DIY Vortex Tea Brewer (Props to Oscar169)

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Mr.Sputnik

Mr.Sputnik

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Here's exactly what you'll need to make one just like mine. Detailed instructions follow the parts list.

the tank

The 2" slip fit bulkhead http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EHJNW4/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The air pump http://www.amazon.com/Supreme-Danner-ASP04280-Aquarium-100-watt/dp/B006OONNCI/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1392349498&sr=1-1&keywords=AP-100 air pump

Parts list for the hardware store:
3 @ 2" 90 degree slip fit PVC
1 @ 2" slip fit PVC tee
2 @ 2" male threaded to 2" slip fit PVC
1 @ 2" female threaded to 2" slip fir PVC
1 @ 2" slip to 3/4" threaded PVC adapter
1 @ 3/4" threaded to 3/4" barb fitting
1 @ 2"X2"X3/4" threaded PVC tee
1 @ 3/4" threaded to 3/4" slip fit PVC
1 @ 3/4" slip fit PVC ball valve
1 @ 3/4" PVC slip to hose thread
1 @ 10ft length of 2" PVC (two 5ft work just as well or have them cut the 10ft in half to fit in a car)
1 @ 45 degree 2" slip fit PVC
1 @ 10ft length of 1" OD 3/4"ID braided vinyl tubing
1 @ 2ft length of 3/4" PVC
1 bottle of PVC glue ( I use christie's red hot blue glue but it might set up too fast for some people)
1 roll of teflon tape
(optional) 2 @ 1" hose clamps for the vinyl tubing

Tools needed:
a 2 7/8" (preferable) or 3" (all I could find) hole saw with arbor and pilot drill bit

a saw (I used a miter saw but a hand saw works just fine, I like this hand saw for PVC but any saw will usually do. http://www.amazon.com/Irwin-213103-2-Inch-Double-Edge/dp/B0001GLEZ8)

a strap wrench, something like this http://www.amazon.com/Alltrade-070008-Piece-Wrench-colors/dp/B00006L9PO/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1392349585&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=strap wrench

A drill for the hole saw. You will want a variable speed drill as the single speed type you plug directly into the wall can definitely break your wrist or mangle something fleshy with the inertia from a 3" hole saw coming to a sudden stop (Dem be a nasty time wit a hole saw comin' up ya natty dread locks)

A bit to drill one large or multiple smaller holes in the lid for air to escape. I used a 3/4" paddle bit but multiple 3/8" holes should be fine.

Tape measure

Permanent marker

Step 1)
Find the side you want to have the plumbing, to the left side or right side of the volume markings on the tank. Mark your hole in the middle of the legs. If your hole is drilled above a leg the plumbing will not work. The mark for the pilot hole needs to be 2" down from the end of the crown (curved edge) on the top of the tank. There should be a slight line in the plastic mold where the crown stops. The top line I made with the permanent marker is where you want to measure from. The dot below it is where you want to place the pilot bit of the hole saw. The second line down is about where the hole saw will cut.

Diy vortex tea brewer props to oscar169

Step 2)
Attach the arbor and pilot drill bit to the hole saw. Attach hole saw to a PROPER drill. Place the pilot bit onto the dot mark and gently start your pilot hole. After the pilot bit pierces the plastic shell, gently let the hole saw start to work. Do not force the hole saw or it can suddenly stop and rip the drill from your hands, let the saw do the work at a mellow pace. This is what it should look like when you finish.

Diy vortex tea brewer props to oscar169 2

Step 3)
Insert the bulkhead fitting and tighten. It wasn't a tight fit with the 3" hole saw but it will do, a 2 7/8" would have worked better.

Diy vortex tea brewer props to oscar169 3

Step 4)
Find a 2" male threaded to slip fit and wrap the male threads with teflon tape, 2 passes is just fine. Attach it into the bottom of the cone. You will want to use the strap wrench to get it nice and tight. The band clamp is unnecessary, it was very tight without it.

Diy vortex tea brewer props to oscar169 4


Step 5)
Here is the cut list for the PVC pieces you will be using, label them with the permanent marker:
a) Pieces # 1,4,5, and 6 are 2" diameter PVC all at 2 1/2" length. Cut 4 pieces of 2" PVC at 2 1/2" length and label them #1,4,5,6
b) Piece #2 (label it) is 2" diameter PVC cut at 12" length
c) Piece #3 is 2" diameter PVC at 30 1/2" length
d) Piece #7 is 2" diameter PVC at 6" length
e) Piece #8 is 2" diameter PVC at 12" length
f) cut 2 pieces of 3/4" diameter PVC at 2" length

Step 6) Dry fit your PVC pieces together to make sure they fit. If they get stuck use the strap wrench to get them apart. Fit them together like this, #1 and #2 go on a 2" 90 degree under the tank, #3 and #2 on the 2" tee, #3 and #4 on a 2" 90 degree that connects #4 into the bulkhead. Should look like this.

Diy vortex tea brewer props to oscar169 6


Step 7)
Glue piece #1 and #2 to either end of a 90 degree 2" slip fitting. You should apply glue to both the inside of the fitting and the outside of the pipe at each connection and give the pipe a quarter turn. You won't be able to turn every fitting but it helps to ensure a good glue bond when you can.

Glue piece #3 to the top (the middle) on the 2" PVC tee.

Glue piece #4 to a 2" 90 degree slip fitting.

You should have 3 pieces that look like this when you are done.

Diy vortex tea brewer props to oscar169 5


Step 7)
This is the trickiest part of the build if you bought a fast setting glue. Read this before you start with the glue. You will need to apply the glue to the inside of the 2" PVC fitting on the bottom of the tank, the outside of piece #1 (short end of the middle piece above), the inside of one side of the 2" tee that is connected to the bottom of piece #3 and the outside of the end of piece #2 which will slip into the 2" tee. You should end up with glue on both ends of the middle piece above, the inside of the bottom PVC fitting on the tank, and one end on the tee connected to #3. DO NOT GLUE the 90 degree piece with #4 glued into it (left in the picture above) to #3 or the bulk head just yet, you will want to leave it free and only for aligning the bulkhead while the glue sets on #1 and #2 and yes you will still be able to remove the upper 90 degree piece that isn't glued. Make sure all pieces align and have a nice tight fit and let the glue set up on the lower pieces for about 5 minutes.

While you are waiting for the glue to set from step 7 you can glue up the air feed and hose drain.

Step 8)
Take the two 3/4" pvc pieces and glue them to the ends of the 3/4" slip fit PVC ball valve. On one end glue the 3/4" threaded male to 3/4" slip fit and on the other glue the 3/4" slip fit to hose connection. It should end up looking like this.

Diy vortex tea brewer props to oscar169 7


Step 9)
Glue piece #5 and #6 to either end of the 2"x2"x 3/4" threaded tee. then glue the 2" threaded female to slip fit to one end. Also glue the 2" slip to 3/4" threaded piece to the inside of the 2" slip to 2" male threaded fitting. It should look like this when you're done.
Diy vortex tea brewer props to oscar169 8


* the reason why I used a threaded end here is so it can be removed and used as a clean out port if something falls into the brewer or becomes clogged (wedding ring, roach clip, glass eyeball, ect)

So the glue has probably set on the brewer by now

Step 10)
Glue the upper 90 degree fitting to #3 and the bulk head.

Step 11)
Wrap the male ends of the 2", the 3/4", and the 3/4" to barb fitting with teflon tape. Attach the threaded 2" male to the 2" female. Then attach the threaded 3/4" male to the 3/4" female on the 2" tee. Finally put the 3/4" threaded to 3/4" barb fitting on the end of the whole shebang. Like this.
Diy vortex tea brewer props to oscar169 9


Step 12)
Glue ^^^that thing^^^ to the 2" tee at the bottom, making sure to orientate the 3/4" drain properly.

Step 13)
Connect piece #7, the 2" 45 degree, piece #8, and a 2" 90 degree like so. DO NOT GLUE these pieces, they will remain unglued for variable adjustment inside the brewer.
Diy vortex tea brewer props to oscar169 10


Step 14)
Drill a hole or holes in the lid for air to escape.
Diy vortex tea brewer props to oscar169 11


Step 15)
Slip that #7 into the bulk head like so.
Diy vortex tea brewer props to oscar169 12


Step 16)
Hook up the 3/4" vinyl braided hose to the AP-100 pump. Place the pump above the water level in the brewer. Hook up the other end of the hose to the 3/4" barb on the end of the brewer. It should look like this when you're done. Ok maybe not such a shitty picture but you get the idea.
Diy vortex tea brewer props to oscar169 13


You should get a nice vortex going like this

Diy vortex tea brewer props to oscar169 14


The one thing I didn't end up liking about this brewer is how low the drain is, it's only about 4" off the floor so you'll need to raise the brewer up or get a diaphram pump to drain it, or run a hose out the door and down the hill like my jackass is about to do.

RAHHHHhhhhhh somebody should sticky this thing.
 
Last edited:
Mr.Sputnik

Mr.Sputnik

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The commercial air 7 took a shit today so don't bother with it, use the Danner ap-100. Didn't even make it 2 months, another hunk of poo overpriced hydro product.
 
bongobongo

bongobongo

Supporter
729
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So my water out of my tube inside te container isn't a solid stream... It's pulsating....?
 
Mr.Sputnik

Mr.Sputnik

1,010
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Yea mine pulsated too. Like an out of balance washing machine, ka-chunk..ka-chunk.. Makes some killer tea. Use the tea in a cloner, crazy roots. Good job! It looks great.
 
bongobongo

bongobongo

Supporter
729
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Ok, after a lot of fuckig around with the tube size and all that... 1.5" all the way through is neccisity due to the size of the riser on this... I reccomend the 15 gal brewer like Oscar has to get that deep vortex with an ap-100... It just won't do it for any length of time on mine... I chopped the 2 inch riser out and replaced with a 1.5 and it helped slightly , I lengthed the arm inside the brewer an inch... I haven't tried a 200 LPM pump but I'm sure that would be the final ticket. The BEST I can get with this setup is of coarse a turning of water but it's more of a semi small vortex that at time diss appears.


Any other people having better results? The best I've seen is oscars 15 gal
 
M

MarleyFan

5
3
Ok, after a lot of fuckig around with the tube size and all that... 1.5" all the way through is neccisity due to the size of the riser on this... I reccomend the 15 gal brewer like Oscar has to get that deep vortex with an ap-100... It just won't do it for any length of time on mine... I chopped the 2 inch riser out and replaced with a 1.5 and it helped slightly , I lengthed the arm inside the brewer an inch... I haven't tried a 200 LPM pump but I'm sure that would be the final ticket. The BEST I can get with this setup is of coarse a turning of water but it's more of a semi small vortex that at time diss appears.


Any other people having better results? The best I've seen is oscars 15 gal

Is your parts list what I would need to do Oscars 15 gallon? Obviously tank size and length of PVC will differ, but are all the parts the same? As far as I can tell it seems like it would though. Thanks. I already have my bulkhead, tank, stand, and ap100. Just plumbing is all I need now.
 
bongobongo

bongobongo

Supporter
729
143
Yup exactly, I'd use a 1.5 riser it does help. But yup just different size lengths
 
M

MarleyFan

5
3
Yup exactly, I'd use a 1.5 riser it does help. But yup just different size lengths
Oh, well damn.... I just bought everything 2". I figured using the same tank that Oscar used would fix that problem.
 
M

MarleyFan

5
3
No prob it'll work with the 15 gal
Cool! Thanks for the reply. Ok, well I didn't get the full drain tank:(. Is this going to cause a problem? It seems like the tank I have will leave about a half cup of tea left in the brewer. As long as I rinse it well it shouldn't be a problem correct? I can't imagine there being any type of dead spots with how much that water will vortex. I saved quite a bit with shipping going with this tank instead. I hope it wasn't a mistake. If not.... I guess I'll just replace the tank down the road.
 
Aladeen OG

Aladeen OG

343
93
my hand with a stick and a 5 gallon bucket can make a mean ass vortex for a tea brew. lol and it was like 2.36$ total

do you take the tea of out the top of get it out of the bottom release? how do you strain out the talc and shit for caps bennies?
 
Billyboat

Billyboat

Moderator
970
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my hand with a stick and a 5 gallon bucket can make a mean ass vortex for a tea brew. lol and it was like 2.36$ total

do you take the tea of out the top of get it out of the bottom release? how do you strain out the talc and shit for caps bennies?

Mine isn't homemade but.....

I have a water hose outlet at the bottom to drain the tea out of.

I mix the ogbiowar into a gallon of ro water, shake well, let sit, and then pour off the top and strain through a paint strainer. I get very little talac residue this way, and the brewer stays pretty clean
 
Image
S

SoggyCashew

1
1
I know this is an old post BUT where can I get one of these tanks and what's the name of it? I'm looking to do a 10 gallon one.

Thanks,
 

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