Holding sparge temp ?

[bert7cosby]

Hi,
I am looking for some advice on how to hold the sparge water at the correct temperature. At the moment I am constantly switching my element on/of to try and keep the temp from dropping too much but its a bit of a ball ache and rather inaccurate. I fly sparge and it takes me around 30 mins to sparge around 23l of water.
Thanks All
Brett

[Pinto]

Build an stc1000 based controller m8

Search is your friend

[guypettigrew]

If you insulate the tank in which you're heating the sparge water it should stay at a good enough temperature for the 30 minutes or so you need it to.

This means you can continue to make beers while you research Pinto's excellent suggestion of a controller.

Guy

[bert7cosby]

I had considered the stc1000 as I use one on my fermentation fridge but I am concerned that my element (single 2900kw element) would be to much for it to handle

[Jocky]

Hi,
I am looking for some advice on how to hold the sparge water at the correct temperature. At the moment I am constantly switching my element on/of to try and keep the temp from dropping too much but its a bit of a ball ache and rather inaccurate. I fly sparge and it takes me around 30 mins to sparge around 23l of water.
Thanks All
Brett

Batch sparge.

[mr_so]

REX-C100 with SSR output might be better than an STC-1000 if you're switching higher amperages.

[themadhippy]

but I am concerned that my element (single 2900kw element) would be to much for it to handle

shit that is a large element ,around 12000 amps ,however if you mean 2900 watts hows about http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220V-Digital- ... 43c08e2811

[MarkO'B]

Why not fit a simmer stat to the HLT?

[Piscator]

Hi,
I am looking for some advice on how to hold the sparge water at the correct temperature. At the moment I am constantly switching my element on/of to try and keep the temp from dropping too much but its a bit of a ball ache and rather inaccurate. I fly sparge and it takes me around 30 mins to sparge around 23l of water.
Thanks All
Brett

Hi Brett,
What temperature are you heating your sparge liquor to, what temperature does it fall to by the end of the sparge and what temperature do you get in the grain bed at the end of sparging?

Cheers
Steve

[bert7cosby]

Hi, it only drops by a few degrees then I reapply power to the element to get it back up to 75.6 deg, not too sure how far it would drop if I let the temp fall for the full sparge time.
I have no idea what the temp of the grain bed is or should be so I am open to advice on this.
Thanks for the help chaps

[Piscator]

Hi Brett,

The most important thing is what is going on in the grain bed during the sparge as this is where the important stuff happens - with this in mind I usually heat my sparge liquor to 80C at the start of the sparge..... by the time it has travelled through the tube from my HLT and been sprinkled onto the grain bed it has lost a few degrees and raises the bed to 75-76C for the initial 10-15 mins or so. (This stops the enzymes in the mash from continuing their work and changing the balance of sugars and is known as mash out) The liquor gradually loses a few more degrees while I sparge and the grain bed usually ends up at about 73-74C by the end of the sparge.

If you are heating your liquor to 75.6C you might well find that the grain itself is a few degrees below this depending on your losses. These will be slightly different for each persons set up. It would be a good idea to take some temperatures of the grain bed during your next sparge so you can build a mental picture of what is happening in there and work out your own routine which maintains the grain bed in the right ballpark.

Hope this helps

Cheers
Steve

[Horden Hillbilly]

I use one of these on my hlt.

[Pinto]

but I am concerned that my element (single 2900kw element) would be to much for it to handle

shit that is a large element ,around 12000 amps....

Will I need a second one to maintain a good rolling boil tho ?

I've also decided that I'll be connecting to the incoming 11kVA lines on the supplier side at my local substation, so can keep the current at a far more respectable 264A

[BenB]

I'll be ripping apart from electrim boiler soon so you could have the simmerstat off that if you want. But it's rubbish which is why I've moved over to an PID based solution. STC-1000 with an additional relay would do the job nicely even if the temp would fluctuate more than with a PID based system. The simmerstat was just fundamentally unstable- hence my first AG being tannin city when the previously stable sparge temp suddenly went up by 10-15 degrees.

You could go down the REX route for a PID but they're pretty much all fakes and some are better than others. Some of the SSR REXs are in fact relayed REXs so I'd suggest paying a bit more if you're going PID and go for a SESTO or even an Auber.

The difference between a STC-1000 and a proper PID is the difference between someone slowly turning down a dimmer switch to keep a constant temperature (PID) and someone turning the heat on and off every few 20-30 seconds to keep it at a given temperature (STC type on/off control).

[Pinto]

I'll be ripping apart from electrim boiler soon so you could have the simmerstat off that if you want. But it's rubbish which is why I've moved over to an PID based solution. STC-1000 with an additional relay would do the job nicely even if the temp would fluctuate more than with a PID based system. The simmerstat was just fundamentally unstable- hence my first AG being tannin city when the previously stable sparge temp suddenly went up by 10-15 degrees.

You could go down the REX route for a PID but they're pretty much all fakes and some are better than others. Some of the SSR REXs are in fact relayed REXs so I'd suggest paying a bit more if you're going PID and go for a SESTO or even an Auber.

The difference between a STC-1000 and a proper PID is the difference between someone slowly turning down a dimmer switch to keep a constant temperature (PID) and someone turning the heat on and off every few 20-30 seconds to keep it at a given temperature (STC type on/off control).

Good advice - but in cost vs effect, I think the STC would control sparge water with sufficient accuracy given the themal inertia of 23l of plain water. If we were talking about mash recirc then without doubt it would be the PID route tho