Another eHerms brew setup

Hey Folks,

Just wanted to post a few pics. Thanks to all the regulars for all the great posts. I dont think I would of had the courage to do anything like this from scratch

4 brews into this and my beer quality has definitely increased.

The small green control panel is on a seperate 120v GFCI circuit. The blue toolbox houses the 240V (contactors/ssrs). The 120V also powers the pump. Reason for this route was the fact that the GFCI cable i picked up ($30) was only 3 wire 240V (2 hot + gnd), vs 4 wire 2 hot, neut and ground. So incorporating a 120v circuit seemed like the easiest solution.

specs:
3 13gal kegs
2x 5500 watt heating elements. 30A GFCI 240V service
PID controller w/ RTD probe in HLT
march 809 pump

mlt used to have a rubber top, removed that. very easy to take clean.

still to come is the ventilation system. picked up a hydroponics 400 cfm, will just be making a hood over the BK, and the exterior wall is a few feet away so should be easy peasy. Still looking for a good deal on a stainless table and go single tier w/ 2 pumps, till then the wood will do.

Cool. I'm just wrapping up my electric herms build. Why is your herms coil so high in the HLT?

And one suggestion (not beer quality related).... how about grabbing a paint sprayer and hitting those walls with a thick layer Killz?

yes its definitely an UN-finished basement. the house is about 130 years old. The exterior walls are 3-4 ft thick in some places, with 12" x 12" floor joints.

My plans are actually to put up studded walls in the area of the brewery.

im hunting for a stainless sink + table as well.

I suppose i got to the important stuff first (brewery ..)

If you take alook at the ridge in the keg, there was not enough space below that ridge to put a weldless fitting (for the washer to sit flat) while having the coil still being at least an inch or so above the element. So basically it had to be about 2-3 inches lower than where it currently is which would of been too low.

Curious, did you install a fan on your control panel for heat evacuation?

Nice build! Can we get an inside shot of the herms tank? Curious on the specs of your herms coil

Goocher said:

Curious, did you install a fan on your control panel for heat evacuation?

Click to expand...

Hey, I wasnt planning on controlling the fan via the control panel. It will have a dimmer switch installed near the fan for control.

This is very similar to the fan i picked up
http://bustan.ca/product_detail.asp?menuID=1&SID=13&PID=1192

I will just be doing a hood over the BK, the amount of steam out of the HLT is minimal as the lid is almost always on.

ahave said:

Nice build! Can we get an inside shot of the herms tank? Curious on the specs of your herms coil

Click to expand...

Specs are 25ft of 1/2 cu tubing, fittings are soldered and connect to the camlock male with 1/2 FPT to 1/2 OD tubing fitting.

I have yet to use the mlt false bottom. Im optimistic, if the flow rate is low i may add some additional slits. Its made from the top cut off of one of the kegs i converted with 2 large 1.75 dia ss washers to cover the conventional tap neck in the keg top

Sorry, maybe I didn't clarify. I was wondering if you installed a fan IN your control panel, for managing heat created by your SSR. My control panel enclosure is slightly larger (12"x12"x6") and I hadn't planned on installing a fan. Now I'm having second thoughts. From what I hear, SSR heat sinks that aren't externally mounted need a good amount of air circulation.

aquenne said:

yes its definitely an UN-finished basement. the house is about 130 years old. The exterior walls are 3-4 ft thick in some places, with 12" x 12" floor joints.

My plans are actually to put up studded walls in the area of the brewery.

im hunting for a stainless sink + table as well.

I suppose i got to the important stuff first (brewery ..)

.

Click to expand...

Sounds like an awesome house! You may destroy the ambiance with modern construction. I would think plaster or masonry first...just my opinion. Stainless goes with everything though. You are certainly off to a good start...get brewing first make it pretty later

Goocher said:

Sorry, maybe I didn't clarify. I was wondering if you installed a fan IN your control panel, for managing heat created by your SSR. My control panel enclosure is slightly larger (12"x12"x6") and I hadn't planned on installing a fan. Now I'm having second thoughts. From what I hear, SSR heat sinks that aren't externally mounted need a good amount of air circulation.

Click to expand...

Oh sorry. Actually all of the 240V power circuit (incl SSR's) are located in that blue toolbox just below the main tier. The green box is only 120V control for contactors, ssr & pump.

They are cooled passively (no fan), just heatsink. Have had no issues after 5-6 batches + lots of pre-testing.

lschiavo said:

Sounds like an awesome house! You may destroy the ambiance with modern construction. I would think plaster or masonry first...just my opinion. Stainless goes with everything though. You are certainly off to a good start...get brewing first make it pretty later

Click to expand...

That would be another option, I never really thought of simply re-plastering the brewing area. hmm.. something to think about.

But yes, we share the same mindset, brew first, pretty later... especially due to once i started this process (6 months ago), i had tore my previous AG system apart.. so after brewing for about 5 years, that was a pretty long stretch without brewing!