Hop Rehab E-Herms build

[modobrew]

Nice looking work. I just noticed you're in Fayettenam. I used to work south of there in St. Pauls. I'm live just northeast of you (Garner). Can't wait to see this finished. I'm looking to go electric with a HERMS setup. I might have some questions for you in the future. :cheers:

 

[smittygouv30]

Nice looking work. I just noticed you're in Fayettenam. I used to work south of there in St. Pauls. I'm live just northeast of you (Garner). Can't wait to see this finished. I'm looking to go electric with a HERMS setup. I might have some questions for you in the future. :cheers:

Yeaaa Fayetteville, NC. It's a beautiful place, HA!

It's a fun project for sure, you'll enjoy the process just as much as the finished project. I just opened a new clinic here in town that is eating up lots of my free time, so the build is progressing slowly. I should add that I'm not very handy so things that would take most a few hours takes me a whole day. For example that brew stand. I probably put 10 hours into it already and i'm still not done. What the heck!?!?

But yea man feel free to shoot any questions once you start planning/building.

Corey

 

[smittygouv30]

I got the brew stand all finished today. My pops was in town so i put him to work. We also got the pumps mounted and the plate chiller is removable via a "slide in" block mounted to the table.

 

[smittygouv30]

I mounted and installed some of the receptacles today. I chose to have everything plug into a separate box so everything's not hanging from the control panel. I think it should look a lot cleaner this way. From this box i'll use one short run of flexible conduit to the control panel. Everything will still be removable. I also might paint the box black at the same time I paint the control panel. I'm undecided yet as its mounted to the back of the stand anyway.

 

[smittygouv30]

I drew up my wiring diagram and designed my control panel in early December. It is now March and I'm finally at the point to start it.

I got the holes punched yesterday and the panel painted today. I ended up using a Dremel to cut the squares out. It wasn't the easiest thing I've ever done but overall not too bad.

 

[smittygouv30]

While waiting for the paint on the back of the control panel to dry I started installing the control panel mount. I stole the idea so I can't claim it for my own. It's a 45 deg PVC pipe with drain housings as the attachment for the base and panel attachment. It seems really sturdy but that my depend on how heavy the control panel ends up being.

 

[smittygouv30]

I stole the idea from tjpfeister. Thanks for the advice man!

 

[tjpfeister]

I'm excited to see how it works for you. Keep the pictures coming!

 

[smittygouv30]

I got the panel mounted today along with the DIN rail and SSRs mounted inside. No wiring yet hopefully start that tomorrow.

 

[smittygouv30]

I got started on wiring over the last couple of weeks. It's ridiculous I can't find time to finish this thing. It's definitely been way too long since I brewed last and the kegerator is running low!

 

[tjpfeister]

Lookin' good, keep at it! I commend you on the intelligence of spreading the work out over a few weeks. I completed mine in about 12 hours (6pm to 6 am)... I was so bleary eyed and fatigued that it felt like I had been knocking back homebrew all night!
I'm envious of all the room you have in that box, it looks good and clean. Odds are you will never have to go back in there again, but still, I like clean.

 

[smittygouv30]

I had an extra 1/2 hour tonight so I figured I would get the decals installed on the site glass. It turned out fairly decent I think.

 

[modobrew]

So jealous of you. I'm in the beginning stages of my eHERMS Kal clone build right now. It will be a while before I finish. Haven't even started buying anything for the control panel yet. $$$$$$$.

 

[MX1]

Nice build.

Like the mounting idea, might have to steal tht from you, even though you stoles it from someone else.

I am in the process of having custom 15gal SS kettles built for my eHERMS, got the Panel stuff picked out and listed so after the pots are done, I will order all that.

Have about 8 months to get eveything to the house, then I can start putting it all together, as I am currently out of the country until Nov. Hope to be up and running by 2014 with the Pilot brew house, and by 2020 installed with a 10bbl system inmy very own Pub...we all gotta dream right?

Tim

 

[smittygouv30]

So jealous of you. I'm in the beginning stages of my eHERMS Kal clone build right now. It will be a while before I finish. Haven't even started buying anything for the control panel yet. $$$$$$$.

I remember that feeling man. Its a bit overwhelming at first but i remember being super excited. Honestly, getting close to finishing the build the feeling is bitter sweet. I'm super-excited that I'm almost done but also a little bummed as I can honestly say that I have had a ton of fun with this project. Good luck man and just accept that it is going to cost more then you think.

 

[smittygouv30]

Nice build.

Like the mounting idea, might have to steal tht from you, even though you stoles it from someone else.

I am in the process of having custom 15gal SS kettles built for my eHERMS, got the Panel stuff picked out and listed so after the pots are done, I will order all that.

Have about 8 months to get eveything to the house, then I can start putting it all together, as I am currently out of the country until Nov. Hope to be up and running by 2014 with the Pilot brew house, and by 2020 installed with a 10bbl system inmy very own Pub...we all gotta dream right?

Tim

Ha shot for the stars man. If you need someone to sample your pilot batches just look me up. Ebrewsupply, auber, amazon and mouser were my go-to's for ordering.

 

[MX1]

Ordering from all those same places too, only getting a heat sink off of ebay...

 

[smittygouv30]

Not a bad idea. I ended up ordering a couple of used greenlee hole punches off of eBay a while back. Way better price then buying them new.

 

[smittygouv30]

Finally finished the wiring for the control panel. Everything is connected and tested for connectivity with a multimeter. I'm nervous to actually hook her up to the juice so I'm going to wait until Friday and give it the first test!

Corey

 

[MX1]

Yes, I have been looking for punches as well, I would rather punch the holes instead of drill them, but I do have 2 step bits, so if I dont find them, its no biggie

 

[smittygouv30]

I finally finished the build this weekend! There are a few minor things I want to add/fix still but she works! I made an milk stout on the maiden voyage. Overall it went very well but there is certainly learning curve to optimizing the process. It's the first time I've brewed with pumps and the whole priming thing is annoying but I think I'm getting the hang of it.

 

[MX1]

Tim Approved!

 

[everty2007]

Nicely done! I really like how you mounted your panel, I might be steeling you stoled idea lol. Cheers looks great

 

[tjpfeister]

Looks slick! You digging all that work space under your panel? I really like your element housing, looks good and the additional light falls into the category of "Bling-bling!" (Chicks dig blinking lights)

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

Looking great!

 

[alien]

Loads of nifty ideas. What is the screen and what software is running on it?

 

[smittygouv30]

Looks slick! You digging all that work space under your panel? I really like your element housing, looks good and the additional light falls into the category of "Bling-bling!" (Chicks dig blinking lights)

Thanks man! Yea loving the extra space. I used it a ton more then I even thought I would. It was a beautiful resting spot for my beersmith brewing steps printout, but doubled as a weighing station for hops, additives and more. Thanks again for your help.

 

[smittygouv30]

Looking great!

Thanks for the comments, and a special thanks for all your info along the way. Your help and Kal's site were the 2 most critical pieces of my success. It wasn't all that long ago I had no clue what words like contactor, SSR, DIN, and heat sink meant. You helped me answer a lot of questions and gave me some extra confidence to carry on with the build. It also gave me rationale to spend a lot more money (I don't thank you for that) haha.
Like I said I have almost no experience with any manual labor-like activities or electricity. Most of me can't even believe this thing works! Thanks again man!

 

[smittygouv30]

Loads of nifty ideas. What is the screen and what software is running on it?

It's very high tech software made by one if the software engineers for apple... No no just kidding. Its a simple digital photo frame. I have the photo frame switch between 2 images my brewery logo and my internal wiring diagram. I wanted to add something different besides a power on/off light and thought this was cool and simple enough.
Thanks for the nice comments.

 

[smittygouv30]

Finished brew number 2 on the new system. Brewing itself is a blast and I hair my gravity. The cleaning process still sucks, no matter how great the equipment.