Prerequisites for Brewing a Lager

June 25, 2011  |  2 Comments  |  by Matt Hufford  |  Home Hacking, Homebrew

I will apologize in advance for the picture quality. I was going to use my point and shoot for the pictures, but I couldn’t find any batteries for my camera that weren’t dead. I had to use my phone’s camera instead. I really wish it had a better sensor and optics so that I could drop the point and shoot camera all together.

If you have been reading my posts carefully, you would remember that in my Oktoberfest post, I had been planning some sort of lager chamber.  Well, I trolled Craigslist for a bit to see if there were any good deals on mini-fridges that I could use for this purpose.  Not only did I find a mini-fridge that could be used for my purposes, it was much better than your typical mini-fridge.  I found a wine cellar fridge.

The lager fridge

The lager fridge. Cold crashing a beer to test it out.

This fridge has a digital temperature control built in, so this forgoes the need of having to buy an external temperature controller to regulate the temperature (the built-in thermostats on a typical fridge don’t give the control that is typically needed for lagering).  This cost be about the same as a normal used mini-fridge plus temperature controller, so I figure I am actually ahead because I don’t have to deal with the hassle of messing with an external temperature controller.

Now, for us extreme homebrewers, a simple fridge isn’t quite enough.  To aid in heat transfer between the bucket of fermenting beer and the air, we must add fans!  The fans will circulate the air to keep the whole fridge a consistent temperature, and I figure the moving air will transfer heat more efficiently from the bucket.

Rummaging through my spare computer/electronic parts, I was able to find exactly what I needed to get a couple working fans in my fridge (I am a programmer by trade after all): two computer fans and a 12v DC transformer.

Computer Fan

Computer fan, perfect for a fan that is going to be running constantly for a long time.

DC Transformer

DC Transformer that outputs 12v. Exactly what is needed for computer fans. Some computer fans can work with lower voltage, but will spin slower. 12v is the standard. The 1 amp this can output is way more than what is needed for a couple computer fans.

The assembly of the fan system was actually pretty simple.  Instead of stripping the wires for the fans (I don’t have a proper wire stripper, so this would be hard with how small the wires are), I removed removed the leads from the connector assembly.  Removing them was pretty easy.  I just pushed down on the metal catches with a knife and slid them out.

Fan connecter

The two metal spots here on the connector are the catches that keeps the wires in the connector. Push down on them with something small, and the wires slide right out.

Cut off the connector on the output wires from the transformer and strip the wires.  The hot wire on my transformer was marked, so I connected that to the red wire on the fans, and connected the other wire from the transformer to the blue wire on my fans.  I wired the fans in parallel instead of serial because I remember something from my engineering level physics classes in college about how that effects the resistance of the system and makes the voltage lower or something.  I really wish I remember the classes better.

Wires connected

Here is a shot of the wires connected together for a test. Do not leave them like this for any period of time outside a short test. Solder the connections, then insulate them with a heat shrink insulator or with electrical tape. It is very dangerous to leave any bare wire exposed.

After everything was all connected, I positioned the fans so that one would circulate the air up and down and the other would circulate the air around the lagering vessel and plugged it in.

Lager Fridge

You can kinda see the way the fans are positioned in this shot. If you want more pics of the setup, leave a comment saying what you'd like.

I think the fans are doing their job perfectly.  I noticed that after I had the air circulating system set up that the fridge seemed to cycle on more frequently, presumably because the fans were helped to cold crash the beer faster.  It would be nice to have a comparison test that compares how fast the fridge cools down the beer with and without the fans running, but doing that would be a lot of work for little to no pay off.

Bird Feeder Staves Off Winter Garden Blues, Brings In Songbirds [Gardening]

January 20, 2011  |  2 Comments  |  by Ben Czajkowski  |  Gardening, Home Hacking

One of the earliest childhood memories I have came springing back into my head, earlier this week. It was of taking the toilet paper roll (called a duh-duh, as a child), smearing peanut butter on it, and covering it in birdseed. Then we’d hang them in the backyard, near the bird feeder, for the birds to go absolutely crazy over. It’s such a simple craft but created hours of entertainment watching the blue jays battle the cardinals for dominance of the bird feeder.

Too bad I can’t say that about baseball! BOOM!

This inspired me to take my Monday lunch break at Lowe’s, where I picked up a cheap, $10 bird feeder, a bag of songbird mix (thistle-free, per the wife’s request), and a giant, wrought-iron, dual-headed shepherd’s crook, on which to hang the bird feeder.

Garden Treasures Suet and Seed Hopper Feeder

Garden Treasures Suet and Seed Hopper Feeder

My effort aligned with my need to antagonize my cat, Ellie. She loves to sit in my bedroom window and watch the world go by, often chirping to herself or at a passing squirrel. I positioned the shepherd’s crook and the bird feeder outside of my window, where she would be able to enjoy the birds, once they find this delightful place to feed.

Or the squirrels do, whichever comes first!

Ellie In Shopping Bags

Ellie In Shopping Bags

Now, I am considering getting a hi-def web cam to train on the bird feeder. It would be set to take a shot, based on movement. Since I can’t always be home to enjoy the birds on the bird feeder, that doesn’t mean that I can’t capture them for viewing, at any time.

Soap Nuts For Laundry Detergent, Shampoo, Not For Snacking

January 9, 2011  |  Comments Off  |  by Ben Czajkowski  |  Home Hacking
Sapindus Mukorossi

Sapindus Mukorossi De-shelled Soap Nuts

Wow, it’s been about six weeks since I’ve last made a post. I haven’t done too much in the way of gardening, cooking, or brewing, so I haven’t had much new content to write about. Now, though, with the winter solstice gone and the days getting longer, it’s time to start thinking about starting seedlings and planning what’s worth fiddling with in the garden, this year.

More about that later this week.

Anyway, Mrs. Czajkowski went out with her grandmother this past week. She picked me up some fair trade Ethiopian coffee, which I am excited to push through my new grinder. While there, though, she picked herself up a bag of soap nuts (Sapindus Mukorossi, specifically). I was hoping that I’d be able to eat them, but, alas, they are nothing but bitter husks.

The bag says:

Soap nuts are the fruit of the Ritha, a tree found primarily in Nepal. The shell contains “saponin“, which is known for its ability to clean and wash. Soap nuts preserve the color and structure of valuable clothing longer than chemical detergent.

Place 5-6 Soap Nut shell halves in the cotton sack and soak in warm water for 10 minutes. Put the sack in the washing machine. The same soap nuts can be used up to three times. If the temperature is more than 150 degrees, shells can be used only once.

The wife wants to use them for two things. First of all, she’d love to replace the current detergent we’re using. Both her and I have sensitive skin, so we avoid perfumed and chemical-based substances the best that we can, especially on our clothing. Our skins absorb these chemicals and can have some harsh effects on us (and people, in general).

Secondly, since she has a very delicate scalp and has a hard time finding a shampoo that helps rather than harms, she wants to make a home made shampoo from these soap nuts. Here’s one possible recipe:

Boil approximately 12-15 whole soap nuts with 6 cups of water for 30 minutes. When it is boiled down, you will have about 4c. of liquid left. Add extra water, if needed, to keep it at that amount. When cooled, remove the soap nuts, and pour it into an airtight plastic or glass jar. It is better to make the liquid in smaller batches as it can spoil. Experiment with making liquid to see if you prefer a more concentrated version, using 3 cups water instead of 6 cups. Some prefer the concentrated solution for handwashing and shampoo.