Hey folk… I have been brewing for only 7 months but love every minute of it. I’m currently doing 5 gallon batches. My father and I get together on Sunday afternoons and brew and drink a few. With the winter weather on us now. We want to move brewing inside the garage. I have built a nice little setup. With future expansion into larger boils and an all grain set up… My question is concerning carbon monoxide and condensation if I run a range hood and have it vented to the outside would this be sufficient?
Check with your local code enforcement personnel. CO2 is serious business and I don’t think you should depend on what someone on a brewing forum says
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Carbon monoxide is your first concern. A good shroud and exhaust fan over the kettle will take care of moisture. During very cold weather with very dry air moisture from the boil may not even be a problem. I’ve never used propane inside a garage so have no idea what kind of ventilation would be needed. Two beers while brewing may mimic the first stages of carbon monoxide poisoning. Be careful.
I agree with @brew_cat and @flars. You want to call a qualified HVAC person who can tell you. There might be one on here willing to help but I would want their credentials.
Yes do git someone that KNOWS… I’m not an expert, yet I do brew in the laundry room, with propane… Fans and a way to git make up air into the brew area… DONT do as I do…. Be safe, you’ll want to enjoy more home-brews! Sneezles61
I know you said you wanted larger batches, but in winter you can do smaller 3-gallon all grain batches on the kitchen stove. Or 5-gallon partial boil extract. It’s never too cold or windy in my kitchen. I do run the range hood AND open the window a bit to keep condensation at a minimum.
If you’re dead set on 5-gal or bigger indoor AG batches, maybe a grainfather or similar… something electric. Most garages are near enough to the breaker panel that a 220v line is pretty easy to run…
I’ve seen debates about how far from the house the turkey friers have to be to be operated safely. Never IN, not even under the eves…
I switched over to electric brewing last year and would never go back to propane. I do 5 gallon batches in my kitchen and run a fan to dissipate the moisture in my very dry house in the winter. I’m sure you could run an exhaust fan if you needed, but in a garage, I’m not sure I’d worry too much about the moisture. You could always crack open the overhead door to help dissipate moisture. Check out theelectricbrewery.com for some ideas. I ended up building my own system from scratch on a portable cart as I don’t have a dedicated space for brewing. I’m going to be brewing on Saturday in the comfort of inside my house when it’s supposed to be blowing winds and snow outside. Sure don’t miss trying to brew on my open porch with propane.
I brew in the garage for every all grain batch. All I do is crack the garage door open about a foot . Just when I have the burner on, then close when mashing. No problem.
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I brew all my batches (20+ gallons) in the garage with natural gas and I use a carbon monoxide detector. Never had any issues even when all sealed up. My only issue is the temp and humidity going so high. I just open the service door if it gets too warm.
Get yourself a nice CO detector.
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I did a double batch inside last weekend in my basement with natural gas. I didn’t have any issues besides the heat. I had an CO detector that electronically reads the levels and at no time did it alarm. I had no windows open, and my basement isn’t very big. The only glitch was the one side of the concrete wall had condensation running down it!
this is on a 60k btu wolf stove
Cooking on a wolf cook stove is alot different than boiling on a propane burner indoors. I would be nervous in a closed space.
Looks to be an older house and they aren’t so well sealed up, like the newer houses are. So with that known, then the chance moisture making it way through those nooks and cranny’s may cause a mold issue… Sneezles61
Same here. Mine is detached and drafty, even with the doors closed.
