Stainless HERMS coil

Has anyone tired making a HERMS coil out of the stainless immersion chiller? Seems to be alot cheaper than a 200+ dollar roll.

I have a 3/8" SS chiller I've been wanting to eventually incorporate

check out stainlessbrewing.com I got my 25ft of SS coil for around $75 total

I bought an IM 1/2" x 50' and installed t in my HLT keggle. It was easy to install and worked fine. I used compression 90's and just cut it. no bending required except to stretch the coil. It was rolled so tight that all the coils touched. I wanted the water to flow around all the coils. I also added water recirc from bottom to top with another pump. Works well for maintaining temps, but doesn't step fast enough. I need work on fine tuning it. Really like it.

you can get a 50 foot 1/2 inch SS coil from mcmaster or ebay for ~70 bucks. still need to buy fittings separately, and have to figure out how to reduce the coil diameter without kinking, but i'm thinking you may be able to piece it together cheaper than cutting up an IC. i'm debating this as well for a keg which will soon become a keggle... was thinking of soldering fittings myself, but still researching what is best/easiest. the more i look into it, the more buying one prebent from stainlessbrewing.com makes sense.

Have you ever tried to bend stainless? I tried and found the IM worth every penny. Stainless is super rigid and w/o one heck of a bender its a PIA. I used the IM chiller fittings on my CFC. Good luck with the project. I made the HERMS and since I went to larger batches I hardly use it. I had the hope of stepping with it.

Dog House Brew said:

Have you ever tried to bend stainless? I tried and found the IM worth every penny. Stainless is super rigid and w/o one heck of a bender its a PIA. I used the IM chiller fittings on my CFC. Good luck with the project. I made the HERMS and since I went to larger batches I hardly use it. I had the hope of stepping with it.

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Its also a poor conductor of heat compared to 99% copper tubing... all reasons plus cost that I think copper would be an all around better choice... (the thin walled rigid copper not the thick walled copper diluted with other metals for hvac use like the stuff at home depot)... That works too but does not transfer temps as well.

Can I Why the stainless? does in have another advantage besides good looks? Copper also has the advantage of being a metal that inhibits bacteria growth. Ive read conflicting info about copper having any negative effect on the taste of the beer and would like to find out if theres anyone with firsthand experience of this.

Well, this is copper too:



In an immersion chiller, you get to see the wort contact surface every time you use it. When the wort flows inside regularly, you have no idea what you're working with.

Bobby_M said:

Well, this is copper too:

In an immersion chiller, you get to see the wort contact surface every time you use it. When the wort flows inside regularly, you have no idea what you're working with.

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except the acid in the wort actually removes any tarnish or buildup from my copper coil as soon as its submerged or comes in contact with it ? so if it flows through it regularly like you say it stays clean.

Plus theres always vinegar to clean it every one in a while if your worried... when I worked in the restaurant business there was talk of replacing stainless working surfaces with copper because it was cleaner as far as germs and such go but cost was a big factor.

I have only made a few batches but my $25 re-purposed HD copper coil works fine in my herms setup...

here read this:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/50-foot-1-2-inch-ss-coil-300138/

I believe you can buy a 50 ft 1/2" HERMS coil from Stainless Brewing for less than $90 and have it made to your specs. I'm a DIY guy but I would go that route over trying to bend a coil of stainless tubing or chop up a chiller.

As far as the copper vs stainless debate, I'd prefer to see some conversation on plastic buckets vs glass carboys...