Silicone sight glass on electric HLT

[conpewter]

Well I'm finishing up my electric brew rig, and a long while back I bought a sight glass/thermometer combo from williams brewing.
WELD-B-GONE SIGHT TUBE AND ADAPTER @ Williams Brewing

Looking at it closer though it looks like I won't be able to see the level below 3 gallons or more. Since I don't have any direct flame on the bottom (element is in the keg) I was thinking of putting a bulkhead on the bottom (off to the side somewhat, not directly on the bottom) and then connecting a silicone hose I have, and run that out through a hole or notch in the skirt and up the side of the keg (I'll mark gallon marks on the keg itself)

Thoughts?

I may also eventually do the liquid connections on the bottom of the keg, but the current HLT keg has a pretty banged up skirt so I'd need to find a new one to do those connections.

 

[keiths]

It would seem to me that trub would get in and plug it up if it is to close to the bottom. but maybe not. And if you know that you are starting out with three gal. then U should be alright.

 

[conpewter]

This is on the HLT. It would be an easy way to see how much water I'm pumping in to the mash tun.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Is your element horizontal? If so, I assume it will be covered with 3 gallons?

I'd take out the diptube so that the kettle runs "dry" with 3 or so gallons left. This will be your failsafe to prevent damaging the element or starting a fire.

Start numbering your sight glass at "0" from the point you actually just see water coming into it....then go from there.

If you want to drain the kettle completely for storage without having to dump the rest out, install a stopcock at the bottom that you can hook tubing to, and just drain that last 3 gallons of hot water into a bucket for cleaning purposes, flush a pump, etc.

 

[Anthony_Lopez]

Is your element horizontal? If so, I assume it will be covered with 3 gallons?

I'd take out the diptube so that the kettle runs "dry" with 3 or so gallons left. This will be your failsafe to prevent damaging the element or starting a fire.

Start numbering your sight glass at "0" from the point you actually just see water coming into it....then go from there.

If you want to drain the kettle completely for storage without having to dump the rest out, install a stopcock at the bottom that you can hook tubing to, and just drain that last 3 gallons of hot water into a bucket for cleaning purposes, flush a pump, etc.

+1 to that...

 

[conpewter]

Element is horizontal, and it is one of the ULWD elements that can be run dry (according to the manufacturer).

My thought is I'll put ~8-9 gallons and get it up to my strike temp, then I pump over my strike water (measured using sight glass) then I heat up my water to 180 and turn off the element. I then can pump over half of what is left for the first batch sparge, drain that and pump what is left over, that way I don't waste any water.

But now that I think about it more I can just put 12 or so gallons in, and whatever water is left in the end can be used to run hot oxyclean through the whole system and then rinse.

Thanks!

EDIT

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A: These elements are BEST. They are made of nickel/stainless steel and are ultra low watt-density. These features prevent lime buildup and extend the life of the element. A Lime Life element is not affected by dry-firing. These elements carry a limited lifetime warranty. Because of the low watt-density, these elements are folded back to reduce the length. Some are rippled to further reduce the length to fit the diameter of the tank.

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[ScubaSteve]

Your heating regimen is very similar to mine, except I use propane. I always like heating at least 10 gallons because I find myself using the extra for cleaning lines, etc.

Dude, I wouldn't fire the element dry. I guess it's good to know you'd be okay if you accidentally did it....but I wouldn't do it regularly.

 

[conpewter]

I do now plan to heat more than I need for the brew, as mentioned it is useful for cleaning.

I was not planning on ever firing the element dry, but it is another nice feature of the ULWD element (I have a 5500W element in the HLT and the same in the boil kettle)

I didn't want to take the dip tube out though because I would like to use that last couple gallons to clean instead of having to pick up the HLT and dump it out each time. I have the system set up so that I can turn all power off to the element with a DPST. Plus once I'm done with draining the first runnings I'll unplug the HLT and plug in my boil kettle (into the control box).

 

[Bobby_M]

You could always rig a float switch to a relay that would disable the element if the level dropped too far. I'm sure you intend on making sure the power is off before you drain the whole thing but it's easy to get side tracked during a brew session.

Your idea to bottom tap the vessel to start reading the sight glass earlier is a good one though. You can cut a nipple on sharp angle and have the extend through the skirt and weld to the bottom. That would allow installing a standard sight glass compression fitting.

 

[conpewter]

Thanks. I do think that would work, and then give resolution when the level is low.

After thinking about it more I think I'll use the traditional sight glass the way it is, and change the system later after I've had it together and running and can see what would work best for me.

 

[keiths]

I use a 6 hp wet/dry vac to clean out my keggles when I am done. It sucks the mash out real quick & also sucks up the left over water in the bottom of the keggles & all the trub in the boil keg.

 

[conpewter]

Great idea, I already have a wet/dry shop vac. I may do that.