Changes from batch sparge to RIMS

As I prepare to brew my first ebrew session I am wrapping my head around the differences. I plan to recirculate my mash which is new. I batch sparge with great results now.

Is there a quick an easy guide to brewing with RIMS with temps and water amounts. IE: do I just recirculate with full preboil amount of water and ramp up for mash out?

Whether you do RIMS is a separate issue from how you sparge. You can use a RIMS system to do no sparge, batch sparge, or fly sparge. If you were batch sparging before you went to RIMS, probably I'd start with that.

Yes. I guess the better question would be what do people prefer to do with their RIMS. Recirculative mash seems very common and I need to read up on that. I plan to heat my water in my MT, add grain and recirculate the mash till I pump it into the BK.

RIMS is by definition a recirculating mash system, so if you are planning to do RIMS then you'll definitely recirculate your mash. With a standard 3 vessel system, the only difference between RIMS and standard brewing practices is that you recirculate the wort in the mash tun and use a RIMS tube (or direct fire mash tun) to hold (or ramp up) mash temperature. Aside from that, it's identical. For what it's worth, I have a direct-fire three vessel RIMS system and I batch sparge.

But, when you say "heating your water in your MT", do you mean your new system is 2 vessel? If so, that rules out batch and fly sparging. You could either do things brutus 20, style -- in which case you use a standard water/grist ratio and add the rest at mash-out -- or you could do no-sparge -- in which case you mash with your full water volume.

I am two vessel with a rims tube. Grain/mash in one and Bol kettle the other. I guess I'm looking to see if people run the full boil amount through mash with a step up at the end for strike. Or add the additional water at boil. When I batched on the other system I was constant at 70+ efficiency.

Just looking of opinions.

OK, I understand the question now! I've never heard of anyone adding additional water straight to the boil. I'm pretty sure you'd take an efficiency hit doing that.

The more common options with a two vessel system are either to mash with the whole water volume (no sparge) or do the brutus 20 method (sometimes known as a "continuous batch sparge"). For that, you use a standard amount of water for the mash water, heat mash out water in your boil kettle, and after you're done mashing you start recirculating between the two vessels until the gravity of the wort in both vessels equalizes. Take a look at the brutus 20 link I gave above, it explains it much better than I can.

I don't think there's a huge efficiency difference between the two methods. Both will be less efficient than a standard batch sparge, of course, but I've heard people say they can still get in the 70% range if everything is dialed in.

Hopefully someone else will chime in, since I don't have any first-hand experience with two-vessel systems.

I've used a RIMS system for a couple of years now. I mash with 1.5-1.75 quarts per lb of grain and constantly recirculate. When that is finished it goes into the boil kettle. I then rinse the grains with the sparge water, recirculate for a couple of minutes then in it goes to the boil kettle. So I sparge separately from mashing. I consistently get 80% efficiency. Crush plays a part here as well.

Since you have 2 vessels, you'll need to drain your 1st runnings from you mash into a bucket or two and hold there until your sparge water is out of the HLT (soon to be boil kettle). I don't recall ever having an issue doing it this way.

Good luck!

I'm willing and plan to try different techniques. Thanks for the link. I also found some good info here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/i-love-no-sparge-brewing-140972/