megabyte
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 18/4/10
- Messages
- 376
- Reaction score
- 202
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!
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!