HLT HERMS based system

[orlando]

I've been perusing the forums and become interested in recirculating the mash, as I have suffered from very hazy wort and a suspicion that my extraction rate could be better. I want to keep things simple (because I am not a practical chap) and wonder if using a coil in the HLT as a heating system preventing the wort from cooling down too much would be the way to go? Can someone point me in the direction of a simple DIY system (with pics, plans, component list etc. Don't ask for much do I, although what I really want is someone to pop round and do it for me :party: ).

If there are opinions around easier or more effective methods that again don't tax a practically useless individual, I would welcome your views. You see, I don't just want to make beer, I want to make great beer :

 

[Stone Cold]

if you think that you are losing temp during the mash then you can try insulating the tun, and to get less haze in the wort maybe you could get a pump and do more recirculating but it could be worth posting a pic of your mash tun grain filter, maybe not fine enough???

 

[orlando]

if you think that you are losing temp during the mash then you can try insulating the tun, and to get less haze in the wort maybe you could get a pump and do more recirculating but it could be worth posting a pic of your mash tun grain filter, maybe not fine enough???

Don't think it's that, I have an iglee cool box with ss mesh filter and it only drops 1 degree over 90 minutes. Got it from the Home Brew Shop so properly put together and I wrap it up wth bubble wrap underneath and a duvet all round doubled over the top.

It's my belief that the mash tun is a little oversized for short brew lengths so the grain bed is struggling as a filter and recirculating might help to improve its performance.

 

[Stone Cold]

can you maybe use a plate of somesort to minimize the false bottom surface area? just an idea off top of my head

 

[orlando]

Underneath do you mean? I can see regular stuck mashes if I do though.