Diy rims

Does anybody know if you can use TFE paste to seal threads in my diy rims? Teflon tape is just not doing the job.

 

If it's listed as food safe, sure, but there really is no threaded fitting leak that can't be fixed by teflon tape. Are you sure you're wrapping it in the correct direction? Looking straight at the open end of the male threaded end, wrap teflon clockwise.

 

Perhaps i need to put more on or the heavier density. I retaped it & it got significantly better. Now its just some small drips.

 

If it's the heating element that is leaking it's the threads. The threads are straight and the fitting is tapered. It takes some elbow grease sometimes or a thicker washer...

 

It is that but its also one of the "t's" where the pipe is going into. I may also get a silicone o ring for the element.

 

There's also the heavier duty Teflon tape. At my local Lowe's the standard stuff is white and the heavy duty is pink. That stuff will seal up threads really well and with fewer wraps than the standard stuff.

 

not all joints are meant to be taped...

Compression fittings and Flare fittings - the nut draws the two mating surfaces together, and tape will only 'thicken up' the threads, preventing the mating surfaces from making adequate contact.

 

I just bought the pink Teflon tape & will try that first. I got Blue Monster pipe thread sealant (liquid/paste) as back-up in case the tape doesn't work. It is non-toxic & can be used on potable water. Also got a 25 pack of #217 silicone o rings off eBay for a steal of $4.50 + shipping. I'll try this soon to see if I can get it to stop.

 

how about a pic?

 

Clear silicone sealant works well, too....easier and more aesthetic than tape, IMO.

 

Here's a pic of my DIY RIMS. 2 ends have the element & temp probe that will go into it. The tops of the T will have quick connects fir in/out of wort flow.

 

Where is it leaking? That should be easy to fix. Might need 2 pipe wrenches to tighten, Use 6 wraps of teflon on stainless!

 

Ok....so I have tried thicker Teflon tape & pipe thread sealant & it still leaks. I think it is the threads on the pipe because all the bushings have sealed. Any suggestions? Think I'm taking the pipe back for a new one or rethread.

 

Are you using pipe wrenches? They need to be pretty tight.
Also check the fittings, I've seen hairline cracks on tees etc..that spread the tighter you make them, or even a bad casting.

 

+1 on this. One or two wraps is not sufficient. At least six wraps and do warm ups if you need to, don't bee gentle with it. Really tighten it down.

 

Taking it back for rethread. The T's barely go on before they tighten up. The bushings screw in quite a bit before the "snug" down. I think the threads are off.

 

Ohhhh. You had the pipe threaded on location? I've had Home Depot thread some black pipe for me once and I tried threading a coupling on right in front of the guy and got maybe 1/2 turn. I asked him to adjust the die for a smaller OD and he refused and tried to tell me it was fine.

 

Yes! Bought it from a pipe company & they thread it there. Took it back for them to rethread. Hopefully that takes care of the problem. I could only turn it 3/4 to 1 full revolution before it would start to tighten. That didnt seem right to me.

 

So i finally got everything leak proof & wired up for an electric/element test. I use a high gravity ebc w/the variable power. After about 15 min of running, my gfi breaker tripped. I turned it back on & power was going to the element but not heating. It is a fold back element & may have been touching the inside of the tube. The element burned through itself

Diid this have anything to do with it touching the tube or too much power going to it? I had the variable power all the way up.

 

Which element?

 

Dont recall the type but it was. 4500 watt 240v fold back style.

 

Any suggestions where i can get a SS ULWD 4500-5500 element? The one i just ruined was through Grainger

 

You're running this thing on 240v or underpowering with 120?

 

240v. Here is a picture if you see past the flash. I cannot imagine that it was caused by lack of water in the tube. I didnt even turn the element on until i had pressure & the water flowing. I am sure that with that kind of pressure that the entire tube should have been filled with water. Is it possible that i either got a bad element or that i should have dialed down the power to the element through my control knob? I did have it lying horizontal vs vertical.

 

4500 watts is about double the realistic max. You should be looking at 2000w or less for a RIMS. If you want to play around with higher wattage for inline water heating and stuff like that, you should use a switch to be able to run the element on 120v when recirculating your mash.

 

2000w element even if I recirculating over 20 gallons?

 

The output receptacle is set up for 240v. Is there a way to just wire the element to use 120v only?

 

The object of the RIMS is to apply a small amount of heat to small volume of liquid in the tube for gentle temp correction. I'm in the middle of building a controller that will run a 5500 watt element on either 240 or 120v and it can be done with a 30amp DPDT switch. You can also get 2000w elements that run on 240v.

One other question is what kind of element control are you using and where are you measuring your temp for process control?

 

Found a 2000w/240v one & will be getting it. Does it need to be bent some so that it is not too close to the side of the tube wall?

I use a high gravity controller. Has an auber pid, liquid tight thermostat, output for 120v pump & 240v element.

 

Do you have a wiring diagram for this? Where is the dpdt switch? In your control box? My controller plugs into my receptacle/gfi panel. The box has a 120 outlet for pump & a 240 outlet for bk.

 

If you're using a PID to control the element/wort temp, why does it matter what element wattage you use?

I am just in the beginning stages of planning my RIMS, and I hope to use a 240v, 4500w element to double as a RIMS for temp maintenance and mash out, and to use it as an inline water heater.

 

Why? Because a PID is a cycle time controller. It doesn't change the ON-state wattage of the element but just turns it on and off for specific periods of time. Units such as Auber's popular PID have a minimum cycle of 2 seconds. In order to run the mash maintain process as gently as possible, you'll want to be able to switch your element to "120 volt" mode such as what I did in my test controller so that when the PID is "ON" it's only 1375 watts.

Now, if the volume of wort inside the tube were larger, or the flow rate was sufficiently high, it would be fine to have a 4000w element firing, but I'm pretty sure that you'd caramelize the wort at typical RIMS flow rates. I'm not 100% sure so you can feel free to experiment.

I haven't created a pretty wiring diagram yet but here's the basic idea:

L1, L2, N, and G come into the box. That's black, red, white and green.

Now, the element has two terminals, one is wired through the SSR and then to common 1 of a DPDT switch (with center off) and terminal 2 of the element is wired to the common 2 of the DPDT switch.

source L1 goes to the A1 terminal on the switch and then you use a jumper from there to B1 on the switch so that L1 is routed to Element 1 in both positions.
source L2 goes only to switch terminal A2 and source neutral goes to switch terminal B2. This is basically what determines the element's voltage.

The switch has to be capable of 30a at 240v so the best one I found for this is Bryant 3025.

If you want, you can also move the "element off" function to a separate switch or contactor, and then you'd only need a SPDT switch for the voltage select.

Of course, make sure your green wire goes to everything metal that may be isolated for some reason..
Use GFCI outlets or breakers.

 

Sorry....I'm a visual learner. If you ever get around to a diagram, please send it my way. I will do a search to see if anybody has one out there in the meantime.