Brewery Build - Single Tier HERMS

[pola0502ds]

Nice deal there.

 

[Kruuuger]

mplutodh1,

i'm starting this build in 2 weeks. your thoroughness/elaboration gives me piece of mind that it will come out great. i think i'm going to extend the long surface square framing on each side 1-2 ft, to have built in shelves on each side...otherwise, sticking to your plan. if i get enough pics throughout the process, i'll post a new thread tied to yours.

Having said that, is there anything at all that you dislike or would have done differently. at this point, what is a flaw that you plan to upgrade in the future. i'd love to learn from your experience and avoid potential issues. How is the brewing height, flame size, dump system? does your control box get hot being rather close to the BK flame? etc...

thanks in advance...

 

[CrowbarKarl]

Matt,
How is the brew rig working? Have you recirculated at all through the HERMS coil? I need to calibrate my Auber controlers to work with my system. I need to learn how to do it. Do you just use the "auto tune" and let it figure everything out itself?

I finished my build about 6 months ago, and it is well modeled after yours with a few changes. I'll posting pics hopefully in the near future.

 

[mplutodh1]

Sorry all - haven't been on here in a while due to so much going on. And sad to say, haven't brewed in months. Hoping to put an end to all of that BS and get back to enjoying some homebrew in the next few weeks.

mplutodh1,

i'm starting this build in 2 weeks. your thoroughness/elaboration gives me piece of mind that it will come out great. i think i'm going to extend the long surface square framing on each side 1-2 ft, to have built in shelves on each side...otherwise, sticking to your plan. if i get enough pics throughout the process, i'll post a new thread tied to yours.

Having said that, is there anything at all that you dislike or would have done differently. at this point, what is a flaw that you plan to upgrade in the future. i'd love to learn from your experience and avoid potential issues. How is the brewing height, flame size, dump system? does your control box get hot being rather close to the BK flame? etc...

thanks in advance...

Shelves sound like a great idea. The only thing you'll want to keep in mind is the heat the burners generate. I often prefer to do any prep, etc away from the rig - less risk of something going wrong!

The biggest flaw in our design was the lack of ventilation for the burners. As noted in previous replies we've temporarily worked around this by sticking a bolt head in to prop up the tippy trays just a bit and this works fine. We're planning to cut off the trays and re-weld with a half inch or so of spacing between the top of the frame and the bottom of the tray. Brewing height has been great - we can see in just fine, use our mash paddle, etc without issue. Flame quality is the biggest issue as I noted with the ventilation. Dump system has been nice for ease of getting into the bottom from time to time but the reality has been - to clean the kettles out correctly we leave them unbolted and take them off the stand and hose them out. Partly because we have yet to paint the frame and don't want to add undue water to the unpainted steel and cause rust but also just to minimize the risk of hosing down electronics we might have missed sealing. No problems with the control box getting hot - it's far enough away.

As I'm writing this though realizing one other issue we've had. Our Tri-clover thermowells aren't cutting it - we need a probe RIGHT in the liquid we feel to get an accurate reading. We use our dial thermometers and a hand held to make sure our temps are in range and turn the pumps/burners on and off as needed.

Best of luck and hope your build is progressing! Keep us posted.

Matt,
How is the brew rig working? Have you recirculated at all through the HERMS coil? I need to calibrate my Auber controlers to work with my system. I need to learn how to do it. Do you just use the "auto tune" and let it figure everything out itself?

I finished my build about 6 months ago, and it is well modeled after yours with a few changes. I'll posting pics hopefully in the near future.

Working out for us so far - but we've been out of brewing for several months. Planning to get ramped back up soon. Every brew we circulate through the HERMS coil. However, we control all of it manually right now because of the issue I mentioned above - we're going to ditch the tri-clover thermowells and go for a more in-line.

We aren't using 'Auber' controllers - we have Love controllers and we just followed the instructions. A bit backwards in my mind from logical ways but then again we're using them in a slightly different way than intended. There are a bunch of posts on here about calibrating these.

Look forward to seeing how yours has turned out!

 

[dulavjo]

your sparge system, what size copper tubing and what size holes did you drill. what is a safe solder to use that is food safe

 

[mplutodh1]

1/2" copper tubing. Hole size I'd have to double check as I don't remember - I'll try and remember to do that tomorrow and post.

As for solder - we didn't bother worrying about it and just used normal lead-free solder.

 

[dulavjo]

1/2" copper tubing. Hole size I'd have to double check as I don't remember - I'll try and remember to do that tomorrow and post.

As for solder - we didn't bother worrying about it and just used normal lead-free solder.

were you able to check the size holes. I assume you use soft 1/2 inch tubing.

 

[mplutodh1]

Yes it's 1/2 inch soft tubing - we had a coil of it from our HERMs coil so we used pieces of it for the sparge arm as well. Best guess looking at it they are around 1/8" bit... but you might just start small, run water through it and see what it does for rate and either add more holes or enlarge them.

 

[Kruuuger]

[IMG="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77498475@N03/6797972188/in/photostream"]

[IMG="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77498475@N03/6944086199/in/photostream"]

[IMG="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77498475@N03/6944086463/in/photostream"]

[IMG="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77498475@N03/6797972588/in/photostream"]

Instead of the brackets on the windscreen, i just flanged the top and added 2 screwed to each side. I haven't drilled for the burners yet and can figure out exact measurments based off this concept
[IMG="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77498475@N03/6944086387/in/photostream"]

I took your advice on the burners not getting enough Oxygen. i had the hinges welded to the base a 1/2 inch higher than normal, leaving a 1/2 gap. then had small spacers welded to the other side of the tippy dumps, leveling it out.
[IMG="http://www.flickr.com/photos/77498475@N03/6797972358/in/photostream"]

I'm pretty stoked to start seeing this take shape as i've wanted to get to this point for years. Any and all advise/criticisms are welcomed as i need all the help i can get. i worked in finance sitting at a desk for 14 hours a day, so i'm not the best when it comes to hands on. all help is welcomed.

Cheers

 

[Kruuuger]

hmm....what am i doing wrong that these images aren't showing

 

[mplutodh1]

Looking great! Glad the plans/details were of help, can't wait to see how it works when it's up and running!

 

[uber_franz]

Hi Matt,

Great thread! Thanks for sharing!

Did you end up skipping the HLT stirrer/agitator that you mentioned back in post #25?

Cheers!

Jeremy

...snip...

2) HLT Stirrer - trying to determine what motor we want to use and how we want to go about incorporating in our design.

...snip...

 

[mplutodh1]

Hi Matt,

Great thread! Thanks for sharing!

Did you end up skipping the HLT stirrer/agitator that you mentioned back in post #25?

Cheers!

Jeremy

Yup, we ended up skipping that. Didn't see much value in it at the end of the day.


Another Update:
We recently spent some time making some adjustments. We had found our electrical was in fact backwards on a switch (well we had the switch turned the opposite way in the control panel so what we thought was one way was in fact the other) doh! So with that now squared away we think we've got a handle on the electrical side of things. We also opted to remove the tri-clover thermowells - they've not performed as we'd expect. In their place we've installed T fittings and went with new temp probes from Brewers Hardware. I'll update the original post with part #s, etc. and new photos. Our hope here is that we'll get more accurate temp readings.

We also scrapped the O-Ring 'markers' on the sight gauges and built a measuring bar - simple bar stock with a few P clamps. I'll also post details on these and photos.

Next up (long over due) we've found someone nearby to help us with re-welding our hinges on our trays so we can put in small spacers to allow enough air to get into our burners and scrap the temp 'fix' we've been using of sticking a bolt in to prop them up slightly.

Also working on ideas for a dolly for the front legs to allow for easier movement in the garage (this thing is a beast), debating a hop back and water filter system as well as finishing aesthetics (paint, etc.)

Finding time for everything is a struggle but NHC2012 has lit the fire once again to get to it!

 

[jas85]

Just do this. My lifting blocks are now welded. It awesome and simple.
snake10

I was wondering what the dimensions were on your lifting blocks, and on the top elevation of your frame. Also, I noticed that your casters mount flush with your frame's legs- what are the dimensions of the legs, and where did you get your casters?

I am designing a frame of my own right now and I am trying to find the best way to mount the burner (10" dia). Thank you for any information you can provide me with!

 

[SDBreWs0624]

great rig

 

[AnacortesBrewer]

Great looking system, gets me thinking of building one for myself. Great Job!

 

[Chuck_leis]

any updates on the build?