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Stinky Water From HLT - Storage Problem?

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  • Stinky Water From HLT - Storage Problem?

    Hey guys,

    I brewed just over two weeks ago and am recirculating our chiller water back into our HLT. I preheated water yesterday and came in to find that the water was super stinky. No idea what it's from but can anyone chime in as to what may have caused it / ways to prevent it? I'm obviously going to empty the HLT and refill it with fresh water but had no idea water storage was this challenging.

    Thanks,

    J

  • #2
    Wort is probably contaminating your HLT liquor.

    Do you have a combitank MT/HLT?

    What shape is your heat exchanger in? Possibly leaking?

    Take a gravity of your stinky water, see if it's higher than your source water.

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    • #3
      If you have a combi mash/HLT I would say wort from your manifold is making its way into your HLT. Next time you open your HLT, check to see if there is any grain bits sitting on the bottom. In the worst case, wort is getting mixed with water in your PHE returning to the HLT.

      Cheers

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      • #4
        What kind of stinky?

        It only takes a half second of not paying attention to send a couple gallons of wort into your HLT (ask me how I know). I suspect you are also not leaving your HLT at temp for two weeks between cycles? Warm water is a great breeding ground for all kinds of foul smelling stuff, especially if you've given them a little bit of food. I find the most frustrating of screw ups is when you realize as soon as you've done it that you sent caustic into the HLT between double cycles and now need to dump and wait for recovery before starting turn 2.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by andrew_FSBC View Post
          It only takes a half second of not paying attention to send a couple gallons of wort into your HLT (ask me how I know). I suspect you are also not leaving your HLT at temp for two weeks between cycles? Warm water is a great breeding ground for all kinds of foul smelling stuff, especially if you've given them a little bit of food. I find the most frustrating of screw ups is when you realize as soon as you've done it that you sent caustic into the HLT between double cycles and now need to dump and wait for recovery before starting turn 2.
          Are you implying that you heat your HLT daily? I feel like installing a UV light on a timer would be more efficient if you're going to stop production for more than a few days

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