PaulC
Active Member
Hi All,
I've been brewing for a few years now, but I upgraded my rig a while back to a 3-tier HERMS setup, and so far I've only put a few brews through it. I'm still learning the AG process, and I have a question about how you guys control your mash temps in your HERMS system.
My system is a 3 tier direct fire system, with a pump controlled by a digital temp controller. The thermowell for the controller is towards the bottom of the MT.
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My process for temp steps is to ignite the MT burner, turn on the temp-controlled pump, and wait for the pump to shut off to kill the burner. What I've noticed is that due to where the thermowell sits in the MT, the hot mash water being recirculated and added to the top of the MT takes quite a while to get all the way down to the thermowell. By the time it does, the volume of hot water above the thermowell is sufficient to raise the overall temp of the mash another 4-5 degrees. What this means is that I've overshot my steps on pretty much all occasions.
Do others have similar setups? If so, how do you address this issue? Last batch, I stirred the mash during my steps, which helped considerably, but I've read that mash should be left alone for the most part, and I had to stir quite a bit to get my temps right last time. I also thought about lowering the temperature on the controller by a few degrees to account for this, which is what I'm going to try Saturday.
I also noticed about 10-15 minutes to go from one step to the next, usually around 15 F. That seems ok to me, but wondering what the norm is and what I should shoot for - as quickly as possible, or a slower rise?
Thanks for your time and cheers!
I've been brewing for a few years now, but I upgraded my rig a while back to a 3-tier HERMS setup, and so far I've only put a few brews through it. I'm still learning the AG process, and I have a question about how you guys control your mash temps in your HERMS system.
My system is a 3 tier direct fire system, with a pump controlled by a digital temp controller. The thermowell for the controller is towards the bottom of the MT.
My process for temp steps is to ignite the MT burner, turn on the temp-controlled pump, and wait for the pump to shut off to kill the burner. What I've noticed is that due to where the thermowell sits in the MT, the hot mash water being recirculated and added to the top of the MT takes quite a while to get all the way down to the thermowell. By the time it does, the volume of hot water above the thermowell is sufficient to raise the overall temp of the mash another 4-5 degrees. What this means is that I've overshot my steps on pretty much all occasions.
Do others have similar setups? If so, how do you address this issue? Last batch, I stirred the mash during my steps, which helped considerably, but I've read that mash should be left alone for the most part, and I had to stir quite a bit to get my temps right last time. I also thought about lowering the temperature on the controller by a few degrees to account for this, which is what I'm going to try Saturday.
I also noticed about 10-15 minutes to go from one step to the next, usually around 15 F. That seems ok to me, but wondering what the norm is and what I should shoot for - as quickly as possible, or a slower rise?
Thanks for your time and cheers!