Herms Kit

Did my first batch with this kit on Thanksgiving and the wort was crystal clear by the end of the Mash. This kit is a great idea, because it came with everything needed to install the coil in the HLT and build the hoses for the circulation. The only change that I would make is to change the nuts on the compression fitting to ones with a machined groove for the o-ring. The Herms coil is heavy and puts enough downward pull to cause the upper fitting to leak because it is not flat against the HLT. I had to really torque down the nuts on the fitting which caused the O-ring to bulge out and it still leaks a bit. I have grooved O-rings coming from Brewhardware to fix this problem. A very minor inconvenience that doesn't take away from the awesomeness of this product. Processing and shipping was much slower than advertised, but it got here. Buy the kit instead of piecemeal, you won't be disappointed.

The quality of the HERMS coil package is great, the best. However this is greatly overshadowed by the poor delivery timelines, and lack of communication. In these days where home brew suppliers are delivering in 3 to 5 days. I waited at least three weeks. After 4 or 5 calls and several emails someone finally called my to give me a delivery date. When it arrived the package contained the wrong pump. This took an additional week to receive. I can not see myself purchasing from Stainless Brewing again despite the quality. I'll pay more for the quality someplace else rather than wait a month.

Good package removes the guesswork to determine all the pieces needed and hose routing. Coil, hose, and fittings are good quality. Improvement to consider is to provide 2 gaskets and 2 washers for the bulkhead fitting or grooved o-rings. This will seal the inside and outside of the HLT to avoid leakage.

I have yet to brew using the Herms kit. This kit is of the highest quality! I went with a 12 1/2" diameter coil for a 161/2" brew kettle and would recommend the 10" coil. Installing the 121/2"coil is almost impossible and once I did get it in, it is against the wall of the kettle. I will be replacing it with a 10" coil.

All Parts were there and worked for my application. I just tested the system on a wet/ heat run and works just as planned. I am controlling the pump with a Inkbird controller to maintain my Mash Tun Temperture. I would highly recommend this kit if you are looking for a consistant Mash Temp.