National Homebrew Club Ireland

Hi all,

I got a chugger pump from armedcor from the sales section, and frankly I love it. It made the brew day sooo easy and the whirlpool cooling through plate chiller with the pump is fantastic. Ive got three steel kegs (mash tun is insulated and has an inlet at the top for fly sparging with arm.

I was wondering if I heated the hot liquour tank, used the thermometer to control the pump (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121927289842?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT) and the old copper coil wort chiller could I make a herms

Using the temp controller to trigger the pump to kick in to bring mash up to temp using coil in HLT ->bottom of mash tun through pump to coil to fly sparge for return into the mash or is this just crazy talk.

Bear in mind I could be talking through my behind just an idea. Thought it would be cool to herms without the crazy build.

Don't use chugger for switched on and off you will shorten its life, in any case with a herms you use a throttled chugger and you keep it on permanently.
Using HLT for controlling herms is too inefficient in my opinion, responsive time, over shoot, response to ramp requests.
Small pot, fellas on Jim's used electric kettles.
Ink bird is either on or off there is no small squirts to get it to temperature what you want it to, pid and element will allow you do that

Thanks CH as usual for your vast knowledge. Id be interested in doing this

Have you any links re PID and when you say element  - into where?
Sorry dont mean to be thick ;D

Glad it worked out well!

Not Vast knowledge but have been messing with herms for 3 or 4 years now
Shanna has them there on another current  thread
Lots of different types out there, avoid cheap Rex ones, and see if you can get one accurate to 0.1 degrees, cheaper ones only 1 degree.
I and others use sestos but there are others out there.
Mines in a plastic lunchbox, one of these days I'll do a proper control panel.

My first herms was a small t urn 15l with 8mm copper coil, coil at 4 metres was too long, bigger bore 12mm shorter length is better I now have a pot with a coil from brew builder

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170129/0be7258dcc12f1674333396c0eb0a933.jpg)

with 5l and 3kw element and can ramp 40l a degree a min in 50sec, you can't do that with hlt

Have a think about where the probe will go to measure temp of herms return, important that it reflects the temp of the wort on top of grain and not that exiting pump.

Quote from: CH on January 29, 2017, 11:11:47 PM
Not Vast knowledge but have been messing with herms for 3 or 4 years now
Shanna has them there on another thread
Lots of different types out there, avoid cheap Rex ones, and see if you can get one accurate to 0.1 degrees, cheaper ones only 1 degree.
I and others uses sestos but there are others out there.
My first herms was a small t urn 15l I now have a pot with 5l and 3kw element and can ramp 40l a degree a min in 50sec, you can't do that with hlt

http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.ie/forum/equipment-chemicals/wiring-sestos-pid/msg121647/#msg121647
Use a 7 litre tea urn that I bought from Aldi. I ripped out the electrics and the element on it cause it was only 1KW. Replaced it with a 2.7KW heating element that was fitted through the bottom of the urn. Use it with the stainless steel coil, sestos PID/chugger pump and detachable rtd-pt100 - search for the following on ebay "2M RTD PT100 Temperature Sensors 1/2" NPT Threads with Detachable Connector"

Really happy with it now as its allows me really good control of the mash process and sparging process.

Shanna

ohhh thats nice - shiny too.

Might I be a bit cheeky. Would it be possible to list the stuff I need to do this and where to get it from, it looks just fantastic. I dont think there is much point in reinventing the wheel  - and if I did mine would likely be oval if I tried. If its too much hassle dont worry Tought it was worth a punt.

Do a quick search on forum all in there, couldn't be arsed to list out all again, pot from bergland 30ish plus delivery
3kw circular element on amazon 10-12stg

Links I had are probably long expired as Mines 2 years old now
Post how you get on before pulling trigger

Here's element though for floor of insulated pot

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170130/8cbd874cbc54f9070e5c4385c8cc2617.jpg)

Don't forget to earth your pot!

Few sestos pids on eBay there for 20stg

Read the thread for a start as there are links in there for some of the stuff.

Sestos PID controller
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inkbird-Temperature-Controller-Thermostat-Calibration/dp/B008GS2QFU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485732744&sr=8-1&keywords=sestos+pid

Backer Electric heating elements 2.75KW - http://www.heatingelementcompany.co.uk/default.asp?Product=287 - buy two as you will need a spare. Beware they use older round shaped connectors - search for the following on ebay "SWAN Catering Kettle Plug Socket Connector & Cable Lead 13 Amp Round 3 Pin" to get an idea of what they look like. The elements don't come with power leads so you will need to find a source of these. I have only found those connectors as I had some of them from a previous pair of elements that I picked up in a local hard ware store.

BEARING OPTIONS KM SERIES STAINLESS STEEL LOCKNUTS (LOCK-WASHER-TYPE) - search for this on ebay. This allows you to secure the heating element properly as the backer elements come with a plastic shroud and guarantee they will either crack, come loose or fail spectacularly at the wrong moment. I lost two beers to these plastic bastards before I coughed up and bought the stainless steel ones.

I figured out the other parts required to connect the wiring for the probe from the http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=11562
From memory this included a 3 pin socket, some electrical wiring cable, a large project box, crimping connectors to attach the electrical wires to, fuse & cable glands from Radionics in Dublin and mounted the sestos pid in it. Basically these allow me to plug one end of the temperature probe in to the project box. The other end of the temperature probe is already detachable. I mounted the temperature probe inside a t shaped stainless steel piece that got fitted to my stainless steel taps.

The SSRs & the Heat sink for the PID controller were bought on ebay also.
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Solid-State-Relay-SSR-40DA-40-AMP-3-32VDC-Output-24-380V-AC-SSR-40A-Module-/251334537481?hash=item3a84b4b109:g:NxEAAOxyJX9SKfHZ
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Aluminum-Alloy-Small-Heat-Sink-Dissipation-Cooling-Fin-For-Solid-State-Relay-SSR-/252537652649?hash=item3acc6ac5a9

I attached the heat sink to a small piece of wood and mounted that to the bottom of the project box. I bought thermal grease for a computer CPU and put a layer of that on the back of the SSR and the top of the heat sink.

Hopefully that will be enough to get you started. I would read the link above to the homebrewforum as well as the link to the guide that CH wrote. I can take some more pictures of my rig (just not tonight) if you need them but hopefully that lot should be enough for you to get going.

A couple of things you might want to consider include the following
1. the temperature probes are analog and they can drift over time meaning that you might have to adjust the PID controller to offset them.
2. the instructions with the sestos are shite so be prepared for loads of googling as to how to get the bloody thing to work. Basically before you use it you have to autotune it in by allowing the PID controller figure out the best way to heat the required amount of liquid in the mash. I did a step mash with a hefeweizen to allow it figure out the requirements for my system. I found the following link useful to figure out how to run the auto tuning - http://www.lindens.nu/projects/sous-vide/en.htm
3. this stuff involves wiring and electricity, so it has the potential to kill you if you fuck it up. If your not comfortable with this best to get an electrician to help. I don't want to held responsible for you getting hurt. Resist the urge to just pull wiring out of some other appliance get the correct wiring for the heating element. - see http://www.rospa.com/home-safety/uk/northern-ireland/electricity/flexes-cables/flexes/ for details.

Good luck.

Shanna

Thank you so much for all the work

2M RTD PT100 Temperature Sensors 1/2" NPT Threads with Detachable Connector

can get most of that stuff on amazon easily

The pot and coil I cant find
Brewbuilder only seem to do really long coils
and bergland have no pots of this size.
I could get a tea urn but not sure which one

Again thanks lads

The pot and coil I cant find   

drop bergland catering a mail 1 x 10465 - Thermo pot 6 litre - 33,90 EUR  Catering-Portal.Bergland@msg.afterbuy.de is the one I have
Brewbuilder also need a mail he will sell you coil, not cheap, its on his herms pot he will take a few days to respond,

I built a similar herms pot at the end of last year, this is the pot I used
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/381832767937?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/381832767937?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT)

and this is the coil I got but it seems to be out of stock with this supplier at the moment
https://onlinebrewingsupplies.com/hermit-coil (https://onlinebrewingsupplies.com/hermit-coil)

Nice find on coil

Keep an eye on Aldi & lidl they do the cheap tea urns every now and again. Bought a stainless steel coil from home brew west - http://www.homebrewwest.ie/stainless-steel-immersion-wort-chiller-12mm-diameter-3921-p.asp

You might want to consider by some flexible coppe & winding one yourself.

Shanna

Unfortunately that coil is too long for herms

Quote from: CH on January 30, 2017, 08:13:58 AM
Unfortunately that coil is too long for herms

Works for me :)

Shanna

You just need to keep the water bath and surrounding air temperature at the temp for the coil to work, so too long isn't that much of an issue.

I only have a little of mine covered in the hlt and maintain and ramp temp with no issues. It's a keg and I get 1C per 45s with 12 - 15L in the keg, so it's responsive.

Then I pump that water through the coil to sparge and clean the coil.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170130/70fc4c8895c5fced8b90e11476b3f835.jpg)

emailed brew builder and bergland  - so see what I get back

from the pot point of view if bergland 6l I presume flat element is easier fit or no?

Idea has blossomed into an animal - it proves that beer is the mother of invention!
Thank you all so much

For the fitting of the element. Measure twice. Feed is Offset not central.
Where you based?
Are you handy? I earthed my pot with a bolt in the bottom and wire attached

Quote from: molc on January 30, 2017, 08:31:40 AM
You just need to keep the water bath and surrounding air temperature at the temp for the coil to work, so too long isn't that much of an issue.

I only have a little of mine covered in the hlt and maintain and ramp temp with no issues. It's a keg and I get 1C per 45s with 12 - 15L in the keg, so it's responsive.

Then I pump that water through the coil to sparge and clean the coil.

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170130/70fc4c8895c5fced8b90e11476b3f835.jpg)

How many watts doing that?

4kW., though the PID has it off for most of the time to be fair. It was just a 2.8kW element when I first started and gave the same preformance.

Have the big power for heating the 40+L water at the start of the brewday.

Great timing! Was just about to start looking into building a HERMS and this thread pops up. Thanks lads!

Quote from: CH on January 30, 2017, 10:48:34 AM
For the fitting of the element. Measure twice. Feed is Offset not central.
Where you based?
Are you handy? I earthed my pot with a bolt in the bottom and wire attached

I'm based in Cavan
Not to handy but sure give it a go - I know a lad who is handy with steel

pot Bergland got back to me 1x 10465 - Thermo pot with lid 6 litre 25x25cm - 33,90 EUR


+ shipping fees IRL - 23,90 EUR

= 57,80 EUR

Not too bad. I'm seriously tempted
bits for PID circuit - circa 80 Euro with delivery and all
coil id imagine say circa 100(still waiting back as prophesied by CH)

that's still grand hopefully would be done for under 250 yoyo

but

Quote from: Shanna on January 30, 2017, 08:06:44 AM
Keep an eye on Aldi & Lidl they do the cheap tea urns every now and again. Bought a stainless steel coil from home brew west - http://www.homebrewwest.ie/stainless-steel-immersion-wort-chiller-12mm-diameter-3921-p.asp

You might want to consider by some flexible coppe & winding one yourself.

Shanna

see I've got a copper pipe from old coiled chiller already

but

Molc setup with keg is interesting as this is close to what I've got already in HLT - I presume that it is just add PID setup as per Shanna post but to HLT as MOLC (albeit not as efficient CH) to that is also an option

I'm confused. I love the idea of the little pot with small coil it looks efficient as hell.

Some craic though. The comradery is fantastic

I don't know which one to do  - the good thing is I don't think there is too wrong of an answer. (actually, maybe there is, probably is actually........).

Ignore Molc he works in sales
Solar pump 20, you'll end our replacing jt
Kettle 8
Coil you have one, your mate may be able to bend something for you out of seamless tube 10mm inner if you can, Mr Dempsey expert in their area and can be seen most weekend in Tescos car park or Railway station using their stainless bollards to bend it.
Pid 20
Probe SA and heat sink 20
Wiring 10
Plastics lunchbox robbed

If it's over 300 just buy a recirc boiler or grainfather

Its an expensive kettle alright
I think im in

Duplicate post

Would they combine shipping on the thermopots? I'm also looking at the smaller pot for Herms. Have the coil from brewpi but have yet to buy/build a hlt.

You can make a herms pot pretty easily enough. I am not technically minded but built one from a 10-12 (cant remember) pot fitted with a 3Kg element. Temp probe and power from PID. Lots of research.
http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/ should be first stop for anyone looking to get into herms.  Take what you need for your own build.
Details on my own build below

http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.ie/forum/equipment-chemicals/my-electric-brewery-build-15512/msg148093/#msg148093

Quote from: dcalnan on January 30, 2017, 07:13:38 PM
Would they combine shipping on the thermopots? I'm also looking at the smaller pot for Herms. Have the coil from brewpi but have yet to buy/build a hlt.

Ill ask no problems

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Nigel_c

Brew porn

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Ive done a few of these now for others but all local Cavans a bit far.
I'm still convinced small pot is way to go, allows me boil another 50L for sparge or next brew without me having to follow mash temperatures in HLT or waiting for a small quantity to come up to temp again for herms after initial Mash Water Vol :P

I agree ch I'm sold. Going for it

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post pics and we can walk you through it.

Sound. Ill do when I get bits together.  Thank you so much

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Quote from: CH on January 29, 2017, 11:11:47 PM


(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170129/0be7258dcc12f1674333396c0eb0a933.jpg)

😤😩😤😡😠😩😫 I thought I was done...now you post this this this porn...😂😂😂here we go again

Quote from: Laughgov on January 30, 2017, 05:53:56 PM

Quote from: CH on January 30, 2017, 10:48:34 AM
For the fitting of the element. Measure twice. Feed is Offset not central.
Where you based?
Are you handy? I earthed my pot with a bolt in the bottom and wire attached

I'm based in Cavan
Not to handy but sure give it a go - I know a lad who is handy with steel

pot Bergland got back to me 1x 10465 - Thermo pot with lid 6 litre 25x25cm - 33,90 EUR


+ shipping fees IRL - 23,90 EUR

= 57,80 EUR

Not too bad. I'm seriously tempted
bits for PID circuit - circa 80 Euro with delivery and all
coil id imagine say circa 100(still waiting back as prophesied by CH)

that's still grand hopefully would be done for under 250 yoyo

but

Quote from: Shanna on January 30, 2017, 08:06:44 AM
Keep an eye on Aldi & Lidl they do the cheap tea urns every now and again. Bought a stainless steel coil from home brew west - http://www.homebrewwest.ie/stainless-steel-immersion-wort-chiller-12mm-diameter-3921-p.asp

You might want to consider by some flexible coppe & winding one yourself.

Shanna

see I've got a copper pipe from old coiled chiller already

but

Molc setup with keg is interesting as this is close to what I've got already in HLT - I presume that it is just add PID setup as per Shanna post but to HLT as MOLC (albeit not as efficient CH) to that is also an option

I'm confused. I love the idea of the little pot with small coil it looks efficient as hell.

Some craic though. The comradery is fantastic

I don't know which one to do  - the good thing is I don't think there is too wrong of an answer. (actually, maybe there is, probably is actually........).

See if they will do cheaper shipping to Northern Ireland & get parcel motel.

Shanna

Quote from: CH on January 30, 2017, 07:57:34 PM
Ive done a few of these now for others but all local Cavans a bit far.
I'm still convinced small pot is way to go, allows me boil another 50L for sparge or next brew without me having to follow mash temperatures in HLT or waiting for a small quantity to come up to temp again for herms after initial Mash Water Vol :P

You must be doing 10 gallon batches if your mashing 40 ltr & sparging 50 ltr water quantities. Average Joe does not make 50 ltr batches for friends, family, shebeen etc :) A larger pot & coil means you loose some efficiency but that just means you have to wait a little longer to sparge. Both Molc & I have sufficient power in our HLT (5.5KW & 4KW respectively) to not have to use the herms to heat water for sparge. One thing I have started to do however is to combine the two at the start of the heating of strike water to flush everything pump, fittings, herms coil etc to get everything up to temp. This also allows me to take a few minutes off the time taken to heat the strike water by combining the power of the herms & the HLT heating elements. This has the added advantage that the strike water I'd also properly mixed.

While I won't argue about smaller being more efficient it's also much more expensive as those pots are pretty pricey. I wonder whether a small stainless steel pot from Ikea or the like might do the job just as well. Copper coils are more efficient & cheaper than stainless & can be formed+welded more easily than stainless steel. Downside of copper is that they corrode & for a herms coil would be harder to clean. You could use a 4" waving pipe would give you a perfect tight turn.

Shanna

Depends of your grain to water ratio, I do typically 4 so 25l+ and yeah I also do 55l batches as well or high gravity beers and have had 14.5kgs mashing and you need the elbow room and full hlt to accommodate that, just gives more flexibility, as above you could do a setup for 100.
I moved away from copper for corrosion reasons, still have a chiller in cooper but running acidic wort through coil for an hour under pressure is different.
For hlt with 5.5kw element  And I don't have 32amp ring main in shed   

Lots of ways to cook the chicken, most important thing about herms or any recirc system is the absolute control it gives to mash temp and ability to brew better more consistent beer

See if they will do cheaper shipping to Northern Ireland & get parcel motel.

Shanna

I here you only thing is it would likely be oversized box which would mean an additional 10 euro with Nightline
I will ask though
Bergland said that if I was going for two shipping is the same and I think dcalnan is interested in one so may also be an option as shipping would be halved - parcel motel could be worth the gamble - ill email

Thanks for the advise.

Yeah it all just comes down to process and how you use it. You might save on the cost of a pot, but then the coil in the HLT needs to be pretty beefy.

For big batches, I actually fill the HLT and mash tun with the final water volumes, then start recirculating. This heats up the water in both to my target temp and then I add the grain and let it all rip as usual.

Quote from: Laughgov on January 31, 2017, 01:40:24 PM
See if they will do cheaper shipping to Northern Ireland & get parcel motel.

Shanna

I here you only thing is it would likely be oversized box which would mean an additional 10 euro with Nightline
I will ask though
Bergland said that if I was going for two shipping is the same and I think dcalnan is interested in one so may also be an option as shipping would be halved - parcel motel could be worth the gamble - ill email

Thanks for the advise.

11.90 from NI with Parcel motel - plus 3.95 fee for motel. nice work. If over sized usually only a 10 to get delivered I think
and myself and dcalnan going halfers win win


Thanks Shanna

Quote from: Laughgov on January 31, 2017, 06:01:39 PM

Quote from: Laughgov on January 31, 2017, 01:40:24 PM
See if they will do cheaper shipping to Northern Ireland & get parcel motel.

Shanna

I here you only thing is it would likely be oversized box which would mean an additional 10 euro with Nightline
I will ask though
Bergland said that if I was going for two shipping is the same and I think dcalnan is interested in one so may also be an option as shipping would be halved - parcel motel could be worth the gamble - ill email

Thanks for the advise.

11.90 from NI with Parcel motel - plus 3.95 fee for motel. nice work. If over sized usually only a 10 to get delivered I think
and myself and dcalnan going halfers win win


Thanks Shanna

all part of the free members benefits :)

Quote from: CH on January 31, 2017, 10:36:48 AM
Depends of your grain to water ratio, I do typically 4 so 25l+ and yeah I also do 55l batches as well or high gravity beers and have had 14.5kgs mashing and you need the elbow room and full hlt to accommodate that, just gives more flexibility, as above you could do a setup for 100.
I moved away from copper for corrosion reasons, still have a chiller in cooper but running acidic wort through coil for an hour under pressure is different.
For hlt with 5.5kw element  And I don't have 32amp ring main in shed   

Lots of ways to cook the chicken, most important thing about herms or any recirc system is the absolute control it gives to mash temp and ability to brew better more consistent beer

Are you running that 3kw element off a 16amp circuit? I agree with stainless steel as being the better approach for the herms coil for cleanliness & strength of the material. Is that brauland pot pressurised? If so it would be like a mini pressure cooker.

Shanna

I'm looking to buy one of the 6 Litre pots too. Would that decrease shipping further? I'm based in Dublin though so may be more hassle than it's worth.

Quote from: Johnnycheech on February 01, 2017, 05:22:07 AM
I'm looking to buy one of the 6 Litre pots too. Would that decrease shipping further? I'm based in Dublin though so may be more hassle than it's worth.

Ill buy 3 so.  Sort the rest out later

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It's simple enough I have a 60:60:80:6l so 4 Thermo pots, 2 chuggers a double copper coil cooler arrangement and whirlpool.
Have a look in search engine, I've posted quite a few brewdays with it, in Vimeo if you type in ch homebrew and ciderhead homebrew few vids in there as well
New shed coming shortly and I've loads of stainless tables bought so will take pics of proper set up later in year.
6l is for Herms exchange, my brewdays would be a little bit longer using it as HLT

Anyone have any tips where to pick up a small SS coil for these 6L pots?

I have contacted BrewBuilder and Angel Homebrew and both do not have them. BB said they're like hens teeth!

This is the closest coil I have found that I think will fit the pot. It ain't cheap at £72, thats before compression fittings etc etc.

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?WD=coil&PN=Stainless-Steel-Wort-Chiller%2ehtml#SID=168

$40 from US, could get caught by customs though (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stainless-Steel-Liquid-Heating-Cooling-Coil-Immersion-Chiller-Heat-Exchanger-/291817348312?hash=item43f1ab5cd8:g:qdIAAOSw7s5XhaQd)

or worth re-bending these?

Too big at 270mm? ~£42 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10m-Stainless-Steel-Product-Chiller-Coil-Tube-Immersion-Wort-Beer-Wine-Brewing-/252751846387)

or

5m version, £20 plus Parcel Motel (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5m-Stainless-Steel-Product-Chiller-Coil-Tube-Beer-Brewing/112281068504?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20140122125356%26meid%3D4df9d76e6b094135ab34c250c7775d00%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D182327331254)

Was thinking re-bending might be an option but wasn't sure hoe easy/difficult that may be?

Quote from: pob on February 06, 2017, 12:39:43 PM
$40 from US, could get caught by customs though (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stainless-Steel-Liquid-Heating-Cooling-Coil-Immersion-Chiller-Heat-Exchanger-/291817348312?hash=item43f1ab5cd8:g:qdIAAOSw7s5XhaQd)

or worth re-bending these?

Too big at 270mm? ~£42 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10m-Stainless-Steel-Product-Chiller-Coil-Tube-Immersion-Wort-Beer-Wine-Brewing-/252751846387)

or

5m version, £20 plus Parcel Motel (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5m-Stainless-Steel-Product-Chiller-Coil-Tube-Beer-Brewing/112281068504?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20140122125356%26meid%3D4df9d76e6b094135ab34c250c7775d00%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D182327331254)

Or 8.5m of 12mm ss from home brew west
http://www.homebrewwest.ie/stainless-steel-immersion-wort-chiller-12mm-diameter-3921-p.asp

Shanna

Quote from: pob on February 06, 2017, 12:39:43 PM
$40 from US, could get caught by customs though (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stainless-Steel-Liquid-Heating-Cooling-Coil-Immersion-Chiller-Heat-Exchanger-/291817348312?hash=item43f1ab5cd8:g:qdIAAOSw7s5XhaQd)

That's a very good price $40. I wonder what the tax would come in at? I've heard it can be generally higher than it should be coming from the states.

Quote from: Shanna on February 06, 2017, 10:56:46 PM
Or 8.5m of 12mm ss from home brew west
http://www.homebrewwest.ie/stainless-steel-immersion-wort-chiller-12mm-diameter-3921-p.asp
Shanna

Cheers, I think I might just bite the bullet and buy something tonight. It seems a lot the shops are out of SS coils though for some reason.

I havent ordered the pots yet.  Will one of these coils fit?

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Quote from: Laughgov on February 07, 2017, 08:51:36 AM
I havent ordered the pots yet.  Will one of these coils fit?

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

Not sure, that's the problem. I might buy the 12L pot instead. If you haven't ordered them yet then I'm going to drop out of the order if that's ok? I'm hoping to get this going ASAP too, hopefully built by next weekend. Cheers anyway, I'll PM you too.

Quote from: Johnnycheech on February 07, 2017, 06:53:35 AM

Quote from: Shanna on February 06, 2017, 10:56:46 PM
Or 8.5m of 12mm ss from home brew west
http://www.homebrewwest.ie/stainless-steel-immersion-wort-chiller-12mm-diameter-3921-p.asp
Shanna

Cheers, I think I might just bite the bullet and buy something tonight. It seems a lot the shops are out of SS coils though for some reason.

Will ya tell me the coil and pot combo you get.  Id be happy to go in on it if you are interested

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Do you have a rough Idea of the length of the stainless coil CH?

Only coz its you asking

Some clever clogs will work it out? I am guessing maybe 1-1.5metres?
If I was really arsed I could work it out by filling it, draining it and from id working it out, I'm not.

Height of coil

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170209/4947b9ff355f3d79186671c1127618dd.jpg)


Width of Coil

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170209/9f039df6356088992d9816b2965960f5.jpg)


Depth of Pot


(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170209/4a07a8cb724def58e54f264ebd8c9a3e.jpg)


Width of pot


(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170209/1fc1ab42a35426f4143a3c059c81074c.jpg)

Thanks, so it's around the 2m mark with the straight parts as well.

Quote from: Laughgov on February 07, 2017, 05:32:19 PM
Will ya tell me the coil and pot combo you get.  Id be happy to go in on it if you are interested

I ended up buying the 12L Thermo pot and bought the smallest SS coil I could find from the UK, which is not very small. The height of the coil is 20cm and width is 15cm, hopefully the bigger pot will accommodate this. If not I might try and bend off a few meters or failing that back to the drawing board. I should have all the bits by next week, will throw up a pic when built.

Quote from: dcalnan on February 09, 2017, 11:47:57 PM
Thanks, so it's around the 2m mark with the straight parts as well.

The goodies arrived yesterday. This coil looks like it will fit the 12L pot ok, not too sure if it would fit the 6L though. As you can see from the pic it's not the width that would be an issue, but the height of the coil. There's enough room in this pot to leave some clearance for the heating element at the bottom.

Going to put it together this weekend hopefully.

Bit late to the party here but another option for a herms coil is the smaller chiller from get er brewed.

http://www.geterbrewed.ie/copper-wort-chiller-for-10-litre-batches-ir/

I've read somewhere, probably here, that running hot acidic wort through copper is not the best option.

Quote from: Johnnycheech on February 15, 2017, 04:56:08 PM
I've read somewhere, probably here, that running hot acidic wort through copper is not the best option.

Keeping the inside free of any copper oxide would also be a problem due to the reactive nature of the copper with the acidic wort.

Shanna

Quote from: CH on January 29, 2017, 11:11:47 PM
Not Vast knowledge but have been messing with herms for 3 or 4 years now
Shanna has them there on another current  thread
Lots of different types out there, avoid cheap Rex ones, and see if you can get one accurate to 0.1 degrees, cheaper ones only 1 degree.
I and others use sestos but there are others out there.
Mines in a plastic lunchbox, one of these days I'll do a proper control panel.

My first herms was a small t urn 15l with 8mm copper coil, coil at 4 metres was too long, bigger bore 12mm shorter length is better I now have a pot with a coil from brew builder

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170129/0be7258dcc12f1674333396c0eb0a933.jpg)

with 5l and 3kw element and can ramp 40l a degree a min in 50sec, you can't do that with hlt

Have a think about where the probe will go to measure temp of herms return, important that it reflects the temp of the wort on top of grain and not that exiting pump.

I'm no master electrician as you may gather from this post but i'm presuming you need to earth this to the side of the pot? Also is the electrical wiring connected to the element exposed underneath the pot, or have you concealed it somehow?

Its a double lined insulated pot. The earth is on a crimped connection and bolted with a small stainless bolt to the outer metal skin on the underside base of the pot, you don't need to compromise the pot.
Live and neutral go onto the element connections, there is a square I have cut out and that allows me access and I have covered and glued that with a piece of clear PP plastic to allow me easy access and stop water improbably water splashes getting in for safety
If you are going to use element above connections are not central so place element in the pot mark circle where connections are and drill accordingly.

IF YOU ARE UNCERTAIN ABOUT ANYTHING ELECTRICAL DO NOT ATTEMPT.

These coils which fit in the 6L pots are due back in stock at the end of February, as per the product description at the end of the page, for anybody looking for a small coil.

https://onlinebrewingsupplies.com/hermit-coil (https://onlinebrewingsupplies.com/hermit-coil)

The website says they don't deliver internationally and I never emailed them to see if they would instead I used the concierge service with an Australian mail forwarding company. Think it cost me approx 80 something euro for the coil delivered.  Expensive alright but its a neat solution I'm happy with.

Pricey but it's the only coil I've been able to find, I've found places that will sell me the seamless stainless tubing but noone knows where I could get it cooled for me.

An update on this, while waiting for my element to arrive, decided to drill the holes for the coil. The coils are a lot longer than ch's. But won't know for sure,   the element should surround the coil at the bottom. (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170408/f0eb66f75d720ec906fd9ef27473b3e2.jpg)

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170408/3f77195e418909682ddf831911707dea.jpg)

It's going to be a very nice addition to the brewery, also waiting on a bsp pt100 sensor from China, so that'll be a while. Can't wait till it's finished.

Nice I've to get my finger out now

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Probably know this already but make sure you don't seal tight when in operation.

The final few bits i needed to get mine together arrived during the week, also need to get the finger out now.

Quote from: imark on April 08, 2017, 06:38:12 PM
Probably know this already but make sure you don't seal tight when in operation.

Yeah i was thinking of how best to this, don't want to create a pressure cooker.

Just don't clamp it so the lid can burp any pressure build up

As usual with these things the sensor from China never arrived after a month past the due date, so ordered one from auberins late last night. And what arrived in the post today but the sensor from China. I know the auberins one is far superior and will be worth it in the long run , so hopefully I'll get this up and running soon.