Hermit Coil Heat Exchange Build

[Feldon]

I had about 2.4m of 1/2" cooper laying about so attempted my own its rough and its got little kinks but wort will flow threw. I will get a SS one when I get some money but trying to just sus stuff out with what I got ATM. Still rather SS for a canister but if I cant find anything suitable then it will have to be PVC.

Just thinking.... perhaps a stainless steel square section toilet brush holder?

Something like this :



(www.infolink.com.au/c/Barben-Industries/Square-toilet-brush-holder-available-from-Barben-Industries-n848151)

 

[Feldon]

Here's a cheap one...

 

[kelbygreen]

yeah good idea, its great to get different opinions as i would never of thought of that lol, be good to get the sizes of them . Another thing I thought of was to find a place that sells SS pipe and see if you could buy a small section. But a square extrusion or the one you linked would be good as you wouldnt have to mount from the bottom.

 

[Feldon]

And you get a free dunny brush for whirpooling

 

[kelbygreen]

And you get a free dunny brush for whirpooling

LMFAO

 

[Feldon]

Even cheaper..



(http://www.nisbets.com.au/product.asp?pID=4580&cID=466).

Could use the stainless disc on the brush handle to mount the coil, and leave the central hole as a breather to vent the steam.

But.. can't see in the pic if the cylinder has a seamed base (leaky?, but could solder it watertight) or whether it is all one piece of stainless steel. And delivery is $25 in Sydney area and more to other locations.

 

[Truman42]

I have two different types of those toilet brush holders and its just thin walled, crimped together with a plastic base.
I doubt if your going to find a solid one piece stainless toilet brush holder for that price.

 

[Truman42]

Well here's my attempt. Powered by CAT of course...



Im new to Herms and have a question......If im going to use this with my STC1000 would I hook up both my pump and HX to the STC so have circulation start only if the temp drops and the element kicks in?

Or do you keep circulation going for the entire 90 min mash and let the HX cut in and out when required?

 

[pk.sax]

the latter.

btw T, are you tearing up your pillow cover or still hanging halfway on the other side?

 

[kelbygreen]

never used one but I think the pump keeps going all the time. Some people that build controllers put pump rests in to rest the pump once and a while but other then that you should prob leave it going.

 

[Truman42]

the latter.

btw T, are you tearing up your pillow cover or still hanging halfway on the other side?

What??? I have no idea what you mean?

 

[Truman42]

the latter.

btw T, are you tearing up your pillow cover or still hanging halfway on the other side?

Lol. Yeh I just got it you mean my biab bag. Going to give a 3v system a go now that I have 2 urns and can build one cheap enough. See if my brews taste any better.

(I actually thought you were referring to some inside joke dad must have told you about when they were down here at Xmas time. But had no idea what it might have been.

 

[pk.sax]

hahahahaha.. We've got your dad away from hoisting the bag so far He has a manifold now, doing 2V I think. If you are going to all the effort of recirculating and a HEX, might as well give the bag a heave ho, not that it will fly far

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

Well here's my attempt. Powered by CAT of course...

View attachment 53568

Im new to Herms and have a question......If im going to use this with my STC1000 would I hook up both my pump and HX to the STC so have circulation start only if the temp drops and the element kicks in?

Or do you keep circulation going for the entire 90 min mash and let the HX cut in and out when required?

Recirc the whole time.
Nev

 

[Feldon]

I have two different types of those toilet brush holders ....

I'm surprised - thought you would be using the PIAB method.

 

[pk.sax]

I'm surprised - thought you would be using the PIAB method.

Bahahhahahaa

as for me, I'm tossing up between this and a dedicated decoction setup, i.e. a sort of 4 tier with a deccoction pot with a 1" valve and a stirrer OR this hermit coil thing.

 

[Truman42]

Another tip... There is a green button on the front of the element housing that the element backing plate pushes in once screwed together. For some reason mine wasn't pushed in far enough and the element wouldn't work. Although it was all sealed and didnt leak so work that one out. i think its because the 3mm pipe wall is thicker than the standard wall the element goes through in the kettle.
I found this out after my silicone had dried and had to pull it all apart.

So check for continuity with a meter once you screw it all together and before your silicone sets. And make sure your screws are nice and tight.

 

[Kingbrownbrewing]

Did my first proper brew on my HERMS build yesterday, was getting 2 degrees per minute ramp times, and my efficiency is up around 85%.

Mash never got more than .5 of a degree off where I wanted it.

Great investment for absolute control over temperature.

 

[NickB]

Nice work Dan! I debuted my new mash tun Friday - hit 84% efficiency too, so stoked. The lager will be a little more full on than anticipated though

Cheers

 

[QldKev]

Giving my HERMIT it's first run today. I took one measurement during the ramp from the protein rest to sac rest.

I started the timer at 60.3c (just some random point when I thought to time it), and checked when it hit 65c. It took 15min 50secs. So about 0.3 degree per minute. This was with a full flow, using a march pump and both valves fully open.

This is a bit longer than I expected from my water calc.
I used
Water 53L
Grain weight 14.15kg (I just factored this as 1kg = 1L of water for the amount of heat it will suck up during the ramp)
So 67L of water
1800w element
Temp diff 4.7c
The calc gives me 12mins
So I'm pretty happy with 15min 50sec as by the time you factor in the heat losses from the HERMIT + Mash tun + pump + hoses.
It works out pretty close to the ramp rated calculated.

Obviously a slower flow would allow the outlet wort to get warmer faster, but the mash temp would lag further behind. I had up to a 5 degree lag in the bottom of the mash tun.

Long term due to the volume to be heated in my system I will be using the internal RIMS + HERMIT to help raise the temp, but I only used the HERMIT today as a test. I'll chuck a video on youtube later.

The outside of the HERMIT got warm to touch, but nothing to worry about. I'll see how it goes in the ramp to mashout, where I plan on running both RIMS + HERMIT. If I feel comfortable with the temp I may try using the insulation I cut for it.


QldKev