Today marks the completion of my HERMS system! I performed a boil test today, and I mark it a success. I have a few leaks to tend to, but I'm ready to brew! So here's the setup:
I've got my orange mash/lauter tun, and my hot liquor tank keggle. The burner that I modified to fit the keggle works like a dream. On the initial startup I had a little trouble getting the pump primed, but once I got the air bubbles out of it we were flowing nice and good. I noticed two small leaks, one where the bulkhead fitting goes through the bottom side of the keg, and one where the coil inside the keg connections to my valves. Nothing a little teflon tape wont fix. I'm also planning on covering the insulation that's exposed where i put the hole through the side of my mash tun. I don't want all that foam to get moldy and nasty.
My test for a proof of concept was to bring the mash water from 85 to 100 degrees, and see how long it would take. The hot liquor tank was at 120 when I started the test. and in 6 minutes, I hit my target temperature. Considering the narrow 30 degree temperature differential, I am very pleased. The hotter the hot liquor tank runs, the quicker the response will be. So when my hot liquor tank is running at 200, and I'm going from a mash temp of 130 to 160, It should work in no time flat.
I plan to brew this weekend. I'll keep ya posted!
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