Hi all -
I'm getting very slow flow in my RIMS system and it's leading to some temperature fluctuations - since not much volume is flowing past the element, it heats up the tube too much, then shuts off for too long as the next volume is pushed in, etc.
I'm using one of the 18" stainless steel tubes from Brewhardware, 1500W 120V element, Auber PID, and silicone tubing. It connects to a 5-gallon round "gatorade cooler"-style mash tun, which has a full-diameter stainless false bottom that is suspended above the drain outlet (ball valve always fully open during RIMS circulation). Standard chugger pump, some back pressure applied.
When I am just heating water up to the strike temperature, everything is totally fine - there are no leaks, no kinks in the tubes or anything like that. After I add the grain, though, the volume circulating reduces noticeably - the tube out of the cooler and into the pump starts to flatten, and the volume out of the RIMS tube into the cooler visibly falls off.
If I shut down the whole system and stir the mash for a couple minutes, I can usually get it back running again at bit of a lower circulation speed. Sometimes I need to do this 2-3 times though.
What should I do? Has anyone else encountered this and if so, what helped?
Thanks for any suggestions...
I'm getting very slow flow in my RIMS system and it's leading to some temperature fluctuations - since not much volume is flowing past the element, it heats up the tube too much, then shuts off for too long as the next volume is pushed in, etc.
I'm using one of the 18" stainless steel tubes from Brewhardware, 1500W 120V element, Auber PID, and silicone tubing. It connects to a 5-gallon round "gatorade cooler"-style mash tun, which has a full-diameter stainless false bottom that is suspended above the drain outlet (ball valve always fully open during RIMS circulation). Standard chugger pump, some back pressure applied.
When I am just heating water up to the strike temperature, everything is totally fine - there are no leaks, no kinks in the tubes or anything like that. After I add the grain, though, the volume circulating reduces noticeably - the tube out of the cooler and into the pump starts to flatten, and the volume out of the RIMS tube into the cooler visibly falls off.
If I shut down the whole system and stir the mash for a couple minutes, I can usually get it back running again at bit of a lower circulation speed. Sometimes I need to do this 2-3 times though.
What should I do? Has anyone else encountered this and if so, what helped?
Thanks for any suggestions...