sudsandswine
Active Member
I was looking to simplify my all grain brewing setup by building a simple 3 tier stand, but the project quickly took a different turn (as most of my projects do) and I found myself planning a much more complicated, time consuming, and expensive single tier HERMS brewing setup.
I based my design largely upon mplutodh1's design (an excellent thread to look at if you are planning something similar). The stand is currently being assembled by my welder and it should be ready in a couple days, so I'll have pictures coming soon.
I have a few questions I would greatly appreciate some input on.
I decided to use just two burners, one under the HLT and one under the brew kettle. I would like to use a temperature probe on the outlet of the HERMS coil to automate the firing of the burner to maintain the proper water temperature in the tank so I can dial in my mashing temperature right where I want it. I suppose a large factor how this will be handled is deciding on what brew controller I would like to use, which I have not done yet. I have seen the Honeywell kit that has the pilot light and controller, but it's a bit on the pricey side. Since I'll only need it on one burner, it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but if I can do it effectively for cheaper, I'm all ears.
I don't plan to go quite as far with the automation as some of the awesome stands I've seen, so I do not plan to purchase solenoid valves to control the flow of liquid - I'm fine with manual ball valves for that. The automation of mashing temps is really my main priority as far as that's concerned.
Also, I've seen some setups where the HLT is used as an ice bath and hot wort is routed through the HERMS coil to bring it down to pitching temps, but I would prefer not to have to purchase ice every time I brew ($$$) so I was planning on routing cold water through the HERMS coil and essentially turning it into a big immersion wort chiller. Does anybody have thoughts on this?
Once it's welded up and I have everything in place I plan to prime it and then use high temperature engine block paint to paint the stand. I figure it should hold up well to the heat from the burners since engine blocks get pretty darn hot, but I have read people had issues with their finishes bubbling or burning on the areas closer to the burner. I only want to have to paint/coat it once, so I need something durable.
I based my design largely upon mplutodh1's design (an excellent thread to look at if you are planning something similar). The stand is currently being assembled by my welder and it should be ready in a couple days, so I'll have pictures coming soon.
I have a few questions I would greatly appreciate some input on.
I decided to use just two burners, one under the HLT and one under the brew kettle. I would like to use a temperature probe on the outlet of the HERMS coil to automate the firing of the burner to maintain the proper water temperature in the tank so I can dial in my mashing temperature right where I want it. I suppose a large factor how this will be handled is deciding on what brew controller I would like to use, which I have not done yet. I have seen the Honeywell kit that has the pilot light and controller, but it's a bit on the pricey side. Since I'll only need it on one burner, it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but if I can do it effectively for cheaper, I'm all ears.
I don't plan to go quite as far with the automation as some of the awesome stands I've seen, so I do not plan to purchase solenoid valves to control the flow of liquid - I'm fine with manual ball valves for that. The automation of mashing temps is really my main priority as far as that's concerned.
Also, I've seen some setups where the HLT is used as an ice bath and hot wort is routed through the HERMS coil to bring it down to pitching temps, but I would prefer not to have to purchase ice every time I brew ($$$) so I was planning on routing cold water through the HERMS coil and essentially turning it into a big immersion wort chiller. Does anybody have thoughts on this?
Once it's welded up and I have everything in place I plan to prime it and then use high temperature engine block paint to paint the stand. I figure it should hold up well to the heat from the burners since engine blocks get pretty darn hot, but I have read people had issues with their finishes bubbling or burning on the areas closer to the burner. I only want to have to paint/coat it once, so I need something durable.