As you can see, the HERMS coil is installed and ready to test! I placed the coil as low as possible while leaving 2 inches between the bottom ring and the element. The thermowell is about 1.5 inches above the top coil. I also modified the recirculation inlet tube at the bottom of the picture so that the water is forced between the two HERMS bulkheads. With this setup I only need 7 gallons in the vessel for there to be 1/2 inch of water over the thermowell. Bringing the temp up for mash out should take only a couple of minutes and the only water I will need to add during the brew process will be cold water to bring the HLT temp down after dough in.
In the picture above you can see the changes I made to the MLT. I put a return bulkhead in the top edge. I am now reading the temperature of the recirculating wort just as it passes back into the MLT. Between this temperature and the reading from the MLT body thermometer I should be able to manage the process much better and with greater accuracy. You can also see that I made up a couple of new 18 inch quick connect hoses specifically for use during HERMS. I was able to eliminate over 3 feet of hose which should help lessen temperature loss. As I mentioned in my previous post, I plan to put two layers of insulation on the new MLT lid. Another plan I have which is strictly for looks, is to curve and attach a 12 by 18 inch sheet of thin polished aluminum to the front of the MLT and put a vinyl cut-out of my logo on it.
This is a picture of the new HERMS plumbing layout. I can't wait to give this thing a test run and gather some data on the new coil!
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