Electric Brewing Upgrade

[stillshinen]

Hello,

I currently have a 15 gallon Concord pot and I love it. I brew all grain with a igloo cooler. I recently got a great deal on 1/2" stainless steel tubing and wanted to make a HERMs system. I have gones throw a few considerations and now i am at a loss and reaching out for the forums knowledge.

1. Do i buy another Concord? either 15 or 20 Gal? I typically do 6 gallon batches. If i do go bigger i would use my existing pot as my HERMs and boil in the larger pot. I am worried that my element may not be completely submerged.

2. Do i buy a cheaper aluminum pot and make that my HERM as it will just be water touching the pot and not wort? Is so could i use a 10 gallon as a HLT/HERMs?

Not looking to jump up to a three pot system yet.

Thanks in advance,

StillShinen

 

[stillshinen]

Really no one has an opinion on this?

 

[wilserbrewer]

Really no one has an opinion on this?

My opinion... I would stick with the igloo cooler, but I figured you didn't want to hear that lol.

 

[tofuguy]

I almost went the HERMS but decided against it when I could not figure out what I would be gaining versus an eBIAB setup for a fraction of the cost. Went with one of wilser's bags and did my inaugural brew this weekend. Who knows I will get bored is years to come and try a HERMS setup. I recommend looking into eBIAB first.

 

[mredge73]

I don't really understand the questions, you are asking advice on how to build a HERMS but don't want to go with a 3 vessel system.
You don't really need a HERMS with an igloo cooler. HERMs only makes since in a HLT, and a HLT only makes sense in a 3 vessel system.

If you brew 6 gallon batches so you will never need a HLT that is over 6 gallons. 30qt pots (7.5 gallon) are common turkey fryer size, SS ones run around $30 at the hardware store.
They are not super heavy duty so it is actually pretty easy to dress them as long as you don't press too hard on the drill bit.
Your BK and Mash tun need to be bigger, 10 gallon minimal.

For 10 gallon batches a 30qt HLT is short about a gallon.
But it isn't a big deal for fly sparging as you can just add more water and the HLT controller will compensate.
For batch sparging you will just add more room temp water after you empty the HLT into the mash tun; you can mash out a little hotter to compensate for the lost heat or RDWHAHB.

If you want to do 12-15 gallon batches you need 20 gallon pots.
You can build a 2 vessel system with a combination BK/HERMS/HLT and a Mash Tun. This would only work well with Batch Sparging, you would need a 3rd vessel for a short period of time (a 5 gallon bucket would work). Heat strike water and rinse water together in HLT up to 160F or so, transfer strike water and mash in. Circulate through HERMS to bring the temperature back up to mash temp. Drain first runnings in a bucket then transfer rinse water to mash tun. Pour first runnings into empty BK then transfer the rest on top. Boil as usual.

 

[stillshinen]

Thanks for the detailed reply.

 

[LarMoeCur]

I have a three 20g Concord kettle EHERMS rig. I mostly do 10g batches but have done 5g and 15g batches no problem. The 20g Concords are 18" in diameter. I put my element right about the 3 gallon mark.

Getting 50' of coils into a small pot will be a nightmare! I had a hell of a time getting my coils tight enough to fit in a 20g kettle. I could imagine fitting them into a 10g kettle. I did it by hand now if you have a coiling machine maybe easier.

 

[mredge73]

It isn't easy for sure, but it once you get them in it is permanent. Patience and planning is key.
I have 10" coil (1/2"x 50') in a 12" pot; took about 2 hours and 4 hands. Barely can get the wrench in to tighten the bottom compression fitting.

 

[mtbr_brewer]

Personally, I'd recommend going with a pre-bent coil. Stainless brewing has a variety of diameters available (http://www.stainlessbrewing.com/12-Coils_c_25.html). Granted you will pay more upfront, but from what I recall the cheapest 50' length of 1/2" stainless coil I could find was about $60. I felt it was worth the extra money to get a pre-bent version. Also, I picked mine up used in the for sale forum and the price difference was negligible.

To your original question, I spent roughly 6 months piecing together my e-HERMS system, and went to great lengths to get the best deals. I actually waited for Black Friday to get a lot of my equipment (pumps, fittings, etc.). Additionally, I was able to also source some great parts on the forum. In the end I got the system I wanted at a fraction of the cost (still planning to do a build thread). Nonetheless, I don't personally feel you would get all the benefits of a HERMS system if you don't go with a true three vessel system. It might end up being more work to strategize how to sparge and prep for boil.

 

[LarMoeCur]

Personally, I'd recommend going with a pre-bent coil. Stainless brewing has a variety of diameters available (http://www.stainlessbrewing.com/12-Coils_c_25.html). Granted you will pay more upfront, but from what I recall the cheapest 50' length of 1/2" stainless coil I could find was about $60. I felt it was worth the extra money to get a pre-bent version. Also, I picked mine up used in the for sale forum and the price difference was negligible.

To your original question, I spent roughly 6 months piecing together my e-HERMS system, and went to great lengths to get the best deals. I actually waited for Black Friday to get a lot of my equipment (pumps, fittings, etc.). Additionally, I was able to also source some great parts on the forum. In the end I got the system I wanted at a fraction of the cost (still planning to do a build thread). Nonetheless, I don't personally feel you would get all the benefits of a HERMS system if you don't go with a true three vessel system. It might end up being more work to strategize how to sparge and prep for boil.

Pre-bent coil is five to six times the cost of steel tubing. You can get 100' of 1/2" tubing for $63 or less right now. Know this! Bending coils sucks! Lots of elbow grease and cursing! Make a jig or at least buy a hand conduit bender to give you some leverage. Stainless does not bend easy like copper! Do my coils look all pretty! NO. They look like hand bent coils but did that saved 100 bones pay for one of my pumps. Why, yes it did.

I agree watch the classifieds. I've seen pre-bent coils going for pretty cheap. I was not lucky enough to find one during my build.