Electric HLT

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Orfy

For the love of beer!
HBT Supporter
Joined
Sep 27, 2005
Messages
11,732
Reaction score
123
Location
Cheshire, England
It lives.

I'm testing it now with water at 15°c (59°f)
It's 3kw @ 240.
At least I can't set this on on fire.:D
I'm still a little nervous about grabbing hold of it.

electrichlt3fo0.jpg
 
The current BYO has an article on building one in a plastic bucket, a very special plastic bucket, with a float switch.
 
John Beere said:
Mine is very similar, only horizontal. It uses a 3,500 w 220v heating element. Due to some personal issues, I have not had the chance to use it exect in testing. I'm in hopes to give it a go in the next two weeks...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=39422

Yes I remember drooling over that.

I'm not very well set up for tools at present and didn't want to spend £££ on machining and welding. So I went in the bottom where it is easier to use a collar and get a seal.

It's a compromise but for a total lay out of 30 minutes and probably $50 then it'll do for now.
 
I sooooo need to do this to my "keg" HLT, I am holding out thinking I might make my life easier and get a bigger "cooler" HLT so I am not refilling half-way through. If I did decide to do my keg, can I simply hook up the element to my Ranco ETC (110V element in my case and 110V Ranco), or do I need something in between like a switch or something. I am not good with electrical at all.
 
wortmonger said:
I sooooo need to do this to my "keg" HLT, I am holding out thinking I might make my life easier and get a bigger "cooler" HLT so I am not refilling half-way through. If I did decide to do my keg, can I simply hook up the element to my Ranco ETC (110V element in my case and 110V Ranco), or do I need something in between like a switch or something. I am not good with electrical at all.

Mine is directly connected to a love controller which is rated at 16A. The 3,500W heating element is around 15A (3,500W / 240V - 14.6A).
 
Your electric HLT looks cool. One question I have is, are you using it with a ground fault circuit interrupter outlet?
IMHO when you use an electric appliance with water in a situation where a live person can make contact with it, there is a real potential for electrical shock if the element fails.
If you plug it into a GFCI, your level of protection is significantly increased.
 
wortmonger said:
For the HLT I will use a stainless paint stirrer hooked to a small fan motor. For my MT I am going to use a icecream machine motor and make a mash paddle.

Thanks, please post picsif you get a chance.
 
Here you go korndog, this is where I got the inspiration for some of my future projects. Here is what I am thinking of for HLT.
photo008.jpg


Here is his MLT.
photo013.jpg


This guy has a wicked setup for everything. Check out his entire site and then email him like I am going to do until he gets on HBT.com :D. Kidding of course. Well, I am going to pester him until he gets on here, lol. I found this guys site about 5 years ago and have referenced to it endlessly. Hope you enjoy.
 
i am looking to do something to keep HLT equal through out the whole kettle at a temp
 
Here you go korndog, this is where I got the inspiration for some of my future projects . . . I found this guys site about 5 years ago and have referenced to it endlessly. Hope you enjoy.
Wish I had seen this before starting my MLT build. A couple of questions you may have gotten the answers to:

What is the speed and torque of the motors on the MLT and HLT?
Where did he get those propeller blades?
 
I built my herms recently and used an 5 gallon IGLOO with a 1500 watt element. It takes about 30 minutes to heat up to recirculation temperature. As for agitation, I piped down a piece of CPVC from the top of my HLT to about a half inch from the bottom of the tank. Then using an aerator for a 30 gallon fish tank, I bubble during my mash. It keeps the water circulating nicely and avoids the mess of a motor and paddles. Not sure it would work with a keggle, but they make them for 60 gallon tanks too.
 
Back
Top