Blichmann BrewEasy

[MrEggSandwich]

Just pulled the trigger on the 10 gallon 240V from Great Fermentations (Thanks guys for answering my questions)

I am mainly a 5 gallon brewer, but went with the 10 gallon system for the flexibility. I will most likely brew 6.5 or 7 gallon batches to ensure Boilcoil is covered.

Can't wait!

 

[Want2BS8ed]

Hmmm... sounds like I'm probably screwed. Time to have my first round with Blichmann customer service...

Thanks Want2BS8ed.

Yeah, doesn't sound good. Let us know how it goes. I have never had to reach out directly to Blichmann (have always dealt with the shop where I purchased the item), however in my experience Blichmann has always been responsive and stood behind their product.

They ARE human... it took 3 try's to get a G2 kettle pre-punched with the correct hole size for a safety float, but they always stepped up, accepted responsibility and made it right in the end - not to mention I got some pretty cool swag as well!

Errors are unavoidable and can be forgiven, poor customer service cannot.

Hope your experience ends up being as positive and you can get back to brewing.

M

 

[Gustatorian]

@skullerkurt , can you send me some directions on how you attached your RIMS rocket to the Top Stand? Did you drill into it? Mind sending a photo? THANKS!

 

[scullerkurt]

Take a look at the photo on post 730. Yes, I did mount directly into the top stand. I 90 deg ell out of the pump discharge, short hose, 90 deg ell into rims. Remove the long cover on the top, it will expose all the wiring. It was a pretty simple install. There may be a slicker way to hook up the rims...only issue is you run the top stand as shown in my pics, rotated 90 degrees from what you are used to. Also, be careful not to whack your hands on the top bracket.

 

[Gustatorian]

Take a look at the photo on post 730. Yes, I did mount directly into the top stand. I 90 deg ell out of the pump discharge, short hose, 90 deg ell into rims. Remove the long cover on the top, it will expose all the wiring. It was a pretty simple install. There may be a slicker way to hook up the rims...only issue is you run the top stand as shown in my pics, rotated 90 degrees from what you are used to. Also, be careful not to whack your hands on the top bracket.

What's your efficiency look like when using the RIMS rocket? Are you adding all the water to the Mash Tun when you circulate it through the RIMS or add some to the BK after mashing?

 

[scullerkurt]

Efficiencies are higher because you fly sparge. So amount of sparge water depends on how thick you wanna run your mash. I usually make a gallon or so of extra sparge water, I'll close the mt valve once target starting boil volume is achieved.

 

[Gustatorian]

Efficiencies are higher because you fly sparge. So amount of sparge water depends on how thick you wanna run your mash. I usually make a gallon or so of extra sparge water, I'll close the mt valve once target starting boil volume is achieved.

Do you have to fly-sparge or can you just recirculate through the RIMS and then drain all of the water into the BK? Do you mind telling the process of how you fly-sparge with RIMs?

 

[Gustatorian]

Also, where did you get the RIMs rocket connector for the ToP?

 

[IDONTWANAPICKLE]

I've read through most of this thread and I'm thinking of making the jump to AG with this system.

Any folks out there have a rough idea of how much propane is used per batch on the 10G and 20G systems?

 

[chewymatingcall]

Between 8-12 pounds of propane on the 20 gallon.

 

[scullerkurt]

I purchased the rims rocket bracket from blichmann

 

[scullerkurt]

Do you have to fly-sparge or can you just recirculate through the RIMS and then drain all of the water into the BK? Do you mind telling the process of how you fly-sparge with RIMs?

You won't have enough room for all brewing water when using the rims to control the mash temp. I use brewers friend to calculate the amount of sparge water.

On mash out, I dump wort to the empty boil kettle, and pump sparge water through the rims, temp control the sparge water, and the water goes into the mash tun via the sparge arm provided on the blichmann brew easy mash tun. This is really the only time the float control is important...during the sparge. You want to maintain the level a few inches above the grain bed. I typicall run my level where it was for the entire mash. You can adjust how quick you sparge by opening or closing off on the mt valve.

Be careful that you don't go too slow, your sparge water temp control may not work as good, as the flow rates are small.

I'll post pics of the various steps.

 

[scullerkurt]

This shows the mash setup

 

[scullerkurt]

I use two planks, one to step on (to fill mt, stir), the other to hold lab equipment and my glass of preferred refreshment (beer)

 

[scullerkurt]

Mash out set up. If you want a real slow flow, you'll need to manually turn the rims on/off the maintain the sparge water temp. I preheat sparge water using propane burner, I heat to 170 ish. I use the rims to maintain sparge water temp, I use a 169 setpoint. I put a wooden block under the hlt to get most water out of hlt. I usually make 1 or so gallons extra hlt water, once boil volume is met I shut off the hlt, unplug rims rocket, plug in boil kettle and start the boil going.

Could shorten this up by adding another top, but for an added 10 mins to my brew day, I'll avoid that expense.

 

[scullerkurt]

Clean the hoses with fresh water to get rid of crud. Then I unhook the rims, clean and put away for the session. Put star san in hlt, hook up heat exchanger, and recirculate star san from hlt, through system, into hop basket to catch any residual spent grain in the system. I run for 10 to 15 mins, then drain the system of residual star san, you can get most of it out...

Note...the pic shows the pump inlet hooked up to the bk. Ignore that, I hook up inlet of pump to star san filled hlt.

 

[scullerkurt]

Whirlpool setup. When I first start the whirlpool, I put the first 400 mls into a beaker and throw that out. I basically purge any remaining star san that way.

 

[scullerkurt]

After whirlpool to get 68 degree or so wort, I put the bk on a higher cart so I can gravity drop into my conical. I wait 15 mins or so before transferring cold wort into the fermentor; let the cold break settle out. Debates about this step, I've never tried skipping the 15 minute wait. Worthy experiment, but haven't done it yet. I'm so busy cleaning equipment that I'm not really extending brew day with this step.

 

[scullerkurt]

That's my long awaited step by step rimseasy process. Hope that helps. I developed this over a long period of time. I slowly added dedicated hoses for certain steps, but if you want, you can disconnect fittings and put on longer or shorter hoses as required. Depends how cumbersome you want your changeovers...fittings are expensive, tube not so much. User preference on that choice.

Good luck. Let me know if you try this, and what you learn. I'm sure there is still room for improvement.

 

[IDONTWANAPICKLE]

Holy smokes...I just went all in on a 20 gal gas LTE version. I can't wait to split batches accross 4 yeasts or dry hop combinations!

 

[Want2BS8ed]

Kurt, great information on how you are utilizing Blichmann's equipment.

I have done two 10-gallon batches now mashing with the RIMS-Rocket and noticed a definite improvement.

Still seeing some lag in step mashes. More than cut the step time in half by doubling the rice hulls and circulation.

Curious, in your process with the full TOP, what GPM are you circulating with and are you stirring the mash? If so, how deep (a third as Blichmann recommends, to the bottom or something in between.

Thanks again for posting your process. Almost to the point of getting the same results as the gas fired BrewEasy now.

M

 

[scullerkurt]

If memory serves, I'll do 4 lpm at the start to speed up the ramp, then go to 3 lpm once mash temp target is met. Grain bill can really change how much you can push the system to speed up ramp (Ie wort recirculation rate). Keep an eye on the sight glass, she'll tell you if your going too fast. It's something that you'll need to mess around with, but you'll be amazed how much that can speed up the ramp.

Obviously once at target temp, I cut back the flow to minimize chances of sticking. I rarely use rice hulls, only on high grain bills will I use rice hulls.

I stir like blichmann suggests, but with a fly sparge, I wonder if it really matters.

 

[scullerkurt]

Btw, my system is 5 gallon system...

 

[hmattar]

Either my thermometer probe or the cable is at fault. Do you guys know if I can replace with another brand or must be Blichmann?
It reads a lower temperature and if i touch the cable the screen on the tower of power goes crazy jumping the temperature all around. If i turn off and then on it will give an error for not finding any temp input. If i mess with the cables it comes back, with a wrong reading.


EDIT: I took my multimeter and did some test with the wiring. Both sides of the conector have 4 pins labeled 1,2,3 and 4. Pins 1 and 2 are shorted on both sides. Pin 3 comunicates with pin 4, and vice versa.

Can anyone confirm if this is the way it's suppose to work?

 

[brianccarr]

I purchased the rims rocket bracket from blichmann

I have been following your RIMS Rocket setup with interest. I am in the research phase of buying a system. It seems everyone is going the electric path. I live in the south and enjoy brewing on the deck so I'm fine with gas but I'm also willing to set up for electric. It seems that your setup has become something other than the Breweasy in an attempt to overcome temperature ramp up speeds as well as an issue of keeping enough water in the boil kettle to cover the Boilcoil. Do you feel that those obstacles would exist with the gas version of the Breweasy? There are now three kettles involved in your system it seems and that becomes one more thing to clean. I love the system you have developed and may consider going that direction myself. If gas would end up being the simpler setup then I believe that would probably work best for me. I would love to get some feedback. Thanks.

 

[Want2BS8ed]

BC,

While not directed to me I can speak to your question.

I converted a 10-gallon gas fired BrewEasy with full Tower-of-Power to electric so I could brew indoors.

I found the gas BrewEasy to heat faster with shorter intervals between steps while mashing and the mash tun itself to better hold temperatures.

Kurt's been very helpful and I have adopted his basic design since going electric (although I did add a second top controller for the hot liquor tank which later gets switched to the boil kettle). It's vastly improved step mashes, but still is not quite as crisp as the gas BrewEasy.

If I were to only brew outdoors, and had to make the decision knowing what I know now, I would stick with the gas.

If you have specific questions, fire away. Happy to help where I can.

Mike

 

[jmitchell3]

Has anyone else had issues with the temp sensor or cable? My cable was DOA (TOP module read "NO CONT") last year when I received my system, and just now tried to boot it up for cleaning and had the same "NO CONT" message on my TOP module. Have a new cable and sensor in the mail from Blichmann, but I'm tired of having this issue...If I have to replace the stupid cable twice a year, that's a no go...

 

[scullerkurt]

Sorry for the delayed response, I figured someone had gas vs electric experience...I have none. From a btu effieciency standpoint, electric is waaayyy more efficient, can be done indoors if the wife is cool with that. As far as crisp controls with the electric system, if you feel your controls are too slow (AND you did an autotune) you can increase the P value of the PID loop a bit. If you get too much overshoot from setpoint, bump it down until you're happy with the response. I don't recall what the TOP controller calls the P. It's also known as proportional, or gain. Make changes of a few tenths...the larger the P, the faster it will react

For those that know controls theory, I'm saying this with the assumption that the I (integral) is correct.

My 10 bbl system is installed btw. Hooking up utilities (ro water system and glycol system at the moment). I'm so busy I've run out of homebrew....waaaaa! No time to brew. Next batch will be 10 bbls!

 

[brianccarr]

Thanks for the replies. I feel going gas will be a good way to get started; then if the desire to go electric comes later, I'll already have many of the of components that I'll need. I wonder how much trouble it would be to switch back and forth. Could the boiled coil be removed and plugged and use the appropriate PID controller.? This would allow brewing at clubs, friends homes, ect... where 240v might not be available. This could be the best of both worlds. Just a thought.

 

[psymonkey]

I'm curious if anyone has tried adding a basic fly-sparge to the end of their mash?

I have the 5g gas version, so I don't have to worry about keeping the coil submerged. As long as the BK isn't so shallow as to present real scorching threat, I think this might work.

I've been thinking about using much less water for the mash, maybe as much as 2 gallons less depending on the grain bill. I'd heat the water on another burner toward the end of the mash, then connect that vessel to the pump following the mash-out. Has anyone tried this? It would seem to be a huge boon to efficiency as there would be some true grain rinsing with fresh water. Thoughts?