Brewing Handyman Needed From Perth

[djackal]

Hi Guys,

I am in desparate need for some kind soul to help me finish my brewery. I live in Mosman Park in Perth.

I have the equipment needed to make an electric HLT but not the expertise and am scared of a)drilling into stainless and B) playing with electrical parts. Is anyone able to help or direct me to someone who can help me with my set up?

My rig will be a 2-tier setup with the HLT above the mash tun and Kettle. Kettle is with 3 ring burner and am aiming to have a HERMS type system with my March Pump. If someone has experience in setting a similar system up that would be very handy as well.

I've spent 100s of bucks on this system over the last 2 years and am hoping that i can start reaping some rewards this xmas when i actually have some time to brew for a change!!!

Cheers for any help guys,
Carl

 

[ausdb]

Hi Guys,

I am in desparate need for some kind soul to help me finish my brewery. I live in Mosman Park in Perth.

I have the equipment needed to make an electric HLT but not the expertise and am scared of a)drilling into stainless and B) playing with electrical parts. Is anyone able to help or direct me to someone who can help me with my set up?

My rig will be a 2-tier setup with the HLT above the mash tun and Kettle. Kettle is with 3 ring burner and am aiming to have a HERMS type system with my March Pump. If someone has experience in setting a similar system up that would be very handy as well.

I've spent 100s of bucks on this system over the last 2 years and am hoping that i can start reaping some rewards this xmas when i actually have some time to brew for a change!!!

Cheers for any help guys,
Carl

Hi there Carl
I am time challenged! but what sort of help do you need?

 

[djackal]

Hi there Carl
I am time challenged! but what sort of help do you need?

Hi AusDB

I have an electric element from TWOC that I would like to use in an HLT. I also have a temp guage (off Mashmaster or craftbrewer cant remember which) that i would like to add to either the HLT or Mash tun.

I have SS pots and have no skills in SS welding nor am i a sparky. I am happy to take the gear to someone who knows what they are doing for these tasks but would also just like an expert to have a look over my system to point out where i am going wrong and provide ideas for improvements.

In hindsight i would have bought a setup off morebeer or something but the price was too much for my limited budget!

Cheers
Carl

 

[mika]

Happy to come around and chew the fat over the system, basically act as a sounding board for your ideas. Would offer to help build it with you/ for you, but all the tools I used to build mine are a long way away, but simple things like drilling the hole for the element can be done with Bunnings tools. Only drama I could see would be in the mounting of the temp probe and a few things like that, but I'm sure there are ways around it.

Edit: Or you could drop round here, not brewing now until the new year, but the systems sitting there in all it's glory/shame.

 

[djackal]

Some images of where I'm at.

Cheers

 

[domonsura]

Hey Carl, Curious about a couple of things - what sort of controller is that attached to the element in the pic, do you recall where you got it from and how much/specs etc?
As far as mounting the temp probe, if you can drill a hole, I make bulkhead fittings that you my find helpful to attach the probe with.

 

[djackal]

Hey Carl, Curious about a couple of things - what sort of controller is that attached to the element in the pic, do you recall where you got it from and how much/specs etc?
As far as mounting the temp probe, if you can drill a hole, I make bulkhead fittings that you my find helpful to attach the probe with.

The controller came from a plastic bucket type mash tun thingy (electro-brim) i just removed it from the bucket and have attached a different element. No idea on the specs...I'm a little aprehensive about it and will probably replace it to be honest.

Cheers
Carl

 

[mika]

You seem to be pretty well progressed, you've already got the spigots mounted in the vessels, why so worried about drilling a hole for the element ?

 

[djackal]

You seem to be pretty well progressed, you've already got the spigots mounted in the vessels, why so worried about drilling a hole for the element ?

Again, I'm a little aprehensive where electricity and fluid come to meet. I also had a mate who helped me with the taps. Drilling into rounded surfaces is a skill that unfortunately I lack.

It's frustrating being so close at yet so far....I think i'll buy some quick disconnects as well, it's a challenge getting all the hoses connected properly.

Cheers
Carl

 

[mika]

They're pretty easy to install. First of, pull out a hammer and a block of wood, use said block of wood as the dolly so you're not smacking your nice staino vessel with the hammer directly. Keep bashing until you get a fairly flatish area ~10mm bigger than the diameter of the element, you can use the ally nut from the element as your flatness guage. You want to get it to the point where the ally nut sits flat on the side of the vessel without huge lumps and bumps. This will take some stuffing around as they're fairly resistant to changing shape. Once finished, this will give you a nice flat area for the seal to work on and give you a flat area to start your drill on. Use a centre punch to mark the hole location, drill a hole (go slow) about the same size as the pilot drill on your holesaw arbour kit. Select the correct holesaw, use a good quality one the cheapies aren't going to make the job enjoyable, and go SLOW, plenty of lube to, try find Trefollex or a good quality cutting compound.
When I did mine I started off with a pilot drill and then used a big mother drill and then used a die-grinder to get it to shape, but I don't see why it can't be done with a reasonable quality holesaw.
Hammering the area flat before hand (I only thought about it after drilling the hole) gives the seal the best chance, it's a fairly tough seal without a lot of give, you could avoid this part and try tightening it up and see how it goes but I think you'd end up needing some sort of sealant. Lubricate the thread on the element too before you tighten the ally nut up, mine was fairly rough and the nut wasn't smooth to wind on, I used an oil filter wrench to grab hold of the round nut (who the fug thought a round nut was a good idea ? :huh: )and tighten it up.

If it all sounds too complicated, send me a PM, buy the bits and come on down. If we can't get the hole cut with a holesaw I can find a bit for the diegrinder and annoy the neighbours