hot water cylinder to HLT or Boil Kettle or mash tun - RealBeer.co.nz2024-03-29T11:57:14Zhttp://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/forum/topics/hot-water-cylinder-to-hlt-or-boil-kettle-or-mash-tun?feed=yes&xn_auth=noThe donut thing was something…tag:www.forum.realbeer.co.nz,2014-02-26:1500433:Comment:1979252014-02-26T23:20:49.882Zvdoghttp://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/profile/vdog
<p>The donut thing was something I was only able to do on the most recent conversion, because I didn't need the part I was cutting off, so might not work for you. The idea is just that you want something over the insulation, so you don't soak it with wort and have it end up all manky. Pic attached to show you what I mean - it's the very top cap from the cylinder, which then has screws holding it in place (note this was before sealing the remaining gap with silicone, and before the cylinder had…</p>
<p>The donut thing was something I was only able to do on the most recent conversion, because I didn't need the part I was cutting off, so might not work for you. The idea is just that you want something over the insulation, so you don't soak it with wort and have it end up all manky. Pic attached to show you what I mean - it's the very top cap from the cylinder, which then has screws holding it in place (note this was before sealing the remaining gap with silicone, and before the cylinder had done it's starsan bath).</p>
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<p>Doing the half and half conversion, just leave a 'lip' of bare copper above the insulated edge, dig out half an inch of insulation all round, and you can cover with silicon sealer to keep things all nice. It never contacts the wort, so doesn't need to be foodsafe just waterproof.</p> Just thought I'd check with o…tag:www.forum.realbeer.co.nz,2014-02-26:1500433:Comment:1981272014-02-26T22:42:46.543ZTilthttp://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/profile/MarkHarris
Just thought I'd check with other MLT sizes to see if I should be concerned . The igloo 10 gal coolers are only 320mm diameter and I haven't heard of too many problems with them. 400mm should be ok. Just have to make up a false bottom to fit.
Just thought I'd check with other MLT sizes to see if I should be concerned . The igloo 10 gal coolers are only 320mm diameter and I haven't heard of too many problems with them. 400mm should be ok. Just have to make up a false bottom to fit. thanks for your thoughts on v…tag:www.forum.realbeer.co.nz,2014-02-26:1500433:Comment:1981752014-02-26T21:59:32.129Zpaul mhttp://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/profile/paulmellor
<p>thanks for your thoughts on volumes. Jeepers in think my wife would have a cow if i came home with another hot water cylinder! thanks for the offer though</p>
<p>thanks for your thoughts on volumes. Jeepers in think my wife would have a cow if i came home with another hot water cylinder! thanks for the offer though</p> Thanks for the input, had a l…tag:www.forum.realbeer.co.nz,2014-02-26:1500433:Comment:1981232014-02-26T21:51:11.248Zpaul mhttp://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/profile/paulmellor
<p>Thanks for the input, had a look at your setup vdog- looks awesome. Sounds like its doable with a grinder, thanks. <br/> vdog I didn't quite understand you on the cut a donut shape bit? I'm into a neat finish on top, and not having a sharp edge avoids blood in my wort! do you mean pushing the copper out over the insulation so it sits horizontal? please can you explain how you did that? thanks again</p>
<p>Thanks for the input, had a look at your setup vdog- looks awesome. Sounds like its doable with a grinder, thanks. <br/> vdog I didn't quite understand you on the cut a donut shape bit? I'm into a neat finish on top, and not having a sharp edge avoids blood in my wort! do you mean pushing the copper out over the insulation so it sits horizontal? please can you explain how you did that? thanks again</p> Paul, just looking at your qu…tag:www.forum.realbeer.co.nz,2014-02-26:1500433:Comment:1979222014-02-26T21:14:26.848Zvdoghttp://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/profile/vdog
<p>Paul, just looking at your questions and realising I hadn't answered a few:</p>
<p>1. Yes, you should be able to fix a weeping link, copper is relatively easy to work with. Blowtorch and a bit of solder should solve it.</p>
<p>2. If you're looking at splitting it to be a HLT/MLT, think about volumes. To produce a finished batch at 50L, including losses to trub, you're going to want to end up with maybe 60L in the kettle. For that, you'll probably need 80L of hot water coming from your HLT,…</p>
<p>Paul, just looking at your questions and realising I hadn't answered a few:</p>
<p>1. Yes, you should be able to fix a weeping link, copper is relatively easy to work with. Blowtorch and a bit of solder should solve it.</p>
<p>2. If you're looking at splitting it to be a HLT/MLT, think about volumes. To produce a finished batch at 50L, including losses to trub, you're going to want to end up with maybe 60L in the kettle. For that, you'll probably need 80L of hot water coming from your HLT, and you will want a bit of head space above that just to avoid mishap. A 51L kettle will definitely not be big enough, but if you don't want another vessel in the mix you could potentially run off the initial mash to your current kettle, batch sparge (assuming a big enough volume in the MLT) and pump back to the HLT for boil (or split across the two). As it happens I've got a 100L kettle going spare, but you'll have to let me know today if you're interested in it as it's off to scrap tomorrow.</p> I have heard that a deeper gr…tag:www.forum.realbeer.co.nz,2014-02-26:1500433:Comment:1981222014-02-26T21:03:03.729Zvdoghttp://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/profile/vdog
<p>I have heard that a deeper grain bed can potentially cause that issue, and can also reduce your efficiency as it's harder to rinse all those good sugars out of the grain. If you have an option to go wider, it'd be worthwhile. The deeper bed will also make it more sensitive to sticking with grains like rye and wheat. Slowing your runoff will help avoid sticking.</p>
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<p>What are you using as a HLT and kettle at the moment? Do you have the option of repurposing one of those (with the…</p>
<p>I have heard that a deeper grain bed can potentially cause that issue, and can also reduce your efficiency as it's harder to rinse all those good sugars out of the grain. If you have an option to go wider, it'd be worthwhile. The deeper bed will also make it more sensitive to sticking with grains like rye and wheat. Slowing your runoff will help avoid sticking.</p>
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<p>What are you using as a HLT and kettle at the moment? Do you have the option of repurposing one of those (with the addition of some insulation) to be your MLT and using the cylinder as a kettle or HLT instead?</p>
<p> </p> Thanks mate. I've had a clos…tag:www.forum.realbeer.co.nz,2014-02-26:1500433:Comment:1981212014-02-26T10:04:06.720ZTilthttp://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/profile/MarkHarris
<p>Thanks mate. I've had a closer look tonight and it looks like my tank is smallish - the inside copper tank is about 400mm diameter. </p>
<p>I"m looking to build a 50-55L MLT with false bottom to replace my current Esky with stainless braid setup. </p>
<p>By my calcs I'll need to cut the thing at about the 650mm mark to hit that volume. This is a much smaller footprint and taller mashtun than I use currently so it'll be a much deeper grain bed than I'm used to. </p>
<p>Any idea if I'm going…</p>
<p>Thanks mate. I've had a closer look tonight and it looks like my tank is smallish - the inside copper tank is about 400mm diameter. </p>
<p>I"m looking to build a 50-55L MLT with false bottom to replace my current Esky with stainless braid setup. </p>
<p>By my calcs I'll need to cut the thing at about the 650mm mark to hit that volume. This is a much smaller footprint and taller mashtun than I use currently so it'll be a much deeper grain bed than I'm used to. </p>
<p>Any idea if I'm going to have problems with tricky / stuck / slow sparges as a result?</p> I actually used the lid off a…tag:www.forum.realbeer.co.nz,2014-02-26:1500433:Comment:1981172014-02-26T02:10:38.871Zvdoghttp://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/profile/vdog
<p>I actually used the lid off a 40L pot I had, which coincidentally had the right diameter to fit nicely in the mash tun, right at the top of the dished bottom. Just drilled a shedload of 2mm holes in it in a closely-spaced grid pattern and job done. It looks a bit ghetto but it works. Generally runs pretty clear after 5min recirculating with the pump, and then runoff is nice and easy.</p>
<p>I actually used the lid off a 40L pot I had, which coincidentally had the right diameter to fit nicely in the mash tun, right at the top of the dished bottom. Just drilled a shedload of 2mm holes in it in a closely-spaced grid pattern and job done. It looks a bit ghetto but it works. Generally runs pretty clear after 5min recirculating with the pump, and then runoff is nice and easy.</p> Pretty much, yep. Maybe not t…tag:www.forum.realbeer.co.nz,2014-02-26:1500433:Comment:1980002014-02-26T02:06:38.214Zvdoghttp://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/profile/vdog
<p>Pretty much, yep. Maybe not the cheapest way to do it (for the new 170L kettle I used nearly a whole bottle) but it did make it look nice. Wort being a bit acidic, I also find the mash tun looks pretty good after a brew session and then dulls over the four weeks in between batches.</p>
<p>Pretty much, yep. Maybe not the cheapest way to do it (for the new 170L kettle I used nearly a whole bottle) but it did make it look nice. Wort being a bit acidic, I also find the mash tun looks pretty good after a brew session and then dulls over the four weeks in between batches.</p> Perfect timing. I've just rep…tag:www.forum.realbeer.co.nz,2014-02-26:1500433:Comment:1979972014-02-26T00:39:47.784ZTilthttp://www.forum.realbeer.co.nz/profile/MarkHarris
Perfect timing. I've just replaced our HWS too. I've got the old insulated 180L heater tank and an all copper header tank to play with. Thinking through the options now so this convo is helpful. Vdog, did you get a false bottom made up or does a standard size fit well enough?
Perfect timing. I've just replaced our HWS too. I've got the old insulated 180L heater tank and an all copper header tank to play with. Thinking through the options now so this convo is helpful. Vdog, did you get a false bottom made up or does a standard size fit well enough?