New HLT - complete

[TommyBoy]

Just finished up on my HLT on Sat.

I am about 90% finished with the new rig and it's about time! I brewed a partial grain late last year on the frame when I only had 1 of me new kettles and I vowed to not brew again until the rig was finished because it was such a pain in the butt not having all the gear needed. I now just need about a half dozen clovers with 1/2" barbs and then a PID/asco/related equipment for HERMS.

 

[Sumo]

Your rig looks beautiful! Can you tell us a little more about it? Have you brewed on it yet and do you have temp control on the HLT or plan to add it?

 

[XXguy]

That's a great looking rig. Looks like some good craftsmanship with a solid design & excellent vinyl signage!

 

[kornbread]

Your rig looks very cool. Question: Why do you have a stir motor on your HLT? It may be very common. But I haven't noticed that before.

 

[bendavanza]

Nice looking setup. I see an advantage of the wide pots over kegs, they take less vertical space! My 3 tier is up in the air.

 

[The Pol]

Your rig looks very cool. Question: Why do you have a stir motor on your HLT? It may be very common. But I haven't noticed that before.

It is a HERMS, so he has the stirrer to keep the water temp homogenous for better control. Heat is applied at the bottom, the coil removes heat and he loses heat through the sides of the kettle... a stirrer will keep the temps homogenous.

 

[TommyBoy]

Your rig looks beautiful! Can you tell us a little more about it? Have you brewed on it yet and do you have temp control on the HLT or plan to add it?

I brewed once as a partial grain but it was a pain without everything I needed so I am waiting until it is fully functional as a 10gal all grain unit. This weekend I will have my clover barbs and will give it a dry run to make sure that there are no issues. I will start brewing again in a couple weeks without a temp control but I will be adding this asap.

The frame is my first welding experience. Pretty fun. I have 3 15gal B3 kettles; HLT has 50' of 1/2" copper, 150rpm gear motor, 3" SS prop, and SS hardware with disconnects. The Mash has a copper ring for HERMS and a SS arm for sparging also on quick disconnects. (I really like the SS arm so I kept it and the copper ring.) I replaced the dip tubes in the HLT and Mash with homemade ones so I could draw a little more out of each kettle.

I recently received a pro pump and pro chiller and have a pro o2 unit on it's way. I might go with a disposable o2 tank for now.

 

[TommyBoy]

Your rig looks very cool. Question: Why do you have a stir motor on your HLT? It may be very common. But I haven't noticed that before.

To get an accurate temp/prevent temp stratification of the h2o during HERMS.

 

[llazy_llama]

Very professional looking setup. Most of the rigs around here look like they came from somebody's garage (which they did, so there's nothing wrong with that) but this one seriously looks like it came custom built from a factory.

Very sharp, man. :rockin:

 

[TommyBoy]

Very professional looking setup. Most of the rigs around here look like they came from somebody's garage (which they did, so there's nothing wrong with that) but this one seriously looks like it came custom built from a factory.

Very sharp, man. :rockin:

Thanks. It was modeled after the B3 sculpture.

It was really fun welding it together as it was my first attempt at the art. I had so much fun that I wish I had a brew buddy that lived near and wanted one so I could build another.

 

[kal]

It is a HERMS, so he has the stirrer to keep the water temp homogenous for better control. Heat is applied at the bottom, the coil removes heat and he loses heat through the sides of the kettle... a stirrer will keep the temps homogenous.

Yup. Another way people do it too is the use a pump to constantly recirculate the HLT water. This is often done by those who fly sparge on single tier setups (requires 2 pumps so at least one is not used during the mash so why not put it to work?).

To the OP: Nice work!

Kal

 

[airbalancer]

Really nice work, great compact design. I dig the red too.

Cheers

 

[rcrabb22]

This is out of my league just yet. Looks very sweet!!

If you are using a HERMS to control the wort temperature in the mash tun why a burner for the mash tun?

 

[The Pol]

This is out of my league just yet. Looks very sweet!!

If you are using a HERMS to control the wort temperature in the mash tun why a burner for the mash tun?

Heating the strike water.

 

[TommyBoy]

This is out of my league just yet. Looks very sweet!!

If you are using a HERMS to control the wort temperature in the mash tun why a burner for the mash tun?

I will probably just use it to get to my strike temp for the mash.

 

[Yooper]

Thanks. It was modeled after the B3 sculpture.

It was really fun welding it together as it was my first attempt at the art. I had so much fun that I wish I had a brew buddy that lived near and wanted one so I could build another.

I'm not too far, and I'd like to be your brew buddy!

Man, I'd kill for a nice set up like that. Great job- I'm impressed.

 

[TommyBoy]

I'm not too far, and I'd like to be your brew buddy!

Man, I'd kill for a nice set up like that. Great job- I'm impressed.

Thanks! The invite is always open for other homebrewers out there. You just have to bring some brew to drink for the session. (And a cornie/carboy if you want half the batch!)