Blichmann BrewEasy

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Gustatorian said:
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?
Click to expand...

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.
 
This shows the mash setup

20160318_061359.jpg
 
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)

20160318_061552.jpg
 
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.

20160318_061724.jpg
 
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.

20160318_062622.jpg
 
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.

20160318_062712.jpg
 
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.

20160318_063058.jpg
 
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.
 
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
 
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.
 
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?

temp.jpg
 
scullerkurt said:
I purchased the rims rocket bracket from blichmann
Click to expand...


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.
 
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
 
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...
 
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!
 
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.
 
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?
 
I have 240V 10 gallon system. Wanted to get my profile/settings correct, using Brewer's Friend.

Assuming BIAB, but was wondering about boil off rate, efficiency, etc.

Any help is appreciated!

Ken
 
@skullerkurt , any recs on how you mounted the RIMS Rocket mounting bracket onto you ToP? I'm not tool savvy whatsoever, so anything helps (drill bits, where you drilled, which holes on the mounting bracket you used) Any detail is helpful, thanks!
 
It's been awhile, but I think I used the hardware included with the RIMS rocket. If not, they are carriage bolts...3/8" by 1/2" long or so should do. You unscrew the back cover, drill holes (I used a drill bit that has a very sharp point to keep it from "walking" while drilling). Here is a close up pic, it's a pretty easy install.

rims bracket.jpg
 
jmitchell3 said:
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...
Click to expand...

I had this issue for the first time this morning, I was planning a double brew day. :( I don't see an issue with the cable or the temp sensor, so I don't know which one is the issue - I guess I have to buy both? Did they make any suggestions on how to this happens, what to avoid?
 
I just had that problem on a gen 1 tower of power. The old cable/sensor was a one piece welded connection with shrink wrap. I'm not sure what failed. I had to specify I had the gen 1 set up and it took a bit of back and forth with my lhbs and blichmann before they sent the correct replacement parts. I ordered two of each just to have a spare. Gen 1 was a 3pin and gen2 is a 4 pin connector.

The new cable has a much better spring loaded connector at the sensor assembly. I unplug mine now after a brew day and treat it like a Delicate little flower.

I'm just using it to control a HERMS coil in my gas HLT so I just went old school and did a single infusion mash. I think your screwed if your electric . I was able to get a little connection from time to time but I just went manual on the burner and used a thermometer to manage temps until the parts came. I see a long brew day in your future... Mug:)
 
abiddle said:
I had this issue for the first time this morning, I was planning a double brew day. :( I don't see an issue with the cable or the temp sensor, so I don't know which one is the issue - I guess I have to buy both? Did they make any suggestions on how to this happens, what to avoid?
Click to expand...

It was the cable both times for me. If you unscrew the ends and inspect the connections that would yield more info. When i inspected mine one end's soldered connections had come loose.
 
I brewed this weekend and had an issue with the ToP (tower of power) and think it may be related to the solenoid but curious as to whether anyone has had this issue and thoughts, suggestions, etc. So, the mash was 100% normal, ToP was set to Auto @ 160 degrees and shut the gas off and on as needed, worked like a charm. However, when I started my boil and switched the ToP to "on" (instaed of "auto" which it was set to during mash) the gas kept turning off by itself, which it has never done. I recently changed the cable too, as someone yanked it out at my last brewday and broke it. It's a brand new cable, first use. I'm wondering if the new cable is the culprit or if it was a gas leak or what??? Why would it turn itself off while set to "on" during the boil, it should just be a constant flow of propane (which I'll control with the red knob at the tank itself)? Thoughts?
 
Has anyone built a custom TOP stand? I was thinking of doing a stainless four castor stand for my TOP, morebeer CFC, and pump.
 
Stouterson said:
I wanted to share that by far the best upgrade I've made with my system is outfitting the Blichmann kettles, pump, autoparge, and therminator with 1/2 inch quick disconnects.

6ft and 3.5 ft silicon hoses seem to be the best length for my 20 gallon system.

http://www.love2brew.com/Quick-Disconnect-1-2-Female-x-1-2-Barb-p/fit018c.htm

http://www.love2brew.com/Quick-Disconnect-1-2-Male-x-1-2-FPT-Female-p/fit018b.htm
Click to expand...


How many of each did you purchase? What exactly did you buy? I've been wanting to make this upgrade for a while now. Cheers!
 
Stouterson said:
I wanted to share that by far the best upgrade I've made with my system is outfitting the Blichmann kettles, pump, autoparge, and therminator with 1/2 inch quick disconnects.

6ft and 3.5 ft silicon hoses seem to be the best length for my 20 gallon system.

http://www.love2brew.com/Quick-Disconnect-1-2-Female-x-1-2-Barb-p/fit018c.htm

http://www.love2brew.com/Quick-Disconnect-1-2-Male-x-1-2-FPT-Female-p/fit018b.htm
Click to expand...


Stouterson,
What exactly did you buy? How many of each in order to cover it all? I've been wanting to make is upgrade for a while now but haven't been able to determine which quick disconnects are best. Cheers!
 
strangr419 said:
Stouterson,
What exactly did you buy? How many of each in order to cover it all? I've been wanting to make is upgrade for a while now but haven't been able to determine which quick disconnects are best. Cheers!
Click to expand...

I've been happy with camlocks. They seem to have a wider inner diameter if that counts for anything.
 
Stouterson said:
I wanted to share that by far the best upgrade I've made with my system is outfitting the Blichmann kettles, pump, autoparge, and therminator with 1/2 inch quick disconnects.

6ft and 3.5 ft silicon hoses seem to be the best length for my 20 gallon system.

http://www.love2brew.com/Quick-Disconnect-1-2-Female-x-1-2-Barb-p/fit018c.htm

http://www.love2brew.com/Quick-Disconnect-1-2-Male-x-1-2-FPT-Female-p/fit018b.htm
Click to expand...

You had to use thread sealing tape around them, correct?
 
How do you guys clean your system?

I've been removing the boilcoil from the BK, then cleaning both separately. Then I reassemble and pump hot pbw through my system...then water...then sanitizer. This is obviously really time-consuming and inefficient.


I've heard of people transferring the beer out of the BK then simply throwing in some water+pbw and letting it run, but I can't imagine the pbw removing any of the trub material stuck to the boilcoil. Also, once it's removed from the coil, it's cycling through the system. Obviously some of that is going to get stuck to the sides of the BK when removing the liquid.

If anyone could shed some light on cleaning the system more efficiently, I'm all ears.
 
Gustatorian said:
How do you guys clean your system?

I've been removing the boilcoil from the BK, then cleaning both separately. Then I reassemble and pump hot pbw through my system...then water...then sanitizer. This is obviously really time-consuming and inefficient.


I've heard of people transferring the beer out of the BK then simply throwing in some water+pbw and letting it run, but I can't imagine the pbw removing any of the trub material stuck to the boilcoil. Also, once it's removed from the coil, it's cycling through the system. Obviously some of that is going to get stuck to the sides of the BK when removing the liquid.

If anyone could shed some light on cleaning the system more efficiently, I'm all ears.
Click to expand...


In my 5 gal system, i use a half cup of pbw in a full kettle of water, turn on the pump and coil and run it for 1-2 hours at 180F then let it sit overnight. Cleans it right up. Try it...it works!
 
jmitchell3 said:
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...
Click to expand...

EDIT: After having the NO CONT PROBLEM , bought 2 new cable and 1 temp probe. Out of the 2 new cables, just one worked.
Opened up the new cable with problem and my old cable, both had bad soldering on them. Did not expect that lack of product quality.
 
Had test run #2 with plain water this evening on my 240V 10 gallon BE. I am new to all-grain, new to pumps, etc., so please excuse my dumb questions/paranoia in advance.

First off: Thank you Dana for the video, very helpful for a noob like me, I've watched it probably 20x.

Anyway, the plan is to have my first official brew day on the BE. I'll be doing 7 gallon batches in my 10 gallon system (basically to ensure boil coil is covered)

Random questions/concerns (any thoughts are appreciated):

-Used .5 gallon flow washer to drain into BK. Left behind too much water/wort, as the draining pretty much stopped. What am I doing wrong?

-Pump seems to take a little while to prime: I open all valves, and it struggles for a few minutes before I get a good circulation going.

-I want to ensure the BK has at least 5 gallons of liquid in order to keep boilcoil covered, still getting used to the autosparge....Haven't mashed any grain yet- What's the trick to making sure I have an even amount of liquid in top & bottom? ( I basically to 7 gallon batches so I use 10+ gallons of water)

-Boilcoil: Is there a way to turn the heat off? (I know I could turn temp setting down), but I was under impression that "reset" setting turned off the heat, is that not the case? DO I just turn my temp setting down? I accidentally ran it dry as I was watching my BK drain.

-Boilcoil #2: I got 10 gallons of water to a little boil, but haven't got a big, rolling boil yet (Had it set to 220 @ 99%). Thinking maybe because it's just plain water?

-Brewometers are useless during a 7 gallon batch on 10 gallon system, neither level is high enough to get a reading.

-Gotta get quick disconnects. The Therminator having 2x male ends for water hoses caught my by surprise.

-When chilling, I am leaving behind a few gallons behind in BK and chiller (too much)...Once again, the pump was running, but it didn't seem like the Bk was draining, and nothing was going into fermentor. I was able to get 6.5 gallons into fermentor, but still leaving too much liquid behind. Was impressed with the Therminator. Why is the flow stopping?

Overall, I am gaining more confidence, but leaving too much liquid behind/spilling it, still getting the hang of the tower of power and boil.

Fair to say there is a learning curve?
 

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