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You are here: Home --> Forum Home --> Brewing Forum --> Gear/Equipment --> Cheapo HERMS...

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Fenix159
Hayward, CA
32 Posts


Alright, so I've got that bug to optimize my system utilizing mostly what I've already got, because budget constraints.

So. HERMS. Naturally I've already seen this HBT cheap HERMS thread, but if you haven't it's worth a look.

I have a 25' 3/8" immersion chiller, am getting a 1500W induction cooker from work (refurb unit that was returned "not as described" but still 100% functional, free for me) and already have a pot that'll work for this. I also have a spare STC-1000 that I can wire up in about 10 minutes tonight (and an Inkbird on order but that won't make it in time for this).

So what is missing? A pump. A pump and some silicone tubing and fittings, that's really it.

Morebeer is having a 15% off sale this Saturday. I think it's in-store only, as I haven't seen anything online about it. Got a postcard in the mail with the info, and I live 5mins from a store.

So I'm gonna do it. Saturday I'll go buy a pump and tubing and fittings. I'll probably end up cutting down the 25' chiller I have now to make it fit better and reduce the amount of water required to cover it, and voila. HERMS. 

Total cost I'm anticipating at around $200 including pump, fittings, etc. Not too shabby.

Bonus is I won't even need to get a new chiller. At least not right away. Will just replace hot water with cold water, add ice and recirculate through it slowly to chill. 

I'm stupid excited about this at the moment.




Posted 34 days ago.

homebrewdad
Charter Member
Birmingham, AL
2480 Posts


Dude, you should take lots of pictures as you put this together, and turn it into a "real" blog post/writeup!  I bet lots of people would be interested.



Posted 34 days ago.

Fenix159
Hayward, CA
32 Posts


Oh yeah, I've got that in the works already.

I use my D3100 to take pictures at work for products sold online, and while I have my camera at home I keep the tripod at work most of the time. Just put that in my trunk so I can't forget to bring it home tonight.

My plan is to set up the tripod and have my daughter help with pictures. The whole process itself will be incredibly simple, but I'm going to document temperature ranges with my water testing since I'll need to do several water runs to get an idea of how much higher the HERMS temp has to be compared to mash, etc.

I won't be using it on an actual brew until July 26th when my friend Bret (Bretbeermann over on reddit) stops by to visit from Poland. So it'll probably turn into 2 posts, one with the build/water runs and one with actual use in a brew. That's the idea anyway.




Posted 34 days ago.

homebrewdad
Charter Member
Birmingham, AL
2480 Posts


Ah, that sounds great!

If the implication wasn't clear enough - if you don't have blog space of your own, I'd love for you to hosts those entries here.

Say hi to Bret for me - he won some Conan yeast from me last year to take back to Poland.



Posted 34 days ago.

Fenix159
Hayward, CA
32 Posts


I'll probably post it over on onemindbrewing.com, we don't get a whole lot of traffic but I enjoy having it. Bret has contributed there a few times too, probably will more once he's brewing more frequently and gets his 3gal setup rolling. Opting to downsize so he can do more batches.

I'll say hi to him for ya when he's online next. He and his wife and kids left Poland earlier today. Probably be in the US soon, but he's visiting family and whatnot and then his brothers wedding. I probably won't speak to him much before the 26th when he's got us scheduled for a visit. 

Edit: Also, I know he has used that conan and is very happy with it. He really needs to post the recipe, picture and tasting notes for it. Lazy bastard.




Posted 34 days ago.
Edited 34 days ago by Fenix159

homebrewdad
Charter Member
Birmingham, AL
2480 Posts


Ah, no worries, then.  When you post, be sure to post the permalink here in the forums - get all the traffic you can get.

lol @ lazy bastard. 



Posted 34 days ago.

Fenix159
Hayward, CA
32 Posts


Will do!

Also, he really is a lazy bastard when it comes to blog entries.

He has done a lot of brewing in Poland using what a lot of people here would consider novel techniques. He has had so many bizarre sounding beers and hasn't written about any of it. 

He is not lazy about pictures though. The guy has an album of... shit, I dunno, 300 pictures of various beverages to track what he has had.

I'm at work right now just trying to work out the details for this HERMS build in my head right now, knowing full well I'll have to rework the thing a few times to get it all going smoothly. 



Posted 34 days ago.

Fenix159
Hayward, CA
32 Posts


Update: Induction doesn't work. But it was free, and I'm gonna keep it because it heats shit up fast and for my decoction plans, I think it'll do really nicely.

The induction cookers are just too smart. The STC-1000 can kick it on, but then you have to manually set the power level every time. So while I could use it, I can also just either assemble a heat stick or use a single electric burner. I'm leaning towards a burner for now because of simplicity, but I may put together a heat stick down the road.



Posted 34 days ago.

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