Recirculating Mash

DCbrewZ · Nov 15, 2017

Homebrewers like fiddling with their equipment...
I was thinking of recirculating my mash so I could do multi-step (temperature) mashing, and wondering if anyone on here has done this?
I was thinking of taking the mash from the bottom of the tun, through a small pump and into a metal coil (heat exchanger) located in the HLT, then back onto the top of the grain bed. I was thinking this might be a good way to quickly heat the mash without any sort of direct electrical heat.

Sorry, I'm new to this! Just realised this is called a HERMS system!!
I'll get my coat...

Bigcol49 · Nov 15, 2017

Hi!
I have a recirculating mash setup based on an ACE tea urn-type boiler. The mash is heated by the boiler element, which is controlled by a voltage regulator to get a gentle heat that won't scorch the wort.
I have a PID to keep the wort temperature constant during the mash. This is a RIMS system, and is much simpler to set up than a HERMS system.
There's a very long thread about ACE boilers as mash tuns here: http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=54132

Smileyr8 · Nov 15, 2017

I use a PID and a Solar Pump, its not perfect but its not bad take a look at this thread pages 9 & 10 have some pictures.

mgkpancake · Nov 16, 2017

Herms systems are amazing at step mashing. If you did a brew in bag and allowed enough space for a pump to pull from and run it back on top that would work if you had a reliable temperature control. A lot of people including myself use a system that incorporates a metal grain basket to essentially be a BIAB (Ace Microbrewery, Klarstein, Easybrew, Grainfather, etc). Having a pump already installed and a recirculating pipe back over the top makes step mashing accessible over a HERMS type setup which can be a bit of a setup to do (not too hard).

Check out the brewpi's experiments on HERMS coil setup

- Longer is not always better.. Less length, less friction, better flow
- Top to bottom flow is better than bottom to top flow
- And something else about moving water around in the HLT for temp

Pretty neat stuff. The herms coil they offer is crazy looking!

BeerCat · Nov 16, 2017

Someone on here has a setup for sale including PID. I would of snapped it up if i didn't already have most of it. Was a few days ago, check the sales section.

Recirculating Mash

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