So...jaysus, this is a learning experience. Probably as mad as the first time I tried to do an all-grain brew from a book. It's a three-65l pot job, with a control panel, 2 pumps, and five hoses, one coming from the mains water supply.
Loads of things leak. The beefy 1/2" quick-disconnect hoses seem to piss liquid out of them, if they are at the wrong angle. It took ages to be 100% sure that the lumps wouldn't leak from the threads - I think it's NPT thread, and BSP sockets, which .. almost fit. Lots of PTFE seemed to sort it.
The bottom connector for the herms is *still* leaking. Don't understand that. And it's a hoor to take of & re-tighten, but I suppose it has to be done.
I got really confused initially, when I realised that the HLT's only thermostat was on it's bottom valve, which means that while I care about the temperature of the HLT, I need to keep that water pump running. After I'd taking the water into the mash tun, you'd swear the simple job of piping up the herms & pump to the mash tun was wiring a battleship. It took me bleedin' ages, and then "Oh. That. Yeah, that works" finally happened.
I've only got 4500W elements, so the heat-up takes a while. With 45l in the HLT, it seems 1C per minute or so. I also had a nasty lesson on the initial mash flood, vs. the recirculation - I took the water up to 54C, then put it into the mash tun for a protein rest at 50C. Which was fine. Then started recirculating, and completely forgot that the HLT was still at 54C, so kinda overheated for a wee while. And of course, while recirculating the HLT water, I have the output disconnected from the mains, so it's not easy to quickly drop the temperature. D'oh.
Anyway. The mash is coming up to heat now...
John
Bar the leaks, it does get easier as you learn your system. Def the first few brews involve a lot of staring at connections and going wtf!
A grainfather doesn't seem like a terrible idea after all... :)
Heh. Win of the night was the upgrade from a chilling coil to a plate chiller and a thrumometer. Ah here...five minutes, and 45l was chilled and in pots. So fast I forgot to properly aerate. Doh.
Anyway ... need to do a lot of thinking on how pumps are laid out, how hoses are laid, and orders of what buttons get pressed. But..yeah. that was a lot less hassle than the previous systems I've used. Looking forward to trying a huge imperial stout or something, next time.
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Personal experience suggests you do a few normal strength similar beers first to dial everything in and then go big. Big beers are a while world of extra pain...
Oh, does anyone use quick-disconnect hoses ? For some reason, mine seem to leak occasionally. I'll hook it up to the pump, start the pump, notice that the tap was closed, the QD leaks a bit..but stops when I pull it back a little and push it back in.
John
Depends on the quick release. I have Camlocks and they never leak. I got some from AliExpress first and they were a disaster.
Ali express disconnects aren't great tbh. Like Molc I use camlocks no problems, it's a marmite discussion tbh
I use Ali quick disconnects for my setup and never have any problem with leaks.
All depends of the supplier I suppose.
Fengci-eng shop on Ali does quality cams and disconnects, also registered postage.
Did you not do trial runs?
Cold water, without malt to start?
Yeah, did a few cold runs, the last one was fine after a few hours. Some leaks take a while to come out. Most are a drip every ten minutes, so I don't mind terribly.
Quick-disconnect is odd though. Might be the silicone rings need to be worked-in, or something. After a few plug/unplugs, they don't seem to leak anymore.
Is that after they have heated up I wonder? Could be they've expanded.
Heating will improve them