HopheadNJ
Well-Known Member
So, like many others here, I've decided to begin taking the plunge into Electric brewing for many of the same reasons as others on here (indoor, no more LP, repeat-ability, having a permanent setup I won't have to break down after every brew day, etc.) After spending quite a bit of time researching both threads here on HBT & Kal's site/forums I'm thinking about doing a traditional 3 vessel system, single tier HERMS. There is a ton of info out there, but I feel as if I'm getting lost trying to utilize different aspects of different builds.
So far I've accumulated a couple items to begin the build out but of course have lots of questions and feel like I need to continue to research before going much further. Currently, I have a stainless steel table which I will be using for my "sculpture", a 15 gallon megapot (I intend to use this as my BK), a 10 Gallon beverage cooler (with SS braid, but plan to upgrade to a false bottom of some sort), and a recently acquired keg which I have cut the top off of and plan to use as a HLT.
A few of my buddies are licensed electricians, so I know they will be able to help me with a 240V GFCI install. I also have plenty of power with a 200AMP service and a small house that isn't utilizing much of it currently. I'd like to have the ability to brew 10G batches of lower gravity ales but most of brews will consist of 5 gallons of final product to the keg. I don't want full automation, but would like to be able to set temps and walk away, as well as not having to completely babysit the rig while mashing/boiling.
Could I reuse my existing IC as a HERMS coil, or is it worthwhile to make the one time investment in a SS coil for ease of cleaning? I'd like to CIP as much as possible & not have to break down the system after every brew.
Sorry for the length, but I started this thread to begin documenting my ideas and eventually the build process, with hopes some of you veteran e-brewers will chime in as well as create a thread worthy of helping out others in a similar scenario.
EDIT: I guess I should also mention my budget is not limitless like some builds around here, but I typically like to spend the $$ to do things right the first time around.
So far I've accumulated a couple items to begin the build out but of course have lots of questions and feel like I need to continue to research before going much further. Currently, I have a stainless steel table which I will be using for my "sculpture", a 15 gallon megapot (I intend to use this as my BK), a 10 Gallon beverage cooler (with SS braid, but plan to upgrade to a false bottom of some sort), and a recently acquired keg which I have cut the top off of and plan to use as a HLT.
A few of my buddies are licensed electricians, so I know they will be able to help me with a 240V GFCI install. I also have plenty of power with a 200AMP service and a small house that isn't utilizing much of it currently. I'd like to have the ability to brew 10G batches of lower gravity ales but most of brews will consist of 5 gallons of final product to the keg. I don't want full automation, but would like to be able to set temps and walk away, as well as not having to completely babysit the rig while mashing/boiling.
Could I reuse my existing IC as a HERMS coil, or is it worthwhile to make the one time investment in a SS coil for ease of cleaning? I'd like to CIP as much as possible & not have to break down the system after every brew.
Sorry for the length, but I started this thread to begin documenting my ideas and eventually the build process, with hopes some of you veteran e-brewers will chime in as well as create a thread worthy of helping out others in a similar scenario.
EDIT: I guess I should also mention my budget is not limitless like some builds around here, but I typically like to spend the $$ to do things right the first time around.