Is this element good enough

[Oh Crap]

I'm about to buy an element for my hlt and just need someone to tell me whether it's good enough.
I'll be recirculating and using a Hermes coil (herms, not posh enough to for Hermes) it's the last piece I need 😄

http://www.amazon.com/Camco-02903-Screw--Foldback-Element/dp/B000KKVZUY/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1449674160&sr=8-7&keywords=Camco+element

[nigel_c]

It'll do the job. A bit slow but it will work.
You wont get a fast rise in temperature heating a large amount of liquid with a 2.5kw element. I'll be using the same size element for my herms pot and that will only be heating 6 or 7L of water.

[Oh Crap]

It'll do the job. A bit slow but it will work.
You wont get a fast rise in temperature heating a large amount of liquid with a 2.5kw element. I'll be using the same size element for my herms pot and that will only be heating 6 or 7L of water.

3kw be better? I'd be heating the water (full volume) to mash temp then (constant) recirculating the water while recirculating wort through herms coil...

[molc]

Pretty much how I'm doing it. With insulation, it's about 40mins to mash in and another 40 to good rolling boil. Going to add a booster 2kw element to each pot but still quite happy with it currently.

[Oh Crap]

Pretty much how I'm doing it. With insulation, it's about 40mins to mash in and another 40 to good rolling boil. Going to add a booster 2kw element to each pot but still quite happy with it currently.

It's your fault molc 😝 I started reading your thread and now.....well I need say no more lol.

[molc]

Wait till you see the control circuit when I build it. Making up a black adonised steel box for the ardbir

[Oh Crap]

Wait till you see the control circuit when I build it. Making up a black adonised steel box for the ardbir

I chickened out of the ardbir and sold it to will_d... I'm going with aurberins ramp n soak pids...
I'm looking for panel enclosures at the min.  I even looked set the black steel (wall mounted) post boxes..I'm trying to justify the camco element and the mounting kit from brewpi...hence the other options I'm asking about.. Delivery is ridiculous from brewpi

[Leann ull]

Yey will all end doing what the old hands on Jims are doing at the mo and buying grainfathers and BM's

[Oh Crap]

Yey will all end doing what the old hands on Jims are doing at the mo and buying grainfathers and BM's

It would have been cheaper 😂

[DEMPSEY]

Yey will all end doing what the old hands on Jims are doing at the mo and buying grainfathers and BM's

I am going to wait a few more years until I really have spent a fortune then buy a Granfather (pun intended) BM

[Leann ull]

It'll do the job. A bit slow but it will work.
You wont get a fast rise in temperature heating a large amount of liquid with a 2.5kw element. I'll be using the same size element for my herms pot and that will only be heating 6 or 7L of water.

what he said
I use this on my herms pot
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stainless-Electric-Kettle-Element-Heating/dp/B00E0KHOEG/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1449704277&sr=8-8&keywords=kettle+element which is max for standard circuit
Still good after 20 brews and I have to admit I used it twice from tap temp to MT where I couldn't be arsed to set up the HLT.

Putting herms coil in HLT is outdated US Homebrew technology and was very nearly what I did until I started reading what our colleagues in UK were up to where they use max power small water volume, some even have coils in conventional kettles! theory being you want to get the absolute quickest response rate without over run and max control avoiding massive (+/- 3-5 Degree) over and underruns and thats the only way to do it.

Score on the doors posted here before using chugger is i can take a 25L Mash up 1 Degree in 45-50 secs and a 50l Mash in 1 Min 20 with typically 0.3 overshoot lasting 2-3 mins before it settle at absolute set temp because of the volume of wort flowing through.
I've watched it for 5 mins before and it just doesn't budge thanks to the sestos pid.

The PID keeps is accurate to 0.1 Degree calibrated at return to top of grain by my thermopen.

Now if I could just brew beer! although the 38 in Belfast for a BB, a style I'd never done before was nice 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

I'm about to buy an element for my hlt and just need someone to tell me whether it's good enough.
I'll be recirculating and using a Hermes coil (herms, not posh enough to for Hermes) it's the last piece I need 😄

http://www.amazon.com/Camco-02903-Screw--Foldback-Element/dp/B000KKVZUY/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1449674160&sr=8-7&keywords=Camco+element

Just be aware it doesn't come with a nut and washer if you are planning weld less. They are looking for $10 for the Oring 

[molc]

Putting herms coil in HLT is outdated US Homebrew technology and was very nearly what I did until I started reading what our colleagues in UK were up to where they use max power small water volume, some even have coils in conventional kettles! theory being you want to get the absolute quickest response rate without over run and max control avoiding massive (+/- 3-5 Degree) over and underruns and thats the only way to do it.

I get it and it's a solid idea, but I don't know why they have such big variances, unless they don't have PID ors. I was controlling mine manually for the first few brews, just using an STC, yet could stay within 1C of my target temperature all mash long.

With 20L water in the HLT, I have a response time of 1C/45s using a 2.5kW element - it's strange that double the volume of water isn't have a large effect on the rise time - I would have expected yours to be closer to 20s/C.

How long does it take you to get from 65 to 76, for your mash out? I'm at about 12 minutes, at the output of the mashtun. This should be where your rig shines.

Also, you mention you bring 25L mash up 1C in ~50 seconds. Are you measuring your temperature at the output of the mash tun to verify that? The only way you would have that response for the full mash is if you were recirculating at more than 25L/min, which isn't going to happen without turning your grain bed into a brick.

I know it's nit picking, but just have to be careful with comparisons to make sure we're comparing like with like.

[Leann ull]

There are other factors so if you wanted to heat 20L 11 degrees with a 2.5KW element it should only take 6 mins but heat loss is a massive factor.
Sorry just to be clear the volumes in my 25L brew are typically 5-6kgs of grain and 20L of water about 4-5L gets absorbed by grain and the chugger pumps at 14-15L minute so you could argue that I get a full pass every minute, mashtun is a thermopot so good heat rention.
It will do that temp ramp in just under 9 Mins

The temp is measured at the T but calibrated at end of the return at the sprayhead.
This keg spear is moved up and down each time to sit just below the level of the mash liquor







The reason I didn't go for a coil in my thermopot HLT is concern about how much juice was required to ramp 35L up 1 degree, (I always try leave my elements wet to prolong their life so min 15L) and herms coils i have seen in hlt's tend to be quite long for some reason.

[molc]

That spray head is a thing of beauty I see you've gone the bag route as well on the mashtun - it really does make cleanup so much easier.
The Brewpi coil in the hlt is quite big, though is usually covered when where's ~15L of water. At that stage, you're pumping the heated water through the coil anyway to sparge, so it just comes down to how quickly you can do the ramp. Since I need to get the HLT upto temp anyway, I've always found it quite efficient.

A large HLT is always going to be slower to to change temperature and I do think the smaller herms are a good idea, especcially if you are sparging with more than 20L of water. The smaller system will scale much better with larger scale brewing.
For a standard 20L batch, I find having a single HLT for both functions outweighs the disadvantage, especially once you learn how to work with it and get your pid control dialed in.