# A tidy little HLT stirrer build.



## megabyte (1/6/16)

I've always had mixed results hitting mash temperatures on my 3V setup. I suspected there might be some "thermal stratification" going on inside my hot liquor tank and that the convective currents from my heater weren't enough to heat the water evenly. I googled around and there was a lot of conflicting advice on the forums about whether stirring your HLT is necessary, so I decided to investigate the issue myself and I put together a quick video of my investigation along the way:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYQ4Lmtv28A

As it turns out, there was a 20˚C temperature differential inside my 20 litre HLT! - No wonder my infusions were so unpredictable!

So next up I built a stirrer to try and distribute the heat evenly. I put together another build video along the way showing which bits I used and also demonstrating the results it achieved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pngt93k7jw

The result is a much more consistent water temperature inside my HLT and there was an added bonus that my temperature controller doesn't overshoot as far after heating to strike temp either. I've also found that my HERMS coil is now more effective at transferring heat and I don't have to set my temperature controller as high above my mash temperature as I used to.

All in all I'm very pleased with the outcome!


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## Adr_0 (1/6/16)

Nice one! It does increase the heat transfer to the coil, which means you should get better ramp times and better value out of your element (it's on more, and that heat gets into your coil and wort rather than concentrating heat around the element). 

Good to see.


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## spog (1/6/16)

So simple when shown how to,good video as well .
Well done!


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