I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
- mr x
- Mod Award Winner
- Posts: 13764
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:30 pm
- Location: Halifax/New Glasgow
I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
I think my days of cooler based mash tuns are coming to and end. My manifold really sucks on high gravity beers. Who's using kegs? How are they working for maintaining mash temps?
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter.
- LiverDance
- Award Winner 6
- Posts: 4011
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 4:50 pm
- Name: Brian
- Location: Sprybeeria
Re: I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
Are you getting stuck mash/sparge or shitty eff? We did a 60 liter batch on Sunday and got a stuck sparge. I've a couple of instulated kegs if you need one.
"Twenty years ago — a time, by the way, that hops such as Simcoe and Citra were already being developed, but weren’t about to find immediate popularity — there wasn’t a brewer on earth who would have gone to the annual Hop Growers of American convention and said, “I’m going to have a beer that we make 4,000 barrels of, one time a year. It flies off the shelf at damn near $20 a six-pack, and you know what it smells like? It smells like your cat ate your weed and then pissed in the Christmas tree.” - Bell’s Brewery Director of Operations John Mallet on the scent of their popular Hopslam.
-
- Registered User
- Posts: 195
- Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2011 10:22 pm
- Location: Dartmouth
Re: I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
Could you just pump some water from the HLT back in through the coolers output manifold to unstuck the sprage? You would have to capture the outflow until it runs clear again, just like at the start of the mash out. I think that will work with the guys 60L setup.
X, do you have a pump in your setup?
X, do you have a pump in your setup?
- LiverDance
- Award Winner 6
- Posts: 4011
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 4:50 pm
- Name: Brian
- Location: Sprybeeria
Re: I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
We tried to back feed it but it didn't work. X your ss screen came in very handy in the scoop and filter method of sparging
"Twenty years ago — a time, by the way, that hops such as Simcoe and Citra were already being developed, but weren’t about to find immediate popularity — there wasn’t a brewer on earth who would have gone to the annual Hop Growers of American convention and said, “I’m going to have a beer that we make 4,000 barrels of, one time a year. It flies off the shelf at damn near $20 a six-pack, and you know what it smells like? It smells like your cat ate your weed and then pissed in the Christmas tree.” - Bell’s Brewery Director of Operations John Mallet on the scent of their popular Hopslam.
- mr x
- Mod Award Winner
- Posts: 13764
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:30 pm
- Location: Halifax/New Glasgow
Re: I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
Stuck sparge. Efficiency is still good. I've got a couple kegs I can work on, I'm just trying to figure out what to do about the false bottom. There are the 15" hinged ss perforated metal type, but there are other options. Going to see what a wedgewire would cost (probably don't want to know, lol), and look at having a piece of ss custom cut.LiverDance wrote:Are you getting stuck mash/sparge or shitty eff? We did a 60 liter batch on Sunday and got a stuck sparge. I've a couple of instulated kegs if you need one.
Mash temps are my main question though. I guess everybody is using kegs, so it can't be that bad right? Nash says most conversion is done very quickly anyway, probably 5-20 miuntes for most malts...
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter.
- mr x
- Mod Award Winner
- Posts: 13764
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:30 pm
- Location: Halifax/New Glasgow
Re: I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
Yeah, the backflush doesn't work, just sticks again very quickly. I do have a pump.Garak wrote:Could you just pump some water from the HLT back in through the coolers output manifold to unstuck the sprage? You would have to capture the outflow until it runs clear again, just like at the start of the mash out. I think that will work with the guys 60L setup.
X, do you have a pump in your setup?
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter.
- John G
- Award Winner 2
- Posts: 651
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 4:34 pm
- Name: John
- Location: North End Halifax
Re: I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
Steve and I did a 40L high gravity Imperial Rye ale that stuck. We decided to try mixing in a couple bags of rice hulls and started sparging again. Seemed to work as long as you have room in your cooler for the extra volume from the hulls. We were right to the rim and spilling over.
- JohnnyMac
- Award Winner 1
- Posts: 1384
- Joined: Mon Oct 04, 2010 3:05 pm
- Location: The DarkSide
Re: I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
X - I've been using converted kegs for a while now and use the perf. stainless false bottom from Sabco. I'm very happy with it's performance and have yet to have a stuck sparge. I may have an extra false bottom kicking around. I loaned it to a buddy a while ago and not sure if it ever came back. If you're interested, I can look a little harder.
http://www.brew-magic.com/ketl_acc_falsebtm.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.brew-magic.com/ketl_acc_falsebtm.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
"It's not about the beer. It's about the beer." - Don Younger
- Jimmy
- Site Admin Award Winner
- Posts: 6984
- Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2010 6:35 pm
- Location: Halifax, NS
Re: I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
I ordered a 15" hinged false bottom from Jaybird on homebrewtalk, but as you know, I've yet to get my setup up and running. If you get a keggle going, you're welcome to give it a try.
- mr x
- Mod Award Winner
- Posts: 13764
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:30 pm
- Location: Halifax/New Glasgow
Re: I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
I'd definitely like to try that John. And if you want to sell it, I'll take it. See if it's not in use anyway. Pretty much what Jimmy had bought, and what I was looking at at Climaxhomebrew.com.JohnnyMac wrote:X - I've been using converted kegs for a while now and use the perf. stainless false bottom from Sabco. I'm very happy with it's performance and have yet to have a stuck sparge. I may have an extra false bottom kicking around. I loaned it to a buddy a while ago and not sure if it ever came back. If you're interested, I can look a little harder.
http://www.brew-magic.com/ketl_acc_falsebtm.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter.
- JohnnyMac
- Award Winner 1
- Posts: 1384
- Joined: Mon Oct 04, 2010 3:05 pm
- Location: The DarkSide
Re: I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
Found it! I'll call you.
"It's not about the beer. It's about the beer." - Don Younger
- mr x
- Mod Award Winner
- Posts: 13764
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:30 pm
- Location: Halifax/New Glasgow
Re: I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
Damn, that's who called!! Sorry, missed it, I'll send a text message. I'll be back in HFX tomorrow evening, and I can pick it up anytime.
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter.
-
- Verified User
- Posts: 972
- Joined: Wed Jan 12, 2011 2:44 pm
- Name: Jason Loxton
- Location: sydney ns
Re: I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
I use a cooler with a braided cord, and brew a lot of 8-9% beers (and just did a rye). Never had a problem, but also batch sparge, so the additional stirring may be the explanation. How did you build your manifold? Is it slotted or drilled?
- mr x
- Mod Award Winner
- Posts: 13764
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:30 pm
- Location: Halifax/New Glasgow
Re: I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
It's slotted and drilled. I think it's the volume that messes things up. Too much pressure on the bed for the design. It works fine on malt mashes up to 25-28 lbs. Over that, hellish.
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter.
- mr x
- Mod Award Winner
- Posts: 13764
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:30 pm
- Location: Halifax/New Glasgow
Re: I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
Woohoo!! New MLT almost finished. Thanks to JohnnyMac for the FB.
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter.
- mr x
- Mod Award Winner
- Posts: 13764
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:30 pm
- Location: Halifax/New Glasgow
Re: I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
Man, I'm having the best brew day in a while. MLT worked like a charm. I can't get a grip on it, lol. Anyway, for anyone interested, I'll sell for $20 instead of turning it back into a cooler. I think it is still great for bees that aren't 1.090, lol.
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter.
-
- Registered User
- Posts: 195
- Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2011 10:22 pm
- Location: Dartmouth
Re: I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
Your making me want to scrap the cooler MLT I haven't even used yet.
I did get those kegs from wolfville after, delivered to my door at a much better price. I haven't brought myself to cut the top off one yet, almost feels like a sin to destroy a great fermenter. I got to make a kettle out of one of them atleast. I'm thinking my aluminum pot will become the HLT with the 4700watt heatstick. I got to find another element for the BK.
DId you insulate the Keg MLT? If so what did you use?
I did get those kegs from wolfville after, delivered to my door at a much better price. I haven't brought myself to cut the top off one yet, almost feels like a sin to destroy a great fermenter. I got to make a kettle out of one of them atleast. I'm thinking my aluminum pot will become the HLT with the 4700watt heatstick. I got to find another element for the BK.
DId you insulate the Keg MLT? If so what did you use?
- mr x
- Mod Award Winner
- Posts: 13764
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:30 pm
- Location: Halifax/New Glasgow
Re: I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
I did use insulation. One layer of Goretex, and one layer of bubble wrap. I think Piercey's on Robie is where you can buy it by the foot.
Bah, cut those kegs up, lol, there's always more to be had.
I would try to use the heatstick in the BK, then you can use a 'regular' element from CT, etc, in the HLT.
Bah, cut those kegs up, lol, there's always more to be had.
I would try to use the heatstick in the BK, then you can use a 'regular' element from CT, etc, in the HLT.
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter.
- Jimmy
- Site Admin Award Winner
- Posts: 6984
- Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2010 6:35 pm
- Location: Halifax, NS
Re: I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
Where did you get the goretex, and how does it come (is it a roll?)..Is the bubble wrap the stuff used for hot water tank insulation?mr x wrote:I did use insulation. One layer of Goretex, and one layer of bubble wrap. I think Piercey's on Robie is where you can buy it by the foot.
Bah, cut those kegs up, lol, there's always more to be had.
I would try to use the heatstick in the BK, then you can use a 'regular' element from CT, etc, in the HLT.
-
- Registered User
- Posts: 195
- Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2011 10:22 pm
- Location: Dartmouth
Re: I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
The problem with the heat stick is its about 1/2" too long to fit inside a keg. Just fits perfectly inside of the aluminum pot. I'm also thinking I want more power but with insulation and full 240v power it should boil a good bit faster. I could put it into a keg on an angle, I may need another piece of 5/8" o.d. pipe to make that work. I would be nice if the heat stick could simply be moved from the HLT to the BK.
I should head down to eastern passage tomorrow and cut the top off one of my kegs and see if I can make the heat stick fit somehow. I wonder what strange looks I'm going to get on the bus carrying the aluminum pot with the back of the heat stick and the lines for the immersion chiller sticking out.
I really need to find a doctor to clear me for driving. Had a seizure a few years back and when I renewed my licence last fall they required a doctor to sign off one me. I should of renewed in Newfoundland where my condition is already documented. My buddies car is sitting out in the parking lot while he is gone to Florida and I can't drive it.
I also got that $15 vacuum pump in yesterday. I'm really interested to see if it can be used to rack into carboys in a reasonable amount of time.
I should head down to eastern passage tomorrow and cut the top off one of my kegs and see if I can make the heat stick fit somehow. I wonder what strange looks I'm going to get on the bus carrying the aluminum pot with the back of the heat stick and the lines for the immersion chiller sticking out.
I really need to find a doctor to clear me for driving. Had a seizure a few years back and when I renewed my licence last fall they required a doctor to sign off one me. I should of renewed in Newfoundland where my condition is already documented. My buddies car is sitting out in the parking lot while he is gone to Florida and I can't drive it.
I also got that $15 vacuum pump in yesterday. I'm really interested to see if it can be used to rack into carboys in a reasonable amount of time.
- mr x
- Mod Award Winner
- Posts: 13764
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:30 pm
- Location: Halifax/New Glasgow
Re: I hate my @#&!ing MLT and I'm going to burn it
I had the scrap goretex laying around from an old project. The bubblewrap is the water heater type. A couple wraps of that should be fine.
Last edited by mr x on Sun Mar 27, 2011 12:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter.
- mr x
- Mod Award Winner
- Posts: 13764
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:30 pm
- Location: Halifax/New Glasgow
Re: I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
1/2" too big? Bastard.Garak wrote:The problem with the heat stick is its about 1/2" too long to fit inside a keg. Just fits perfectly inside of the aluminum pot. I'm also thinking I want more power but with insulation and full 240v power it should boil a good bit faster. I could put it into a keg on an angle, I may need another piece of 5/8" o.d. pipe to make that work. I would be nice if the heat stick could simply be moved from the HLT to the BK.
I should head down to eastern passage tomorrow and cut the top off one of my kegs and see if I can make the heat stick fit somehow. I wonder what strange looks I'm going to get on the bus carrying the aluminum pot with the back of the heat stick and the lines for the immersion chiller sticking out.
I really need to find a doctor to clear me for driving. Had a seizure a few years back and when I renewed my licence last fall they required a doctor to sign off one me. I should of renewed in Newfoundland where my condition is already documented. My buddies car is sitting out in the parking lot while he is gone to Florida and I can't drive it.
I also got that $15 vacuum pump in yesterday. I'm really interested to see if it can be used to rack into carboys in a reasonable amount of time.
It would be nice to be able to move it around. If you need anymore pieces, let me know.
That will look good on the bus, lol.
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter.
- NASH
- CBA Award Winner
- Posts: 4085
- Joined: Thu Jan 20, 2011 7:33 pm
- Name: Nash
- Location: Halifax, NS
- Contact:
Re: I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
mr x wrote:...... in the BK, then you can use a 'regular' element from CT, etc, in the HLT.
Holy secret hidden code batman.....
- mr x
- Mod Award Winner
- Posts: 13764
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:30 pm
- Location: Halifax/New Glasgow
Re: I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
lol, yeah, maybe we need an acronym sticky. I'm spending too much time on RedFlagDeals...
BK - boil kettle
CT - Canadian TIre
HLT - we know that one, I'm sure (hot liquor tank)
BK - boil kettle
CT - Canadian TIre
HLT - we know that one, I'm sure (hot liquor tank)
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter.
-
- Registered User
- Posts: 195
- Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2011 10:22 pm
- Location: Dartmouth
Re: I hate my @#&!ing HLT and I'm going to burn it
CT was a tough one but I guessed right.
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests