Brew Quaffer
Member
I put together my RIMS system to be as simple as possible and to help me with dialing in my Mash Temp. I used this site for ideas, so figured I would show my system to perhaps give others some RIMS set up ideas.
We all know mash temp is key and that the actual temps in the mash-tun can vary due to a number of reasons. Temps leaving the RIMS are not necessarily what is leaving the Mash Tun during recirculation. If one can get the recirculation flow right you can come "close" to your RIMS temp set point is my premise
at the very least you know what's going on temp wise. Once I get my mash-in water temp to the correct temp and mash in, I am typically at the correct mash temp, if not then I PID it to correct temp - then leave the mash to sit for at least 40 minutes to do its conversion before starting to recirculate to compact the grain bed and hopefully rinse out more sugars from the grain. If you recirculate too early your just asking for temp differences in the Mash-tun during the key conversion time frame. Yes I still stir the grain bed here and there and double check with a hand held thermometer. Conceivably, during the recirculation one wants to keep the mash-tun /RIMS set point until the hour is up then Mash out if desired. I picked up a dual temp sensor off of Amazon with good reviews. I recently used this duel temp sensor to monitor the mash temps by placing both temp sensors into the Mash Tun thermowell. Worked surprisingly well in comparison to my PID Temp reading along with confirming with the use of instant hand thermometers . My goal is to use/try one of the two temp sensors in the mash-tun thermowell and the other on the Mash Tun output to the RIMS. I will use a 1/2 t - fitting with a 1/2 thermowell for this - once the 1/2 thermowell arrives from China, can't find any sellers in Canada So, this dual temp sensor will monitor both the mash and tun recirculation output temps. This is all just to keep me privy what's happening during the recirculation after conversion has already occurred. Too hot on the Mash-tun output then increase pump volume to compensate vise versa for too cool. I have seen others use a PID to monitor the output temps of Mash-tuns, an expensive alternative in my mind and waste of a PID.
I'm still learning, we all have our brew systems, key is to learn the system and get it to do what you want.
We all know mash temp is key and that the actual temps in the mash-tun can vary due to a number of reasons. Temps leaving the RIMS are not necessarily what is leaving the Mash Tun during recirculation. If one can get the recirculation flow right you can come "close" to your RIMS temp set point is my premise
at the very least you know what's going on temp wise. Once I get my mash-in water temp to the correct temp and mash in, I am typically at the correct mash temp, if not then I PID it to correct temp - then leave the mash to sit for at least 40 minutes to do its conversion before starting to recirculate to compact the grain bed and hopefully rinse out more sugars from the grain. If you recirculate too early your just asking for temp differences in the Mash-tun during the key conversion time frame. Yes I still stir the grain bed here and there and double check with a hand held thermometer. Conceivably, during the recirculation one wants to keep the mash-tun /RIMS set point until the hour is up then Mash out if desired. I picked up a dual temp sensor off of Amazon with good reviews. I recently used this duel temp sensor to monitor the mash temps by placing both temp sensors into the Mash Tun thermowell. Worked surprisingly well in comparison to my PID Temp reading along with confirming with the use of instant hand thermometers . My goal is to use/try one of the two temp sensors in the mash-tun thermowell and the other on the Mash Tun output to the RIMS. I will use a 1/2 t - fitting with a 1/2 thermowell for this - once the 1/2 thermowell arrives from China, can't find any sellers in Canada So, this dual temp sensor will monitor both the mash and tun recirculation output temps. This is all just to keep me privy what's happening during the recirculation after conversion has already occurred. Too hot on the Mash-tun output then increase pump volume to compensate vise versa for too cool. I have seen others use a PID to monitor the output temps of Mash-tuns, an expensive alternative in my mind and waste of a PID.I'm still learning, we all have our brew systems, key is to learn the system and get it to do what you want.
