converting the ol' cooler + S/S braid to a HERMS system

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faber

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[tried searching...maybe I'm not getting the search terms just right]

Has anyone had any sucess in converting your cool-based MLT to a HERMS system? Or do you know of a resource?

I'm very happy with my beer from the system I have now, but, you know how it is....gotta tinker. I'd love to try this, but don't want to go out and buy a bunch of kettles, etc. Prefer to work with what I have as much as possible.

TIA
 
That's a useful site, thanks for the link killian. One of the things i liked about that site is the explanation of all the wiring for the heating elements and temp control. a HERMS system is on my list down the road, and i'll certainly be switching my HLT to a heating element. i wasn't very impressed by the stand. he built it with copper! that's f'ing spendy! I suppose it's combined strength and light weight are a benefit, but i've gotta think for the price of the copper he could have found a small fab shop/welder to put something together. another thing is, while i think the insulated HLT is handy, its 10 gallon capacity is limiting. just yesterday i did a stout, 7.5 gallon batch, 13 lbs of grain, and my 10 gallon MLT had no space problems, but my 15 gallon HLT keggle was maxed out. i'll definitely be using some of this guys plans and ideas when i finally do a HERMS.
 
Im a f,ing idiot when it comes to wiring but I would really like to get away from using propane for the mash/sparge water but I dont think I should take the chance of wiring anything like this but I gotta find a way to do it.

yea that stand is crazy I cant believe it is all copper
 
I did it - see my posts on HERMS tank and wiring schematic.

The catch is that I haven't actually brewed with the dumb thing yet, just did a couple of AG's with just the cooler and used the HERMS tank as a pre-chiller for my IC. My cooler holds temp really well, so until I try a step mash (or a reeeaaally long mash), I'll still have most of the gear collecting dust on my brew cart
 
SenorWanderer said:
That's a useful site, thanks for the link killian. One of the things i liked about that site is the explanation of all the wiring for the heating elements and temp control. a HERMS system is on my list down the road, and i'll certainly be switching my HLT to a heating element. i wasn't very impressed by the stand. he built it with copper! that's f'ing spendy! I suppose it's combined strength and light weight are a benefit, but i've gotta think for the price of the copper he could have found a small fab shop/welder to put something together. another thing is, while i think the insulated HLT is handy, its 10 gallon capacity is limiting. just yesterday i did a stout, 7.5 gallon batch, 13 lbs of grain, and my 10 gallon MLT had no space problems, but my 15 gallon HLT keggle was maxed out. i'll definitely be using some of this guys plans and ideas when i finally do a HERMS.
Click to expand...

I dont understand how a 15gallon HLT was the limiting factor when your MLT is only 10 gallons and it holds the grain. Does not make any sense. 13lbs of grain at the high rate of 2qts/lb is 26 quarts= 6.5 gallons. Why is your HLT limiting you in any way??????:ban:
 

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