Hot Liquor tank modifications?

[JoeV]

Anyone ever put a heating element in the hot liquour tank? I am toying with the idea of modifying my HLT by adding a water heater type element? I would appreciate any opinons on this. I would use it for maintaining the temp. of heated water.

cheers
Joe

[kugeman]

JoeV,
I've never added a heating element to an existing HLT, but the JVNW hot liquor tank I have uses an electric heating element. Looking at how it was designed and built, I would say it's not all the different from how you would probably add one to an existing tank. It's just a big element hooked into a digital temp. control with a float inside the tank mounted at the level of the element (which is about a 1/4 of the way from the bottom).

As far as how it works, It's lousy at raising the temperature of the water, but good at maintaining the temp. It's a 350 gallon tank, and it takes about 18 hours to raise the temp of the water from 40 to 190. I'm actually looking to install an on-demand water heater to pre-heat the ground water, and then use the electric element to finish off the heating and maintain temp.

I think the life span of the elements is pretty good. It burned out on me about 3 years ago, but I'm pretty sure it was the original one, which would have made it 7-8 years old.

If I can be of more help, let me know...

[gitchegumee]

I've done it three times before, including here in Palau where electricity is cheaper than propane. The size of your HLT determines the wattage of your element. I can recommend an element if you tell me how big your HLT is. Usually, folks are satisfied with having a batch of hot water overnight. If you need it quicker, that will up the wattage. The float switch is a must-do, as 60 seconds of power to an element NOT under water will toast it. Besides a temperature controller (digital or otherwise), you'll need a relay on the power side. These work great, you won't be disappointed.

[Moonlight]

Look into on demand heaters and see if they will help-gas, propane or electric. If your temp is just falling a little too low, put them in line with your flow for the final boost. Depending on your needs, they prove more efficient. They may also have additional benefits if you want just a little hot for something else.

[bvelt]

re-circ

We have an electric heating element in our HLT and just recently created a re-circulation system using our mash ton's pump. This has really helped heat up the water quicker as most of the heating element's output is concentrating on the water immediately touching it. Might be a quick and cheap fix. All you need is a little piping and a couple ball valves.

-Brad
Aspen Brewing Company