best HERMs coil location?

so i have a 50' 1/2" coil that i use as an IC, but i'm contemplating taking the old 25' IC and installing it into the HLT as a HERMS coil. the question is: where to put it in the HLT?

i assume i want to mount it as low as i can to minimize the amount of water needed in the HLT. that means drilling a couple holes and some compression fittings near the bottom.

output on the bottom and intake on the top so that it gravity drains, right?

ball lock on the bottom or top? needed at all?

should the 2 connectors be vertically aligned? is there some reason i'd want them offset?

anything else i gotta know before i punch holes?

I installed mine in a lid. This allows a lot of versilility, like being able to also use it as an IC, but does make it harder to drain. I chill by running the wort through the HEX with the HLT filled with tap water to get down to ~120F. While that's going I throw a couple bags of ice and a little water in the MLT. I then complete the chilling by moving the HEX coil to the MLT. I also installed a T in the output side of the HEX for a thermowell to monitor exit temps both during the mash and when chilling. By ball lock do you mean ball valve? If so you don't really need one.

i'm keeping the 50' as an IC, so the 25' will be strictly for the HLT as a HERMs.

I put mine in the bottom, gravity drain as you described, put a ball valve on the intake (top) only, and offset them by 90 degrees. Doing so allows easier access when installing (removing).

resslerk, what's the ball valve for? my gut says i need one but my brain doesn't know why...

whoah, gut check... 2 compression fittings @ 20 each plus the camlock connectors plus the full couplings. this just got more expensive than i was anticipating.

http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=170
http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=36_39&product_id=49
http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=36_39&product_id=133

maybe i'll just keep my 50' IC and swap it from HLT as a herms to BK as an IC.

Was just looking at those exact things yesterday and had the same reaction. The SS compression fittings are cheaper by a little bit elsewhere but by the time you add shipping from other places it's pretty much a wash. I wonder if anyone has a considerably cheaper source for those?

If your HEX coil is copper, why the need for expensive SS fittings?

guess it didn't occur to me to use anything but stainless... McMaster has brass ones for $11 + shipping, doesn't seem like that much savings.

just didn't really occur to me how quickly fittings add up. just did some math about all my BargainFittings orders and it's a ridiculous sum of money :|

I'm pretty sure I picked mine up for <$5 ea at home depot. They look just like the ones in the pic above. The cost of fittings adds up fast no matter what. Even though I skimped and used a lot of brass, copper, and aluminum, the fittings were still a large portion of the cost of my HERMS.