2-tier brewery

[mysterio]

Fellas,

I'm getting my pump delivered tomorrow (one of the morebeer March ones -- got stung for VAT big style ). Now I plan to have the brewery on two tiers. Is there any problems having the HLT on the upper tier, fly sparging via gravity, then pumping from the MT to the Copper while carefully controlling the speed of the pump? Or is it preferable to have the MT on the upper tier and pump upwards and drain the liquor via gravity into the kettle?

Also how far below the tap does the pump need to be for it to prime?

Cheers!

[greenbank brewer]

hi mysterio

I have my hlt above the mash tun largley because it is easier to access the MT if it is lower for measurements. mixing in the grist, recirculating ect and also the sight tube on the HLT because it is raised is at eye level again making it easier to read.

i don't bother pumping from the MT to the kettle, I just collect in a graduated bucket to keep a check on volume and manually transfer to the kettle. I suppose this will depend on your brew length but I find this ok for 50l. I do pump from the kettle through the plate chiller to the FV and I have another pump on a separate circuit connected to a reservoir which can be filled with cleaner followed by steriliser for backwashing/sanitising the cooler and associated pipework.

gb

[christhebrewer]

My last setup was two-tier and I gravity fed from the HLT to MT and pumped from the MT to the Kettle via a 'Lauter Grant' (a small, modified pan). This meant that I didn't have to worry about getting the pumping speed right - I just switched the pump on when the grant was nearly full.

Chris