Total investment for system: Around $450, if purchasing all items new. But I used a thermostat from an old furnace that was scrapped from my house, the relay coil was given to me, and I got a bucket for free from a local restaurant. It was a used salsa bucket. Some of the other equipment I already had from my pre-HERMS system.
I have always dreamed of owning a B3 sculpture, but the expense is a bit out of my reach. So, doing a lot of reading on the subject and looking at other people's projects, I designed and built my own system. And it works great!!
My system uses a pump to move the mash and sparge water. The heat exchange part of the H.E.R.M.S. is a 6 gallon bucket, with a 2nd bucket wrapped around like a jacket for added insulation. I installed a 120V hot water heating element, a valve, and a thermostat to regulate the temperature.
My biggest hurdle was finding an AC relay coil with pick-ups that could handle the amp load to engage and disengage the heater (it draws about 12-13 amps!). Without the relay, the thermostat would burn out. I'm lucky to have a knowledgeable source for all the wiring (my father). The wiring wasn't hard, but don't try it if you don't know what you are doing.
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