Basement brewery ventilation

FrostyBeach said:
Look up "ejector pump" and you'll find them. However, if you only need to remove the condensate you could just use the pumps that are used in hvac systems.
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Yep, that's them. Thanks.
Well, I'll probably want to clean and rinse the brewzilla and stuff without having to carry them upstairs. I only use dish soap, with pbw maybe every sixth batch. For the latter, I'd bring it outside I guess.
 
Donoroto said:
I am considering a similar thing, and so I am quite interested in this.

At first my main concern was your trying to get 400 cfm through a 4" duct. It doesn't seem like it'll be sufficient.

But then the comments about the failures of venting and the successes of condensing made me think that ventilation, especially without make-up air, won't do it.

My current problem is that I have neither water nor drain in the cellar. Water is easy to fix, drain is a bit complicated. But yhat's likely where I will head.
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Interesting! I had the same issues 10 plus years ago.
View attachment 29994View attachment 29995View attachment 29996get old and have bad joints you find ways to "Get it brewed".
 
Hi PJW,
In regards to your project.
I have the basement setup with a bathroom vent, I have used the steam condensing lid on the spike trio and used a lot of water. Lost count after 8 or 9 5 gallon buckets buckets of water. So to conserve water and save $.
I built out of copper fittings an insert for the steam condenser spike unit. I do not use the water spray and use 5 gallons of chilled water to circulate thru the insert.
here is a link to a video of the unit in action 20240220_154123.mp4 link expires Aug 29 2024
Currently planning to make a hood down from the ceiling fan for summer time brewing 20 inches down from ceiling small rectangle 9.375 by 10 inches and lower rectangle 20 inches by 20 inches.
PS if you plan on making a hole to install a new vent, make the hole a little bigger than the round duct so you can attach the flexible hose to the vent and push it all thru the new opening in to the ceiling space in the basement room from the outside.
 

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StarvinMarvin said:
Hi PJW,
In regards to your project.
I have the basement setup with a bathroom vent, I have used the steam condensing lid on the spike trio and used a lot of water. Lost count after 8 or 9 5 gallon buckets buckets of water. So to conserve water and save $.
I built out of copper fittings an insert for the steam condenser spike unit. I do not use the water spray and use 5 gallons of chilled water to circulate thru the insert.
here is a link to a video of the unit in action 20240220_154123.mp4 link expires Aug 29 2024
Currently planning to make a hood down from the ceiling fan for summer time brewing 20 inches down from ceiling small rectangle 9.375 by 10 inches and lower rectangle 20 inches by 20 inches.
PS if you plan on making a hole to install a new vent, make the hole a little bigger than the round duct so you can attach the flexible hose to the vent and push it all thru the new opening in to the ceiling space in the basement room from the outside.
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Your condenser was setup wrong. 90 minute boils waste 7 gallons on mine.

I use it for clean up
 
I have been thinking about using a pump in a bucket to recirculate through the condenser to save on water.
This hasn't gone beyond just being a thought though.
The payback on the pump through water savings is likely many years...
 
Ozarks Mountain Brewery said:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CG4KPFX5?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
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That works out to 13GPM, but at what pressure, I doubt that it would be very high.
It says maximum 10 feet of lift, that is not much pressure at all, too low to calculate in PSI.
The spray nozzle is designed to work at a specific pressure and flow rate, if either is below design, it won't work very well.
I find that I need to have my tap open all the way to keep it working properly.
Throttling the flow uses less water, but then I get steam escaping from the lid of the kettle, not good...
I would probably need something with a lot more power than that.
Hence, I just use the tap water...
 
I use it for my glyco chiller on a 14 gallon fermenter, it's not fast but cheap and it works
 
So is the issue pressure, and not (as much) volume? I wonder if one of those pressure-compensation tanks might help. These are the one or 2 gallon tanks that you hook up to a hot water heater. They have a bladder inside separating the air from the water, and the air is pressurized. It helps maintain a constant pressure.
 
Donoroto said:
So is the issue pressure, and not (as much) volume? I wonder if one of those pressure-compensation tanks might help. These are the one or 2 gallon tanks that you hook up to a hot water heater. They have a bladder inside separating the air from the water, and the air is pressurized. It helps maintain a constant pressure.
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those tanks are generally so you dont get a surge. but you still have to have a pump that will pressurize that tank in the first place.

diaphragm pumps will do it, but they are a bit loud.

I just use a hose bib and a solenoid to turn it on and off.
 
Donoroto said:
So is the issue pressure, and not (as much) volume? I wonder if one of those pressure-compensation tanks might help. These are the one or 2 gallon tanks that you hook up to a hot water heater. They have a bladder inside separating the air from the water, and the air is pressurized. It helps maintain a constant pressure.
Click to expand...
Spray nozzles will require specific minimum pressures at specific flow rates to function properly. In the Hydraulics business pressure is nearly free, you can develop very high pressures with small compact pumps, flow on the other hand is where the dollars come in. Having high flow and high pressure = $$$$. The nozzle in the condenser will be designed around typical available residential pressure and flow rates. In order to duplicate that you need a pump that can replicate those conditions, probably 5-10 GPM at 30-40 PSI.
Sorry to be sciencey about this (I make my living in the Hydraulics business), occupational hazard...
 
Craigerrr said:
Spray nozzles will require specific minimum pressures at specific flow rates to function properly. In the Hydraulics business pressure is nearly free, you can develop very high pressures with small compact pumps, flow on the other hand is where the dollars come in. Having high flow and high pressure = $$$$. The nozzle in the condenser will be designed around typical available residential pressure and flow rates. In order to duplicate that you need a pump that can replicate those conditions, probably 5-10 GPM at 30-40 PSI.
Sorry to be sciencey about this (I make my living in the Hydraulics business), occupational hazard...
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I had a march pump that over 10gpm, but only about 8psi. Just dribbled.

hose bib always spays like mad
 
Craigerrr said:
Spray nozzles will require specific minimum pressures at specific flow rates to function properly. In the Hydraulics business pressure is nearly free, you can develop very high pressures with small compact pumps, flow on the other hand is where the dollars come in. Having high flow and high pressure = $$$$. The nozzle in the condenser will be designed around typical available residential pressure and flow rates. In order to duplicate that you need a pump that can replicate those conditions, probably 5-10 GPM at 30-40 PSI.
Sorry to be sciencey about this (I make my living in the Hydraulics business), occupational hazard...
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Cool beans.

The spray doesn't actually USE 5 gpm, right? You just need to be able to get that kind of volume.

How much water you think you use in an hour?
 
Donoroto said:
Cool beans.

The spray doesn't actually USE 5 gpm, right? You just need to be able to get that kind of volume.

How much water you think you use in an hour?
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If you throttle the flow back, pressure won't build at the tip of the nozzle, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the nozzle will pass that much flow.
Take your garden hose for instance.
With no spray nozzle on it water flows freely at what ever rate your city, or well pump delivers to you.
Add your spray nozzle and the that flow and pressure can become much more dynamic.
The restriction at the nozzle has reduced the flow rate considerably.
Now, keep the spray nozzle open, and throttle back the flow at the tap.
You are similarly reducing the flow rate, but doing so before the spray nozzle.
The spray therefore becomes much less dynamic as there is not enough flow to maintain the pressure at the nozzle.
Make sense?
I will have a look at the nozzle and see if it has a flow rate on it.
The spray nozzles I have sold always have that information on them.
They are most commonly used with water, but I have sold them for gear box applications.
Viscosity of the fluid also plays a huge factor.
 
Craigerrr said:
If you throttle the flow back, pressure won't build at the tip of the nozzle, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the nozzle will pass that much flow.
Take your garden hose for instance.
With no spray nozzle on it water flows freely at what ever rate your city, or well pump delivers to you.
Add your spray nozzle and the that flow and pressure can become much more dynamic.
The restriction at the nozzle has reduced the flow rate considerably.
Now, keep the spray nozzle open, and throttle back the flow at the tap.
You are similarly reducing the flow rate, but doing so before the spray nozzle.
The spray therefore becomes much less dynamic as there is not enough flow to maintain the pressure at the nozzle.
Make sense?
I will have a look at the nozzle and see if it has a flow rate on it.
The spray nozzles I have sold always have that information on them.
They are most commonly used with water, but I have sold them for gear box applications.
Viscosity of the fluid also plays a huge factor.
Click to expand...
I'm mostly concerned with how much water I'll need to dispose of. 30 gallons is not too much.
 
Lots of great suggestions here. I brew in my basement with an electric kettle and I do not ventilate. I am brewing in the laundry room with the furnace fan running so air is getting circulated. I have only had issues one time when it was really cold outside and the steam condensed on the pipes that service my hot water boiler. I just wiped off the pipes. I brew in the summer with the air conditioner running and I brew in the winter with the heat on. I do have my fresh air intake coming in from the outside into the same room.
 
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