New system design

[BrewFrenzy]

I’m about to start using a converted 15 gal. sanke keggle, a converted 10 gal. igloo cooler MT, and a converted 10 gal. igloo cooler HLT. Got some questions…

I have the 15” tall (25’ tube length) efficient chiller from Morebeer which is designed for ~8 gal pots. Will I end up replacing that if I go to 10 gal boils?

What’s a practical way to monitor the amount and temperature of heated water in the HLT if I set up a 3-tier gravity system? Don’t really want to have to keep climbing a ladder to peek in. (I’ll use a pump to feed the HLT from my keggle).

[pfooti]

You can get a sight gauge and thermometer addon for your MLT at bargainfittings.com. I believe they have cooler and kettle versions of their thingamajigs.

[scotchpine]

A 25' coil might be a bit short for a 10 gal batch but you could still use it as a pre chiller at that point. Really speed your cooling times up or down or whatever

[speed]

if you're doing 10 gallons definately use at least 50 ft.

[foomench]

Sounds like my old system.

I have a 50' chiller, and I pre-chill the water through my 50' HERMS coil in the HLT, which at that point is filled with ice water.

It isn't visible in the photo, but the HLT had a sight glass, a Weld-B-Gone Thermosight (probably the keg version because I ran the fittings through the thin wall of the cooler where the drain spigot used to be). The sight glass part of that worked fine. The thermometer part didn't. I never managed to get it to work without leaking. So my recommendation is a sight glass and separate thermometer port. I just looked at the one at bargainfittings, and it is different from the Zymico thing I had, so maybe it can work without leaking.

[BrewFrenzy]

Yep, the bargainfittings option looks pretty viable and using my current IC as a pre-chiller might be the way to go. I think our setups will be similar as I am leaning towards a 2-tier system like your old one (getting a single march pump).