My Stovetop HERMS

[Dannypittman]

Here it is. I just tried it out Thursday for the first time. It uses 8 gallon steamer pots, weldless valves, my bottling bucket, the bottom of another bucket that has been drilled-notched-and inverted as a false bottom, 20 feet of 3/8 soft copper, march pump, and 5 feet of cpvc and fittings.

 

[lackey2000]

I like the sight-glass!

 

[NoNothing]

I like it!

Im no sciencer (that's a word dammit), but doesnt the PVC glue weaken under heat?

Couldnt you get some in your beer and weaken the seals at the same time?

But Im really digging the setup man!

 

[rhoadsrage]

On the back of the PVC glue bottle it says let dry for 15 min. or longer if using for steam at 18psi. Just use some this weekend for a different project.

I would be a little worried about off flavors in your brew but DannyPittman might know?

 

[Dannypittman]

PVC glue will let go under heat. Use CPVC and CPVC cement. Residential water heaters can go up to 185 F. CPVC is what the majority of new housing nowadays are using. It is hard to find a spec home that has copper plumbing in my area. Building codes do not allow PVC to be used for anything other than drain lines when it comes to indoor plumbing.

 

[JayInJersey]

how do you keep that pump primed?

I can 't keep mine primed with a damn 1.5' drop.

 

[Dannypittman]

The biggest thing is getting the air out of the pump and making sure that you do not suck air from the intake. I am a firefighter and I can tell you that a small air leak on a vacuum intake will cause a truck that flows 1500 gpm at 150 psi to loose it's prime in a draft situation. A 1.5' drop is not going to do any good if you have anything keeping the air in the pump. A few cc's of water in your coil will do that. If I am having pump primer problems, I open the top discharge on the pump. I will not bore you with a hydraulics. I train new drivers to pump.
Try disconnecting the discharge hose on your pump. It should not take more than a second or two. I used clear tubing to connect it to the MLT. If you see bubbles, you are sucking air. It may not be the connection, it may be the valve itself.