Automated HERMS system

I finished my self portrait of me as a home brewer. Thought you guys might like it. Tried to show my self doing a variety of the things needed to make the beer.

Isn't you on the floor more to do with consuming the beer rather than making it?

Cool picture and awesome rig!

Blackheart, awesome picture! Thank you so much for posting your build. I am in the process of building something similar and never could have without your post. I did copy most of your plan for the ponoko.com laser etched cover. That helped me out a lot, and was great quality. I just need to make time to wire my control box with the BCS-462.


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Awesome build and pic.

What did you use to fix and secure kegs with stand and are you satisfied with it? Thumbscrew with nut or..?
Picture would be great.

Do you have a mcmaster carr part number for the casters you used? What diameter are those? 4"?

blackheart said:

We are looking for some feedback/suggestions/comments on this system so we can make any final revisions before placing orders. Thanks!

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I was thinking of relatively cheap automated ways to go commercial the other day.. My design wound up almost exactly like yours except that it's a 2 vessel system. During Mash, the system works the same, but for boil, the HERMS coil is disconnected and the HLT becomes the Kettle. When cooling down the wort, the mash tun is filled with water and ice and the HERMS coil (or maybe a differentone) is used as a wort chiller. Once the wort is cool, it can be pumped to the fermentors. It would require a few more holes in the two vessels you have and may not be as quick for the last step, since you pump and cool separately, but it would be a lot cheaper, since there is only one heat source, one pump, and one less vessel. It was an idea I had, anyway. Figured I'd share.

Edit: Just thought of one drawback, and that's sparge.. Oh well.. back to the drawing board.

Well it looks like I need to sell all of the brewing gear unfortunately. I have listed some of the equipment available with some prices but everything is negotiable. http://blackheartbrewery.com/sale/

I like those temperature controlled fermentation chambers (refrigerators), What make and model are those, and are those 14.5-gallon conicals?

Thanks,
Michael

Namako said:

I like those temperature controlled fermentation chambers (refrigerators), What make and model are those, and are those 14.5-gallon conicals?

Thanks,
Michael

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They are 22gal Brewhemoths. Full triclover fittings and butterfly valves on everything.

blackheart said:

Well it looks like I need to sell all of the brewing gear unfortunately. I have listed some of the equipment available with some prices but everything is negotiable. http://blackheartbrewery.com/sale/

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Wow! You put a ton of work into this system and I truly appreciate your sharing of knowledge as it's helped me a lot when planning my system.

I hope you're not getting completely out of brewing because it seems like it was a passion for you.

blackheart said:

Well it looks like I need to sell all of the brewing gear unfortunately. I have listed some of the equipment available with some prices but everything is negotiable. http://blackheartbrewery.com/sale/

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Sorry to hear it, this was one of the all-time great brewery build threads. Thanks for all the time you put into sharing this with the community.

blackheart said:

Well it looks like I need to sell all of the brewing gear unfortunately. I have listed some of the equipment available with some prices but everything is negotiable. http://blackheartbrewery.com/sale/

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Man, I hate to hear that. I wish I could buy the brew stand and system from you!