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Electric vs Gas HLT?
Recently I've started researching into setting up a HERMS system using sanke kegs. From what I can tell alot of people seem to like heating HLTs electrically, but there seem to be just as many that heat it with propane/natural gas.
Electrically you would be able to control the temperature fairly well, but this also requires a decent investment in some type of thermostat controller along with a decent amount of wiring and electrical know-how.
With gas you don't have nearly as much control, (not sure if they make thermostats that can go in-line) and temperature control becomes more guess work.
What are some of your experiences/opinions on HLT heating methods and temperature control?
Thanks for your time,
-Guy S.
I use propane with my HERMS HLT. I have a thermometer in the front that I use to determine the temp of the hot liquor and also a thermometer on my mash tun that I use to monitor the change in temp of the mash. I just keep an eye on both vessels and everything seems to work out fine. Cheers!
I propane fire for the HERMS as well. I added an inline thermo just before the the re-entry to the MT. It tells me exactly what the coils have brought the wort to before going back in. Because of the pump speed, there is about a 5-6 degree difference between my HLT water temp that the coils sit in, and my return temp.
I let the initial strike hold temp for the first half hour or so for the main portion of conversion, then I fire up the HERMS and recirc for about 15-20 minutes. Then I ramp the temp of the HLT up to mashout temp, then do a 10 minute recirc for MO temps. Conveniently, I need the HLT to be at 185 to hit my 170 MO temp, so once I am done, I now have a HLT with 11 gallons of 185 deg water. Now my sparge water is prepared with no extra steps, works out great.
Is 185F right for sparge water? It seems like it would be enough to extract tannins.
It is the right temp for my sparge water. Because the HLT is drained into 2 waiting 5.5 gallon coolers, which are raised to the third tier for my gravity system to fly sparge. The temp drops 5-6 deg or so when transferred to the cooler, and another 6-7 deg when it leaves the cooler through its tube into the sparge manifold. What drips from the sparge manifold is about 170 deg.
Ah, I see. Thanks for the clarification. Have you thought about going to a two tiered system? Of course, the only problem with that, is then you couldn't bring your HLT to 185, unless you added cold water after mashout and before you start to sparge.
Decypher4 wrote:
Have you thought about going to a two tiered system? .
My setup is pretty simple now, when I change I am going to a single tier, (much like the brutus 10) but it will be a 40 gallon system. I have 2 of the vessels now, and the stainless bench to use for support, I really need the 3 burners, another pump, the gas plumbing and the labor to do it all. The only thing holding me back is the fact I do not have running water in my garage, so 40 gallon batches will be difficult intil I can get that plumbed.
Then lookout!!
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