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HLT Version 2.0
The changes in the Hot Liquor Tank can be seen in this picture. I installed a 25 foot copper coil in the HLT to act as the heating coil. You can also see the heating elements in that picture. They are 1440 watt 120V hot water heater elements that I bought at the hardware store for about $9 a piece. I drilled holes in the HLT as low as I could on opposite sides. Then I just screwed them into 1" female NPT X 1" copper sweat adapters. It was a chore tightening them but they don't seem to leak. On the outside I connected a short piece of a heavy duty extension cord and covered them with the cap from a small spray paint can. I also put a small 120V neon indicator light on the cap so I could easily see when the heaters were on. Here's a look at the outside connection. I then had to figure out a way to easily install the thermocouple. What I used was just a 1/2" by 3/8" compression fitting, a 3/8" compression cap and a small rubber stopper. I first drilled a small hole in the stopper and stuck it in the compression end of the fitting. I also drilled a small hole in the compression cap. This is a drawing of how I connected the parts. And this is what it looks like. The thermocouples I'm using are pretty thin and have a sharp pointed tip, so I can just push them through the end of the rubber stopper and it makes a nice water-tight seal.
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