Tippy-Dump BrewSculptures Instructions/Manual

The MoreBeer!
Tippy-Dump
BrewSculpture™ Manual
Invoice Number:
Warning
BrewSculpturestm are designed for outdoor use only. Hot water and open flames are dangerous
and can lead to serious injury or death. Please practice safe brewing at all times.
Tippy–Dump Manual • MoreBeer.com • 1–800–600–0033
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Table of Contents
Page 2
• Table of Contents
Page 3
• Introduction
• Tools Required For Setup and Maintenance
Page 4–5
• Setting Up Your MoreBeer! Tippy-Dump BrewSculpture
Page 5–15
• Brew Day on Your Tippy-Dump BrewSculpture
Page 15–17
• Cleaning & Storing Your Tippy-Dump BrewSculpture
Page 17–18
• FAQ
• Tips & Tricks
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Introduction
Congratulations!
You now officially own a MoreBeer! Tippy-Dump BrewSculpture. These systems are the next level in homebrewing, and
are designed to make your upcoming brew days convenient, efficient, and easier. The Tippy-Dump BrewSculpture is
our most revolutionary system, with a tipping mash tun, stainless steel chute, and fold out step to place a trash can
for the spent grain. Emptying your mash has never been easier! In this manual, we’ll go over the proper setup of your
BrewSculpture, how we recommend you use it, cleaning and proper storage, as well as some tips and tricks that may help
you during a brew day on your BrewSculpture. We’ll hopefully be able to answer most of your questions in this manual,
however if there’s anything that you’re not seeing or have questions on after reading through, please don’t hesitate to
give our customer service team a call or email – we’re here to help!
Toll Free: 1–800–600–0033 Or Email: [email protected]
Cheers!
Tools Required For
Setup and Maintenance
So you’ve just received your Tippy-Dump BrewSculpture, • 1 x – Hot Liquor Tank Float Switch Assembly
and like a kid during their birthday, you’ve torn through • 1 x – Stainless Steel Sparge Arm Float Switch Assembly
the wrapping, and have all of your new toys lying in front
of you. Once you’ve gotten through it all, you should be • 2 x – Temperature Probes For Control Panel / Thermowells (Hot Liquor Tank and Mash Tun)
looking at the following items:
NOTE: Your digital BrewSculpture will not include an ex• 1 x – Stainless Steel Tippy-Dump Stand
tension cord for the control panel. Due to us not knowing
how far your BrewSculpture will be from an outlet, we do
• 3 x – Stainless Steel Heavy Duty Kettles
not include this. Please purchase a standard three-prong
• 1 x – False Bottom Screen For Mash Tun
extension cord of the appropriate length to power your
• 1 x – Sight Gauge For Hot Liquor Tank
digital BrewSculpture separately.
• 1 x – Stainless Steel Sparge Arm Assembly
Most of these items should have come assembled; how• 1 x – Copper Heat Exchanger
ever some of them may require adjusting or assembling.
• 1 x – March Pump Assembly
If any of these items appear to be missing, please notify
our customer service team. Tools that may be required for
• 1 x – Whirlpool Assembly on Boil Kettle
assembling and maintenance are:
• 4 x – Tubing Setups
• 2 x – Casters (Two Caster Wheels Total)
• Flat Head Screwdriver (Hose Clamps)
• 1 x – Wheelbarrow Arm (Under Boil Kettle)
• Phillips Head Screwdriver (Pump Head)
• Gas Piping Assembly and Burners
• Crescent Wrench (Quick Disconnects, Ball Valves)
If you ordered the digital package, your sculpture should
• Plumber’s / Teflon Tape (Any Male Pipe Threads)
include all of the above items, as well as the following:
• 1 x – Control Panel
• Line Brush (Tubing Assemblies)
• 1 x – Combination Valve / Solenoid Valve for Hot Liquor • White Scrub Pads (Cleaning Kettles and Frame)
Tank Burner Assembly
• Extension Cord (Needed For Pump Assembly or Control Panel)
• 2 x – Thermowells for Digital Temperature Probes
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Setting Up Your
Tippy-Dump BrewSculpture
With all of the included items and aforementioned tools in front of you, you’re ready to setup your BrewSculpture. These instructions are for the basic setup of all Tippy-Dump BrewSculptures. There will be an extended
list of setup parts and instructions for our Digital Tippy-Dump BrewSculptures at the bottom of this section.
Let’s start at the bottom of the BrewSculpture, and work our way to the top…
The bottom burner tier is going to be where we position the hot liquor tank. The hot liquor tank is the vessel
that will heat and store your sparge water, which is used to rinse all of the sugars from the grains in the mash
tun, and into the boil kettle after you’ve finished mashing. This kettle will be placed on the bottom burner tier,
and will need five items installed to it. These are: A ball valve and quick disconnect on the bottom coupler, a
stainless steel maximizer on the inside of that bottom coupler, a sight gauge adapter to the coupler on the side
of the kettle, the sight gauge will install in this adapter’s small 1/8" hole, and last but not least your 3" Face x
2" Probe thermometer. You’ll also need to install the heat exchanger in the hot liquor tank prior to re-circulating
your mash and sparging.
The second burner tier is going to be where your boil kettle goes. You’ll be able to tell your boil kettle and mash
tun apart from the hot liquor tank, as they’ll only have two ports in the kettle (the hot liquor tank will have a
third off to the side for the sight gauge. NOTE – The digital mash tuns and hot liquor tanks will each have one extra port
for the thermowell. You can technically use either of the two kettles as your boil kettle – so grab one of these and
we’ll start building the boil kettle. NOTE – If your kettles came with thermometers installed, you’ll want to use the kettle
with the smaller probed thermometer as your boil kettle. With this kettle in front of you, we’ll want to install three
things: The ball valve and quick disconnect, the 3" Face x 2" Probe thermometer, and the stainless steel elbow.
The ball valve will thread on to the bottom coupler (using 3–4 wraps of plumber’s tape on the male threads),
the thermometer will thread into the top coupler (also with 3–4 wraps of plumber’s tape on the thermometer’s
male threads), and the elbow will thread into the inside of the bottom coupler’s threads, inside the kettle (no
plumbers tape required - if it leaks it will just be leaking inside the kettle).
Finally we’re ready to install the third and final kettle – your mash tun. Your mash tun is where all of the grains
will be during the mashing and sparging process, and will receive five things during setup: A ball valve and quick
disconnect combination, a 3" Face x 6" Probe (the probe will protrude into the grain bed), the perforated false
bottom screen, and a stainless steel maximizer. First, install the ball valve using plumbers tape on the bottom
coupler. Next, screw the stainless steel maximizer into the inside of the bottom coupler, with the bend in the
tube facing the bottom center of the kettle. With this in place, take the perforated false bottom screen, and
insert it into the kettle with the single-handle side facing upward. It is important that this rests flat on the bottom, with minimal gapping between the screen and the sides of the kettle. Once this is in place, we’re ready
to screw the thermometer into the top coupler using 3–4 wraps of plumber’s tape. It is possible to install the
screen after the thermometer is installed, but is not recommended as damage may occur. We recommend
installing the false bottom prior to the 6" thermometer. Once all of these items are installed, you’ll place the
mash tun in its basket. There is a right and wrong way for the kettle to be installed into the basket. With the
basket sitting on the ground, you’ll notice it’s tilted due to the “locking” tab. With that tab facing you, install
the kettle with the ball valve to the left of that tab. The kettle should essentially be facing the boil kettle when
installed on the BrewSculpture. After doughing-in is when we’ll install the stainless steel sparge arm assembly
to the side of the mash tun.
Your March Pump assembly should come with a mounting bracket pre-mounted to the frame, underneath the
boil kettle. To install the March Pump, simply slide the pump’s mounting plate into the BrewSculpture-mounted
bracket. Your pump should be installed so the "inlet" faces down towards the ground and the pump "outlet"
faces up. Note: The pump outlet will be labeled on your pump head with the word "out".
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The casters, trash step, dump-chute, and control panel (not a standard option) should come pre-mounted.
If these are not included or installed, please call our customer service department.
Digital Tippy-Dump
Additional Equipment Instalations
If you ordered a Digital Tippy-Dump BrewSculpture, you’ll also need to install the following pieces of equipment
prior to use:
Hot Liquor Tank:
The hot liquor tank will also need to have the float switch assembly (on stainless bracket – not the sparge arm)
installed and plugged into the left side of the control panel. This will plug into the input labeled “HLT”. Then,
you’ll need to install the 3" thermowell into the remaining coupler, using 3–4 wraps of Teflon tape around the
male pipe threads. Insert the thermowell labeled “HLT Temp” in the thermowell, and plug it into the right side
of the control panel.
Mash Tun:
The mash tun will also need to have its thermowell installed, however this thermowell should measure longer in
length, to reach closer to the center of the grain bed. The temperature probe labeled “MT Temp” will plug into
the port on the left side of the control panel titled “MT Temp”. The final port on that control panel is where
the sparge arm float switch wire will plug in, once the sparge arm is ready to be installed (after doughing-in).
Pump:
The pumps will need to be plugged into the power box on the control panel, rather than into the wall. Make
sure the “Pump” light is NOT on prior to plugging in, to avoid running the pump dry!
Brew Day on Your
Tippy-Dump BrewSculpture
It’s important to have the following items ready at the start of your brew day:
Wort Chiller — Used at the end of your boil to quickly cool your wort to yeast pitching temperatures.
Measuring Bucket — To measure your mash and hot liquor tank water volumes, and to act as a sanitizer bucket
throughout the brew after this has been performed.
Propane Tank — Should be at least 2/3 full for a standard brew day.
“BBQ” Lighter — Should be long enough to keep hands away from burners while lighting.
Ingredients — May sound like a no-brainer, but it’s better that you make sure all grains / hops are there prior
to starting!
Fermenters — It’s best to have your fermenter or fermenters cleaned and ready to sanitize before the brew, but
if not, have them around so they can be cleaned during the brew.
Other Tools — Spoon, mash paddle, refractometer, note pad, etc.
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Now you’ve gotten the entire sculpture setup, and can’t wait to start brewing! We’ll go through the process of
doing so, and will try to help keep your brew day as quick, easy, and efficient as possible. We would like to start
by recommending that once all of your kettles have been setup, you may want to do a water run starting with
4–5 gallons in your mash tun and hot liquor tanks. Re-circulate the water in the mash tun, then move the tubing
around to mimic a sparge into your boil kettle. This is not only done to remove any dust or stainless shavings,
but is also recommended so that you understand how everything connects and flows prior to starting. Another
thing to look for while performing the water run is any leaky threads or tubing – better to leak water than wort!
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Now you’ve gotten all of your kettles setup, and probably have a couple pieces of equipment sitting around.
These would be your pieces of tubing with quick disconnects and your stainless steel sparge arm. The stainless
sparge arm will install on the mash tun’s kettle wall, and is adjustable.
With all kettles setup, all other items in front of you, and a craving to brew like you’ve never had before, let’s
get started! We’ll want to use our measuring bucket to measure out the appropriate amounts of water into
our mash tun. There are different grist ratios that work well for different brewers and breweries. If you’re using
long tubing lines, you may want to start with more water (since there will be some liquid that is not in contact
with the grains while it recirculates through your tubing). With our Tippy-Dump BrewSculpture, we recommend
starting with a 1.3–1.4 grist ratio, and moving up or down from there. This number is how many quarts of
water to pounds of grain you’ll be using. An example of how to find out the amount of water you’ll need (or
how to get your grist ratio) is below. Let’s say your recipe for 10 gallons will include 20lbs of grain. In order to
find out how much water (in gallons) you’ll need in the mash tun, we’ll use this equation:
1.3(qts) x 20(lbs) = 26qts / 4(4 qts in a gallon) = 6.5(gallons)
We’ll want 6.5 gallons in contact with our 20lbs of grain to achieve a 1.3:1 grist ratio. If we were to fill our
kettle with 6.5 gallons though, we wouldn’t have it all in contact with the grains because there will be what
we call “dead space” under the false bottom: Water that is not in contact with grain. We’ll need to account
for that in our equation, and add that amount of dead space to our 6.5 gallons. In our 15 gallon kettles, we’ll
have approximately 2 gallons underneath the false bottom. Therefore, we’ll want to measure out 8.5 gallons
to achieve a 1.3 grist ratio. In our 26 gallon kettles, we’ll have approximately 2.25 gallons underneath the false
bottom, and will also have more grain (larger batch), so the equation should be re-run with 2.25 gallons of
dead space in mind.
Brew Day
Instructions By Model
Standard Tippy-Dump Brew Day
Once we have our mash water in our mash tun, we can attach the propane tank and fire up the mash tun burner.
We’ll want to heat it up to a temperature above what you’re actually hoping to mash at, as that temperature will
drop once the room temperature grain is introduced and stirred in. This temperature drop will be dependent on
how much grain will be used, how much water you have in the mash tun, and what the ambient temperature is
where you’re brewing. Due to this, it’s hard to recommend how far above your mash temperature you’ll want
to heat your water to prior to doughing-in. A wide, general range would be between 6–12 degrees above what
you’re hoping to mash at. Example: If you’d like to mash at 150°F, heat the water to 156°F–162°F.
While your mash tun water is heating up, let’s measure out our sparge water in our hot liquor tank. We recommend using slightly more than the desired end volume in your hot liquor tank. For example – if you’re hoping
to end with 11 gallons in your boil kettle prior to transferring to your fermenters, measure out 13–14 gallons
into your hot liquor tank. This volume mixed with the volume you’ll be putting into your mash tun will combine
to be very close to the appropriate pre-boil volume in your boil kettle. NOTE – These measurements are general,
and each batch or brewer will vary. We highly recommend taking good notes and using these in future batches to perfect your
brewing style and recipes. We’ll be aiming for around 10°F above the targeted mash temperature for our sparge
water. Since we’ll be re-circulating our mash through the heat exchanger in the hot liquor tank, we don’t want
it to be the same temperature (then you’ll slowly lose mash temperature), but we also don’t want it to be too
hot, as this could pull astringency from the grain husks, or potentially halt enzyme activity.
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Once we’ve gotten the mash tun to the desired “strike temperature” (the temperature that the grain will strike
the water while doughing-in), it’s time to dump and stir the grain into the mash tun. Using a mash paddle, start
pouring the grain into the mash tun distributing it as evenly as possible and stirring constantly. This is done to
help prevent dough balls and clots that will reduce efficiency, and possibly contribute to a stuck sparge. With
all of the grain into the mash tun, double check the temperature to make sure it’s where you want it, and install
the stainless steel sparge assembly. At this point in time, we’ll want to start our timer for one hour, or however
long you’ll be mashing for, and connect the appropriate tubing for re-circulation.
The Flow of the Tubing
Re-Circulating the Mash:
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From the mash tun’s ball valve, we’ll run the longest length of tubing down to the March Pump inlet. Run
one of the other tubing lengths with (2) quick disconnect fittings from the pump outlet to the heat exchanger
inlet (right female QD), and the other one of those tubing lengths from the outlet (left male QD) of the heat
exchanger to the inlet of your sparge arm assembly. You’re now ready to re-circulate your mash! Meanwhile,
the hot liquor tank will probably be getting close to our target temperature soon, so keep an eye on that and
turn the burner off once we’ve reached that temperature.
The Flow of the Tubing
For Sparging:
Note: Tubing is shown outside of
kettle, on brew day place tubing
inside your boil kettle
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The conversion from mashing to sparging is rather simple. We’ll want to close the mash tun’s ball valve, as well
as the ball valve on the March Pump and sparge arm. Attach the tubing running from the mash tun’s ball valve
to the hot liquor tanks ball valve. Now take the fourth piece of tubing with one quick disconnect and run it from
the mash tun’s ball valve to the inside of the boil kettle (try to prevent splashing / hot side aeration). With the
hot liquor temperature at 170°F (or slightly higher), open the hot liquor tank and March Pump ball valves all
the way. Now crack the sparge arm assembly’s ball valve and turn on the pump. The liquid level should now
be dropping in the hot liquor tank, while rising in the mash tun. Once 2–3" has gathered on top of the grain
bed, crack the mash tun ball valve – now we’re sparging!
We want to make sure that during the sparge we do not over fill our mash tun, while also not running the
grain bed dry. This will take a little fine tuning of the ball valves on both the hot liquor tank and mash tun. The
sparge process should take between 45–75 minutes, so if it seems like your hot liquor tank will be dry after 20
minutes, it’s best to close both ball valves a little more to slow down the flow. Finding that perfect flow rate
may take a few batches, so make note on how far open you have the valves, and how long it took to sparge at
that position.
Once we’ve filled our boil kettle past the thermometer probe, it’s time to fire up that burner to bring our wort
to a boil! It’s best to have the burner turned up all the way while getting to a boil, however once we achieve
a boil we may want to turn it down to help prevent a boil over. Make sure to close the ball valves of your hot
liquor tank and mash tun once the desired volume has been collected in your boil kettle.
At the very beginning of the boil, you’ll most likely experience “the hot break”. This is identifiable by a layer of
foam forming on the top of your wort, and is a good thing until it spills all over your BrewSculpture and kettle!
To prevent the hot break from a “boil-over”, either reduce the heat or spray the foam with water out of a spray
bottle. Blowing on the foam can help a little also, but only if the heat has been reduced first. After getting
through the hot break, start your timer for the length of the boil you’ll be doing. 60, 75, and 90 minutes are
generally the most common boil times, but depending on your brewing style and recipe, other times may be
appropriate also. Through the boil, you’ll be adding your hops, adjuncts, and other ingredients as the recipe
calls for them. NOTE – Whole leaf hops will need to be put into a mesh bag, as they will clog the ball valve if they’re not
contained. While your wort is boiling, it may save you time to connect the long piece of tubing to the mash tun
ball valve, and open it allowing any extra liquid drain into a bucket/drain. This way when you dump the mash
down the chute, you’re not getting 3–4 gallons of hot water also – just the spent grain.
With about 15 minutes left in the boil, we’ll want to start the whirlpool re-circulation. While the whirlpool
will be ineffective until we turn the flame off and kill the boil, re-circulating through your tubing, pump, and
potentially your plate or counterflow wort chiller will help ensure that any possible wild yeast or bacteria that
happened to be there is killed by the boiling temperature of the wort.
At the end of the boil, we’ll turn the flame off and allow the whirlpool to run for 1–2 minutes. After this 1–2
minutes is up, you can turn the pump off, and allow the whirlpool to settle. The reason we want to create this
whirlpool is to accumulate all of the hop sediment, grain particles that made it through during sparge, extra
proteins, etc. in the center of the boil kettle. Allow the whirlpool to settle in the center of the kettle for about
15 minutes (you can crack the boil kettle lid open to see if it’s still swirling around – if not then you’re ready to
transfer). If you’re using an immersion chiller, you’ll want to wait until your wort is at the desired temperature
prior to transferring. If you’re using a plate or counterflow chiller, you’ll be ready to transfer through the chiller
once the whirlpool has settled. To transfer into your fermenter(s), you’ll want to close the whirlpool ball valve,
disconnect the quick disconnect, and run that length of tubing to your fermenter(s). Make sure all ball valves
are open, and turn the pump on! NOTE: Transferring at a slightly slower rate will help ensure that you do not create too
much suction on the inside of your boil kettle, which will help to keep the hop sediment remain in the center of the boil kettle,
rather than pulling towards the diverter barb on the side of the kettle.
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Brew Day
Digital Tippy-Dump
Once we have our mash water in our mash tun, we can attach the propane tank, plug the BrewSculpture into
your wall, and fire up the mash tun burner. We’ll want to heat it up to a temperature above what you’re actually
hoping to mash at, as that temperature will drop once the room temperature grain is introduced and stirred
in. This temperature drop will be dependent on how much grain will be used, how much water you have in the
mash tun, and what the ambient temperature is where you’re brewing. Due to this, it’s hard to recommend
how far above your mash temperature you’ll want to heat your water to prior to doughing-in. A wide, general
range would be between 6–12 degrees above what you’re hoping to mash at. Example: If you’d like to mash at
150°F, heat the water to 156°F–162°F.
Lighting the Pilot:
1. Turn on the propane supply.
2. Turn the multifunction valve to “Pilot”, located to the left of the burner behind the shield, and is labeled:
On, Off, and Pilot.
3. Press in and hold the multifunction valve knob and light the pilot light at the burner.
4. Continue pressing in the valve knob for 45 seconds.
5. On releasing the valve knob, the pilot should stay lit. If not, check the thermocouple to ensure that it is
in the flame of the pilot. Do not use the system if you suspect a malfunction.
6. Once the pilot stays lit, turn the multifunction valve to On. BE CAREFUL - as this will ignite the burner.
Make sure your face, hands, clothing, and anything flammable are away from the burner BEFORE turning
the valve to the "On" position.
While your mash tun water is heating up, let’s measure out our sparge water in our hot liquor tank. We recommend using slightly more than the desired end volume in your hot liquor tank. For example – if you’re hoping
to end with 11 gallons in your boil kettle prior to transferring to your fermenters, measure out 13 to 14 gallons
into your hot liquor tank. This volume mixed with the volume you’ll be putting into your mash tun will combine
to be very close to the appropriate pre-boil volume in your boil kettle. NOTE – These measurements are general,
and each batch or brewer will vary. We highly recommend taking good notes and using these in future batches to perfect your
brewing style and recipes. We’ll be aiming for around 10°F above the targeted mash temperature for our sparge
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water. With the hot liquor tank float switch and temperature probe installed in the kettle and plugged into the
control panel, we’re ready to set our controller. Pushing the “SET” button will begin this process, and you’ll
have the option to choose Fahrenheit or Celsius. Press the “SET” button again to view the current set point. This
can be raised or lowered with the arrow buttons, and should be set to where you want your hot liquor tank’s
temperature at. Pressing the “SET” button again will allow you to change the differential. The differential will
allow a “swing” of temperature. We recommend keeping this at “1” – which will turn the burner on as soon as
the temperature falls 1 degree below the set point. Setting the differential at 5 will allow the hot liquor tank to
fall 5 degrees below your set point before turning the burner on. After setting your differential, press the “SET”
button again to choose cooling (C1) or heating (H1). Make sure this is set to heating (H1). At this point, press
the “SET” button again to view the current temperature – nothing should be blinking at this point. We can also
set the mash tun’s controller at this point, but will not want to have the pump plugged in, as it will instantly
get turned on and run dry. Everything on the mash tun should be setup the same as the hot liquor tank, other
than the temperature set point (set this to whatever you’d like to mash at).
Once we’ve gotten the mash tun to the desired “strike temperature” (the temperature that the grain will strike
the water while doughing-in), it’s time to dump and stir the grain into the mash tun. Using a mash paddle, start
pouring the grain into the mash tun distributing it as evenly as possible and stirring constantly. This is done
to help prevent dough balls and clots that will reduce efficiency, and possibly contribute to a stuck sparge.
With all of the grain into the mash tun, double check the temperature to make sure it’s where you want it, and
install the stainless steel sparge assembly. After the sparge arm is installed, plug the float switch into the control
panel. At this point in time, we’ll want to start our timer for one hour, or however long you’ll be mashing for,
and connect the appropriate tubing.
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The Flow of the Tubing
For Re-Circulating the Mash:
From the mash tun’s ball valve, we’ll run the longest length of tubing down to the March Pump inlet. Run one
of the other tubing lengths with (2) quick disconnect fittings from the pump outlet to the heat exchanger inlet,
and the other one of those tubing lengths from the outlet of the heat exchanger to the inlet of your sparge arm
assembly. You’re now ready to re-circulate your mash! Meanwhile, the hot liquor tank will probably be getting
close to our target temperature soon, but will turn off automatically once the set point has been reached.
During the mashing process, we’ll want to have the pump plugged into the “PUMP” outlet, and have the dial
on the right of the control panel switched to “Temp. Switch”.
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The Flow of the Tubing
For Sparging:
Note: Tubing is shown outside of
kettle, on brew day place tubing
inside your boil kettle
The conversion from mashing to sparging is rather simple. We’ll want to close the mash tun’s ball valve, as
well as the ball valve on the March Pump and sparge arm. Attach the tubing running from the mash tun’s ball
valve to the hot liquor tanks ball valve. Now take the fourth piece of tubing with one quick disconnect and run
it from the mash tun’s ball valve to the inside of the boil kettle (try to prevent splashing / hot side aeration).
With the hot liquor temperature at 170°F (or slightly higher), open the hot liquor tank and March Pump ball
valves all the way. Now crack the sparge arm assembly’s ball valve and turn the dial on the control panel to
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“Float Switch”. The pump should turn on, and the liquid level should now be dropping in the hot liquor tank,
while rising in the mash tun. Once 2–3" has gathered on top of the grain bed, the float switch should be in
position to have floated up to the top, which will turn off the pump. When the pump has been told to turn off
by the float switch, crack the mash tun ball valve – now we’re sparging!
We want to make sure that during the sparge we do not over fill our mash tun, while also not running the grain
bed dry. The float switch will monitor this for the most part, but we will still need a little fine tuning of the ball
valves on both the hot liquor tank and mash tun. The sparge process should take between 45–75 minutes, so
if it seems like your hot liquor tank will be dry after 20 minutes, it’s best to close both ball valves a little more
to slow down the flow. Finding that perfect flow rate may take a few batches, so make note on how far open
you have the valves, and how long it took to sparge at that position.
Once we’ve filled our boil kettle past the thermometer probe, it’s time to fire up that burner to bring our wort
to a boil! It’s best to have the burner turned up all the way while getting to a boil, however once we achieve
a boil we may want to turn it down to help prevent a boil over. Make sure to close the ball valves of your hot
liquor tank and mash tun once the desired volume has been collected in your boil kettle.
At the very beginning of the boil, you’ll most likely experience “the hot break”. This is identifiable by a layer
of foam forming on the top of your wort, and is a good thing until it spills all over your BrewSculpture and
kettle! To prevent the hot break from a “boil-over”, either reduce the heat or spray the foam with water out
of a spray bottle. Blowing on the foam can help a little also, but only if the heat has been reduced first. After
getting through the hot break, start your timer for the length of the boil you’ll be doing. 60, 75, and 90 minutes
are generally the most common boil times, but depending on your brewing style and recipe, other times may be
appropriate also. Through the boil, you’ll be adding your hops, adjuncts, and other ingredients as the recipe
calls for them. NOTE – Whole leaf hops will need to be put into a mesh bag, as they will clog the ball valve if they’re not
contained. While your wort is boiling, it may save you time to connect the long piece of tubing to the mash tun
ball valve, and open it allowing any extra liquid drain into a bucket/drain. This way when you dump the mash
down the chute, you’re not getting 3–4 gallons of hot water also – just the spent grain.
With about 15 minutes left in the boil, we’ll want to start the whirlpool re-circulation. During the recirculation
of the wort, we will want to unplug the pump from the “Pump” outlet, and plug it into the “Always On” outlet.
With all tubing connected properly, turn the dial on the control panel to “On”. This should turn the pump on.
To turn it off, simply unplug the pump.
While the whirlpool will be ineffective until we turn the flame off and kill the boil, re-circulating through your
tubing, pump, and potentially your plate or counterflow wort chiller will help ensure that any possible wild
yeast or bacteria that happened to be there is killed by the boiling temperature of the wort.
At the end of the boil, we’ll turn the flame off and allow the whirlpool to run for 1–2 minutes. After this 1–2
minutes is up, you can turn the pump off, and allow the whirlpool to settle. The reason we want to create this
whirlpool is to accumulate all of the hop sediment, grain particles that made it through during sparge, extra
proteins, etc. in the center of the boil kettle. Allow the whirlpool to settle in the center of the kettle for about
15 minutes (you can crack the boil kettle lid open to see if it’s still swirling around – if not then you’re ready to
transfer). If you’re using an immersion chiller, you’ll want to wait until your wort is at the desired temperature
prior to transferring. If you’re using a plate or counterflow chiller, you’ll be ready to transfer through the chiller
once the whirlpool has settled. To transfer into your fermenter(s), you’ll want to close the whirlpool ball valve,
disconnect the quick disconnect and run that length of tubing to your fermenter(s). Make sure all ball valves
are open, and turn the pump on! NOTE: Transferring at a slightly slower rate will help ensure that you do not create too
much suction on the inside of your boil kettle, which will help to keep the hop sediment remain in the center of the boil kettle,
rather than pulling towards the diverter barb on the side of the kettle.
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How The Digital Package Works:
• The Mash Tun controller will be controlling the pump during your mash process. When the temperature of
your mash falls below the set point on the controller, it will tell the pump to turn on, pumping your mash
through the heat exchanger, gradually bringing it back to the proper temperature.
• The Hot Liquor Tank controller will be controlling the solenoid valve in front of your hot liquor tank burner.
When the cooler mash runs through the heat exchanger, this will lower your hot liquor water. When this water
drops below your set point, the digital controller will tell the solenoid valve to open, and the pilot light will
ignite the burner until the set point is reached again, at which point the controller will tell the solenoid valve
to close, turning the burner off.
• The dial on the right of the control panel will tell your pump outlet box whether it should be listening to the
mash tun temperature / controller, or the mash tun liquid level / float switch. When in “Temp. Switch”, the
pump will be listening to your mash tun set point. When in “Float Switch”, the pump will be listening to your
mash tun float switch. “Temp. Switch” should be used during mash, “Float Switch” should be used during
sparge.
• While sparging, switch the dial to “Float Switch” mode. The pump will now turn on until the float switch has
risen to the top, at which point it will shut the pump off. When enough liquid drains from your mash tun into
the boil kettle, the float switch will lower, turning the pump back on and pumping hot liquor tank water to
the top of the mash tun, eventually turning the pump back off.
• The hot liquor tank float switch is an extra safety pre-caution. Once the liquid level of the hot liquor tank
goes below the float switch, the burner under the hot liquor tank will not turn on, preventing scorching or
excessive gas consumption.
• The “Always On” outlet will have power running to it as long as your control panel is plugged in and the dial is
switched to “On”. This should be used when you’re boiling your wort and recirculating through the whirlpool
weld. To turn the pump off during this time, simply unplug it, turn the ball valve on the pump outlet (pump
will be on, but won’t be moving wort), or turn the dial to “Off”.
Cleaning and Storing
Your Tippy-Dump BrewSculpture
Cleaning is one of the last things that anyone wants to do after finishing a brew day, but anybody that’s put
it off before will tell you, it’s much easier to do right after the brew rather than waiting until your next brew!
If you have the digital BrewSculpture, please make sure to remove and unplug all of the temperature and float switches.
Generally speaking, the hot liquor tank will not need to be cleaned, but may need to be dried out/wiped
down. Removing and cleaning the sight gauge, maximizer, ball valve assembly, sparge ring, and thermometer
is recommended, but perhaps not after every brew. Every 2–3 brews should be acceptable, but this completely
depends on how it’s stored and how long between brews it has been.
The mash tun will need to be dumped, but luckily the Tippy-Dump feature makes this rather simple! Having
a scoop, mash paddle, or spoon will allow you to scoop the grain out of the mash tun while it’s tipped over.
Note that your trash can or bag might not stay on the step by itself. This grain will probably still be hot, so
be careful not to dump it onto yourself or anyone else. Once most of the grain has been dumped, remove the
thermometer and false bottom, and clean these off (do not submerge the thermometer into water). Remove
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the maximizer, but leave the ball valve installed. Fill the kettle with 2–3 gallons of water and scrub any sugars or
grains off the kettle walls with a white scrub pad (our part number CE27) or wash cloth. Once the kettle looks
clean and there are no more sugar or grain spots, you can empty all water and remove the ball valve assembly.
All of the subparts of your kettles (other than the thermometers) should be placed in a bucket of PBW water
and allowed to soak for 10–15 minutes at least. PBW will help to break down any residual sugar or wort on
these parts, and will make them easier to unthread and keep clean.
Your boil kettle will most likely have some foam residue, hop material, and trub on the walls and bottom.
There is also most likely some liquid left over from the boil, so we recommend dumping that out, then spraying
and wiping it down with a hose and scrub pad until all visual dirt, hops, and residual sugar has been removed.
After the kettle appears clean, remove the ball valve assembly, thermometer, and elbow inside the kettle. Other
than the thermometer, these should be placed in your PBW bucket and allowed to soak.
Cleaning and drying your kettles and frame shouldn’t be too difficult. Something to keep in mind is that cleaning your equipment right away will make it easier, and will help keep your BrewSculpture looking newer for
longer. After your brew day, clean up your equipment as soon as possible! To allow your kettles to completely
drain/dry out, you can keep them stored upside down on their respective burner tiers (other than the mash
tun, which is in the basket), with their lids resting on top (the bottom of the kettle). Also, storing your propane
regulator with a cover or tape over the inlet will help prevent spiders or other bugs from building a home in
your gas system, which will clog the flow of your propane. Always try to store your BrewSculpture in the best
conditions possible. Every 5–6 months it is probably a good idea to check your thermometers’ calibrations.
They most likely have remained accurate, but double checking is easy and never hurts. To calibrate, you’ll need
to have a 1/16" hex key. This will go into the hex nut on the side of the thermometer, and will adjust the face
of the thermometer. While the probe is in a bath of ice water, check to make sure it’s reading 32–33°F. If not,
adjust the hex nut until it is. Then, place the probe in boiling water and make sure the thermometer is reading
211–212°F (NOTE – Boiling temperature is variable by elevation. Please calibrate the thermometer accurately to your
personal elevation’s boiling temperature). A snow storm or flood is not ideal!
FAQ, Tips & Tricks
Below are a few things that we commonly get calls about, have learned over the years, or can recommend to
anyone that is looking to upgrade their system.
FAQ
Q: My tubing assembly only has one fitting on it – is that how it’s supposed to be?
A: Yes, that fitting side is the inlet and will connect to the quick disconnects on your ball valves.
Q: I connected all of the tubing as suggested in this manual, but even with all of the ball valves completely
open, I can’t get the pump to move the wort! How should I proceed?
A: The pump is not great at moving air, but is excellent at moving liquid! The pump assembly will have a “tee”
fitting on it, with a ball valve on that tee. Try priming the lines by opening and re-closing this ball valve (with
a bucket underneath it…). This will get the pump head full of liquid hopefully, and the air in the rest of the
lines should get pushed out by this liquid. If this doesn’t completely solve the problem, try closing the pump’s
outlet ball valve, remove the tubing, and open / close that valve. After you get a steady stream of liquid exiting, re-attach the tubing and turn the pump on. Just remember – the pump pushes, but does not pull. It will
not suck liquid from one vessel and move it to another, so always have gravity working in your favor to feed
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the pump.
Q: My propane tank feels pretty full, but I’m not getting a good flow through my burners – what’s wrong?
A: There could be a couple of things wrong. First – if you’re brewing in a cold ambient temperature, try submerging the bottom half of the tank in a hot bucket of water. The cold temperature affects the density of the
propane. It is also possible that a spider or other bug has gotten into the gas plumbing, in which case it will
need to be removed.
Q: My BrewSculpture doesn’t have a wort chiller – why not?
A: A wort chiller is an item that many brewers may have prior to owning their BrewSculpture. We do offer these,
but don’t want to charge anyone for something they may already have! Our full line of wort chillers can be
viewed at MoreBeer.com.
Tips & Tricks
Double Batches:
If you’re wanting to brew two batches back to back, you’re in for a long day! A trick to shorten it is to get
a second March Pump, re-fill the hot liquor tank right after sparge, dump the old grain out, and start your
second mash using the second pump to re-circulate your mash while the original batch is being whirlpooled
by the first pump. By the time your first batch is out of the boil kettle, the second will be ready to sparge!
NOTE: If you’re using an immersion chiller, chilling times may vary.
Marking The Sight Gauge:
Our sight gauges are universal, which means they can be used on our kettles, on converted kegs, on other kettles,
etc. Due to this, we do not have them marked off with how many gallons you have in your kettle. If you wish
to do so, measuring out different volumes of water and marking the sight gauge with a sharpie will allow you
to know how much water you have left in your hot liquor tank during sparging. This could be useful to know
how many gallons per minute you’re sparging at. If you want to sparge in 60 minutes, and you want to sparge
10 gallons in that time, you’ll know that you should be dropping about 1 gallon every 6 minutes.
Knowing Your Boil Kettle Volume:
Since the boil kettle does not have a sight gauge, finding the appropriate pre-boil volume / ending volume isn’t
as easy. A good way to do this is to mark your mash paddle. Simply measure out the particular volumes you
wish to note, and make the appropriate marks on your mash paddle!
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