Introducing the Lazy Man's RIMS

I've seen Ghetto RIMS, poor man's RIMS and RIMS for Dummies threads. Now, it's time for a Lazy Man RIMS.

I'll go straight to the lazy part: I bought a ready made PID controller from Auber:

This is the lazy way, not the cheap way. I know I could have built this for a lot less than the $139 it cost.

The next thing is my RIMS heater: I bought a couple of heating elements at Home Depot and assembled a "pilot system" using PVC as a RIMS tube. I still may buy the ready made stainless RIMS tube from brewersequipment.com. To me that is the best solution...I can't even buy the SS parts for the $75 they sell a ready made RIMS tube. I still have the heating elements which are cheap. I know I can build or even better, buy (remember, I'm lazy) the heater tube, but I already had another immersible heater that I bought last year. This is a 1000w bucket heater available from amazon.com for about $32.

I filled our kitchen sink with water a few days ago and this little 1000w heater took the temp from 80F to 161F in about an hour. So, I know it can maintain a mash temp. I would never rely on it for boiling. I will still use the propane system for quick heating and boiling.

Today, I am working from home and I decided to test the PID with this heater. This year, I am brewing most things in 3gal batches, so I filled my mash tun with 4gal of 82F water. BTW, the tun is a square Coleman 10-gal bev cooler. It has graduated markings on the inside, so I don't even need a sight glass. I bought two of these coolers over 10yrs ago during my first bout with the home brewing virus. I currently have a brass and copper valve on it but an all stainless unit is on the way from bargainfittings.com.

Today's test results were quite good...at least for my 4gal of water. I heated to 152F from 82F in under 30min. I forgot to set my timer but it was pretty quick. Also, it maintained the 152 degrees. The PID also has a timer on it, so I can raise the temp and hold it for a set amount of time.

I'm going to use a semi-BIAB method with this. I do have a 10gal kettle with a SS valve for boiling and heating my initial mash water. I'm thinking that I will place the heater inside the grain bag which sits either directly in the cooler or in a stock pot basket. Then I will pour the grains around the heater. The heater has a stainless shield around it, but I may need to also wrap a strainer bag around the heater and it's shield to keep grains away from the element. Since it is "semi-BIAB", I don't plan to sparge, but I can since I have a 10gal kettle and another 10gal bev cooler.

For recirculation, I have a Teel pump that I bought at least 10yrs ago and never used. This is the exact same model that was featured in the first article I ever read about RIMS. This was from the 1990s and was featured either in Brewing Techniques or BYO. I threw those old issues away about 6yrs ago when we moved, dangit. I even have a speed controller that I purchased from Grainger as recommended in the article.

I'll try to get some photos of this posted. I only brew in fall, winter and spring. It's just too damned hot in GA during the summer.

Interesting stuff. Does that Auber PID controller come with a relay built in ? Can you really run 1000 watts off it ? No heat sink?

I'm thinking in my mind how this would compare up against the Sabco RIMS wizard. Seems like the same type of take with a ready-made RIMS that anyone could put together if they could afford it, and seems like yours would be more affordable.

XXguy said:

Interesting stuff. Does that Auber PID controller come with a relay built in ? Can you really run 1000 watts off it ? No heat sink?

I'm thinking in my mind how this would compare up against the Sabco RIMS wizard. Seems like the same type of take with a ready-made RIMS that anyone could put together if they could afford it, and seems like yours would be more affordable.

Click to expand...

15 Amp. You can go up to a 1500W element with it. 2000W would put you over at 16A, but may still work. The spec says 15A because that's the "max allowable current on a standard household outlet".

XXguy said:

Interesting stuff. Does that Auber PID controller come with a relay built in ? Can you really run 1000 watts off it ? No heat sink?

I'm thinking in my mind how this would compare up against the Sabco RIMS wizard. Seems like the same type of take with a ready-made RIMS that anyone could put together if they could afford it, and seems like yours would be more affordable.

Click to expand...

There is a heat sink built into the unit on the bottom. It has two legs that fold down to elevate/slant the face of the unit. That allows air to circulate. Honestly, I think the little 1000w heater worked better with the PID than it did when plugged directly into a wall outlet. But I don't see how that could be true...just my imagination.

Very interesting.

I too have become rather lazy.

Let us know how it goes on brew-day.

which side of Atlanta? I'm west.

bakins said:

Very interesting.

I too have become rather lazy.

Let us know how it goes on brew-day.

which side of Atlanta? I'm west.

Click to expand...

I'm north. BTW, yours was one of the systems that inspired mine.

You beat me. I have been going back and forth on this for a few weeks now and will pull the trigger with some slight changes. I am planning on getting the Multi-purpose controller. It will do up to 6 different programs which I thought might be useful for mash out. I also like the temp sensor connector better. It is a 3 wire plug as opposed to a jack type setup. It's a little spendy but it will save me some headaches with the wiring which makes my head spin just thinking about.

http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8&products_id=110

I plan on pairing that with one of Derrins RIMS tube (on order) and a 1500w uld element.

Let us know how you like it. Nice work!

Yep, they came out with a couple of new models this year. I came close to buying this thing last year, but decided to make sure I was going to keep brewing since I had been away from it for so long. I still may get the pre-built RIMS tube, but for now, I'm going to try the bucket heater. Since I'm only going to be brewing mostly 3gal batches, I think my bucket heater has potential. If I ever want to cook something for three days in a crock pot, I can always use the controller.

I hear ya. I actually came across these while looking for a controller for a smoker that I was looking to put together. So it might be a dual use item for me.

They make a dual purpose unit for smokers that I also considered. I have two of the Masterbuilt Electric smokers. One is the digital model and one is the analog model. I also have a ProQ charcoal smoker.

A couple of photos:
1. The Coleman 10 gal beverage cooler. I have two of these but only use one for brewing. My stainless valve came yesterday so I will replace the brass valve before I actually brew again. In this photo, the heater is sitting inside a stock pot basket. You can also see the markings for gallons and liters on the side (the lazy man don't need no stinkin sight glass). I use an RV water filter and white potable water hoses to run water into the MT. I can use the markings to determine my volume and either drain that into the kettle or heat it in the cooler/MT. I also have a couple of different thermometers to verify the mash temp including the one in the photo and a Cole-Parmer lab thermometer. I think I may need to make a small notch at the top for the cord to pass through. I may be able to lock it down without a notch...I did not really try.



This photo shows the Auber PID. I filled the lid of the cooler with Great Stuff foam and a bit of that squished out onto the lid.

The point of the rims tube is to keep the liquid moving past the heater and not have any real localized heating within the mash. I feel like putting the element in the mash is really going to create a hot spot. Where do you plan to mount the temp sensor?

Bobby_M said:

The point of the rims tube is to keep the liquid moving past the heater and not have any real localized heating within the mash. I feel like putting the element in the mash is really going to create a hot spot. Where do you plan to mount the temp sensor?

Click to expand...

I'm with Bobby here. I'd also be a little concerned with having my grain directly in contact with the heating element.

I hope it works out, though!

Somewhere in my original post I mentioned my concern about grain contact with the element. I am going to put the heater inside a mesh bag and place that inside the grain bag. I was thinking about putting the probe near the heater since that will be the hottest spot. the return inlets will be placed away from the center. It's all an experiment in laziness. I can always buy the $75 RIMS tube from Brewer's Equipment. I already have two different elements. I could place the heater in the corner and keep the grain bag in the basket. There would still be a hot spot in the corner.

I just thought of something else: The water in the cooler was still 100F several hours after I turned off the heat. I believe the insulation plus the thermal mass of the heated grain will hold the temp pretty well and the heater will probably not come on very much.

Do you plan to use a pump for recirculation? I had assumed you were planning to place the element in the path of recirculating wort somehow. Now I'm thinking you're going to have one huge localized hotspot until the entire grain bed heats up.

XXguy said:

Do you plan to use a pump for recirculation? I had assumed you were planning to place the element in the path of recirculating wort somehow. Now I'm thinking you're going to have one huge localized hotspot until the entire grain bed heats up.

Click to expand...

Yes, I think I mentioned my pump somewhere on the first page. It is a Teel pump that I bought back in the 1990s. I bought the same model that was used in the first RIMS system I ever read about. It was in BYO or Brewing Techniques.

Also, I was posting as you were and you probably missed my post above. Once the water was at temp, the pump just cycled on and off very quickly and that was with just plain water. The water was still at 100f several hours later after turning it off. With the insulation and the grain, I don't think the heater will come on much at all during the mash. With the heater being in a separate mesh bag inside the grain bag, I hope to avoid burning any grains. I am going to heat the strike water in my BK pump it back to the MT. I can use the markings in the MT to measure my water and then let that drain into the BK for heating.

It's all an experiment.

I still have not brewed anything in this "device" yet. However, last night, I assembled it again with just 6 gal of water. I let it heat for an hour at 154F. I turned it off at 12:30am and this morning at 9:45, it is still 115F. At least I know that this cooler is really well insulated. The heater I have will probably not need to cycle on very often especially when there is grain added to the equation.

What is the advantage of a system such as this over simple infusion mashing in a cooler? Perhaps I'm missing something, but I'm not understanding your goal.

Catt22 said:

What is the advantage of a system such as this over simple infusion mashing in a cooler? Perhaps I'm missing something, but I'm not understanding your goal.

Click to expand...

Damn, I thought the title explained it.

My goal: I can maintain the temp and recirculate, that's all. I can probably raise the temp to do a mash out if I wanted to. It was just an easy way to introduce electric heat into my MT w/o constructing a RIMS tube. The bucket heater is UL listed unlike any RIMS tube and it can raise the water temp to mash temps. The stainless guard that is around the element can be inserted into a small mesh bag to keep the grain off the element. I also have another identical cooler and could buy another heater to make it a HLT.

I just started brewing again last autumn after about 15yrs. I once had a keggle, the two Coleman coolers, 3 Coke kegs converted to fermenters and 7 for serving. I even had a nice plate filter for beer and a small laminar flow hood for yeast culturing back in the 90s. Our previous home had a basement bar with a twin tower draft system and a walk-in wine cellar. In the late 90s, I had two young kids and lost interest in brewing. I sold most of that stuff but for some reason kept a new pump and the two coolers. When I started back last year, I did not want to assemble a large system and this was something I came up with that could be put away when not being used. I want to brew several batches before spring and pack it away. Since I sold my Cornie kegs, I decided to buy 12 Tap-a-Draft mini-kegs. I keep most in a fridge in my garage and a few at our lake house.

The TAD system worked great last year and I just finished drinking the last one a week ago.