Automated E-HERMS build

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.

Maltose

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 26, 2010
Messages
469
Reaction score
2
Location
Frederick
Just wrapping up some planning in sketchup for my new 20 gallon E-HERMS brewery. It will feature a 30 gallon HLT and brew kettle and a 42 gallon MLT with a grain dump. There are also 1/2" electric ball valves, stainless hard plumbing and bottom drains on all three vessels. I'm also planning on integrating Brewtroller. I haven't completely finished the model, but you get the idea. The kettles and valves got shipped yesterday, so I'll update this thread with actual photos as things start coming together. :mug:

Bottom.jpg


Front.jpg


Side.jpg
 
this is cool. I am building a similar rig. BT controlled, automated. Looking forward to the progress!
 
Working on a similar sized system as well, but most likely with BCS. What are you using for kettles, barrels? I am torn b/t 30, 42 and 55 gallon tanks, as I am not sure how well smaller (15-20 gal) batches will do with 55 gal tanks. Tri clover connects? What's the plan for volume measurement?
 
thelorax121 said:
Working on a similar sized system as well, but most likely with BCS. What are you using for kettles, barrels? I am torn b/t 30, 42 and 55 gallon tanks, as I am not sure how well smaller (15-20 gal) batches will do with 55 gal tanks. Tri clover connects? What's the plan for volume measurement?

Using barrels from www.bubbasbarrels.com. They are .050 wall thickness which I believe is a little thicker than a keg.

I will weld tri clover ferrules for all connections opposed to welding 1/2" couplers to cut down on threaded fittings. Most of the bends in the plumbing will also be bent instead of swageloks.

If I go with Brewtroller, I'll integrate their air bubbler system for volume measurement.
 
Very cool. I am looking at using bubba as well, cheap and heavy duty. My only decision now is between the 30 gal and 55 gal barrels. I figure I will start with the 30 gal, and can up grade to a 55 gal BK if I want to stretch into nano territory (based on my calculations, I could still press out a 1.078 1 bbl batch with the 30 gal MLT). However, your idea of the 42 gal MLT might be a great compromise, plus the wider diameter might make it more efficient.

I will be soldering in 1" tri ferrules for my in/out ports, and 1.5" ferrules for the electric elements, trying to eliminate all threads for a sanitary design (again, pretty much just case I want to creep my way into nano). Right now I am planning on TC sight glasses, but if brewtroller comes out with a simpler computer user interface by the time I get this project off the ground, I may go that route as well. Right now I am spending so much time on the hardware, I really don't want to delve into the BT software, but we'll see.

Thanks again for the post, I will be keeping up to see how everything goes!
 
thelorax121 said:
Very cool. I am looking at using bubba as well, cheap and heavy duty. My only decision now is between the 30 gal and 55 gal barrels. I figure I will start with the 30 gal, and can up grade to a 55 gal BK if I want to stretch into nano territory (based on my calculations, I could still press out a 1.078 1 bbl batch with the 30 gal MLT). However, your idea of the 42 gal MLT might be a great compromise, plus the wider diameter might make it more efficient.

I will be soldering in 1" tri ferrules for my in/out ports, and 1.5" ferrules for the electric elements, trying to eliminate all threads for a sanitary design (again, pretty much just case I want to creep my way into nano). Right now I am planning on TC sight glasses, but if brewtroller comes out with a simpler computer user interface by the time I get this project off the ground, I may go that route as well. Right now I am spending so much time on the hardware, I really don't want to delve into the BT software, but we'll see.

Thanks again for the post, I will be keeping up to see how everything goes!

I'll be doing 1" TCs as well. It looks like a bunch of people followed my lead and bought some of Bubbas barrels...he only has a couple left.
 
I recommend you take a good look at the 42 gal barrels. They are heavier, easier to clean and more efficient.

If you want 30's don't waste time as my supply is very limited.
 
Damn, I had a feeling that might be the case. I do like that the 42's have the same diameter as the 55's so the false bottom would be interchangeable. The only issue I for see is with the mash tun if I want to brew smaller (15-20 gal batches), as according to my calcs, the grain for a batch this size would only fill up 8-10 inches of the barrel, leaving a ton of dead space and an excessively shallow grain bed. I am thinking about breaking down and getting a smaller MLT for these batches unless anyone else has any other ideas....
 
I would recommend double checking your calculations as I do not think you can mash a 1.078 1 barrel batch in a 30 gallon mash tun. My mash tun comfortable holds 44 gallons and I am hard pressed to mash a 35 gallon batch with a OG > 1.070.
 
I would recommend double checking your calculations as I do not think you can mash a 1.078 1 barrel batch in a 30 gallon mash tun. My mash tun comfortable holds 44 gallons and I am hard pressed to mash a 35 gallon batch with a OG > 1.070.

do you mash pretty thin?
 
Any recommendations on what elements I should use? Thinking about two 4500 ULWD in the BK and same for the HLT. I could probably just wire them together as "one" for each kettle.
 
I wasn't sure that one 5500W element would give me a sufficient boil for 20 gallon batches or keep my HLT hot enough. Anyone with similar batch sizes have any advice?
 
Yea, I should have clarified on that one. The recipe I was talking about was my imperial IPA which uses about 5% cane sugar or honey to dry it out, hence the additional gravity.

Crunching the numbers again at my typical mash ration, I do come up a few points short, but running a slightly thicker mash would easily compensate. I mash at 1.25 qt/lb, and according to Palmer's data, each pound of grain has a volume of 50 oz at the mash ratio (42 fl oz @ 1 qt + 8 fl oz). Based on the specs of the barrel I calculated that the actual capacity is closer to 35 gal, so I assume that I have 30 gal, or 3840 fl oz of room to work with if I am really pushing it.
Therefore:

50x = 3840
x= 76.8 lbs of grain

and 77 lbs of grain with 5 lbs sugar/honey at 80% efficiency yields 33 gal of 1.076 wort.

Having schemed a bit more and rechecked my math, I do think that two mash tuns would be the easiest and most effective way to ensure flexibility. Having two MLTs that fit the each batch size well rather than one MLT that fits both less than perfectly seems to be a better option. Thanks for letting me think out loud:)

EDIT:

In regards to your question Maltose, I would imagine that 5500W would be fine for a 20 gal boil, as mine is dialed down to 55% on the PID for a 15 gal batch, keeping a nice rolling boil.
 
Barrels and lids arrived today. I went with copper rivets and polished exterior. The quality appears to be great but I haven't unwrapped them yet. Some grunge inside but nothing a quick caustic bath wouldn't take care of. I'll be posting updates as I progress. Thanks Carl!

image-257806163.jpg
 
thelorax121 said:
Sexy! Where was that picture taken, and what is in the barrels/that massive ss tank?

I'm a brewer at Flying Dog. Some Gonzo and Horn Dog in various oak barrels. The stainless vessel is an old grundie
 
Also, back to the original topic, what is your plan for the tippy dump? I have been kicking the idea around and was thinking of implementing something similar to what JonW did with his Blichman MLT ( tipping off the back of the rig rather than a hub located on the middle of the tun), but there are a few issues with that route as well.

@Bubba, out of curiosity, what do you mean that the 42 gal barrels are more efficient?
 
Sorry I haven't been around, March was a tough month for me. The 42s are more efficient in terms of heating, if you are using a direct fire method. You also gain some time because they are generally easier to clean and work with.
 
Decided to exchange my 42 gallon barrel for another 30. I plan to have 15-20 gallon batches and having three barrels the same shape will be easier to construct the stand.

Waiting for a break in work next week to weld the stand. Ordered some parts for my control panel yesterday. Pics to come soon!
 
And also let me mention how helpful Carl was in this process. Super fast shipping both times and he was really cooperative with my return. He gave me a personal phone call about the exchange and got me my new barrel in less than a week. I know he's having some supply issues but he is an excellent vendor and can't wait to get this new rig started!
 
Back
Top