.

Chiller

Here you can see the wort being pumped into the chiller. I neglected to take a photo of me just prior to this recirculating boiling wort through the chiller (obviously with no cold water turned on) to sanitize the insides of the chiller. Where it's all copper you really have to be careful not to accidentally touch it while this is in place, or let the kids near it. Actually it's so hot that I have to put cork hot pads down on the floor to set it on. I recirc for 10 to 15 minutes. With my gas system I used to have a big problem with that causing air bubbles to form on the bottom and get sucked into the pump and cause cavitation problems (where it stops pumping). But since going electric, the elements are above the intake to the ball valve so that does not happen.

You'll notice the chiller happens to rest nicely on the sink. Once you get it balanced just right it stays there well, and allows good clearance to all hoses.

And out the other end I just hold the hose so I can aerate properly while going into the fermenters. I probably could rig something up to hold the hose there for me so I don't have to stand around, but hey, watching the final product come out is the best part!

Mmmmm, beer