Going electric, where to start

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.
No suggestions on kettle insulation?

So my propane Brutus inspired brewing rig, kettles, and all is now gone. Sold it today and feels a little wrong, but it was a lot of fun. I don't need two, though have now lost portability.

All parts on order now except some casters for the custom stainless table/stand commissioned.

Thinking about suspending the panel from the metal trusses. Not sure how to pull that off. Any suggestions? Basement walls are poured concrete with thin layer foam insulation and drywall over top. Not really thinking that a wall mount would be best. Is said to weigh 50#

Also any suggestions on mounting of pumps or of chiller? My table has a lower shelf. I'm using either a convoluted copper counter flow or a leaky immersion chiller that tends to drip a lot. Trying to think of a way to mount the convoluted chiller to mitigate dripping sticky wort all over the basement floor. Considering using it to chill the cooling water via my smallish glycol DIY cooler, then use in conjunction with the immersion chiller.

TD
 
So kettles should be here by the end of the month. Big props to Tim Moore at Colorado brewing systems. Helped me setup a multiple payment invoice after multiple detailed emails about the system I wanted to build, custom welds, etc. Pricing is competitive and has all the features I wanted.

In preparation of the kettles arriving, I was wondering about insulation, or how to keep the kettles from superheating the tabletop (stainless). I was thinking about some cork or silicone mats perhaps? What are others using, or isn't this a real problem? Also wondering about possibly wrapping some light insulation material around the kettles without permanently affixing or disfiguring them, so as to limit radiant heating into the basement. I don't really want to go overkill on this insulation wrap, but I figure a little bit could help stabilize temps and keep room comfortable through the brew day.

Thanks


TD
The insulation is just not needed... If you are recirculating your mash with a herms or rims setup then honestly, its more effort than its worth. the electric is extremely cheap and insulation will just complicate cleanup. plus your hood should be plenty to remove any radiant heat. Now as far as insulation for under the kettles any plain wood spacer would work fine from circles cut out of plain non painted or finished plywood to cosmetically pleasing solutions like pizza cutting boards or cork) (I use 3/8" floor underlayment.)
 
I can't find any 3/8" underlayment at home despot (only really thin crap). Would ceramic tile or travertine tile (1/4") work?

I also understand that plywood is heat resistant up to 450º (can anyone verify?) I could also order some 12x36 sheets of 1" thick cork from mcmaster for under $10 each. What is the highest temp the kettles are going to be getting? I think the boil kettle might eke out just over 212?

TD
 
Sold my propane rig two weeks ago.

New BCS controlled Panel arrived today. WOW. What a thing of beauty! Attention to detail is incredible.

Two of three kettles are here. I think there was a mixup in the ordering process so I'll likely need to return them for additional ports, which hopefully won't be too painful.

Hopefully the learning curve isn't too bad. Using a BCS semi-automated process might be initially frustrating... time will tell.

Can't wait to break her in! LOL!

Planning to add remote fill automation and remote heating to target strike temp! That'll be a huge time saver on brewdays for sure. I would still plan to mill my grain outdoors a day before (or at least measure out). Otherwise, I'm an indoor brewer soon! Funny that many of us begin on a stovetop doing extract brew, move outdoors and then move back indoors after going through propane and then back to electric setup. I will never forget the stovetop boilover cleanup......HUGE mess....

TD
 
I can't find any 3/8" underlayment at home despot (only really thin crap). Would ceramic tile or travertine tile (1/4") work?

I also understand that plywood is heat resistant up to 450º (can anyone verify?) I could also order some 12x36 sheets of 1" thick cork from mcmaster for under $10 each. What is the highest temp the kettles are going to be getting? I think the boil kettle might eke out just over 212?

TD

The problem with cork is that as soon as you spill water or beer on it, its toast, its going to fall apart and or mold and theres nothing you can do about it.

I just went on Amazon and bought some 12" Circular silicone things people put on their microwave plates to keep them easy cleaning...the silicone is up to like 550F sustained 650F for bursts..which is way more than your ever going to see. The nice thing about Electric is your pot is never going to get above 212F. Yes 12" is smaller than most pots, but its more about getting the pot up and off the table..if its on silicone or the edges are floating it doesnt matter.

As others said, Insulation is a waste of time i wouldnt bother unless your using underpowered elements.
 
Well that sucks...
I had already ordered some sheets of cork.
Well I guess I'll use them until they fall apart!

Where are people placing their probes in a Herms configuration?

Are two probes needed for the mash, in tun and at Herms output? Seems likely so.

RH
 
Well that sucks...
I had already ordered some sheets of cork.
Well I guess I'll use them until they fall apart!

Where are people placing their probes in a Herms configuration?

Are two probes needed for the mash, in tun and at Herms output? Seems likely so.

RH

Your HLT probe should always be in your HLT output , you should be recirculating your HLT water the whole time anyways to keep it moving.

Your MLT probe there are two spots, which you chose is really up to you and it doesnt seem to make a difference. Either at your MLT input, or your MLT output.

Kal always uses outputs, but the MLT input made more logical sense to me. That way if i want my mash at 153 i know the water coming in is exactly 153, not 153 after its been pulled through the mash. But we are talking fractions of degree's here anyways.

Your first go your going to want to figure out what your loss is between your HLT and MLT temps. You control your MLT temp through setting your HLT PID. For example i have to set my HLT to 154.5 to hold my mash at exactly 153...i lose about 1.5F in the journey out the MLT, through the hoses and pumps before it gets back up to 153F coming out of my HERMS coil and back into my mash. For most people this is 1-2F but you'll have to play with it as its different system to system depending on how long your hoses are, how cold it is outside etc.
 
I have one in the HLT, one on the mash spigot exit and one in the BK (since I cool and whirlpool after boil)

I tried both places for HLT on my prev e-Herms system (in the HLT and on the output during water re-circ) and the diff was negligible.
 
Your HLT probe should always be in your HLT output , you should be recirculating your HLT water the whole time anyways to keep it moving.

Your MLT probe there are two spots, which you chose is really up to you and it doesnt seem to make a difference. Either at your MLT input, or your MLT output.

Kal always uses outputs, but the MLT input made more logical sense to me. That way if i want my mash at 153 i know the water coming in is exactly 153, not 153 after its been pulled through the mash. But we are talking fractions of degree's here anyways.

Your first go your going to want to figure out what your loss is between your HLT and MLT temps. You control your MLT temp through setting your HLT PID. For example i have to set my HLT to 154.5 to hold my mash at exactly 153...i lose about 1.5F in the journey out the MLT, through the hoses and pumps before it gets back up to 153F coming out of my HERMS coil and back into my mash. For most people this is 1-2F but you'll have to play with it as its different system to system depending on how long your hoses are, how cold it is outside etc.

Thanks!
Ambient temp I can set on the thermostat!
So, to pick your brain, why always HLT output temp probe as opposed to just monitoring the temp in the HLT itself? Since it's always recirculating, wouldn't I want the whole tank temp? Seems that the output is going to be higher temp if being pulled from bottom of the kettle where the burner is if the burner or element rather is on?

Also for mash tun, when you say input do you mean the temp of the wort coming out of the Herms coil? And for output, what's coming from beneath the mash screen at the bottom of the kettle? In a step mash situation, you would want to monitor both temps I would think, as the wort going into the Herms is going to represent the temp in the mash tun overall, and the temp coming out of the Herms is going to represent your next step temp. If you are only monitoring the temp coming out of the mash tun and into the Herms, you could inadvertently overshoot your temp in the Herms while the overall mash temp lags behind.

As far as the boil kettle, I'm not really sure why you need to have an indwelling probe at all. Maybe to prevent wort scorching from the electric element to control duty cycle? Otherwise would seem that if you are immersion chilling it in the boil kettle would be nice to know the temp. Otherwise you could just put the temp probe inline with a counter flow or plate chiller or whatever you're using, and not the boil kettle.

TD
 
As far as the boil kettle, I'm not really sure why you need to have an indwelling probe at all. Maybe to prevent wort scorching from the electric element to control duty cycle? Otherwise would seem that if you are immersion chilling it in the boil kettle would be nice to know the temp. Otherwise you could just put the temp probe inline with a counter flow or plate chiller or whatever you're using, and not the boil kettle.

TD

you will want that temp prob if you ever wanted controlled temp in the boil kettle. an example may be cleaning, when you want to cycle cleaner through the boil kettle at a set temp for a set period of time. also good if you want to do sous-vide cooking.
 
Thanks for the help guys!

Waiting on a few more parts and one kettle still. Then I'll need a weekend to get it all setup cleaned and programmed. Will eventually be plumbing the water fill line as well.

TD
 
Thanks!
Ambient temp I can set on the thermostat!
So, to pick your brain, why always HLT output temp probe as opposed to just monitoring the temp in the HLT itself? Since it's always recirculating, wouldn't I want the whole tank temp? Seems that the output is going to be higher temp if being pulled from bottom of the kettle where the burner is if the burner or element rather is on?

Also for mash tun, when you say input do you mean the temp of the wort coming out of the Herms coil? And for output, what's coming from beneath the mash screen at the bottom of the kettle? In a step mash situation, you would want to monitor both temps I would think, as the wort going into the Herms is going to represent the temp in the mash tun overall, and the temp coming out of the Herms is going to represent your next step temp. If you are only monitoring the temp coming out of the mash tun and into the Herms, you could inadvertently overshoot your temp in the Herms while the overall mash temp lags behind.

As far as the boil kettle, I'm not really sure why you need to have an indwelling probe at all. Maybe to prevent wort scorching from the electric element to control duty cycle? Otherwise would seem that if you are immersion chilling it in the boil kettle would be nice to know the temp. Otherwise you could just put the temp probe inline with a counter flow or plate chiller or whatever you're using, and not the boil kettle.

TD

To your first question, you dont PID control your mash tun because its too slow to react. By the time your MLT gets to say 153 via controlling the HLT, your HLT will be much warmer...sure your MLT will turn off the HLT element but your still pumping your mash through the HLT which is probably many degree's higher than 153F which is a bad thing because then your mash will continue to rise...the only way to stop it is to manually turn on and off your pumps at that point to try and maintain around 153F..which is a huge pain in the ass. Does that make sense? Its a bit hard to write into words lol.

If instead you set your HLT to 153, you know that the wort can never get above 153F..ever..it will get there and be stuck.

Yes to input and output...For the second question are we talking BIAB or a traditional 3 vessel EHERMS? You have no burner or element in your mash tun in a 3 vessel system. This is why you monitor the HLT temperature and not the MLT. If your recirculating 153F water in your HLT and pumping 145F mash(after dough in for example) through your HERMS coil then your mash will slowly rise to equalize with the 153F HLT and hold. Same for step mashes, you raise the HLT temp to 155, and as it rises to 155 your mash will rise with it as it pumps through the coil..obviously it will lag very slightly behind as the HLT is getting direct heat and the Mash is just getting indirect heat transfer through the coil.
The MLT does nothing but tell you what your mash is, it doesnt control anything...it does however give you the information you need so you know what temperature to set your HLT to(like i said for me its HLT= Mash Target + 1.5F

And yes a Boil probe really does nothing, you usually just set to 100% then down to 70-80% when you reach a boil.
 
Yeah, makes sense. I have a three vessel eHERMS I'm building using a BCS based control panel built by electric brewing supply. My vessels I got from Colorado Brewing systems. Highly recommend both vendors by the way, though I'm sure others are just as good, these two had the particular features I was looking for.

I am sure that there will be a learning curve adapting to the new system.

I understand FuzzeeWuzzee what you're saying about the PID mash tun control and why it won't work. I wonder how long it will take to do step mashing to raise the HLT temps. My guess is that it'll be much more efficient and faster than the old Brutus style system.

One question if you could clarify, is this. In the setting of a step mash with HERMS heating, how would you know when the main mash has reached target temp without adding a probe to the mash tun itself? For instance lets give an example:

mash at 154 and I want to do a mash out for 5 minutes before sparging.
I set the temp on the HLT from 154 up to 168. Once my HLT water reaches 168, how will I know when my full mash tun temp reaches 168, not just the recirculating wort that is exiting the HERMS coil which I would assume would reach 168 on its first pass once the HLT is up to temp and truly, since the HLT temp is heating continuously from 154 to 168, the mash is also heating simultaneously as long as I continue recirculation, perhaps with a bit of a lag.

One thought is to monitor the mash tun temp and not the wort exiting the HERMS coil, since I already know that the exiting wort will never exceed the HLT temp. I could see in real time the difference in temp between the two to get a sense of any lag, and once the HLT is fully up to temp, see how long it takes the mash tun to catch up, which I'm sure is a function of the overall mass of liquid and grain in the mash.

Anyways, thanks again for the help and insight.

TD
 
One thought is to monitor the mash tun temp and not the wort exiting the HERMS coil, since I already know that the exiting wort will never exceed the HLT temp. I could see in real time the difference in temp between the two to get a sense of any lag, and once the HLT is fully up to temp, see how long it takes the mash tun to catch up, which I'm sure is a function of the overall mass of liquid and grain in the mash.

Anyways, thanks again for the help and insight.

TD


The wort in the mash tun IS the temperature of the wort leaving the HERMS coil.

You are right you do need to measure it. Your "Mash" temperature is the temperature of the wort right as it enters your mash tun(after coming out of the HERMS coil). This is merely a temperature probe and does no controlling.

Your HLT probe is on the outlet of your HLT water, which you are then pumping back up to the top of your HLT to keep recirculating to keep a more even temperature throughout the HLT.

But yes how long it takes for the Mash to catch up has a lot of variables, mostly just the volume of water.

In your sparging example, your mistaken thinking that your wort coming out of your coil is going to go from 154->168 in one pass. You pump wide open to get the most flow and the best heat transfer, so your wort coming into your Mash tun will only be a fraction of a degree hotter each time it goes through. The theory is that while yes you could just pump really slowly through the mash tun and get part of it to 168 while the rest is at 154 the better solution is to go full blast through the HERMS so that the temperature differential is larger for a longer period of time and your raising the temperature of the wort as a whole.

Have you ever used a counter flow chiller and pumped through it full blast? It only takes the wort down a fraction of a degree...same concept but in reverse.

It doesnt take that long to get up to temp, maybe 10-15 minutes from a typical mash temp to a sparge temp.

There will be a temperature gradient in your mash tun, so there is no good place within the mash itself to measure, hot spots, cold spots, etc. At least not any better or worse than measuring the input or output.
 
Good info!!
I think experience will help me figure the best places to position the probes.
Can you really run the Herms recirculation wide open without compacting the grain bed? I could never do this in my Blichmann mash tun. I've got different setup now so I guess I'll have to find out.

Most of equipment is now in, still waiting on two boxes from kettle supplier with HLT/HERMS and misc clamps, elements, and pumps. Will hopefully have the brew table finished by next weekend.
Just need need some free time in November to get it all setup and rearrange the basement.

TD
 
Good info!!
I think experience will help me figure the best places to position the probes.
Can you really run the Herms recirculation wide open without compacting the grain bed? I could never do this in my Blichmann mash tun. I've got different setup now so I guess I'll have to find out.

Most of equipment is now in, still waiting on two boxes from kettle supplier with HLT/HERMS and misc clamps, elements, and pumps. Will hopefully have the brew table finished by next weekend.
Just need need some free time in November to get it all setup and rearrange the basement.

TD
Good point I guess it will vary with false bottom. I have a jaybird false bottom, and go all open during mash.
 
Good point I guess it will vary with false bottom. I have a jaybird false bottom, and go all open during mash.

I am not familiar with that brand. I will have to wait to see how min performs, also bought with kettle from Colorado brewing systems

So I have been looking for ideas on what to place beneath the kettles beside cork. The kettles are large, 17.75" diameter at the base. I really wouldn't want an under sized silicone hot pad and damage or bow the kettle bottom. I found that you can buy square mats of many different thickness and size and materials at McMaster.com. The silicone is rather expensive. What isn't expensive though is this stuff called mineral wool. It's like $8 for one square big enough for one kettle. It claims to be moisture resistant. Anybody using this stuff? I have cork on the way already, but when that goes bad as I am told it will once wet, then this mineral wool will be the next thought. Anyone using marine grade plywood? That is also supposed to resist heat and water.

TD
 
So I have been looking for ideas on what to place beneath the kettles beside cork. The kettles are large, 17.75" diameter at the base. I really wouldn't want an under sized silicone hot pad and damage or bow the kettle bottom.

I was going to include a link from the Brew Boss site but it doesn't appear to be an option for sale. Anyway, when you buy a system from him there is an option for a 3 pack of silicon hot pads. Since his system is a single kettle I assume the 3 pack will easily accommodate a really big kettle. I don't think the cost was high so maybe just search some home cooking sites for similar items? Probably not the answer you wanted but just trying to help.
 
HAH!

eBay find! 22x1/8 inch diameter/ thick high temp silicone heat pads!
Seller name is hrc201010, I think he has some left. $29.99each.
Now what to do with the damn cork sheets I bought.....

TD
 
Nice..22" is just too big for me..and $30 each is a bit steep i havent had a lot of trouble ramping or holding heat even with the pot on my stainless table. I still ramp up at 1.8F per minute which the math says is what i should get for 5500W in 19 Gallons.
 
Yah. It was a bit steep, but I think overall the best option vs cork or plywood or something else. Spent a lot of time on McMaster looking for something. Mineral wool was a close contender, but I suspect with time and repeated water exposure is probably not the greatest option. Could probably use something different for the HLT and MLT given lower operating temps however, which would open up some other possibilities. 24x24" squares of silicone were pricey on the McMaster site.

So you get 1.8°F /min for heating 19 gallons of water in your HLT with a 5500 watt element? If that's what I'm going to get with a similar wattage and volume, I'm guessing a little less than and hour to heat to strike temps. How many feet long is your Herms coil? I haven't yet an idea of how many gallons of water it'll take to keep Herms fully submerged in my HLT and how many gallons of strike water I'll be draining from the Herms for the mash in, and if I'll need to add more water after mash in to keep the coil submerged fully. Frankly, I'm not sure how much it might matter if a few turns of the coil are exposed to air. My coil is a 50' in a 20 gal kettle.
 
Trickydick

Did you determine a table size? Also, what is your table height and hood height? I'm working on what height to make the hood. I would imagine lower the more efficient, but I don't know about mash paddle getting in and out.
 
Trickydick

Did you determine a table size? Also, what is your table height and hood height? I'm working on what height to make the hood. I would imagine lower the more efficient, but I don't know about mash paddle getting in and out.

Honestly I don't know.
My friend who installs and fabricates commercial kitchen setups including hoods would know. He built mine. You are correct that the closer the top of the kettle to the hood the better. Adding an angled section so it's lower at the rear than front of hood also helps. I don't know the dimensions on mine off the top of my head.

The table is going to be 68x24x26 length, width,height. But the casters ar going to add about 6" to overall height. I think I planned it so top lip of kettles would be about center of my chest so I could work the mash paddle and what not without difficulty. Once I have it all together, I'd be happy to give you more specific measurements and let you know how it all works.

Getting the steel for my table today and hopefully welded up next week along with last few components arriving.

TD
 
Yah. It was a bit steep, but I think overall the best option vs cork or plywood or something else. Spent a lot of time on McMaster looking for something. Mineral wool was a close contender, but I suspect with time and repeated water exposure is probably not the greatest option. Could probably use something different for the HLT and MLT given lower operating temps however, which would open up some other possibilities. 24x24" squares of silicone were pricey on the McMaster site.

So you get 1.8°F /min for heating 19 gallons of water in your HLT with a 5500 watt element? If that's what I'm going to get with a similar wattage and volume, I'm guessing a little less than and hour to heat to strike temps. How many feet long is your Herms coil? I haven't yet an idea of how many gallons of water it'll take to keep Herms fully submerged in my HLT and how many gallons of strike water I'll be draining from the Herms for the mash in, and if I'll need to add more water after mash in to keep the coil submerged fully. Frankly, I'm not sure how much it might matter if a few turns of the coil are exposed to air. My coil is a 50' in a 20 gal kettle.

Its hard to say because its so pot and position specific to how high your coil is. In my particular case im using a 12 1/2" 50' SS coil from Stainlessbrewing and i think i am around 9 gallons to keep it submerged? Honestly i cant remember though.

Another option I will be using for beers where i suspect i will drain below my coil is to put your estimated strike water into the MLT from the tap, and then also fill your HLT. While your HLT is coming up to temp pump your strike water through your HERMS coil as if you were holding it during a mash..this should bring your mash water up to temp along as the HLT gains temp..when your all done you now have a full HLT and your strike water is aleady warm. Otherwise as you stated after you mash in you may have to add cold water and wait for the HLT to come to temp again.
 
So you get 1.8°F /min for heating 19 gallons of water in your HLT with a 5500 watt element? If that's what I'm going to get with a similar wattage and volume, I'm guessing a little less than and hour to heat to strike temps.

That's where a PID and heater for the MLT can save you time. The strike water is a much smaller volume than the HLT, so you can heat the strike water in the MLT much more quickly, while bringing the HLT up to mash temp at the same time. It also gives you the option of using either HERMS (recirculate through the heat exchanger) or RIMS (just recirculate without the heat exchanger in the line and use direct heat on the MLT) The directly heated MLT will change temps faster (again, it contains less volume) when you want it to (step mashes, mashout) and you can use the HERMS mode for maintaining temperatures during the rests. The setup I'm currently putting together will be such a "dual mode" rig (though gas-fired rather than electric).
 
That's where a PID and heater for the MLT can save you time. The strike water is a much smaller volume than the HLT, so you can heat the strike water in the MLT much more quickly, while bringing the HLT up to mash temp at the same time. It also gives you the option of using either HERMS (recirculate through the heat exchanger) or RIMS (just recirculate without the heat exchanger in the line and use direct heat on the MLT) The directly heated MLT will change temps faster (again, it contains less volume) when you want it to (step mashes, mashout) and you can use the HERMS mode for maintaining temperatures during the rests. The setup I'm currently putting together will be such a "dual mode" rig (though gas-fired rather than electric).

Thanks.

I'm going electric but I don't see how you would directly heat the MLT, perhaps with a heat stick? Propane I totally understand, having previously used a direct fired mash tun. Time wise, I plan to use some automation to have it already heated when I'm ready to brew.

TD
 
Its hard to say because its so pot and position specific to how high your coil is. In my particular case im using a 12 1/2" 50' SS coil from Stainlessbrewing and i think i am around 9 gallons to keep it submerged? Honestly i cant remember though.

Another option I will be using for beers where i suspect i will drain below my coil is to put your estimated strike water into the MLT from the tap, and then also fill your HLT. While your HLT is coming up to temp pump your strike water through your HERMS coil as if you were holding it during a mash..this should bring your mash water up to temp along as the HLT gains temp..when your all done you now have a full HLT and your strike water is aleady warm. Otherwise as you stated after you mash in you may have to add cold water and wait for the HLT to come to temp again.

My initial plan was to setup the BCS to open a valve (which I already have) that will fill the HLT with water, and then when the float switch activates at the top, to turn off the water filling valve when the kettle is full. I could remotely fill the HLT this way the day before I plan to brew (my RO tank will hold about 12-13 gallons, so this does take some time to regeneration once the stored water has been drained). I would need to setup all the cleaned gear of course for this to work as planned and make sure all kettle valves are closed!
The thought was then to remote heat to set point, so that when I wake up, make coffee etc, and stroll into the brewery, it would be ready and waiting.

Also there are usually slightly different mineral additions to the sparge water and mash water. Clearly I'll need to brew on this for a while before the best way to use and setup my system to its best time saving efficiency becomes apparent. Unless I add additional electro-mechanical ball valves and plumbing and a flow meter to the mix in order to heat the entire HLT to strike temp, then pump the specified volume of water over to the MLT and then maintain the MLT & HLT water at the strike temp until I'm ready to dough in, then it looks like I'm going to need to keep a part of this process manual. I'm sure between BeerSmith and the BCS that I'll be able to dial in precise strike temps after a few sessions.

One issue that presents itself is the volume measurement. My system will only have one sightglass (on the HLT). I think that will be fine as long as I can find a way to accurately measure the volume of water in the MLT. I suppose the best way would be to measure the volume of water that will be "trapped" in the tubing and pump between the HLT & MLT circuit during the transfer and note the deltaVolume on the sightglass to get fairly accurate mash water volume.

TD
 
My initial plan was to setup the BCS to open a valve (which I already have) that will fill the HLT with water, and then when the float switch activates at the top, to turn off the water filling valve when the kettle is full. I could remotely fill the HLT this way the day before I plan to brew (my RO tank will hold about 12-13 gallons, so this does take some time to regeneration once the stored water has been drained). I would need to setup all the cleaned gear of course for this to work as planned and make sure all kettle valves are closed!
The thought was then to remote heat to set point, so that when I wake up, make coffee etc, and stroll into the brewery, it would be ready and waiting.

Also there are usually slightly different mineral additions to the sparge water and mash water. Clearly I'll need to brew on this for a while before the best way to use and setup my system to its best time saving efficiency becomes apparent. Unless I add additional electro-mechanical ball valves and plumbing and a flow meter to the mix in order to heat the entire HLT to strike temp, then pump the specified volume of water over to the MLT and then maintain the MLT & HLT water at the strike temp until I'm ready to dough in, then it looks like I'm going to need to keep a part of this process manual. I'm sure between BeerSmith and the BCS that I'll be able to dial in precise strike temps after a few sessions.

One issue that presents itself is the volume measurement. My system will only have one sightglass (on the HLT). I think that will be fine as long as I can find a way to accurately measure the volume of water in the MLT. I suppose the best way would be to measure the volume of water that will be "trapped" in the tubing and pump between the HLT & MLT circuit during the transfer and note the deltaVolume on the sightglass to get fairly accurate mash water volume.

TD

I highly suggest sight glasses on a 3 vessels if you can. Sparging im not sure how you plan to sparge if you cant tell what the volumes in your MLT and BK are. You'll need a stick or something to measure to be able to know if you've hit your volume in the BK.
 
I highly suggest sight glasses on a 3 vessels if you can. Sparging im not sure how you plan to sparge if you cant tell what the volumes in your MLT and BK are. You'll need a stick or something to measure to be able to know if you've hit your volume in the BK.

That was my initial plan, but was somehow miscommunicated within a long email discussion between myself and the supplier/welder. It is possible to know the volume of one vessel equipped with sight glass (HLT) you can calculate estimated mash volume based on how much the water you began with and how much is left in the HLT after dough in minus estimated absorption based on weight of the grain. I could also etch my spoon for volume levels (now that I think about it, I'm going to need a longer spoon too). I am considering a DIY etching of the kettle if I can't hit consistent volume targets, rather than ship them out for the mods. One less part to clean is a plus. Dowel rod with calibrated volume marks is another idea.

TD
 
Last of the gear en route, to arrive by Friday. Custom stand under construction, could be done by end of week. Need to rearrange the basement brew area and I'll be ready to brew!! Might need to come up with some alternate option on the float switches to permit remote automated fill of HLT.

Edit- welder finishing stand/table today!
 
Cart done! HLT comes Friday. Need to do some rearranging and then will roll it beneath the hood. This is parked where I stored my old propane rig. pumps and other hardware and whatnot comes on Friday too. Had intended to have support braces at midpoint on the cart from top to bottom shelf but two pieces of steel misplaced. It's strong enough for sure even without - 11ga steel. Was planning to mount the pumps to those support braces though. Any other suggestions on where to mount the pumps? Maybe drill the shelf surface itself or something?

TD.

View attachment 1447294368748.jpg
 
you could always just use some burly drywall anchors, it will be more than enough to hold up the panel. if you want even more holding power, attach some 2x4s across studs and then attach the panel to the 2x4s.
 
Thanks. I do think some quality drywall anchors will hold it, but worried over time with removing connections beneath that will eventually loosen. There are no studs behind the drywall. Only foam insulation which I think is 1/2". There are strips of metal called z furring spaced every 24". I could try to hit those but might be optimal placement of panel. Thinking about a piece of plywood mounted to wall with anchors and hopefully hit a piece or ideally two pieces of the z furring ( which I hope will take the screw or anchor without deflecting) then mount panel to plywood. I think just using a couple 2x4 pieces with numerous drywall anchors might be best opinion. Will probably need some custom length cords for the heating elements though if I mount to the wall. I think mine are only 6 ft.
 
What's behind the foam board, concrete block? If so you could get some long concrete anchors and drill all the way through into the block.
 
Not block, solid poured in place concrete with re-bar.

I'm sure that those "bulldog" type drywall anchors (if I used a bunch) would hold the weight of the panel ~50# with cables connected. mounted to a 2x4 or a 3/8" plywood sheet cut to an appropriate size. I think that if I try to hit the Z-furring strips (which hold the foam insulation in place beneath the drywall) that it would be an exercise in frustration. Plus they are on 2ft centers.

TD
 
Wow. So i got the HLT back and started setting things up over the weekend. Seems I'm short about dozen or more TC clamps and gaskets!

Need to lengthen the power cords for the elements and the control panel isn't going to work where I have it mounted, so that cord will need lengthening as well, and the outlet plug orientation needs to be rotated. For the panel I bought a 1/8th piece of plywood panel that will be the perfect size to mount the panel to. I will run a bunch of drywall anchors, probably 4 of them, and then ore mount the panel to the plywood sheet (3/8") then mount that to the wall via drywall anchors and holes cut into the board.

Also, need to find a way to mount chiller and pumps. Friend who I bought the SS from had his guys load into my truck for me and two pieces were missing. My cart plan was suppose to have center supports connecting the upper and lower parts of the frame. A reason for this was to have a place to mount the pumps and chiller. So I decided to mount them to a 2x4 and then bolt that to the lower shelf. The SS sheet is HARD to drill, so I needed to get some drill bits that can do the job.

Right now I have the kettles mostly assembled with plumbing and what-not. Its beginning to look like an episode from Breaking Bad in the basement.

Picked up a set of four capacitative(?) fluid level sensors that I will use on the HLT sightglass from eBay, since my mechanical sensors got fragged trying to weld TC ferrules onto them. They are Omron brand. I had to get a set of 4 for $19 plus $45 S&H, but I will only need two (technically only one but what the heck). Anyways, if anyone wants to buy the spare two from me I'd sell them from $30 plus actual S&H to you.

What are people with TC recirculation ports using for their mash tun and HLT? I am thinking about just using the silicone tubing ans snake it through the port.

Pics soon!

Edit- Thinking about adding a couple of 3-way valves so as to avoid spillage of wort on floor. I think two valves, one on inlet and one on outlet of the wort pump would seem best, such that I could plug boil kettle and mash tun into that pump for mash recirculation and boil recirculation during cooling and for whirlpool. My only concern is if this is a setup for contamination between unboiled mash liquor and post boil wort which could set me up for infection by innoculating wort with un-boiled mash liquor in the valve and pump. I could recirculate the boil for last five minutes to sterilize the pump but not sure if the three ways valves would also be considered "sterile" if there is some residual few drops of liquor in valve even if is beyond the seals. Hoping to get some guidance on this. Lacking any input, I might do a few brews without three way valves to see if my mop is working too hard at cleanup.

TD
 
Back
Top