Herms With An Esky

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kjparker

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Hi,

I am in the process of piecing together the bits to build a herms system.

I was originally planning on using a stainless tun, but yesterday I found a 55l rectangular esky on a council cleanup pile. Nothing wrong with it that a good clean wont fix.

I'm now planning to use the esky, as I would imagine that heat loss through it would be minimal, especially if I insulate the hoses from the herms unit.

Is there any reason why this wouldnt be a good idea, and I should proceed with the stainless keg like vessel for the tun?

I was thinking of a copper slotted manifold for it as I have enough left over copper from our renovation to make a nice manifold.
 
I would think a rectangular, shallower MLT would be better for a constant recirc vs a tall skinny Keg. The grain is spread out over more surface area in the esky so compacting wouldn't be as common.

I did my first brew with my HERMS rig on the weekend and the grain bed got quite compacted in my Keg Tun when I ran the March pump full bore. At 1/2 it didn't compact quite as much.
 
I have been using a 55l esky as a mashing tun for the past 18 months ... and it works well ... a s/s tun does look a lot sexier though .. but as a brewer of fine beers ... it is about making the brewery at minimal cost so I can spend my $ on good ingredients ... and make lots of brewing items just for fun :)

Go ahead .. there is little to no chance of Botulism being contracted by using the esky !!

When you find a 50l s/s pot on the side of the road then theres your window for bling !!


Yep its how I roll ..

Matt
 
I have been using a 55l esky as a mashing tun for the past 18 months ... and it works well ... a s/s tun does look a lot sexier though .. but as a brewer of fine beers ... it is about making the brewery at minimal cost so I can spend my $ on good ingredients ... and make lots of brewing items just for fun :)

Go ahead .. there is little to no chance of Botulism being contracted by using the esky !!

When you find a 50l s/s pot on the side of the road then theres your window for bling !!


Yep its how I roll ..

Matt

Thanks, I know the esky will do well as far a traditional tun is concerned, I'm just wondering how it would go with a recirculating mash system.... I havent been able to find anyone who has been doing it. I thought there must be a reason which I cant think of why!
 
Thanks, I know the esky will do well as far a traditional tun is concerned, I'm just wondering how it would go with a recirculating mash system.... I havent been able to find anyone who has been doing it. I thought there must be a reason which I cant think of why!

I suppose a recirculating system regulates the mash temperature for you so you are less reliant on having a vessel that is well insulated.

And the benefits of SS compared to an eski are that it's easier to clean, will probably last longer and yes the bling factor.

The main benefit of the eski is sort of negated by a HERMS system as I understand it (I'm no HERMS brewer so take this with a grain of salt).
 
Thanks, I know the esky will do well as far a traditional tun is concerned, I'm just wondering how it would go with a recirculating mash system.... I havent been able to find anyone who has been doing it. I thought there must be a reason which I cant think of why!


I had an esky as the mash tun for my first revision of my HERMS, worked just fine - you can cut a hole in the lid or just leave it open, doesn't matter very much.
 
My first Mashing tun was set up for HERMS and truthfully I have never used it as such for many reasons but I have seen an esky set up with a copper manifold and worked a treat ... there is a need to put a hole thru the lid as suggested above but also consider the install of a thermometer above the tap ... Mine was installed on the side and annoyed the hell out of me because I was using gravity and not pumps ... as well as it increased the width of the esky making out a PITA to clean in the Laundry sink ...


Cheers Matt
 
I suppose a recirculating system regulates the mash temperature for you so you are less reliant on having a vessel that is well insulated.

And the benefits of SS compared to an eski are that it's easier to clean, will probably last longer and yes the bling factor.

The main benefit of the eski is sort of negated by a HERMS system as I understand it (I'm no HERMS brewer so take this with a grain of salt).

I guess your right.

I might clean up this esky and stick it on ebay then.... Get some more funds to go towards my brew rig!
 
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