HOMEBREW Digest #1926 Wed 03 January 1996

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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Rob Gardner, Digest Janitor


Contents:
  Slow Yeast (patricia hust)
  Chicago brew scene (tfields)
  Speed Boiler (SSLOFL)
  ... and Crabtree (Steve Alexander)
  RE: Chicago Water (Jay Weissler)
  1st Wort Hopping (George.Fix)
  sugar in beer (Jeff Frane)
  First Timer Questions (jcmas)
  Dark Mysteries of brewing..... ("Michael J. LeLaurin, IIS/BTC, 245-7880")
  Source for CaCl? Other Salts. (Steve Alexander)
  GRAINMILL,FLAMEOUT (ROTH.TER)
  Re: glyceol question (Bird)
  yeast managment/YCKCo (Dan McConnell)
  Ah, The Digest (Gregory G. Graboski)
  RE:Wyeast 1056 problems ("Olson, Greger J - CIV/911-2")
  Rock Andy. (Russell Mast)
  Rogue's yeast and recipe ideas? ("mike spinelli")
  north dallas homebrew shops (Larry N. Lowe)
  Hunter AirStat or other suitable controller (Fritz Wilson)
  Laminar Flow Hood(Featured in Brewing Techniques May/June) (BixMeister)
  Digital Thermometers/Thermometer Rant (Kirk R Fleming)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 2 Jan 1996 08:20:26 -0600 (CST) From: phust at unlinfo.unl.edu (patricia hust) Subject: Slow Yeast 12/31/95 I brewed a batch of English Mild Brown using extract and a pound of various grains. For the first time I used liquid yeast (Wyeast London ESB 1968). It had a date of 12/20/95 on it and my local homebrew supply retailer said that since it was that fresh there would be no need to make a starter for greater volume. I just pitched it direct at about 70F. Well, much to my surprise there was absolutely no activity all of yeasterday! I ignored Papazian's advice and worried! I did have a homebrew, however. I could not contact the retailer (New Year's Day), but I did make a frantic call to our local brew club president who told me I had not committed any major sins and to give it another 12 hours and then if nothing was happening to call the retailer and make plans to re-pitch. This morning my brown is finally starting to bubble away , but only about one bubble every 15 seconds. Should it have taken over 36 hours, and is my bubble rate fast enough? Could my error, if there was one, have been insufficient aeration? I just splashed my cooled wort into the fermenter and then after pitching the yeast, I sloshed the fermenter for a minute or so. Sorry to have run on for this long, but I hate to repeat mistakes since I manage to come up with so many new ones. Thanx for any replies. Jim Hust (yes, I use my wife's account) Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 02 Jan 96 09:41:39 EST From: tfields at relay.com Subject: Chicago brew scene NOTE: Chicago area posting. I'll be in the Chicago (actually Oakbrook Terrace) area next week and would appreciate any brewing establishment recommendations. Please reply to my compuserve address. "reeb!" Tim Fields ... Fairfax, VA 74247.551 at compuserve.com Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 1996 09:16:00 -0600 From: SSLOFL at ccmail.monsanto.com Subject: Speed Boiler I am currently experimenting with a NG hot water heater burner for a "speed boiler" in my basement. I acquired an old hot water heater from my friend, and removed the element. The gas element comes off by unhooking a single fitting and sliding it out. I would assume that most brands of heaters would be the same way so one could replace the element if needed. Just keep a crescent wrench in your vehicle and stop if you see an old heater on a curb! The gas dryer heater element mentioned awhile back on the HBD was a good idea as well, but my friend didn't have one of those that I could tear apart! Has anyone looked into this further or maybe even tried it? I am going to hook up the element in my basement under a range fume hood that is vented outside. In the same room, I'm going to install a CO detector to be safe. I am going to use an in-line valve to control the gas flow to the burner. The only thing about this setup is that the burner will have to be supervised while in use. Since I could not get the safety control to work, one must watch the flame to make sure it doesn't go out and fill the basement with gas fumes. I will post my results later. I strongly suggest that anyone else experimenting with a gas burner in their home in any way other than it is originally intended should use a good fume hood and a CO detector. A large purchased range hood or homemade one should work fine, but make sure it is vented outside! Cheap range hoods simply filter out particles of smoke and blow the air somewhere else in the house. As for CO detectors, all will work but not all are practical for this use. First alert and some others are excellent detectors, but they are not recommended in this case because everytime they are set off, they require a new $20.00 cartridge. This could get expensive at startup of a new idea. I recommend the types that are resettable, so they can be used over and over without additional costs other than batteries. Please post any warnings, comments, or other any designs or ideas pertaining to gas burners on a future HBD or e-mail. Is anyone else is using a modified burner from an old gas appliance to brew? Thanks, Shane Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 1996 10:18:48 -0500 From: Steve Alexander <stevea at clv.mcd.mot.com> Subject: ... and Crabtree Tracy Aquilla writes: ... >Steve Alexander <stevea at clv.mcd.mot.com> says: >>Re: a previous post - >>Correction: Tracy Aquilla correctly points out that the Crabtree >>effect really refers to the tendency of yeast to ferment rather than >>respire in the the presence of glucose and doesn't necessarily mean no >>growth or reproduction, tho' several brewing sources suggest it. I >>think the important point is that with organisms like yeast with >>multiple metabolic pathways, that rates for a particular metabolic >>pathway have many dependencies. > >True, in fact, ALL organisms have multiple metabolic pathways (not just Tho' many homofermentative organisms (e.g. some lacto bacilli) are dependent on a single pathway for cell energetics. >yeast) and rates of the various pathways DO depend on numerous parameters. >However, the important point I was trying to make is that in the case of S. >cerevisiae, respiration does not occur in the presence of glucose, >regardless of oxygen concentration (see Antonie van Leeuwenhoek >63(3-4):343-52, 1993, for a recent review). The reason I brought this up is >that most homebrewing authors state or imply that respiration occurs for a >brief period after pitching the yeast, which appears to be in direct >disagreement with the scientific literature on this subject. If anyone's >really interested in this stuff, I have started collecting some references >and I'd be glad to share them and summarize my findings. >Email me for details. > Tracy in Vermont > aquilla at salus.med.uvm.edu Totally agree here. I don't have the references under my nose at the moment, but it appears that normal wort levels of glucose exceed the level necessary for the crabtree effect (like 1%w/v and 0.4%w/v from memory). This implies that yeast ferment rather that respire immediately after pitching. Also catabolic repression of permease and therefore no maltose consumption should take place immediately after pitching! Not the way it's pictured in many brewing books is it? Stevea Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 96 09:32:18 -0600 From: jay_weissler at il.us.swissbank.com (Jay Weissler) Subject: RE: Chicago Water Steve asks about Chicago water > I recently moved to the Chicago Suburbs (Naperville). I've been told that I don't have to worry about water treatment. Where I live receives city water from Lake Michigan. >Does anyone know if Chicago water needs to be treated for all grain brewing? The answer is sometimes yes, sometimes no. I live in Winnetka. Our water will differ slightly from other North Shore water districts and may differ from your's...but... 1) It is always high in chlorine...which I remove with a charcoal filter. 2) Depending on my grain bill, I sometimes find my mash pH too high after the acid rest. I will acidify in a way consistent with the style. 3) Sometimes the sparge pH is too high so I acidify. Chicago water is often great for brewing as is. When acidification is called for, the additions are usually slight. You might find in your brewery that you don't even need them. However, I would strongly recommend the de-clorinization and a pH meter or test papers. Welcome to town. jayw Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 96 09:39:47 -0600 From: George.Fix at utamat.uta.edu Subject: 1st Wort Hopping Pat Maloney in HBD#1917 asks about 1st wort hopping. This is an old German procedure where the "aroma hops" (traditionally a third of the total) are added to the brew kettle just before it is filled. As far as I can tell this procedure disappeared many decades ago, and for the better part of the 20th century it has been universally accepted that beer aroma is best influenced by late kettle additions, post-boil additions to hot wort (e.g., whirlpool hopping), and/or cold side hopping during beer maturation. Recent research in Germany (c.f., Brauwelt, 1995, Vol.4)) suggests that this point of view may be overlooking some important effects. Using gas chromatography they studied a series of brews where everything was kept the same except for the point where the aroma hops were added. The latter consisted of a third of the total and were German Tettnangers. The beer was a standard Pilsner (OE ~12 P [1.048] and IBUs ~40 mg/l). In addition to the chromatographic study a professional taste panel was employed to identify preferences. The following were the major conclusions: (i) While a lot of hop oil constituents are lost during wort boiling a nontrivial fraction, at concentrations far higher than anticipated, become bound up with other wort constituents. They then underwent a series of complex and subtle reactions (mechanisms that would make those occurring in fermentation look like child's play!). This suggest that the main influence of the time of hop additions may be more on the character of the flavor induced than on its intensity. The striking differences in the chromatographs supports this view, as well as the well defined preferences of the taste panel that were reported. (ii) Whirlpool hopping got the lowest marks of all the procedures. This comes as no surprise for during the last few years I have developed a "gut feeling" that this procedure may be doing as much harm as good. Interestingly, DeClerck anticipated these results. This was undoubtly behind his recommendation that late addition hops be pre-processed in boiling water to remove "undesirable constituents". (iii) Top marks were given the the brew using 1st wort hopping, and in fact the brewery which participated in this study has now switched from whirlpool hopping to 1st wort hopping. All of this comes as a complete surprise to me, and I still have more questions about the procedure than insights. (Just when think you have got a book written something like this comes along!). Nevertheless, having heard about these results from friends nearly a year ago, I have evolved into something of a convert at least for German Pilsners and exports. It can not be overemphasized that only the finest aroma hops can be used in this procedure, a fact I found out the hard way! George Fix Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 02 Jan 1996 08:11:06 -0800 From: jfrane at teleport.com (Jeff Frane) Subject: sugar in beer >From: "James Hojel" <JTroy at msn.com> >2) A fuzzy fat bearded man gave me some books last week on Real Ale. >Reviewing the recipes, I noticed that the British are very fond of using >sugars. The two primary types used are cane and inverted sugars. My first >task is obtaining these sugars. Does anyone know where one can purchase these >sugars in the USA and/or how to make them (inverted)? Another question that >arose is what exactly do these sugars contributed to the beer. Other than the >obvious alcohol, what do these sugars contribute as far as taste, body, and >aroma? Is it possible to use 2-row and a low mash temp. to substitute using >sugar? In conclusion, I'm trying to get a grip on brewing with sugars and how >to substitute for them while retaining the desired characteristics. There was a faintly interesting article a couple of years ago in Zymurgy that specifically dealt with sugars in brewing -- you might want to look into that for a little detail. Specifically, there's a sidebar that explains how to invert sugar at home; you can buy invert sugar at a candy supply store (or a place that provides supplies for cake decorators). Cane sugar is likely already in your house: in the sugarbowl. It just means sugar derived from cane rather than beets; check your package for details. In all probability, sugar became important to British brewing practice because it was readily available and cheaper than malt (the British controlled the sugar trade for a loooong time). There are instances where sugar is irreplaceable (Belgian beers, for example), but even the Brits make all-malt beer. Best thing to do is try for yourself and see what works. Another good adjunct to use (better, really, in some ways) is flaked maize, which is apparently very popular in England these days. Helps to boost alcohol without making the beer too heavy. Oh, BTW, the Zymurgy article was written by some guy named Frane. - --Jeff Frane Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 02 Jan 96 10:59:46 CST From: jcmas at searle.monsanto.com Subject: First Timer Questions I brewed my first batch of beer last Saturday, an all-malt amber from a kit. I have some questions Hope you can help. 1. When boiling, is it necessary to cover the boil?? I have 4 books and only 1 of the book mentions covering the boil. 2. When transferring to the fermenter, should you use a strainer?? I used a strainer and trapped about a cup of mud-like matter, maybe the hops?? 3. I pitched the yeast and after 4-5 hours I noticed occasional air bubbles in the air lock. During the next 36 hours there was a constant stream of air bubbles in the air lock, but after that it has subsided to almost nothing. Could it be done?? Should I do anything, or just wait a bit?? Thanks for your help! John E-Mail address :: JCMAS at SEARLE.MONSANTO.COM Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 02 Jan 96 11:00:18 -0600 From: "Michael J. LeLaurin, IIS/BTC, 245-7880" <lelaurin at shellus.com> Subject: Dark Mysteries of brewing..... All, I am an extract/specialty grains brewer (about 2 dozen batches).... The last 2 or 3 batches of beer that I have brewed have turned out too dark in color. One was an American Brown Ale, but the other 2 were not supposed to be dark. The Brown looked more like a real dark porter or light stout. A little history...: I do full 5 gallon, 1 hour boils and chill via a immersion chiller. Use Wyeast in almost all batches. My boiling pot never has the appearance of scourching on the bottom. I use a Cajun Cooker as the heat source. Any help/ideas would be appreciated. Thanx................ ********************************************************************** * Michael J. LeLaurin | oooooo |I was told by my wife that * * Integrated Interpretation| oooooooo |if I brew one more batch * * Shell EP Technology Co. | /_| oooooo |of beer she would leave me!* * Phone (713)245-7880 |// | ooo | * * FAX (713)245-7581 |\\_| oo | | * * | \_| o| | I'm going to miss her :-) * * | |______| | * *===================================================================== * e-mail:lelaurin internet:lelaurin at shell.com PROFS id mjl8 * ********************************************************************** Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 1996 12:37:29 -0500 From: Steve Alexander <stevea at clv.mcd.mot.com> Subject: Source for CaCl? Other Salts. Dave Houseman writes requesting a source for CaCl. I'm interested in this as well. On a related note. Ball Corp packages NaCl and hydrated lime Ca(OH).wH2O for pickling uses. The Sodium Cloride(table salt) and Calcium Hydroxide don't contain iodine or anti-caking agents - so are useful for brewing. The hydrated lime can be used for water treatment, causing removal of carbonates, at the cost of raising the pH. Hydrated lime requires some care in handling and use. Steve Alexander Return to table of contents
Date: 02 Jan 96 08:44 PDT From: ROTH.TER at SEATTLE.VA.GOV Subject: GRAINMILL,FLAMEOUT I have been using a Champion juicer with a grain mill (designed for making flour, similiar to Corona--2 revolving steel plates with adjustable gap)to grind my grist. The grind is OK but not great---fair anount of flour and the husks are mostly fragments, rather than whole. So I would like to take some of Santa's largesse, and buy a grain mill. Question---is it necessary/ desirable to be able to adjust the gap? How much variation is there in malted barley, anyhow. Do those of you with adjustable mills frequently make adjustments?? Private postings, please, will summarize. I think someone owes js an apology---I sure hate to see these ad hominem attacks on others. We do not need this kind of flame, please think before you post@tacks on other HBD-ers. I have been glad for js' postings, and the other manufacturers and business owners who have used this forum to help homebrewers. I asked earlier for some help with trub removal---the consensus was to use a metal 'scrubby' on the racking cane, and one fellow used an intermediate step---siphon to a carboy, pitch and let the trub settle for an hour or two, then rack off into the primary. Most folks admit losing 2-3 quarts of wort with the trub. A couple responders use the whirlpool method to concentrate the trubs in the center of the kettle before racking off. Some recommend adding cooled water in the primary to adjust to 5 gallons. I have used both immersion and counter flow chillers, and conclude that the immersion chiller is preferable----MUCH easier to clean and being able to sanitize by putting it into the kettle for the last 10 minutes of the boil is very handy. Our well water is about 48 dF, and the immersion chiller will pull the temp from 212 to 65 in about 10 minutes, with gentle agitation in the easymash kettle (lid on---cut little slots for the ends of the coil). But in years past, I stuck the 3 gallon kettle I started out with into a bathtub full of cold water, and that worked fine for the extract beers I made. There is some intake of room air as the wort and air cools, but as long as you pitch a nice healthy starter, you should have no problems. Let's face it---good beer is easily made under much less sanitary conditions that most of us practice. **************************************************************************** days since last rain: 1 Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 96 11:21:10 MST From: roberts at Rt66.com (Bird) Subject: Re: glyceol question >>>>> "CHOLLIAN-USER" == CHOLLIAN-USER <IPS at chollian.dacom.co.kr> writes: CHOLLIAN-USER> amount, but I can't beleive that the book "The CHOLLIAN-USER> Complete Joy of Home Brewing" would be so wrong as CHOLLIAN-USER> to suggest something dangerous to one's health. Has CHOLLIAN-USER> anyone done this? Is glycerol safe to consume? And CHOLLIAN-USER> what is glycerol anyway? The amount I'd be using CHOLLIAN-USER> would be around two liquid ounces in a five gallon CHOLLIAN-USER> batch of beer. Glycerol is basically a suger, and it is safe to eat. When I use it to prepare my frozen yeast cultures, I use it in 10% by volume amounts. Included below is my procedure, which has proven true for my last 12 batches. - --Doug - -- (A)bort, (R)etry, (G)et a beer? Doug Roberts roberts at rt66.com - --------------------------------------------------------------- My last 12 batches have been successfully started from pre-prepared 100 ml allotments of propagated, frozen Wyeast 1968 (ESB) and Wyeast 1728 (Scottish) starters. I got the idea from Papazian's "Joy...Homebrewing" where he devoted a single sentence to the concept of freezing starters. Here's my procedure: 1. I smak a pack and pitch it when ready it into a liter of 1.020 unhopped wort, being extremely careful with sanitization: swab all glass lips with Everclear and flame contact surfaces before all transfers. 2. When the starter is at high krausen, I take 100 ml glycerol (USP) and heat it in the microwave til it's good & hot to kill off any nasties (about 60 seconds for 100 ml). I let it cool to ~70F and add it to the starter (swab, flame, don't breathe). I got the glycerol from a local pharmacy, but I'm told you can get it lots of places. 3. I swirl the starter to thoroughly mix the glycerol & yeast, and then pour out ten 100 ml allotments (swab, flame, don't breathe) which I immediately stopper with sterilized (clorox) rubber stoppers. I found some 100 ml pyrex sample bottles at an odds & ends-type store that are ideal: they take a #2 rubber stopper perfectly. I push the stopper in _tight_ because the starter is still active and will be until frozen. 4. I cover the stopper & bottle top with foil to minimize air contact. 5. Freeze immediately in a _cold_ freezer (glycerol is an anti-freeze, y'know). When I want to brew, I thaw one of the allotments three days before and pitch it into a liter of 1.020 unhopped wort (swab, flame, don't breathe). 2, 2 1/2 days later it's at high krausen & ready to pitch. The re-constituted starter wort has always smelled & tasted good, and the beer has never had an off flavor, leading me to believe that the glycerol does a pretty good job of keeping a sufficient number of yeasties from having their cell walls burst during freezing. Works for me... Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 1996 13:50:04 -0500 From: danmcc at umich.edu (Dan McConnell) Subject: yeast managment/YCKCo I recently had the opportunity to evaluate the yeast culture from one of our local BrewPubs (Grizzly Peak Brewing Co in Ann Arbor, MI). A Peter Austin pub, they have been open since July 1995, open ferment, use the Ringwood yeast strain and produce very fine beers. A good place to stop if you are ever in the area. I received the culture after 90+ generations and marveled at the purity. This illustrates the effectiveness of a well run yeast management program which involves continuous repitching of this top-cropping strain. The brewer is well trained and really seems to know his job. I intend to spend some time learning his particular yeast management techniques over the next few weeks which seem on the surface to be ordinary but may be worthy of some extra attention. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ For those that object to crass commercialism, please accept my apology and page down now. The Yeast Culture Kit Company is now on-line! It's still in the tweaking stages, far from complete, but functional and open for visitors. Expect that the address will soon sneak itself into a signature of some sort. Special thanks to Pat (take me to your lager) Babcock for doing all of the work. http://oeonline.com/~pbabcock/yckco.html DanMcC "yes, I sat there and stared at my bottles of beer"--- Dave Draper Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 02 Jan 1996 10:39 -0500 (EST) From: gregory_g._graboski at Merck.Com (Gregory G. Graboski) Subject: Ah, The Digest After catching up on the digest, I must agree with R. Everitt (HDB #1924). I continue to hope that the collective mind matures. (Apologies for the bandwith) Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 02 Jan 96 11:55:00 PST From: "Olson, Greger J - CIV/911-2" <gjolson at bpa.gov> Subject: RE:Wyeast 1056 problems >>Date: 1 Jan 96 17:10:06 -0500 >>From: "Mark E. Perkins" <perkins at zippy.ho.att.com> >>Subject: Any recent Wyeast 1056 problems? >> >> >>In mid-October, someone posted about problems with a packet of Wyeast 1056. >>The packet had a September production date. Has anyone had any problems with >>packets of more recent vintage? On Fri (12/29), I smacked a packet w/ >>production date 11/15/95 (purchased Thanksgiving weekend), pitched it to a 1 >>pt. starter on 12/31. When I got ready to pitch the starter to my wort today >>(1/1/96), the yeast starter smelled awful (more like bread than like beer, >>but >>if I had been making bread that smelled like that, I would have tossed it). >>For the record, I've used 1056 up to three months after production date w/ no >>problems. >> >>My questions: >> >>1) any recent problems w/ 1056 that anyone can relate? -SNIP- I just pitched (12/29) my first American style ale using 1056 (previous batches were English/Scottish). I don't remember the date on the smack-pack. Everything smelled fine, but the resulting fermentation, while steady, has lacked the volcanic blowoff I've always experienced. Possibly this is due to the temperature in my fermentation room (downstairs john - W.C. for you brits). Currently around 65F. Which brings up my question for the collective: Is there a FAQ listing preferred temperature ranges for different yeast strains? I recall Wyeast's smack-pack only listing the temp range in which to allow the pack to swell. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 1996 14:08:33 -0600 From: Russell Mast <rmast at fnbc.com> Subject: Rock Andy. > From: "David Elm" <delm at hookup.net> > Subject: Re: Belgian Rock Candy (candi) > I understand that candi sugar is sucrose that has been crystalized > from a supersaturated solution. It will be very pure, hard to find and > expensive outside of Belgium. It, and other sugars, are used in most Belgian > style beers to raise the fermentables and is added to the wort late in the > boil. Have a look at "Belgian Ale" by Pierre Rajotte. Someone spank me if I'm totally mistaken, but can't you just make your own? When I was in grade school, we used to make rock candy once in awhile. It was pretty easy to find at candy stores around there, but that might be from the heavy Dutch influence in W. Michigan. > Living in Toronto, Canada I gave up trying to locate candi sugar. > Instead, I caramalize sucrose to a medium-dark brown colour and add it, > while molten, to the boiling wort. Sounds good for dark candi, but for light, hmm... Can anyone tell me a reason not to just make my own rock candy and toss that in my beers? Would this be better or worse than corn sugar? Should I make rock candi with corn sugar? If I want to make dark candi sugar, do I carmelize it before or after I crystallize it? Happy New Year everyone, I hope this gets through before the end of the week. -Russell Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 1996 16:52:01 -0400 (EDT) From: "mike spinelli" <paa3983 at dpsc.dla.mil> Subject: Rogue's yeast and recipe ideas? Happy hoildays all ! I understand that Rogue uses the Pacman yeast in its ales. If so, can we homebrewers get this yeast from somewhere? Or is there another commercial strain that's comparable? Also, I called Rogue to get a breakdown on what goes in their dry hopped St. Rogue Red but they didn't give much more than what's listed on the bottle. Have any of you tried to clone any of the Rogues and would care to share the results? Thanks Mike in Cherry Hill NJ Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 96 16:02:49 CST From: Larry N. Lowe <lnl at apwk01g3.abrfc.noaa.gov> Subject: north dallas homebrew shops HELP, i have a friend who has received a great christmas gift...a homebrewing outfit. he needs to know where he may find a homebrew shop in Dallas...perferablly north dallas suburbs. since he now a brother to the homebrewers, i thought someone could help him out. private e-mail to my address is fine. TIA - -- from: Larry N. Lowe NOAA, National Weather Service Arkansas-Red Basin River Forecast Center 10159 East 11th St, Suite 300 Tulsa, Oklahoma 74128-3050 lnl at apwk01g3.abrfc.noaa.gov Off: (918)832-4109 FAX: (918)832-4101 Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 02 Jan 1996 19:23:55 From: Fritz Wilson <Fritz at gnn.com> Subject: Hunter AirStat or other suitable controller Anyone have a source for Hunter or other suitable (read easy) controller? I see a freezer in my immediate future with my Xmas $$$ TIA \\|||// (o) (o) ( ) +---o000-----------000o---+ | Fritz | +-------------------------+ Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 1996 20:54:30 -0500 From: BixMeister at aol.com Subject: Laminar Flow Hood(Featured in Brewing Techniques May/June) Need source for surplus high volume air mover. In the May/June issue of Brewing Techniques magazine a construction article for a laminar flow hood was featured. One of the principal parts mentioned was a 530 cfm fan. The fan was said to be carried by H&R(Herbach and Rademan) in their catalog(p/n TM93BLR2485/C. the fan is an EBM company fan p/n R2E220AA4423. I was informed by H&R that they no longer stock the fan and won't be restocking. If anyone has some ideas or an extra fan please contact me :BixMeister at aol.com. Other surplus sources would be welcome also. Return to table of contents
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 1996 19:34:14 -0700 From: flemingk at usa.net (Kirk R Fleming) Subject: Digital Thermometers/Thermometer Rant In Monday's HBD Marc Gaspard reported big fun with his DigiDial 300L digital thermometer. I have a 300LW, and the following comments: My unit is about 4F off, although it seems to be pretty linear--digital doesn't mean accurate or precise. In mashing, four degrees F is a mile IMO, so I think you at least need to know what the error is. I recently compared two floating dairy-style mercury thermometers purchased at the local brewer's supply shop. They read from 6 to 10F apart. Neither of them is correct based on my reference thermometer (a 100-180F ASTM unit supposedly guaranteed to be within 0.3F). Second comment: the electronics for the DigiDial unit are housed in a plastic clamshell that is not airtight. While using mine in the challenging environment of the mash tub a lot of condensate formed inside the housing, causing the unit to fail completely. I was able to restore operation by popping open the clamshell housing and gently drying it out with a hairdryer. Question: I have *very* ion-free water, and live at about 6200' asl. Will the temperature of an ice-water under these condx bath differ much from 0C? KRF Colorado Springs Return to table of contents