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Tex083

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Hi Guys
I have been planning a HERMS system for a while now. I was looking into the Gryphon Brewing HERMS coil which is a great unit but I want to put a coil into my HLT. This will be more efficient as I can heat the sparge water just after the mash. And the HEX I build REALLY didnt work :(
I have a 2 hot plate indstural stovetop that will heat the HLT and warm the mash.

I have been doing some research and it looks like 5m is perfect for a HERMS system. Keg King has 16m lengths so 3 of us could build a HERMS coil and split it 3 ways or 2 ways I dont mind. I believe the coil is around $119 - for $60 each its around the same price of a Gryphon unit too :)
OR a Grain and Grape on which is $180
KK 16m of 8mm (OD) tube http://www.kegking.com.au/chillerbox_inlinechiller.html
G&G 50' of 3/8 tube http://www.grainandgrape.com.au/product_in...roducts_id=8215

If this is in the wrong section im sorry but this is the most appropriateI could find.

Contact me via PM, Im happy to work out postage for people outside metro Melbourne.

Cheers
Dan

Edited to include G&G
 
Hi Guys
I have been planning a HERMS system for a while now. I was looking into the Gryphon Brewing HERMS coil which is a great unit but I want to put a coil into my HLT. This will be more efficient as I can heat the sparge water just after the mash. And the HEX I build REALLY didnt work :(
I have a 2 hot plate indstural stovetop that will heat the HLT and warm the mash.

I have been doing some research and it looks like 5m is perfect for a HERMS system. Keg King has 16m lengths so 3 of us could build a HERMS coil and split it 3 ways or 2 ways I dont mind. I believe the coil is around $119 - for $60 each its around the same price of a Gryphon unit too :)
OR a Grain and Grape on which is $180
KK 16m of 8mm (OD) tube http://www.kegking.com.au/chillerbox_inlinechiller.html
G&G 50' of 3/8 tube http://www.grainandgrape.com.au/product_in...roducts_id=8215

If this is in the wrong section im sorry but this is the most appropriateI could find.

Contact me via PM, Im happy to work out postage for people outside metro Melbourne.

Cheers
Dan

Edited to include G&G
Dan The problem you will face is trying to heat a large volume of water to achieve a fast enough temp ramp rate.
We designed our HX so there is only 1.7L of liquid to heat with an element of 2KW. So if you work out what volume you have in your HLT to heat divide that by 1.7 then times 2 you will get an idea on how much power you will need to ramp at the same/required speed.
Good luck and let us know how you go.
Nev
 
I'm with Nev. I originally thought about putting a coil in the HLT to save extra crap on the brew rig.

Thinking out aloud of a brew day.

Mash in for a prot rest, say 55c?
Do we take the HLT up to the 55c or the normal strike temp, say 60c (just an approximation for strike temp, you're water to gran ratio will influence this)
- 55c will mean once the strike water hits the grain we will have a mash bed at say 51c? and have to ramp it back up to 55c again
- 60c will mean when the water hits the grain the mash will be at 55c, but recirculating through the HLT at 60c

Finally that gets sorted and it's time for our Beta Amylase rest, say 62c

We turn up the HLT to 62c. We then need to wait for the entire vol of water in the HLT to ramp up.
Finally we hit the next temperature step, but the HLT is say at 64c (guess at a temperature, but could be a lot more) to get the wort exiting the coil to be 62c. With the large thermal mass of the HLT water even after turning the element off, the coil keeps heating the wort and overshooting by a lot, and holds it there.

I've ended up buying a Gryphon hermit coil. No affiliation.

QldKev


edit:
There probably is the other side of the equation.
If you have the heating potential in the HLT to lift the entire water vol of both the HLT and mash vol 1c per minute, and enough coil in the HLT to ensure the wort exiting the coil is virtually at the same temp the HLT water is with a decent flow, you would get a very smooth temperature ramping, with a lot less cycling of the element causing the wort temp not to fluctuate as much.

For the extra heating in the HLT you could use the power that would normally be in the heat exchanger.
 
i looked into putting a big ass herms coil into my HLT before i went with the RIMS setup
its just not as responsive as a dedicated herms or rims setup, plus theres a few other issues which ended up tipping me more towards the RIMS and im happy to say now that i wouldn't have it any other way

put it this way, i can put my strike water in the mash tun and turn on the RIMS to heat it up to strike temp at the same time i fire up the HLT
the HLT is only just stable at sparge temp when im ramping up to mash out..

if you were going to have a coil in the HLT you would also need a second pump to circulate the HLT since with that volume of water you will end up with thermal currents and uneven temp from the bottom to the top of the HLT
 
Thanks for the input guys
I now see the potential slow ramp issue with 10 - 15L of water and only 2400W heating it.
Now can someone point me in the direction of a ready made HEX... I think my kettle element was the issue when I made my 1st unit.

I was taking a lot of info from The Electric Brewery they have some pots with SS coils inside, wonder about therer ramp times.

During mash out the system ramps 10c in 13 mins. So thats slightly less than the 1c/min which im aiming for.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks Yob, I have had a browse through the thread but its 47 pages and a bit difficult to follow at times.
What heating element do you use for your brew rig?
 
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