nebben
Well-Known Member
I've got a pair of the typical Home Depot 10G beverage coolers that I've converted into MLT and HLT.
MLT:
Cooler with bargainfittings 1/2" brass full port valve and stainless false bottom from NorthernBrewer.
HLT:
Cooler with bargainfittings 1/2" brass full port valve, 1/2" NPT Miljoco thermometer + sight glass. I've also built a 1500W heat stick that is fixed to the lid of the cooler, and is positioned horizontally at the bottom of the cooler so that it can still heat water at smaller volumes.
My goal is to have everything able to be disassembled, so the heatsick is fixed to the lid via threads, the plug can be taken apart and the cord fished out...etc. I have electrical conduit holding it in place on the lid, and will route the electrical cabling down the side of the cooler before it is free.
Where I'm getting a little overloaded:
I've got a VW windshield wiper motor that I plan on mounting to the top of the HLT , then fixing the shaft to a stirrer paddle of some sort. The only thing is, I've spent an hour at HD looking for either a box that isn't a ton of money, or for a mixing paddle. Either way, I'm not satisfied with what they have. So I'll probably get a photo tin from IKEA or just use a rubbermaid box for it, and JB Weld some blades onto a copper pipe that I can somehow fasten to the drive shaft of the wiper motor.
...but still, I don't have a way to get water into the HLT yet. So now I'm looking for which fittings to fasten to the HLT lid...and I'll probably want a hose fitting or something...wait..no, I'll probably want a filter of some sort since I'll be brewing outside, and I can fix my potable water garden hose to that.... ..
...but again, why go through all this when I wont know how warm my MLT is without using my lab thermometer, so I'll want a copper coil also in the HLT too, with dual disconnects on the lid, and a pump from the MLT. That also means 2 flexible hoses between HLT and MLT, another fitting on the lid, a T fitting on the MLT drain (so I can fit another thermometer!).....oh, and a $130 pump! ...
...and speaking of HERMS, I don't have a stand to put all this on...I've seen copper pipe stands, steel, chrome plated wire racks, wood, ... Maybe something totally DIY and custom so that I can rotate the whole rig 90 degrees and use it to store the HLT and MLT vertically when not in use..
...and speaking of not in use... I've got 20 pounds of grain on my kitchen counter....
...am I addicted to the brew gadgets or the brewing? Which would you do first? Get the wiper motor HLT stirrer fixed up first, or keep going down the laundry list and brew later? Or brew now without a single other mod? :cross:
MLT:
Cooler with bargainfittings 1/2" brass full port valve and stainless false bottom from NorthernBrewer.
Cooler with bargainfittings 1/2" brass full port valve, 1/2" NPT Miljoco thermometer + sight glass. I've also built a 1500W heat stick that is fixed to the lid of the cooler, and is positioned horizontally at the bottom of the cooler so that it can still heat water at smaller volumes.
My goal is to have everything able to be disassembled, so the heatsick is fixed to the lid via threads, the plug can be taken apart and the cord fished out...etc. I have electrical conduit holding it in place on the lid, and will route the electrical cabling down the side of the cooler before it is free.
Where I'm getting a little overloaded:
I've got a VW windshield wiper motor that I plan on mounting to the top of the HLT , then fixing the shaft to a stirrer paddle of some sort. The only thing is, I've spent an hour at HD looking for either a box that isn't a ton of money, or for a mixing paddle. Either way, I'm not satisfied with what they have. So I'll probably get a photo tin from IKEA or just use a rubbermaid box for it, and JB Weld some blades onto a copper pipe that I can somehow fasten to the drive shaft of the wiper motor.
...but still, I don't have a way to get water into the HLT yet. So now I'm looking for which fittings to fasten to the HLT lid...and I'll probably want a hose fitting or something...wait..no, I'll probably want a filter of some sort since I'll be brewing outside, and I can fix my potable water garden hose to that.... ..
...but again, why go through all this when I wont know how warm my MLT is without using my lab thermometer, so I'll want a copper coil also in the HLT too, with dual disconnects on the lid, and a pump from the MLT. That also means 2 flexible hoses between HLT and MLT, another fitting on the lid, a T fitting on the MLT drain (so I can fit another thermometer!).....oh, and a $130 pump! ...
...and speaking of HERMS, I don't have a stand to put all this on...I've seen copper pipe stands, steel, chrome plated wire racks, wood, ... Maybe something totally DIY and custom so that I can rotate the whole rig 90 degrees and use it to store the HLT and MLT vertically when not in use..
...and speaking of not in use... I've got 20 pounds of grain on my kitchen counter....
...am I addicted to the brew gadgets or the brewing? Which would you do first? Get the wiper motor HLT stirrer fixed up first, or keep going down the laundry list and brew later? Or brew now without a single other mod? :cross:
