eHERMS build...one more amongst the many!

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Gabrew

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Hey all,

Finally got some stuff together, getting ready to build a brutus-like eHerms. Nothing new, nothing special, but finally up to building my own personal brewery. Its been a real suffering waiting for the parts (still not done), now I've got to summon the patience for the build itself...but thats the fun part...right?!?!

So here are some pics of what I got so far:

Free & LEGAL Kegs
DSC09602.jpg


Fittings, heating elements, pumps
DSC_1237.jpg


Grain Mill and hopper
DSC_1243.jpg


Sparge-Vorlauf Arm
DSC_0055.jpg


Comments and suggestions are welcome! :mug:

Gab
 
Umm, you're now required to post more pics as you build :D Your build ISN'T run-of-the-mill, you've got some great hardware there! I completely understand what it takes to collect that many fittings.....it is SO expensive and it seems to never end!

In the pic: What's right next to your FB? Camloks?

Also, what's coming out of your 3 piece ball valves? Nipples?
 
Love the first pic: golf, beer & surfing. What more do you need? Can't wait to see the progress. Good luck.
 
Scuba, I think he's going weldless, so those are the bulk heads, I think. And the nipple for the inside on the mash tun.

Awesome build by the way! Keep us updated!
 
ScubaSteve said:
Umm, you're now required to post more pics as you build :D Your build ISN'T run-of-the-mill, you've got some great hardware there! I completely understand what it takes to collect that many fittings.....it is SO expensive and it seems to never end!

In the pic: What's right next to your FB? Camloks?

Also, what's coming out of your 3 piece ball valves? Nipples?
Click to expand...


You are definately right about the time and money...but hell is it a fun process and i'm only starting...although its been an awaiting two year project.

Yup, those are camlocks! I thought they were definately worth the price in terms of material quality, just hope they do the trick...we'll see.

Everything will be weldless, as for the nipple coming out from the bulkhead, its to connect the to the false bottom dip tube since it came with a silicon tube. I beleive it will make the cleaning step much easier that way.

The build will begin this week, got to get the confidence up together and pierce those kegs...hope everything goes right!

once done, it'll be a question of understanding, ordering and putting together the electrics...but that a whole different story.

Stay tuned :tank:
 
HIM_Tattoos said:
Scuba, I think he's going weldless, so those are the bulk heads, I think. And the nipple for the inside on the mash tun.

Awesome build by the way! Keep us updated!
Click to expand...

Tis right!

Thanks for the interest, more to come soon!

:mug:
 
To be honest cutting kegs is fairly simple and safe, as long as you wear the right safety equipment and pay attention to what you're doing.

I was cutting open one of my kegs one morning after a 12 hr night shift and my hand slipped and i took my grinder right thru the tip of my finger, gouged almost to the bone, and i WAS wearing saftey gloves. Its healed up now as if nothing ever happened (luckily SWMBO was away for the week, otherwise that would have been the end of my fabricating, lol). So word of advice, make sure you're not tired and pay attention to what you're doing. Other than that its actually a pretty easy job if you have a step bit (for the weldless fittings) and a grinder (for the tops of the kegs). definitely buy a metal cutting blade from home depot, 1/16th inch (its the thinnest one they sell), that along with some WD-40 does a great job at cutting the top of the keg open.

:)
 
hammis said:
To be honest cutting kegs is fairly simple and safe, as long as you wear the right safety equipment and pay attention to what you're doing.

I was cutting open one of my kegs one morning after a 12 hr night shift and my hand slipped and i took my grinder right thru the tip of my finger, gouged almost to the bone, and i WAS wearing saftey gloves. Its healed up now as if nothing ever happened (luckily SWMBO was away for the week, otherwise that would have been the end of my fabricating, lol). So word of advice, make sure you're not tired and pay attention to what you're doing. Other than that its actually a pretty easy job if you have a step bit (for the weldless fittings) and a grinder (for the tops of the kegs). definitely buy a metal cutting blade from home depot, 1/16th inch (its the thinnest one they sell), that along with some WD-40 does a great job at cutting the top of the keg open.

:)
Click to expand...

Glad to hear your finger got alright!

The tops have been cut off, and as you have said...it's a pretty simple task as along as you take the time and safety precautions. Thanks for the tip!

I will be posting more pics some time soon, perhaps even of my STUPID mistake of rolling two 25feet 1/2'' ID (in the hope of making one 50foot coil) in the opposite direction...arghhhhhhh
 
Things are going a bit slower than I had anticipated but here's an update:

Kegs were cut open using an angle grinder and some lids were found:
DSC_1469.jpg



Here is my dumb mistake of trying to put together two 25'' HEX coil for my herms but ended up rolling them in the opposite direction...meaning that they cannot be superimposed. But after thinking about it, I think 25'' will suffice and the other coil will be a spare in case...
DSC_1470.jpg



I also had 50'' of small diameter copper tubing laying around from an unfinished project, so I decided to spend an extra 40$ on a hot water resistant hose and compelte this CFC which I fixed to an old fermentation bucket which will serve as a recipient for cleaning gear:
DSC_1465.jpg


Gab
 
Some update:

The kegs are pretty close to being complete. The hardware has not been "permanently' fixed, I'd like to polish down the kegs abit before. Still waiting on some parts for the element installation.

DSC_1396.jpg


HLT
DSC_1398.jpg


MLT
DSC_1399.jpg


BK
DSC_1404.jpg



Thanks!
Gab
 
how will you be getting temp readings? and will you just be recirculating through the same sparge arm you made?
 
Hey everyone,

Ive been starting to think about the electronics for this build. The plan is to have a temp probe in each of the vessels, where an element will be placed in both HLT and BK. I plan to control the temps using PIDs...

Ive checked out auber instruments for PID, SSR, RTDs and heatsinks but the total price is quite expensive. However I found this on ebay...any thoughts??

http://cgi.ebay.ca/PID-Temperature-...817?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c157e01c9

Also found some LED selector switches...would these work??\

http://cgi.ebay.com/PBC-SS22PMA-2-2...309?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e5c48174d

Thanks for the much needed help!!!!
 

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