After several years in planning and execution, I have finished the Taj Mahal (the name was given it by my next door neighbor's sister when she visited). It is a 14 foot by 20 foot "tall barn" (8 foot side walls and two 6 foot lofts for storage). I have an electric hoist on a track in the center that allows me to move things up to the lofts without lifting. It is insulated to about R-22, walls and ceiling, with rigid PolyIso sheets sealed with Great Stuff Pro foam, then covered with a White insulated vapor barrier (R-1.5 to 4 depending on the installation, probably on the lower side since there is little to no dead air space). All in all very warm and snug, heated with a propane ventless heater and will be air conditioned (if needed) with a portable 8,000 BTU unit. This makes it a year round meadery and workshop. My only issue now that I am moving in, is it does not have the features of Mannye's Tardis, as it now seems smaller on the inside than it is on the outside. I would love to know how Mannye achieved the Tardis effect (larger on the inside than on the outside) in his case. Maybe Mannye will share his secret Tardis building methods and I will end up with more space after all.
At any rate I will be brewing again soon, and have a to do list at least as long as Chevette Girl's to work on, including a test for using several different micro pumps to circulate during fermentation with the hopes of constant degassing as well as faster fermentation (or smoother, at least). I will start a new thread in Equipment with the tests, photos and results of this project as it progresses. I also plan to do a water test with the waters most readily available to me (carbon filtered tap water with a hardness of 340-360 PPM, which has worked well for me to date), a true mountain spring water available locally from a Wasatch Front spring at approx 7,500 feet, hardness 680-740 PPM, depending on the season, and a yet to be determined softer water (bottled of some sort), possibly Ozarka Spring Water of BOMM fame, which is quite soft (well under 100 PPM from what I read), to see the effects of hardness. I will make BOMM's from the same batch of OB honey I have on hand, using identical SNA, etc. initially, and then try again with the pumping system, assuming it proves beneficial. So much to do and document, but it will be fun and good to get back in the saddle, so to speak.
I will post pictures in this thread soon of the finished project.I also have a 10 foot by 14 barn style building conventionally insulated that I share with my wife for brewing and her art space, which is good, because with all my brewing stuff and woodworking tools, I already need the extra space.
At any rate I will be brewing again soon, and have a to do list at least as long as Chevette Girl's to work on, including a test for using several different micro pumps to circulate during fermentation with the hopes of constant degassing as well as faster fermentation (or smoother, at least). I will start a new thread in Equipment with the tests, photos and results of this project as it progresses. I also plan to do a water test with the waters most readily available to me (carbon filtered tap water with a hardness of 340-360 PPM, which has worked well for me to date), a true mountain spring water available locally from a Wasatch Front spring at approx 7,500 feet, hardness 680-740 PPM, depending on the season, and a yet to be determined softer water (bottled of some sort), possibly Ozarka Spring Water of BOMM fame, which is quite soft (well under 100 PPM from what I read), to see the effects of hardness. I will make BOMM's from the same batch of OB honey I have on hand, using identical SNA, etc. initially, and then try again with the pumping system, assuming it proves beneficial. So much to do and document, but it will be fun and good to get back in the saddle, so to speak.
I will post pictures in this thread soon of the finished project.I also have a 10 foot by 14 barn style building conventionally insulated that I share with my wife for brewing and her art space, which is good, because with all my brewing stuff and woodworking tools, I already need the extra space.
