Dedicated Herms Guide, Problems And Solution Thread

[rosshorne]

Hi all,

I am thinking about going HERMS. Is there any reason this diagram wouldn't work? I would only control the temperature of the HLT and I think I would probably insulate the tubing as well.

 

[Yob]

Have the probe on the outlet of the urn

 

[rosshorne]

Was thinking about that. Thanks Yob. Also, I think the 90L MLT is a bit overkill.

 

[MastersBrewery]

The line to the BK needs to be seperate, otherwise you are closing off the input to the pump :huh:



ED: so to make things simpler the 't' piece and Valves need to be the other side of the pump and you should be all good

 

[Camo6]

The line to the BK needs to be seperate, otherwise you are closing off the input to the pump :huh:



ED: so to make things simpler the 't' piece and Valves need to be the other side of the pump and you should be all good

Good spot. I guess Rosshorne could use gravity to sparge with that arrangement, but you'd be leaving the herms coil and hose full of wort and would be a shame not to be utilising the march to its full potential.

 

[MastersBrewery]

Camo6 I agree,
just didn't want to complicate maters, my other thought was there was not flow control at the pump except at the inlet side, which would create dramas, with either stuck mash or starving the pump. So as I see the diagram he requires the T off the pump( out put) with 2 valves and one one each vessel. A total of 5 valves, not 4. I would draw a diagram but lets face it; the above is a god damn master piece compared to what I could produce. (trying to empty a keg)

best thing I call that work

 

[boybrewer]

Put the T piece on the outlet of the pump with ball valves either side , one to the HLT and the other to the BK , that way you can govern the flow rate and switch from HLT to BK when sparging .

 

[rosshorne]

Thanks a bunch guys. I think I will start with controll of the HLT temperature and see how that goes/

Anyway, here is the updated 'god damn masterpiece':

 

[Camo6]

No biggie but you've got that inlet/outlets of the pump backwards.

I've never used a march but my kaixin is hard to prime when it has to push through the herms coil. You may need to disconnect and lower one of the hoses to prime the pump.

 

[fcmcg]

Nope , I reckon the way you have it is right..
I come outta the mash , into the pump and then pump or push into the herms coil.., out of that and back into the mash...
I do run a separate herms coil in a heat exchange though as I reckon it gives you better control on ramp times...

 

[cat007]

Nope , I reckon the way you have it is right..
I come outta the mash , into the pump and then pump or push into the herms coil.., out of that and back into the mash...
I do run a separate herms coil in a heat exchange though as I reckon it gives you better control on ramp times...

Yes that is correct - but you have the in and the out of the pump round the wrong way

 

[MastersBrewery]

Nope , I reckon the way you have it is right..
I come outta the mash , into the pump and then pump or push into the herms coil.., out of that and back into the mash...
I do run a separate herms coil in a heat exchange though as I reckon it gives you better control on ramp times...

Yep he has all lines and valves in the right spot, but the pump input is the centre and output is verticle. so pump as pictured is pumping oposite to the arrows

 

[QldKev]

If you are using a pump why are you staying with a 3 tier? Also are you going to fly sparge?

 

[Truman42]

Thanks a bunch guys. I think I will start with controll of the HLT temperature and see how that goes/

As Yob already pointed out you really need to measure the temperature at your coil outlet or MLT inlet. Measuring the HLT temp won't be very accurate

 

[boybrewer]

You could connect a 'T' piece on the outlet of your coil and stick probe in one end of the 'T' piece by placing a cap on the end with a hole in the centre of the cap , feed the probe through it and silicone it up . I did this until I purchased a PID and temp probe. No leaks and it worked well .

 

[Camo6]

Nope , I reckon the way you have it is right..
I come outta the mash , into the pump and then pump or push into the herms coil.., out of that and back into the mash...
I do run a separate herms coil in a heat exchange though as I reckon it gives you better control on ramp times...

If you're referring to my post I assume you misread it as I find a centrifugal pump works better with centrifugal force. :icon_cheers:

I too draw from the bottom of the MT, into the pump, then through a standalone heat exchanger and back into the mash. However, I find the pump will not self-prime due to, I suspect, resistance in the HEX coil route. Another brewer suggested somewhere in this thread to 'T' a bleed tap into the pump inlet or outlet. This works well with my setup and makes priming very easy and also helps collect the first run of grain that gets past the false bottom.

Rosshorne, with your arrangement you'll probably just need to disconnect and lower one of the outlet hoses to below the level of the mash to expel all the air and prime the pump. But, as I stated, I've no experience with March pumps and this may not be necessary.

Here's a pic of my arrangement:

 

[Vanoontour]

Hey Guys, I'm using a Big W pot for my HERMS and want to know how you guys with these have earthed them? I would rather not drill a hole in the base and use a bolt but if it can't be helped.....

Cheers,

 

[Camo6]

What element are you using? I think a lot use a metal enclosure over there exposed terminals and earth this which is in contact with the pot.

 

[Vanoontour]

A jug element. It is installed with no leaks but was checking the earthing and noticed the pot is not earthed due to the silicon seal.

 

[squirt in the turns]

A jug element. It is installed with no leaks but was checking the earthing and noticed the pot is not earthed due to the silicon seal.

This is the exact same issue I encountered when putting a jug element in a 7L stockpot (both from K-Mart IIRC). I put a bolt through the base, into the jiffy box I'd glued to the bottom which housed the electrical connections, and earthed the bolt. Judicious use of silicone sealant prevented any leaks through the hole. I'd say the bolt method would be the only way to keep everything safe and contained. Otherwise you could do something ghetto like wrap some wire around the pot handle (and solder it there), and somehow run that to your earth connection.

Edit: spelling