3 tier mash tun build

[wildburkey]

Hi guys, for those that haven't seen my introduction I am in the process of building my first mash tun and wanted to share with you all where I am at. I have bought a prefabricated BK to start with, made a esky MT with a copper manifold and now have almost all the parts I need to get underway on my ss keg HLT. I understand theoretically how this is all supposed to work but would appreciate any input if there are any foreseeable flaws in my system design. I am going to clamp some silicon hose to the valve outlet from the HLT and will put a male quick connect on the other end of that hose to be interchangeable between a female quick connect on my 12v recirculating pump and a female quick connect on the manifold in the MT for under-letting when I batch sparge. I will just use a dip stick for measuring volumes for the time being. So a coupple of things I'm not to sure about here - I'm thinking about using the gas ring burner to pre heat the water in the BK then pump it into the HLT untill I decide weather to buy another element or another gas ring burner for heating the liquor in the HLT. Also thinking about placing the thermo well at about the 25L mark and have the recirculating water returning at about the 40L mark. Cheers in advance if anyone can advise me!

 

[sponge]

Is the recirc in the HLT purely for more consistent temps in your HLT?

And depending upon if you ever needed less than 25L of water heated using your STC, you'd want the thermowell a bit lower than the 25L mark. I had mine on a tee piece with my sight glass so was fairly low to the base of the HLT.

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

Also are you building an enclosure on the end of the element to cover the wiring up?

 

[wildburkey]

Is the recirc in the HLT purely for more consistent temps in your HLT?

And depending upon if you ever needed less than 25L of water heated using your STC, you'd want the thermowell a bit lower than the 25L mark. I had mine on a tee piece with my sight glass so was fairly low to the base of the HLT.

Spot on m8 the recirculation is for consistency in heating and maintaining temps, I doubt I will be heating less than 50L my boil kettle is 76L although I might start with a smaller batch. I guess I could just hang the probe in if need be. Cheers

 

[wildburkey]

Also are you building an enclosure on the end of the element to cover the wiring up?

Yep, going to change the nut for a reducer nut going to a larger male thread to screw an enclosure onto. Not sure what the enclosure is going to be yet. Cheers for your concern safety is paramount.

 

[wildburkey]

So what's peoples opinions on preheating liquor in the Boil Kettle with LPG then pumping to the Hot Liquor Tank?

 

[Feldon]

I am going to clamp some silicon hose to the valve outlet from the HLT and will put a male quick connect on the other end of that hose to be interchangeable between a female quick connect on my 12v recirculating pump and a female quick connect on the manifold in the MT for under-letting when I batch sparge.

It is usual practice to put the male quick disconnects on vessels, pumps etc, and put the female disconnects on hoses. One reason is that if you put the males on hoses you risk getting them dirty or dinged if they touch the floor.

Also, you may have trouble opening/closing the lever arms on female disconnects attached to vessels.

 

[fcmcg]

So what's peoples opinions on preheating liquor in the Boil Kettle with LPG then pumping to the Hot Liquor Tank?

its your call...i just plug my element in a few hours before i want to brew...

 

[Kingy]

if your recirculating the hlt id put the thermo in a t piece on the outlet.

 

[sponge]

I'd also go with turning the element on earlier to get the HLT up to temps. Throw the STC on a plug-in timer so you can set it to turn on an hour or two before you mash in.

I also feel more comfortable leaving a heating element to do its thing whilst I'm not there to monitor it as opposed to using a gas burner, which I always am hesitant to leave.

 

[wildburkey]

It is usual practice to put the male quick disconnects on vessels, pumps etc, and put the female disconnects on hoses. One reason is that if you put the males on hoses you risk getting them dirty or dinged if they touch the floor.

Also, you may have trouble opening/closing the lever arms on female disconnects attached to vessels.

Makes sense to do it that way, thanks!

its your call...i just plug my element in a few hours before i want to brew...

I'd also go with turning the element on earlier to get the HLT up to temps. Throw the STC on a plug-in timer so you can set it to turn on an hour or two before you mash in.

I also feel more comfortable leaving a heating element to do its thing whilst I'm not there to monitor it as opposed to using a gas burner, which I always am hesitant to leave.

Yeah I might as well see how it goes using just the element on a dry run and will make my mind up from there, thanks guys!

if your recirculating the hlt id put the thermo in a t piece on the outlet.

Cheers m8, I thought about doing it that way but had a gut feeling it would be best to take temps from the middle rather than sampling straight from the bottom where the element sits but now I think about it it makes more sense to be reading the water output. I might look into this further down the track.

 

[wildburkey]

So I have scored a weather proof switch off of a m8 and bought a reducer connection to connect to it. It's not Ideal cause no matter where I put it I was not going to be able to fit a nut on the inside of the enclosure but thinking I will just use araldite or something to glue/ set it in place then seal with a bit of stag paste. Do you think the plastic enclosure will withstand the heat? I will also buy a collar to tighten the power cord into the enclosure. It concerns me a little how close the metal nut is to the neutral connection I will have a sparky look over it in the next few days. Thank you all for helping me out with this it's greatly appreciated

 

[wildburkey]

OK so no reply I guess means this was a stupid idea? I think I will try find something more suitable cause I see the blue/ neutral wire also potentially melting. I don't really like the idea of using copper as suggested by the supplier or even the metal ones he supplies I see as a safety issue with heat around plastic in a conductive enclosure. Not sure what to do here really :-/

 

[DJ_L3ThAL]

Metal one and ensure the enclosure (and pot) are earthed should cover you. I'm not a sparky though so confirm with yours mate

 

[wildburkey]

Yeah not really many other options unless I went ceramic or something. Think I might just bolt it into a small baked bean can or something and fill with epoxy once it's wired up. Thanks again m8.

 

[Kingy]

Buy a stainless one for 50 bux at 5star

 

[TheWiggman]

I use aluminium enclosures from Jaycar, they do the trick just fine. $19 a throw so won't break the bank.

 

[wildburkey]

Buy a stainless one for 50 bux at 5star

I wish I had of done this from the start now, I thought I'd be cheap and DIY but has cost an extra $20 for the SS fitting already so will see what I can come up with.

I use aluminium enclosures from Jaycar, they do the trick just fine. $19 a throw so won't break the bank.

Cheers, I'll go suss out something tomorrow.

 

[Kingy]

Buy big and buy once if you want to save money alltho itll take you longer to get there. Or be like most of us and get there faster with cheap gear but always upgrading along the way which cost more in the long run. i do prefer the latter tho. Odd but true.

 

[wildburkey]

Long time since I have visited this site, I have finally got my ass in gear again to complete this mash tun. I have finished the HLT now so just got to build the stand and get a cracking Here are a cpl of pics of where I am at with it!