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  • Something to learn from...

    I know everyone is super cautious with their cleaning regiment on fermenters in order to prevent imploded tanks, but here is a word of caution that you don’t need chemicals to get the same reaction.
    We were doing some cleaning end of day yesterday, I boiled some water in the hlt to pump through heat exchanger. End of the day there was 40-50 gal left in our 3bbl hlt. Turn off the heat, to home for the night.
    Next morning come into the brewery to an imploded hlt. I had clamped the lid on to keep humidity down in the building, and the cooling air/water in the hlt caused the tank to implode.
    Would have never, ever thought this was possible, yet here we are. Hope everyone else’s Friday works out a little better.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  • #2
    Pressure/temperature variances are very important to keep in mind when dealing with any vessel heating up/cooling down. Before buying a bulldog, we used to evacuate barrels by filling up kegs with boiling water, letting the keg heat up, then pushing out with CO2 and putting into the walk-in to cool. The vaccuum on the keg was enough to fill it. Hope the replacement doesn't set you back too much :/
    Peter Landman | Brewmaster | Seabright Brewery | Santa Cruz, CA

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    • #3
      PVRV and vents!

      No vessel in the brewery should ever be completely sealed. Ferms and brights should always be equipped with Pressure/Vacuum Relief Valves to prevent implosion/explosion from any number of causes. A pumped HLT should simply be vented, with a vent large enough to insure an even pressure balance. If humidity is a problem, use a copper pipe for the vent, run it to the outside of the building, and slope the pipe at 1/4"/foot of run towards the HLT. Most humidity will condense in the pipe and run back into the HLT. Of course, the outside end needs to be protected from insects and birds attempting to make their homes in it.

      I know you've learned your lesson, so this for other newcomers to the art.
      Timm Turrentine

      Brewerywright,
      Terminal Gravity Brewing,
      Enterprise. Oregon.

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