Eighty2Fifty1
Well-Known Member
So I'm planning out my eHERMS build, and one of the main features is I want the ability to do back-to-back brews. The functionality of the thing is based on Kal's setup, with some minor differences in the control panel, but it's going to be the same (heating elements in BK and HLT, 2 pumps recirculating the HLT water for the HEX and another recirculating the sweet wort and so forth). So my question is this:
Should I consider a 3rd pump to drain the boil kettle? If I'm doing back-to-back batches, I'd at some point be mashing while I'm also boiling. The mash requires 2 pumps, so they would both be occupied, and I'd need another way to drain the wort in the BK. I haven't settled on my hop straining and cooling, but if I decided to whirlpool, I'd for sure need a pump for that. Or if I'm filling one of my big conicals on the other side of the garage, the pump would be needed for that as well. Either way, I intend to use a pump at some point post-boil.
If I decided to use the pump that is either recirculating wort or water, would my beer be affected from the 20-30 (this is a guess) minutes that I'd be taking the pump? Then of course I have to sanitize it, and rinse it out before hooking it back up in its original position. I feel like if I'm already spending several thousand bucks on this contraption, another $200 for pump and fittings doesn't seem too bad. So is the convenience worth it? Is there another option I haven't considered? What say you?
Should I consider a 3rd pump to drain the boil kettle? If I'm doing back-to-back batches, I'd at some point be mashing while I'm also boiling. The mash requires 2 pumps, so they would both be occupied, and I'd need another way to drain the wort in the BK. I haven't settled on my hop straining and cooling, but if I decided to whirlpool, I'd for sure need a pump for that. Or if I'm filling one of my big conicals on the other side of the garage, the pump would be needed for that as well. Either way, I intend to use a pump at some point post-boil.
If I decided to use the pump that is either recirculating wort or water, would my beer be affected from the 20-30 (this is a guess) minutes that I'd be taking the pump? Then of course I have to sanitize it, and rinse it out before hooking it back up in its original position. I feel like if I'm already spending several thousand bucks on this contraption, another $200 for pump and fittings doesn't seem too bad. So is the convenience worth it? Is there another option I haven't considered? What say you?
