Sinandgrin
Member
So the time has come where I have out grown my current setup and would like to step full time into all grain setup. I have read a whole lot from this forum and other postings that I could find, but its been hard for me to piece it all into one place and I thought asking all these questions could start a great discussion that others could use to get their first eBIAB setups going easily.
I have some main goals that I would like to define first.
1. It should be an all-electric 120v single vessel setup with some temp automation (control mash temp)
2. Average batch size of 5 gallons or smaller.
3. Keep general costs minimal, but I dont mind spending a little more for things that are future proof and could be used on newer systems if I ever built something else.
With these general goals in place here was my thought. I would use my existing 7 gallon SS pot as the single vessel on the electric stove top surface. I would add a drain bulkhead and ball valve to pull out the liquid to a pump and through a 120v RIMS tube, and then return the liquid back to the top of the vessel. I would heat from room temp up to strike using both the RIMS and the stove top. Once I doughed in I would like to automate the temp control using just the RIMS system. The stove would come back on to heat after my mash schedule up to 170 for sparge. Then after the grain bag is removed both systems would stay on to bring to a boil, and depending on total system capacity would stay on to maintain boil.
Some questions that first come to my mind and should determine if this is even a practical setup are;
1. Would there be enough heating capability in the stove top + the RIMS tube to heat my batches up to temps in a reasonable amount of time. For example I would like to heat from room temp up to strike in less than 40 minutes.
a. Do I need to consider going to a 240v system?
b. Is there some basic formula to help figure heating ability of different wattage rated elements?
2. What is a safe size heating element for the RIMS setup, so as not to pull too many amps from my single kitchen circuit, which is a 20 amp circuit. I read somewhere that 50% of the rated amp circuit should be a starting point, is this safe / correct? Also consider;
a. I would also have the pump running on the same kitchen circuit, so this would have to be factored.
i. I guess I could always run an extension cord from another room to power the pump if it was going to be an issue.
Some more specific question are;
3. Where do I need to take temperature readings from?
a. Could I mount a temp probe at the bulkhead exiting the pot after the ball valve and in line with the tubing going to the pump, kind of like a T fitting? On one end would be the ball valve from the pot, the opposite end would be the temp sensor, and the third opening (orientated downwards) would connect to the tubing going to the pump.
4. What other holes would I need, or want in my pot?
a. One for the send, going through the ball valve
b. Another for a return?
i. Should this be positioned towards the top and maybe angled to the side to help create a whirlpool for flameout?
c. Something for a sight glass?
d. An additional temp probe somewhere?
I hope this isnt too much to throw out all at once, and trust me I have a lot more to ask, but I would like to a better idea if this is something that makes sense to proceed with.
I have some main goals that I would like to define first.
1. It should be an all-electric 120v single vessel setup with some temp automation (control mash temp)
2. Average batch size of 5 gallons or smaller.
3. Keep general costs minimal, but I dont mind spending a little more for things that are future proof and could be used on newer systems if I ever built something else.
With these general goals in place here was my thought. I would use my existing 7 gallon SS pot as the single vessel on the electric stove top surface. I would add a drain bulkhead and ball valve to pull out the liquid to a pump and through a 120v RIMS tube, and then return the liquid back to the top of the vessel. I would heat from room temp up to strike using both the RIMS and the stove top. Once I doughed in I would like to automate the temp control using just the RIMS system. The stove would come back on to heat after my mash schedule up to 170 for sparge. Then after the grain bag is removed both systems would stay on to bring to a boil, and depending on total system capacity would stay on to maintain boil.
Some questions that first come to my mind and should determine if this is even a practical setup are;
1. Would there be enough heating capability in the stove top + the RIMS tube to heat my batches up to temps in a reasonable amount of time. For example I would like to heat from room temp up to strike in less than 40 minutes.
a. Do I need to consider going to a 240v system?
b. Is there some basic formula to help figure heating ability of different wattage rated elements?
2. What is a safe size heating element for the RIMS setup, so as not to pull too many amps from my single kitchen circuit, which is a 20 amp circuit. I read somewhere that 50% of the rated amp circuit should be a starting point, is this safe / correct? Also consider;
a. I would also have the pump running on the same kitchen circuit, so this would have to be factored.
i. I guess I could always run an extension cord from another room to power the pump if it was going to be an issue.
Some more specific question are;
3. Where do I need to take temperature readings from?
a. Could I mount a temp probe at the bulkhead exiting the pot after the ball valve and in line with the tubing going to the pump, kind of like a T fitting? On one end would be the ball valve from the pot, the opposite end would be the temp sensor, and the third opening (orientated downwards) would connect to the tubing going to the pump.
4. What other holes would I need, or want in my pot?
a. One for the send, going through the ball valve
b. Another for a return?
i. Should this be positioned towards the top and maybe angled to the side to help create a whirlpool for flameout?
c. Something for a sight glass?
d. An additional temp probe somewhere?
I hope this isnt too much to throw out all at once, and trust me I have a lot more to ask, but I would like to a better idea if this is something that makes sense to proceed with.
