DIY Page 11

No don't worry.

Computer power supplies will often spark the switch when turned on.

This is because they are electronic power supplies, which feed a large capacitor through diodes direct from the mains electricity supply.

Quote: billwill @ 6th March 2015, 11:33 PM GMT

No don't worry.

Computer power supplies will often spark the switch when turned on.

This is because they are electronic power supplies, which feed a large capacitor through diodes direct from the mains electricity supply.

That's fantastic.

Thank you very much. :)

Quote: billwill @ 24th October 2014, 1:21 AM BST

Initially my Hut/Summer-house is for storage, so that I can empty a room at a time in my house to redecorate & then it will be my historic computer workshop where I will try get various old computers working before I donate then to The Centre for Computing History in Cambridge.

Quote: billwill @ 23rd February 2015, 8:32 PM GMT

Billwill is laying a wooden floor..

It is hard work !!

Hooray, I finished renovating my spare bedroom.

See the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbQCzI3xcFk

Quote: billwill @ 7th March 2015, 1:27 AM GMT

Hooray, I finished renovating my spare bedroom.

See the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbQCzI3xcFk

Very nice Bill, but seeing the vid., you should have had this music:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcCHRW8G9yY

Didn't take any notice of Bob Mortimer on Let's Play Darts for Comic Relief then........ :P

I'm in the process of converting my homebrewing setup from propane to a semi-automatically controlled electric rig. My neighbor used to be an electrician and he's going to run a 240v 50a circuit into the garage. Then I'll be able to use 2 5500w heating elements to heat the strike water and boil 13 gallons of wort. The mash temperature will be adjusted by a 1200w 120v heating element contained inside a stainless steel tube. I'll spend the next few weeks (and a few hundred bucks) wiring up a control box that will hold a bunch of relays, circuit breakers, switches and programmable controllers that will run all the pumps, heating elements and temperature probes. Hopefully I won't elecrocute myself or burn down the house.

That beer is gonna cost you more than buying the ready brewed beer!

You should hire a little kid to run one of those lemonade stands outside your house. But with beer.

Quote: billwill @ 7th March 2015, 2:41 PM GMT

That beer is gonna cost you more than buying the ready brewed beer!

Anyone who says that he homebrews because he wants to save money on beer is deluded. It's a hobby and I do it because it's fun. The end result is just a tasty bonus.

I'm sure I've already spent $2000-$3000 on equipment so far, but I always have 8 kegs of beer on tap in my dining room and I can brew 10 gallons of any beer that I'd like for about $30-$50 in ingredients.

If I were to charge even a penny for my brews I'd be a felon, so I just give a lot of it away. You'll always have plenty of friends if you hand out free beer. ;)

To be honest, my beer is better than most of what they sell in the stores.

I want to have a go at homebrewing one day. Probably when I've got more time, money and room.

Quote: Ben @ 7th March 2015, 3:17 PM GMT

I want to have a go at homebrewing one day. Probably when I've got more time, money and room.

I'm sure there's a homebrewer nearby who would be happy to let you hang around and help on a brew day. If you don't know anyone, your local homebrew store could probably help you find someone.

Quote: DaButt @ 7th March 2015, 3:05 PM GMT

I can brew 10 gallons of any beer../

From now on I will imagine you wearing a 10 gallon hat.

I used to home-brew beer and wine, and AFAIR the result was a lot cheaper after the initial outlay, which needn't be much if you're as cheap as I was (student).

Quote: Nogget @ 7th March 2015, 4:23 PM GMT

I used to home-brew beer and wine, and AFAIR the result was a lot cheaper after the initial outlay, which needn't be much if you're as cheap as I was (student).

It can certainly be done on the cheap, but things can get expensive when you embark on the never ending quest to make your beer even better. So now I have temperature-controlled fermentation vessels, laboratory glassware, gas regulators, stainless steel fittings, computer-controlled devices, etc.

Quote: DaButt @ 7th March 2015, 7:07 PM GMT

It can certainly be done on the cheap, but things can get expensive when you embark on the never ending quest to make your beer even better. So now I have temperature-controlled fermentation vessels, laboratory glassware, gas regulators, stainless steel fittings, computer-controlled devices, etc.

That's not home brewing - you are Anheuser-Busch and I claim my $5 with bonus prize of 12 bottles of Michelob

Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 8th March 2015, 4:20 PM GMT

That's not home brewing - you are Anheuser-Busch and I claim my $5 with bonus prize of 12 bottles of Michelob

Enjoy that swill. ;)

Fermentation temperature control is probably the best thing a home brewer can do to improve his beers. Ales need to ferment in the 63F-70F (17C-21C) and my house is never that cool except for a few weeks in winter. It would cost a fortune to cool this 2900 sq ft (270 square meters) house down into the 60s during a Texas summer, so I spent $200 on a used chest freezer and another hundred bucks on a temperature controller and now I can ferment my beers at the temperature of my choosing. The temperature controller is even connected to the Internet, so I can adjust it and watch pretty graphs from anywhere in the world.

I'm currently cold crashing 10 gallons of an imperial IPA in order to get the yeast to settle out before kegging. I'm going to dry hop the beer in the kegs -- almost 10 ounces, so it'll be a very aromatic and flavorful brew.

Image

Crap, it's already 1:30 because of the Daylight Saving Time change, so I'm late for my weekend beer drinking activities. My neighbors are probably worried about me.

I think such equipment here is bought by micro-breweries that are licenced to sell their products. Usually through a nearby pub.