Keeping stainless coil separated

[Tobor_8thMan]

Recommendations on keeping a stainless coil separated? The coil is used in the HLT in an eHERMS setup.

Thanks.

 

[augiedoggy]

The fixed spacing between the input and output mounted in the kettle wall is normally all thats required in the ones ive seen. Spacing isnt to critical for performance.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Oh, OK. Coils are somewhat sagging and touching each other after a few years. Thought it best to keep the coils separated. I guess there is no cause for my concern?

 

[augiedoggy]

Oh, OK. Coils are somewhat sagging and touching each other after a few years. Thought it best to keep the coils separated. I guess there is no cause for my concern?

Has it effected performance in any way? it really shouldnt. Are we talking 50ft of 1/2" coil in the kettle? or 25 ft of small 3/8 stuff? as long as they are submerged in the water and you have a pump recirculating the water in the HLT to prevent localized temp striations around the coils which is honestly going to make the most difference in consistent performance I dont see how it would effect anything.. theoretically if you had much less surface area in the liquid I think it could make a real world difference I could never get consistent results from my herms until I added a pump and when I used a long probe thermometer I discovered the temps were all over the place in my hlt dues to the herms acting as a chiller... and just as an immersion chiller works much better when you stir or agitate the wort so does the herms.

You can always remove and try flipping it over in the kettle or bending the coils too if your concerned.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Pump moves mash liquid thru the coil. Coil size is approximately 16 inches wide and 7 inches high.

Noticed recently when wiping out the HLT the coil is sagging and the coils are touching each other. At least, so far, the coil isn't touching the heating element.

 

[day_trippr]

You could weave solid SS wire in a couple/few vertical runs spaced around the circumference of the coil to keep the loops spaced enough for water to move through...

Cheers!

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Is SS wire easy to bend? I ask as SS tubing isn't.

Also, recommendation on where to obtain the SS wire?

 

[day_trippr]

McMaster Carr carries ss wire in different gauges. It should be waay easier to bend than tubing, but don't have any experience with snaking it through a stack of stiff tubing loops, so let us know how it goes

Cheers!

 

[bleme]

I would think 18 gauge would provide enough gap:
Beadalon AWS-18-SS-10YD 18 Gauge Artistic Wire, Stainless Steel, 10-Yard, Shiny Steel, 1 Pack
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0063DH2J0/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_7uGkEbY6DZNRC

 

[augiedoggy]

Pump moves mash liquid thru the coil. Coil size is approximately 16 inches wide and 7 inches high.

Noticed recently when wiping out the HLT the coil is sagging and the coils are touching each other. At least, so far, the coil isn't touching the heating element.

I am not sure if we are discussing the same thing but understand the pump is pushing wort through the inside of the coil but I was referring to a pump mixing up the water in your HLT to keep even temps and consistent temps. otherwise the herms acts like a chiller making the water immediately around the coils colder and the temps tend to fluctuate and cause the herms to be inconsistent as things slowly churn... At least thats how my herms worked until I added a pump to mix hlt water. This would have a much more dramatic effect than I would think the coils touching each other at any point would honestly.

 

[day_trippr]

Ideally, one has both a hlt circulation pump (need that second pump for fly sparging on a single tier rig anyway, might as well use it) and at least some gap between the hex loops. My rig has the former and strives for the latter. There are vestigial gaps throughout but also a lot of extended, apparently direct contact from loop to loop.

I've actually been considering looping some SS wire through it....but want someone else to go first...

Cheers!

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

I am not sure if we are discussing the same thing but understand the pump is pushing wort through the inside of the coil but I was referring to a pump mixing up the water in your HLT to keep even temps and consistent temps. otherwise the herms acts like a chiller making the water immediately around the coils colder and the temps tend to fluctuate and cause the herms to be inconsistent as things slowly churn... At least thats how my herms worked until I added a pump to mix hlt water. This would have a much more dramatic effect than I would think the coils touching each other at any point would honestly.

Yes, everything in the HLT in regard to the pump is fine. I'm asking about the herms coil in side the HLT.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

I would think 18 gauge would provide enough gap:
Beadalon AWS-18-SS-10YD 18 Gauge Artistic Wire, Stainless Steel, 10-Yard, Shiny Steel, 1 Pack
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0063DH2J0/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_7uGkEbY6DZNRC

Thanks! Is this gauge, somewhat, easy to bend, manipulate?

 

[bleme]

Thanks! Is this gauge, somewhat, easy to bend, manipulate?

It can be a little rough on the thumb pads if you do much of it bare-handed, but with gloves or needle-nose, it's very easy.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

It can be a little rough on the thumb pads if you do much of it bare-handed, but with gloves or needle-nose, it's very easy.

Great, thanks.

 

[FrostyBeach]

That one's Half Annealed, so it's going to be pretty though. If you can find one that's Fully Annealed it'll be softer.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

That one's Half Annealed, so it's going to be pretty though. If you can find one that's Fully Annealed it'll be softer.

OK, thanks.

 

[day_trippr]

Check this out...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/...ess-ss-immersion-chiller.674913/#post-8777423

Cheers!

[and ignore my post below ]

 

[day_trippr]

.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Check this out...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/...ess-ss-immersion-chiller.674913/#post-8777423

Cheers!

[and ignore my post below ]

Very nice. When coming over to do the same for my eHERMs coil? I have homemade beer on tap

 

[day_trippr]

lol! My hands are still crying "uncle!" this afternoon, so the odds of a visit are long
I regret not shooting a short video tying one loop down. It was a process...

Cheers!

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

I wonder if there are small SS pieces one could simply insert between the coils to open the coils a bit (especially since my coil is already install in the HLT, it's not leaking and I don't want to disconnect it.)

 

[day_trippr]

Someone should take a flat strip of SS, say 18ga or so, die punch small arms and then bend them out 90°, spaced to spread 1/2" SS tubing. You'd take three of them and stick them in the coil to create and maintain the desired spacing. Maybe have the top-most and bottom-most "arms" be long enough to curl around their respective loops to hold the whole armature in place...

Anyway...so my modified coil got its first flight test and I can say it was definitely worth the self abuse. Where I was getting nearly zero flow through the coil before - which wreaked havoc when whirlpooling with my spider in place - now there's a respectable flow. And a pretty cool whirlpool inside the coil from the pumped flow still concentrated along the kettle wall.



There's still a pretty decent back-eddy when the pumped wort slams into the coil, but there'll always be one there because of the coil, the goal is to make it as small as possible as more wort actually flows through the coil.

I just wish I had a "before" video to show how bad it was before.

And it definitely has speeded up the cooling. I actually was so absorbed trying to take the video I didn't realize the temp had dropped from boiling to 120°F really quickly. Can't quantify it yet though. I do have some notes on chilling time pre-mod I can reference next brew (I pretty much botched the sense of time out of this batch at the end )

Cheers!

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Great job! From reading above description it sounds as if the time spent with worth it.