HERM Heat exchanger ideas

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

pickles

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2008
Messages
2,019
Reaction score
58
Location
Columbus
I think i want to incorporate an external heat exchanger in my HERMS build. I am curious what others have built. I think this one looks promising but hasn't been updated recently. Anyone have any pictures or build details. FYI, I'm planning on using electric for boil, sparge and mash; and have 3 kegs ready for modification. Thanks
 
I think i want to incorporate an external heat exchanger in my HERMS build. I am curious what others have built.

The heat exchanger in the picture is nice looking but requires good metal fabrication skills and/or a chunk of cash to pay a fabricator.

Picture_0401.jpg


Have you considered an external RIMS heat exchanger? They're easily built, provide very dynamic heat capacity, and have a smaller footprint than an external HERMS tank.

RIMS1.jpg
 
i like the more gentle heating of a HERMS HEX. Although, a recent post about an electric instant water heater build may have debunked the scorched mash/wort theory. I was thinking the external heat exchanger similar to one in link but all copper. That way i could solder the joints.
 
any one have any design ideas or pictures beside the one I posted?
 
I think a ultra-low density element directly in the wort path is pretty gentle and you're not going to overheat if your probe is in the output path near the HEX. I'd like to know why an external HERMS unit is preferable to an HLT based HERMS given the additional element, controller and footprint required.
 
After reading some online articles, I just felt it was easier to heat a small volume of water as opposed to all the water in my HLT. This is entirely in the planning stages so I'm open for suggestions.
 
i like the more gentle heating of a HERMS HEX. Although, a recent post about an electric instant water heater build may have debunked the scorched mash/wort theory. I was thinking the external heat exchanger similar to one in link but all copper. That way i could solder the joints.

Immersion coolers are notoriously inefficient without water movement, so plan on recirculating or stirring if you go that route.

RIMS can be as gentle as you want it to be, either using an appropriate wattage element(easier, proven route) or how you control it (I'm working on this now). The benefit of HERMS, at least in theory and not in practice, is the large surface area allowing you to step temps aggressively to evenly heat the mash quickly without the possibility of scorching. Most implementations of HERMS I've seen don't take full advantage of this; using large reservoirs and/or low wattage elements. A low wattage RIMS would perform just as sufficiently with less parts and space required.

Regarding HERMS, I still like the idea of a high wattage RIMS heater and using a plate style counterflow to exchange the heat, although the issue of clogging may have to be addressed. I plan on testing this out but not until I characterize RIMS and it's ability to step without scorching.
 
Back
Top