Heat Exchanger Temperature Probe Placement

[np0x]

The electric supply houses have various boxes, that have NO holes cut in them i have a 24x24x6 mpilchuk has a 12x12x4, i haven't set mine up yet to determine that 24 is too big, but I have a sneaking feeling it is. Although I am going to internalize outlets and stuff so it might work out...will post more when i know. But the point of all this is that the boxes are $20ish for the 12inch and $28ish for the 24 inch box, just for a reference point before you go to the fabrication shop...

[microbusbrew]

Thanks for the feedback np0x. I figured it would probably work but I thought it would be a good idea to run it by someone else to see what they thought. I'm finishing my basement right now, so it'll probably be at least a month before I get my HERMS put together. When I do, I'll do some testing and on this setup and post the results to the forum. Thanks again.

[np0x]

There is some thin insulation wrap that would probably work well in a non-destructive way to both bind the theroresister to the copper AND insulate it. It's about an inch wide and they sell it at home depot.

[Zulu]

I guess I ought to hang a bit more here. With the Brewboard down I am lost....

While I use RIMS with a direct heat chamber, I monitor both the output of the heater as well as output of the Mash tun.

Mashtun flows directly to heater and return goes back into top manifold of Mash Tun via pump (about 6 ft of copper pipe)

My experience has shown even when playing catch up (system working hard) I only see about 5-7 deg difference between the Output of heater and output of Mash Tun. All piping is insulated copper. The PID works extremely well in bringing those to within 2 deg as the system stabilizes. I trigger the system now based on the OUTPUT of the Mash, BUT to be fair have bought another thermister and will add this into the mid level of the mash tun next, changing out the analogue dial thermometer, I have also checked occasionally using a lab immersion thermometer to see how accurate it all is. The Mid point is probably the right place to be monitoring and triggering the accuracy.

So I make sure the strike is close ,and switch on the system. However , If my strike is spot on I have just left it to stand for 20 minutes first before running it.

The best part is that I can have the laptop in the kitchen monitoring the temps via wireless.

[gbrewer]

I have moved the temperature probe to the input point of the mash tun. This is after the wort has made its way through the heat chamber. This has provided me with the most accurate temperature control of the mash. The temperature of the wort as it is added back into the mash is closely monitored. The worst location for my trial and error was placing the temperature probe in the side of the mash tun.

[missing_link]

I have moved the temperature probe to the input point of the mash tun. This is after the wort has made its way through the heat chamber. This has provided me with the most accurate temperature control of the mash. The temperature of the wort as it is added back into the mash is closely monitored. The worst location for my trial and error was placing the temperature probe in the side of the mash tun.

Zulu seems to be saying that when he hits his Strike temp right, his system does not need to run, then after 20 minutes he switches it on. I could be wrong.

Gbrewer and I run our pumps non-stop. Pre-heat with pump on, mash for 60 minutes with pump on the entire time. In this scenario, if I want a 152 degree mash, I measure the output of my HEX at 152. By always pumping 152 degree wort on top, the bottom of the mash does reach 152 fairly quickly.

There are some pro brewers that say it is actually good to start the mash at 140 or lower and slowly bring it up to 152, then start the 60 minute clock.

With the digital thermometer I have at the bottom of my mash matching the temp the BCS shows at my HEX outlet, I know I hit my mash temps within .5 degrees for my entire mash.

Linc

[bsfixit]

so your heater PID is driven by the HEX output probe?

[missing_link]

Yes, THE BCS controls system temp using the temp probe that is 3 inches from the output of heating element. Using this set-up I get incredible consistency and accuracy during the mash.

Some day when I have extra time, I'll have to put a third probe on the outlet of my mash and use the graphing feature to track how the outlet of the HEX and the bottom of the mash work together.

Linc

[gbrewer]

I took a picture of my temperature probe placement on my mash tun. This is for a gas fired system and not on a Heat Exchanger as the thread was initially started.

Here is the link.

http://www.gbrewing.com/2009/11/09/mash ... placement/

[brewmastershake]

I finally got my system's temp probes configured. I was having some issues since my pump is on a float switch and turns off every few minutes. The water in the tubing up to the mash tun drains a bit, and when I just had the probe right at the outlet it would swing wildly. That made PID control impossible. I found a brass T that fit the high temp hoses I already use, cut another hose to fit and added a clamp. This sits at the end of my HERMS coil, so it will be the highest temp in the system and the one I want to control. I have probes in the HLT, the grant, the HERMS out, and the mash itself. I used it to brew a Dunkel in manual mode this past week, and it worked very tight. I can't wait to run it on autopilot next.

Herms.jpg (177.97 KiB) Viewed 6464 times

Temp Probe.jpg (210.26 KiB) Viewed 6465 times