Made New Vortex Tea Brewer Today

[bongobongo]

The math follows... Mine is 30.5 9 inches difference 9" off of mine would be about 30% so yours is working 30% more efficiently, which would make sense as your is mainly not sputtering ill try it

 

[bongobongo]

For a vortex to follow a very good flow your pump must be able to push the water up the riser. There's a lot of water in them 2" pipes.. The equation for finding it is :

Gallons in a pipeline

= 0.785 x D2 x length, in feet, x 7.48 gal/cubic foot

Then times by 4 to see liters... The ap 100 is 150 per minute.. Which seems like a lot but not really when we talking pushing water up a pipe. Soo, as you can see oscars works to about 170 liters ok that riser which means his works nearly perfect but still would choke air



The best bet for the 35 gal DIY is a 1.5" riser which would get you..
246.. Which is quite a bit above threshold


Correct me if I'm wrong

 

[bongobongo]

Oops, those big numbers are inches of volume...
Sorry, numbers would still be accurate as percentages

 

[bongobongo]

And 246 is with a 2" 186 is what it is with 1.5

 

[MarleyFan]

For anyone else looking for these induction tanks or stands. Most inexpensive place I have found them is here. There shipping is also a lot less than the previous links shown.

 

[Billyboat]

I have the 73 gallon vortex brewer and it has 4 areas the water comes out to get a very even vortex. I had a DIY small unit sputter on me because of uneven flow.

 

[MarleyFan]

Oscar, curious why you went with 1" drain line? If you're worried about shit getting clogged and that's why you went with 2" on the lift tube why not go with 2" drain to hose fitting? Seems like it could get clogged up here.

 

[oscar169]

Oscar, curious why you went with 1" drain line? If you're worried about shit getting clogged and that's why you went with 2" on the lift tube why not go with 2" drain to hose fitting? Seems like it could get clogged up here.

After my tea has brewed for say the 24 hour period, I hook a hose to that Green Shut off with the brewer still running and open it and it takes a few mins for it to drain because a lot of air also comes out with the tea but I just fill a 5 gallon bucket to the top then shut it Leave Brewer running the whole time, Once its empty I wash it out with Hot water then Refill to about 12-13 gallons with Hot water and put in about 500Ml H2O2 to clean..

 

[oscar169]

I have the 73 gallon vortex brewer and it has 4 areas the water comes out to get a very even vortex. I had a DIY small unit sputter on me because of uneven flow.
View attachment 407886

I like that Brewer :), but they are Way Fucking over priced, A person can build the same thing vortex sells for thousands less....;)

 

[Billyboat]

I like that Brewer :), but they are Way Fucking over priced, A person can build the same thing vortex sells for thousands less....;)

Totally agree, but I only paid 1700 bucks for it as I got it at a gardening expo, compared to the 3k retail price.

 

[KiLoEleMeNt]

here's a pic of the return...the other end has a threaded male. The double-ended hose thing is the air supply, it works with the end of the tube opened or with the end of the tube plugged and diffuser holes drilled into it. It just slides right into the return and bubbles from the bottom.

View attachment 332197

This is exactly how the vortex brewer works and I love it I am hoping to build one myself soon

 

[oscar169]

Here is something for you guys, I use General Organics Ancient Forest all the time in different mixes and hate it when rocks,sticks,twigs, and sometimes trash from processing gets into the brewer, he is a simple solution to help prevent this, Bought it at Gander Mountain, any sport hunting store should sell them..

 

[cc503]

Here is something for you guys, I use General Organics Ancient Forest all the time in different mixes and hate it when rocks,sticks,twigs, and sometimes trash from processing gets into the brewer, he is a simple solution to help prevent this, Bought it at Gander Mountain, any sport hunting store should sell them..
View attachment 456669 View attachment 456670

hey at the plastic mart place i was about to order one and the saw that it was 172 for a 30 gal container plus stand and 368 for shipping? does that sound right? i guess it would still be a whole lot cheaper but damn does anyone know any places in the NW that stock something similar?

 

[oscar169]

hey at the plastic mart place i was about to order one and the saw that it was 172 for a 30 gal container plus stand and 368 for shipping? does that sound right? i guess it would still be a whole lot cheaper but damn does anyone know any places in the NW that stock something similar?

That does NOT sound right, I will have to do some checking but that's way more then I paid,...:eek::eek::eek:

 

[oscar169]

Man its giving me about the same price, for the 30 gallon setup, do some checking, if you don't need a 30 gallon go with the 15 gallon, that's what we run makes alot of TEA, Good Luck Bro...:)

 

[meowkitty]

Hi all - this is an older thread, but still great info! Much appreciation to Oscar for bringing this simple and superior vortex build to life.

I've just picked up one of these 15 gallon tanks, but mine has the 1.5" drain on it (not the 2"). It's too much hassle to return so I'm hoping this will work. My question is, should I just go with all 1.5" PVC or use an adapter for the drain to accept 2" and go that size all the way? I have an AP-100 on order so there will be tons of power (maybe too much if I go 1.5?"). Would like to go with the 2" size but if the drain causes too much of a bottleneck, maybe the 1.5 will be sufficient?

Thanks for the help!

 

[oscar169]

Hi all - this is an older thread, but still great info! Much appreciation to Oscar for bringing this simple and superior vortex build to life.

I've just picked up one of these 15 gallon tanks, but mine has the 1.5" drain on it (not the 2"). It's too much hassle to return so I'm hoping this will work. My question is, should I just go with all 1.5" PVC or use an adapter for the drain to accept 2" and go that size all the way? I have an AP-100 on order so there will be tons of power (maybe too much if I go 1.5?"). Would like to go with the 2" size but if the drain causes too much of a bottleneck, maybe the 1.5 will be sufficient?

Thinking you should be fine with the 1.5 all the way..:)

 

[masshole61]

Built a few Brewers by now, and without a microscope, I've settled on an oversized pump and a couple of four inch hockey puck diffusers. Oxygenates the shit out of the water and churns It up like a mofo. Keep it simple stupid.
What I don't understand is why doesn't vortex make a 5 gallon brewer? If you're mixing a strong tea 10 to 1 , how many small growers like myself need more than a 5 gallon brewer? I know Microbeman is selling one for about $100 bucks. I trust him as much as anyone but I'll stick with my hockey pucks.
There's more to brewing a tea than getting your water to spin like a tornado. Like quality ingredients and water temperature.

 

[meowkitty]

Thinking you should be fine with the 1.5 all the way..:)

Okie dokie! I've one set of fittings to return to Lowes. :) If anyone needs a 2" double slip bulkhead adapter, let me know and I'll send it to you for a couple bucks to cover shipping. Thanks Oscar, I'll keep posted on how it all works out. Pumped to get it pumping! :)

 

[meowkitty]

Built a few Brewers by now, and without a microscope, I've settled on an oversized pump and a couple of four inch hockey puck diffusers. Oxygenates the shit out of the water and churns It up like a mofo. Keep it simple stupid.
What I don't understand is why doesn't vortex make a 5 gallon brewer? If you're mixing a strong tea 10 to 1 , how many small growers like myself need more than a 5 gallon brewer? I know Microbeman is selling one for about $100 bucks. I trust him as much as anyone but I'll stick with my hockey pucks.
There's more to brewing a tea than getting your water to spin like a tornado. Like quality ingredients and water temperature.

I guess you can say I've bought in to the hype a bit on the vortex thing, so I may not be the most objective dude on the topic...but I agree that quality ingredients and lots of aeration seem to be the ultimate recipe for success.