HOMEBREW Digest #4058 Fri 04 October 2002


[Prev HBD] [Index] [Next HBD] [Back]


	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Digest Janitor: janitor@hbd.org


***************************************************************
       THIS YEAR'S HOME BREW DIGEST BROUGHT TO YOU BY: 

          Northern  Brewer, Ltd. Home Brew Supplies
        http://www.northernbrewer.com  1-800-681-2739

    Support those who support you! Visit our sponsor's site!
********** Also visit http://hbd.org/hbdsponsors.html *********


Contents:
  Leviton's high current GFI ("Steve Alexander")
  spores & such ("Steve Alexander")
  yet more SSR/Leviton stuff ("Steve Alexander")
  in the backwoods of colombia (Alan McKay)
  Re: Hot Break - revisited ("Pete Calinski")
  Oxygen regulator and conical ("Bruce Garner")
  Re: Brewing with just the basics.... a simple brewer in a tough spot (Jeff Renner)
  Re: Oxygen (Bill Wible)
  Another Non-Weld All-grain Stand (Andrew Nix)
   (EFOUCH)
  malto-dextrin powder (AKGOURMET)
  Porter Problem-Cold steeping help please ("John Misrahi")
  beer X has flavour Y (Alan McKay)
  Competition Announcement (Jim Hinken)

* * Show your HBD pride! Wear an HBD Badge! * http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/shopping * * Beer is our obsession and we're late for therapy! * Send articles for __publication_only__ to post@hbd.org If your e-mail account is being deleted, please unsubscribe first!! To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE send an e-mail message with the word "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" to request@hbd.org FROM THE E-MAIL ACCOUNT YOU WISH TO HAVE SUBSCRIBED OR UNSUBSCRIBED!!!** IF YOU HAVE SPAM-PROOFED your e-mail address, you cannot subscribe to the digest as we cannot reach you. We will not correct your address for the automation - that's your job. HAVING TROUBLE posting, subscribing or unsusubscribing? See the HBD FAQ at http://hbd.org. The HBD is a copyrighted document. The compilation is copyright HBD.ORG. Individual postings are copyright by their authors. ASK before reproducing and you'll rarely have trouble. Digest content cannot be reproduced by any means for sale or profit. More information is available by sending the word "info" to req at hbd.org or read the HBD FAQ at http://hbd.org. JANITOR on duty: Pat Babcock and Karl Lutzen (janitor@hbd.org)
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 3 Oct 2002 02:56:47 -0400 From: "Steve Alexander" <steve-alexander at worldnet.att.net> Subject: Leviton's high current GFI Wayne Holder says ... [...] >The actual sentence goes more like: > >"You CANNOT use a Solid State relay (SSR) with this unit. Doing so voids the >UL listing of the device." Does the documentation say you can't use an SSR as the power relay (the Leviton 50A/80A unit is just a current mismatch sensor and requires a separate relay for power interruption) - OR - to they mean you can't have an SSR circuit as part of the load (for example in an SSR controlled RIMS) ? That an SSR can't be used as the primary power interrupter is understandable. There are some reasons why it might not be usable as part of the load - depending on sensor design. The online doc doesn't say. >As a person that has dealt with SSR's that are shorted closed many times, I >would guess that UL did not trust the SSR to be open after a ground fault. Possible - tho' there are simple circuit design solutions the shorting problem the basic ones probably can't act fast enough to meet UL/GFI reqs. -S Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 2002 03:09:36 -0400 From: "Steve Alexander" <steve-alexander at worldnet.att.net> Subject: spores & such A cubic foot of air runs 3 to 20 bacteria according to an Oregon study and the 20 is high in my experience. There are currently (Early Fall) 150-450 mold spores per cubic ft throughout the Midwestern US. 1500 spores/cu.ft is a very high level causing severe problems to some individuals. When you factor in the fact that 99+% of these airborne pests couldn't live, much less thrive in a fermenter of pitched wort - air is pretty safe - tho' still an potential source of infection. The 100k spores & bacteria/cu.ft. would imply that the headspace in a petri dishes would contain roughly 100 spores and bacteria - obviously untrue. -S Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 2002 04:16:19 -0400 From: "Steve Alexander" <steve-alexander at worldnet.att.net> Subject: yet more SSR/Leviton stuff Kent Fletcher says, >The Leviton High Current GFI is basically a 120 v. GFI with an external >current transformer. There is a sense transformer - but no current transformer. [...] >A SSR acts as a single pole switch, so it cannot >be used for GFI purposes. I don't mind mistakes but now you're just making things up Kent. Multipole SSRs have been available off-the-shelf for over a decade and can easily be constructed from 1-pole SSRs. This explanation is nonsense. See http://www.morelectric.com/payne.htm#Three%20Phase%20Solid%20State%20Relay for an example of 2 pole SSRs rated at up to 150A. Omron makes tons of multipole units. No - SSRs are not acceptable as a GFI interrupter relay probably because either their failure mode (shorted in some cases) as Wayne Holder suggested or their time to interrupt which is often up to half a cycle (8.33ms at 60hz) in this sort of power application. -S Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 2002 07:00:34 -0400 From: Alan McKay <amckay at neap.net> Subject: in the backwoods of colombia Adam, It seems to me you have two options. That malt extract you found would be quite usable if you were able to find packaged enzymes that could be used to mash it at 150F to 160F for an hour. In fact, raw unprocessed honey has the enzymes you need but I am not sure how much they have so you would have to experiment. If you have tincture of iodine (like from the drugstore) you can test for starch conversion - just test on a sample that will be thrown out as you do not want to be eating iodine. If it turns really black when you drop iodine on it, there's lots of starch. Test before and after for comparison. As for malting, the first part is to sprout the barley. You can put it into a big barrel and fill with water, then drain after 8-1212 hours and leave drained for a few hours. Do this several times over 3 - 4 days and it should sprout. You'll see a rootlet poke out of one end, and when that rootlet reaches the other end it is time to stop the process. Actually if I recall correctly the rootlet squirms from one end to the other underneath the husk of the barleycorn - maybe someone else can clarify that point. Then you have to kiln it. You should be able to do this in a very low temp oven. Try to keep it about 150F and mix it about often. Not sure how long it will take but probably 3 to 4 hours anyway. And don't pile it up very high on the baking sheet. This means you can only do a little at a time so this is where your endless supply of manpower will come in handy ;-) That's about it. I think you want about 3% water, which is quite dry. - -- http://www.bodensatz.com/ The Beer Site (tm) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 2002 09:17:30 -0400 From: "Pete Calinski" <pjcalinski at adelphia.net> Subject: Re: Hot Break - revisited David Sweeney said: "I decided to top off late in the boil...............The boil acted like I had just started the boil. That is, there was a profusion of foam on the surface of the wort that dissipated after several minutes of boil." I waited to see if someone else (more up on this subject) would reply. Apparently not. I asked the same question a few years ago. The answer I got (from Pete Ensminger if memory serves me, pardons all around if memory doesn't) went something like: There are substances in the wort that thicken at certain temperatures near but below boiling. It is a reversible process so when the wort is in this temperature range, this foam appears. That's the story as I remember it. Pete Calinski East Amherst NY Near Buffalo NY *********************************************************** *My goal: * Go through life and never drink the same beer twice. * (As long as it doesn't mean I have to skip a beer.) *********************************************************** Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 2002 08:52:59 -0500 From: "Bruce Garner" <bpgarner at mailbag.com> Subject: Oxygen regulator and conical Michael asks about repairing or replacing an oxygen regulator. Private pilots use oxygen. Perhaps by contacting a pilot and get what you need. Are there any pilots among us? Do the Toledo Metal Spinning conicals come with a closed bottom which has to be drilled out? If so is it flat or round? Bruce Garner Madison, WI Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 03 Oct 2002 10:34:28 -0400 From: Jeff Renner <JeffRenner at comcast.net> Subject: Re: Brewing with just the basics.... a simple brewer in a tough spot "Adam Austin" <aaustin at vt.edu>, a self proclaimed "Simple Brewer, writes from Columbia: >Through a crazy series of events, I have found myself in a very >rural guerilla controlled territory in eastern Colombia. Wow. Sounds scary. I'd love to know what's behind this. Was it something like what happened to Dorothy from Kansas? Or is it one of those things that you could tell us, but then you'd have to shoot us? >Barley is plentiful and cheaper than dirt. >Malted barley is nowhere to be found. So now...I have to malt my own >barley. George DePiro has posted his experience on malting barley. Check the archives at http://hubris.engin.umich.edu/cgi-bin/dothread. I would guess it was two or three years ago. I've done it too. I would think the main problem will be drying the malt. You can make "wind malt" outdoors if you have heat (no problem, I'd guess) and relatively low humidity (probably a big problem). >I've got ... hops covered (I hope) as I've >ordered seeds to grow northern brewer hops. I trust you haven't ordered seeds but rather rhizomes - cuttings of roots. Hop seeds don't normally breed true. I've never seen them for sale. The other problem with hops is growing them in the tropics. Graham Sanders of North Queensland, Australia, grows them with limited success. They grow well but don't produce much. I would think if can somehow get them shipped to you, some hop pellets of some high alpha acid hop would be a better bet. Get a variety that is dual purpose - bittering and aroma, and stores well, such as Chinook. >Sorry for making this so long An email tip (for everyone) - use the return key to break up the big blocks of text into more easily read paragraphs with blank lines between. It won't seem as long. Good luck and keep us informed of your progress. Jeff - -- Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, JeffRenner at comcast.net "One never knows, do one?" Fats Waller, American Musician, 1904-1943 Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 03 Oct 2002 10:44:46 -0400 From: Bill Wible <bill at brewbyyou.net> Subject: Re: Oxygen >I tried calling a local medical supplier and they said >I'd need to provide a prescription for the Oxygen. I've run into this, too. Let's see, CO2, Nitrogen, and Propane - all deadly gasses, one of which is even explosive - those are readily available to the public almost anywhere, no questions asked. But Oxygen, necessary for life, well that you need a prescription to buy or have. Doesn't make sense, does it? But the fact is that O2 is commonly used in welding, because it makes things burn hotter. So it can also be used as an accelerant or in the building of easy to make bombs. Therefore it is (rightfully) controlled. And it was controlled even before 9/11 and the ensuing anti-terrorism zeal. Liquid Bread offers a product called the Oxynator, which is a small, disposable (1lb?) O2 tank with a regulator and diffusion stone. They recommend 2 15 second bursts of oxygen into 5 gallons of wort, and they claim a tank should last 10 or more batches. Bill Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 03 Oct 2002 10:50:36 -0400 From: Andrew Nix <anix at vt.edu> Subject: Another Non-Weld All-grain Stand Alan McKay posted: Joe asks what is the best way to build a stand without welding. The perhaps not-so-obvious question is : wood! My 2 cents worth: I built my two tier system out of wood (2x4's), using brackets made for building shelves (purchased at the local Home Depot, Lowe's what have you). I used pieces of steel angle iron with bolt holes (scrap from our machine shop, but can be purchased at the same store you get the wood) to hold the kegs on and to mount the burners below the kegs. The setup (pre-use) can be seen at (takes a little while to load since it is a PDF): http://filebox.vt.edu/users/anix/RIMS3.pdf the unfinished system can be viewed at: http://www.hbd.org/nrvbg/RIMS2.pdf this shows a little more detail of the assembly. In these pictures you can see that both kegs are supported by the angle iron and that the wood at the top of the stand has aluminum flashing material attached to keep it from burning. All of the steel angle is attached to the wood with heavy duty wood screws with washers. The steel is assembled to hold the burners using 1/4" bolts with lock washers (important). This whole setup was done with simple tools (drill, screw driver, hammer, and socket wrench). After 12 batches, the only thing that has burned are the wood slats along the outside of the mash tun....but who cares. If it's hot enough on the outside of the mash tun to burn, I'm not losing any heat am I? Drewmeister Andrew Nix Department of Mechanical Engineering Virginia Tech anix at vt.edu http://www.vt.edu:10021/A/anix Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 2002 10:51:00 -0400 From: EFOUCH at steelcase.com Subject: Danny posted this "humorous" website regarding listowners: For a laugh (at least I thought it was funny), check out http://www.skally.net/listowner/humor.html - --Danny The site offers this observation: Q: How many people does it take to change a light bulb in cyberspace? Answer: 1331 Actually, if you add up the numbers of people needed, you get 1,369. Eric J. Fouch Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 2002 14:39:11 EDT From: AKGOURMET at aol.com Subject: malto-dextrin powder Got a quick question. I have a Tripel that started at 1.090 and finished at 1.010. I was hoping for an FG of 1.015. Can I add malto-dextrin powder at bottling to increase the body and mouthfeel or does the powder have to be boiled? Can I boil it in water or does it have to be wort? Thanks. Bill Juneau, AK Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 2002 19:52:13 -0700 From: "John Misrahi" <lmoukhin at sprint.ca> Subject: Porter Problem-Cold steeping help please Hi all, Is there a way to darken a beer once it is already in the fermenter? any idea if that cold steeping technique can be added once the yeast is working? i took a sample from the bucket of my smoked belgian porter... fantastic,, maltier and smokier than the last.... but i must have inadequately crushed the chocolate malt (used a rolling pin for that)... it is nowhere near dark enough for a porter.... it looked darker when i was filling the fermenter etc... i dont get it thanks John Montreal, Canada Pothole? Thats luxury! I have to ferment directly in my mouth. On brew day I fill up my mouth with wort in the am and drop a few yeast cells in and 3 hours later I swallow. Wish I had a pothole to ferment in. -Mike Brennan on the HBD "Ah, Billy Beer... we elected the wrong Carter." -Homer Simpson Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 2002 22:19:23 -0400 From: Alan McKay <amckay at neap.net> Subject: beer X has flavour Y Folks, Our e-club is currently discussing doing an directed tasting, and we'd like to start with doing 4 to 6 beers which are good (and perhaps pronounced?) examples of a specific beer flavour. e.g. 'flowery hop aroma' or 'diacetyl' or 'sweet in the finish'. What beer can you recommend for which flavour? cheers, -Alan - -- http://www.bodensatz.com/ The Beer Site (tm) Return to table of contents
Date: Thu, 03 Oct 2002 20:48:50 -0700 From: Jim Hinken <jim.hinken at verizon.net> Subject: Competition Announcement The Brews Brothers are pleased to announce Novembeerfest 2002 homebrewing competition. Novembeerfest is a qualifying event for MCAB V Novembeerfest will be held Saturday, November 2 at Larrys Homebrewing Supply, 7405 S. 212th St. #103, Kent, WA 98032 Entries will be accepted from all BJCP/AHA beer style categories, including cider and mead. The style guidelines may be viewed at http://www.mv.com/ipusers/slack/bjcp/style-index.html. Three bottles are required for entry with an entry fee of U.S.$5. The standard AHA entry form and bottle labels may be used. Entry forms may be downloaded from www.brewsbrothers.org. Entries will be accepted through October 26 and may be shipped to Jim Hinken 24211 4 PL W Bothell, WA 98021 425-483-9324 brews.brothers at verizon.net Entries may also be dropped off at: Larrys Homebrewing Supply, 7405 S. 212th St. #103,Kent, WA 98032, 206-872-6846 Mountain Homebrew and Wine Supply, 12121 N.E. Northup Way, Suite 210, Bellevue, WA 98005, 206-882-9929 Bob's Homebrew Supply, 2821 NE 55th St, Seattle, WA 98105, 206-527-9283 Return to table of contents
[Prev HBD] [Index] [Next HBD] [Back]
HTML-ized on 10/04/02, by HBD2HTML v1.2 by KFL
webmaster at hbd.org, KFL, 10/9/96
/n