I would like to ask a few questions about the brewing process using a HERMS setup.
I am currently brewing all grain using converted coolers and a turkey fryer. I use a 3 tier gravity setup with a continuous (fly) sparge process to collect in my BK over the course of 60 to 90 minutes.
I am trying to plan for the changeover to a one burner, single tier HERMS setup. I have designed a 2 pot system that also uses the HLT as Boil Kettle (BK) in order to make use of the HERMS coil for chilling (recirculate ice water through coils).
I have one march pump, and unless I am missing something I think I can do this with the 2 keggles and only one pump. Where I am having some "issues" in my planning is the sparge portion of the process. It might be necessary to add a 3rd vessel and a second pump for the sparge process, but I prefer to avoid this if possible. This is where I am uncertain, and here is where the questions arise.
1) How do you fly sparge with a march pump and still be able to run a 60 to 90 minute sparge?
2) Does the pump introduce the possibility of oxygenation if you restrict the flow too much and how can you tell if you have air bubbles trapped within?
3) How do you vorlauf when using a pump; how do you know when the wort is clear enough to start collecting in the kettle?
Thanks in advance for your assistance, and if I have left something out please feel free to address the issue.