Spacing's for Single Tier

[WhiteRhyno]

Hey all,

I am about to move from BIAB to a 3 vessel setup which I have just purchased, and I want to build a single tier stand for it.
I have 2 pumps, and I also have a S/S counterflow chiller, which I plan to double up as a herms system.
I have a whole lot of office shelving left over that I plan to build the stand out of (See pic)
My first question, is how far away do I need to keep my mash tun (Cooler type) from my BK and HLT as I am a bit concerned the heat generated by the burners will melt it?

 

[RPh_Guy]

You should keep the plastic away from heat exceeding 180°F (82°C)

My guess is it's going to need to be at least 50cm away from any flame, but it would be better to test it yourself by putting a thermometer on something, firing up the burner at full strength with with keg on it, and seeing how far away it starts to approach that temperature. Leave a reasonable safety margin.

 

[WhiteRhyno]

You should keep the plastic away from heat exceeding 180°F (82°C)

My guess is it's going to need to be at least 50cm away from any flame, but it would be better to test it yourself by putting a thermometer on something, firing up the burner at full strength with with keg on it, and seeing how far away it starts to approach that temperature. Leave a reasonable safety margin.

Cheers, I am thinking it might be a good idea to move to a S/S mash tun. I have a few spare pots, 35L and a 50L I could use. As I am looking to use a herms I suppose I dont necessarily need the insulated igloo anymore?

 

[RPh_Guy]

The HERMS will definitely allow you to maintain stable temperature without needed the cooler's insulation, but extra insulation for the mash tun is never a bad thing.

I use an electric RIMS with a cooler, and I have my cooler away from open flame. My mash tun cooler stand has wheels, so I can easily roll it.

Stainless would be better if you want to have everything close together. You could still put some heat-resistant insulation on the outside of it, if desired.

 

[WhiteRhyno]

The HERMS will definitely allow you to maintain stable temperature without needed the cooler's insulation, but extra insulation for the mash tun is never a bad thing.

I use an electric RIMS with a cooler, and I have my cooler away from open flame. My mash tun cooler stand has wheels, so I can easily roll it.

Stainless would be better if you want to have everything close together. You could still put some heat-resistant insulation on the outside of it, if desired.

Sorry for all the questions, and I appreciate your help, but if I do go S/S for the Mash tun, should I also think about incorporating a gas burner under it as well, even if I am running a herms coil? I have spare 4, 3 & 2 ring burners that I could chuck under it, but would it be worth the extra hassle when I am running the herms? And would a HERMS be able to get the Mash to Mash Out temps quickly enough?

 

[RPh_Guy]

In my opinion, the HERMS would be the best way to maintain and increase mash temp rather than direct heat. With the HERMS there's decreased thermal stress on the wort, and virtually no risk of scorching.
HERMS through a counterflow chiller is a really great system.

How quickly you can ramp depends on the heat source and flow rate. You shouldn't have any problems with speed. The tricky part will be maintaining temperature control without the use of an electronic controller.

 

[WhiteRhyno]

The tricky part will be maintaining temperature control without the use of an electronic controller.

I would of thought that would of been the easy part.
My plan is as soon as I have mashed in, is to fill the HLT back up again and keep it around 1degC above mash (to account for loss of temp through pipe).
If the HLT gets too hot or cold, I am thinking I will just turn off the pump until it stabilises. Over or under heating a small portion of wort for a small amount of time can't be the end of the world??

 

[RPh_Guy]

That's a good plan and certainly doable, but "easy" and "tricky" are relative terms.
For example my system will maintain within 0.1° without me having to do anything besides set the temperature.

Controlling the heat manually you might have some difficulty tightly maintaining temperature, or ramping without overshoot. Or you just might not like having to babysit it.

Tight control isn't really necessary, so the wort will be fine even if there's some temperature variation. Effortless tight control is nice to have though.

 

[kh54s10]

It looks like you have already decided to remove the plastic tun from the equation, but I would say you would either need to shield it from the heat or have it several of feet away from the HLT and BK.

 

[WhiteRhyno]

In my opinion, the HERMS would be the best way to maintain and increase mash temp rather than direct heat. With the HERMS there's decreased thermal stress on the wort, and virtually no risk of scorching.
HERMS through a counterflow chiller is a really great system.

How quickly you can ramp depends on the heat source and flow rate. You shouldn't have any problems with speed. The tricky part will be maintaining temperature control without the use of an electronic controller.

Yeah fair shout.

Currently 1/2 way through my first mash on this system, and it involves continuous monitoring of the temps.
A temp probe on the return of the mash would be handy, but I have it worked out that I am losing 3°C from my HLT temp to Mash return, so just keeping it around 69-70°C

 

[Shady]

Sorry for all the questions, and I appreciate your help, but if I do go S/S for the Mash tun, should I also think about incorporating a gas burner under it as well, even if I am running a herms coil? I have spare 4, 3 & 2 ring burners that I could chuck under it, but would it be worth the extra hassle when I am running the herms? And would a HERMS be able to get the Mash to Mash Out temps quickly enough?

If by S/S Mash Tun, you are referring to the SS Brewtech Mash Tun, then you can't add direct heat to that, other than via the small heating element they sell as an accessory .

 

[WhiteRhyno]

If by S/S Mash Tun, you are referring to the SS Brewtech Mash Tun, then you can't add direct heat to that, other than via the small heating element they sell as an accessory .

Just meant stainless bruv, have a few pots lying around.
Finished the build on the weekend, looking forward to putting through a trial run this weekend

 

[kh54s10]

I'd say the burner on the right is going to melt your mash tun unless you shield it. If that is your HLT you can move the mash tun somewhere else until you shut off the burner.

 

[WhiteRhyno]

I'd say the burner on the right is going to melt your mash tun unless you shield it. If that is your HLT you can move the mash tun somewhere else until you shut off the burner.

i agree under full burn it will, but until I swap it out with a stainless version, I plan to heat up HLT, then put the MT in place. When I need to heat hlt again I won’t put burner on full(or swap it for a 3 ring) and use an electric immersion element I have to assist in heating. magazine same with boil, will just remove the MT once sparse complete