1 burner HERMS build question

[fgottman]

So I am fairly new to the DIY side of homebrewing. And I think this may actually be my first post on HBT. I am planning out a HERMS, 2-tier build using my existing 15gal HLT/BK and 10gal MLT. I based my design off of several that I have seen posted here after hours of searching through posts to figure out what I want.

My question is this: what is the easiest/cheapest way to set up a propane burner with an spark ignitor and solenoid valve? I have little-to-no experience with gas line configurations. I imagine it is just a matter of finding the right parts and installing them. But after a brief search on amazon, I am not sure what it is that I need. I just want to be able to effectively control the temp of my HLT/BK with propane and a temp controller. What do you guys use to accomplish this?

Thanks for your help!

 

[HDIr0n]

I use a standing pilot valve, is there a reason you want a sparker setup? I think the pilot valve is safer as it shuts the flow of as soon as the thermocouple detects a flame out. What psi are you looking at running on your burner? I want to say that most valves are rated for low pressure propane/natural gas. If you look at this thread it should answer a lot of questions.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/gas-temperature-control-dummies-116632/

HTH,
-G

 

[fgottman]

I am not sure about PSI. I was hoping to just use a standard propane tank and burner. I wanted to go with a gas setup because the electric setup required more modifications to my HLT/BK and involved having to use two separate electric heating elements on two different household circuits to adequately heat up 5-10 gal batches. However, I am also looking to do this for as cheap as possible. This is my first real homebrewing setup and I am still very new to the idea of automation and controlled systems. Before, I was doing everything by hand, including trying to regulate the temp. I realize that this is not the most efficient way of doing it and am looking into my options to see what I can do to make the process easier. I have most of the equipment necessary to build a two-tier herms setup with one LP burner, but I need a way to control the gas using a PID so I can control the temp of my HLT during mash. I am not quite experienced enough or ready to dish out $300 and build that sophisticated of a setup just yet.