Hello,
This is my first post, I hope I will manage to explain why and what I'm trying to achieve in order to get good feedback.
I don't have a lot of space at home to brew, so I try to keep my gear size limited. I've recently started brewing more IPAs, and I've found that dry hopping is kind of a PITA. If I don't bag the hop pellets they tend to stay in suspension and thus either get in the bottles or get stuck in the bottling wand. OTOH I don't like bagging the hops since I get the feeling the flavors are not so well released. I've also started fermenting with Wyeast 1318 and the krausen from that yeast doesn't seem to go away after fermentation has completed, ever, adding yet more trouble to the bottling problems I was already having with dry hops.
I've been reading that cold crashing might be the best solution to both of this problems, but due to my space limitation a used freezer is not an option for me. So I've then turned into other options, and the only one that seems viable is the BrewJacket. However that's very expensive, and doesn't seem to fit my fermenter which is 32cm tall. Hence, I thought about building my own.
I was looking around AliExpress and there seem to be some good options around. Here is my proposed setup:
- Peltier + heatsink (TEC1-12715) (~40€)
- Power supply 12V 15A (~14€)
I plan to remove the water heat exchange part and just put the metal plate on top of the cold side of the peltier (with thermal paste) and the rod soldered to the plate (maybe cold-soldered since I don't have a soldering station).
My main problem is the rod, specifically the material. BrewJacket uses anodized aluminium, but that's not easy to find. For better thermal performance I would just use plain aluminum (1100?), but I'm worried that I might get off flavors or corrosion. Should I just use stainless steel instead?
Thanks.
This is my first post, I hope I will manage to explain why and what I'm trying to achieve in order to get good feedback.
I don't have a lot of space at home to brew, so I try to keep my gear size limited. I've recently started brewing more IPAs, and I've found that dry hopping is kind of a PITA. If I don't bag the hop pellets they tend to stay in suspension and thus either get in the bottles or get stuck in the bottling wand. OTOH I don't like bagging the hops since I get the feeling the flavors are not so well released. I've also started fermenting with Wyeast 1318 and the krausen from that yeast doesn't seem to go away after fermentation has completed, ever, adding yet more trouble to the bottling problems I was already having with dry hops.
I've been reading that cold crashing might be the best solution to both of this problems, but due to my space limitation a used freezer is not an option for me. So I've then turned into other options, and the only one that seems viable is the BrewJacket. However that's very expensive, and doesn't seem to fit my fermenter which is 32cm tall. Hence, I thought about building my own.
I was looking around AliExpress and there seem to be some good options around. Here is my proposed setup:
- Peltier + heatsink (TEC1-12715) (~40€)
- Power supply 12V 15A (~14€)
I plan to remove the water heat exchange part and just put the metal plate on top of the cold side of the peltier (with thermal paste) and the rod soldered to the plate (maybe cold-soldered since I don't have a soldering station).
My main problem is the rod, specifically the material. BrewJacket uses anodized aluminium, but that's not easy to find. For better thermal performance I would just use plain aluminum (1100?), but I'm worried that I might get off flavors or corrosion. Should I just use stainless steel instead?
Thanks.