Saxon Water Heater

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racemate

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Has anybody had any experience with these water heaters?
http://www.sachs.com.au/Copperflow%20Product%20Brochure.pdf
Heat exchange water heaters with all copper water contact. Already insulated and ready to fly as a HLT. Anybody see any reason why this wouldn't work as well as it looks like it will?
I just found a used 140L one in Brisbane for $80 and am going to incorporate it in my HERMS. I figure I can just set it to turn on at 5 AM or so and have hot water ready to mash when I stumble out of bed to brew.
I've never had any experience with wiring though and would prefer to avoid paying an electrician if I can. Anybody got any advice? Is it as straightforward as it looks?
Any comments, suggestions, criticism appreciated.
Cheers,
Mark
 
looks good to me - if u can regualte the temp then u could use it as a heating coil for the wort circulating thru the mash tunas in a rims/herms system - as opposed to just using to heat up the kettle water...
 
GMK said:
looks good to me - if u can regualte the temp then u could use it as a heating coil for the wort circulating thru the mash tunas in a rims/herms system - as opposed to just using to heat up the kettle water...
[post="56386"][/post]​
Yep, it has an adjustable thermostat controlled from the outside. I've read that some are set in the factory at 85C, but all can be adjusted.

I've got a PID, a thermocouple and a few ss relays on the way from the states. Don't know how I'm going to put it all together yet, but something good will come out of it I think.

I just want to make good beer, so the wonk factor is going to be reduced in favour of the flavour (note anglicized spellings).

Your pal,
Mark
 
you need to ascertain how long it takes to heat up and also how long to step up in temp if u want to use it for the mash - and u will need a pump.

i think 80.00 is a good score - but run clr and then beer line cleaner thru it first - recirculate it for a while.

Hope this helps
 
GMK said:
you need to ascertain how long it takes to heat up and also how long to step up in temp if u want to use it for the mash - and u will need a pump.

i think 80.00 is a good score - but run clr and then beer line cleaner thru it first - recirculate it for a while.

Hope this helps
[post="56413"][/post]​
Thanks GMK
I've got 2 pumps, one an older march that will be utilised on the hot water side of a counterflow heat exchanger and a brand new march that will tolerate boiling and that will pump the wort side of my heat exhange plate. I plan to mash in at temp X and then do any step ups via circulation. I think if I want to mash in at a low temp I can just add straight cold water first, then whatever hot water I need ( simple calculation from uni days) to give water of temp X and volume Y.

I was planning on pumping some nappysan through the coil in the hot water heater and then a weak acid solution (probably vinegar) to clean up any copper oxide that has formed, then flushing it thoroughly with water.

I had thought about opening up the vessel and using the water in the copper tank like with the HERMS I had built in the states but realised that that won't be necessary. I'll just use a couple ball valves instead which will allow me to do all of the following: pump cold water to the mash tank, pump cold water through the coil in the hot water heater to the mash tank and recirculate hot water through the heat exhanger and the coil in the hot water heater. I think this will allow me plenty of flexibility to do whatever I want with strike temps and step ups.

What do you think?
 
Looks just like the one which I pulled out of our house.. and is currently sitting in the garden out the back. I like the look of it for using it to heat the mash with a recirculating system. I had no idea that it had the coil inside it, and was planning to hold onto it and use it as a HLT when I get around to upsizing my brewery... still may do that, with the added bonus of another coil for any other purpose.



dreamboat
 
I have one of those hot water services in my house, its set a 82 degrees. My relay blew in the meter box a week ago, with in 30 min of the electrician bridging the connection I had hot water. I reckon that It would take about 1 to 2 hours to get to 82 degrees from cold. They also have a stainless steel element which should last a life time unlike copper ones.
Nico
 
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