Recent content by KitB

I would think the low pH of your beer & low temperature (in relation to coffee brewing temperature) would help you avoid this, when adding directly to your fermenter.

Lubricate the cutting process as often as possible. Continuous lube is best. Have a friend squirt oil on the bit, as you cut.

Problem is, you have to start them with a hole.

I brew at night. I fire up the HLT once my son has started getting ready for bed.

Not an engineer... Only a mechanical designer.

12 PSI is wayyy too high. Try closer to 3 PSI & see what happens. Edit...Oops...I didn't see how many feet that coil is. Hmmm...I'd say dial it back & find your sweet spot. It's still probably somewhere pretty low.

I'm not an engineer, but I am a mechanical designer with a structural background. 2x2x1/8 is definitely overkill. You can get away with 1.25x1.25x11 ga. I'm tempted to model it up & do FEA, but I don't have that kind of time.

Yep.

If it ain't broke, don't break it.

You may want to add a few check valves, to eliminate back-flow problems. BUT...Then, you run into the problem of not being able to backflush, during a cleaning cycle. If I remember correctly, this is one of the reasons I needed 12 valves.

Oops...Wrong quote.

I don't currently have access to my diagrams, but when I was designing mine, I couldn't keep it under 12 automated valves, no matter what I did. At $50 per valve, I just couldn't stomach the cost of automation & decided to stay manual, for now.

I'm not quite following your diagram. I don't see the HERMS coil attachments & am confused by the interconnected branches at the tops of both kettles. Can you please explain those branches & how the connections will function?

This is probably one of the best threads I have ever read. I wish you huge success!

Do you have a 220 outlet that is not in use?