I'm so lost. HELLLP! Just upgraded from white buckets to 10+ gallon stainless system...

[micraftbeer]

That SS Brewtech Infussion mash tun has foam insulation in the walls, so no heat can be applied to it. You have to do either recirculation of wort and heat outside the mash tun, or since it's insulated, get the right water temperature and add your grains and just let it sit. It will hold heat.

 

[whoaru99]

Good catch on the insulated mash tun. Definitely would not want to direct fire that bad boy.

So, the video link posted isn't apples to apples because you can't direct fire your mash tun. Still though, I think conceptually gives pretty good perspective on what it's all about.

 

[doug293cz]

I am going to suggest you not try to use everything in the system when you first start out. Transitioning to all-grain using the brew in a bag (BIAB) method is much simpler than trying to figure out how to move wort between multiple vessels and sparging after the mash. It's just like using steeping grains, but you use more grain, and temperature control is more critical. You just have to get a fine mesh polyester bag that is just big enough to fit your boil pot into, and about 4" taller than the pot. You can order an inexpensive, custom sized bag from @wilserbrewer - just send him a PM ("Conversation" on HBT) as his website is down temporarily. I highly recommend getting a pulley also, as it makes bag lifting much easier.

You say you have a 10+ gal system. Does this mean the kettles are 10 - 15 gal, or are they larger? A 10 - 15 gal kettle is a good size for brewing a 5 gal batch with BIAB (I use a 15 gal.)

Also, for your initial brews, it would be easier to just use a plastic bucket fermenter, as you are already familiar with using those. Less to learn initially.

Once you have the BIAB process down, you can start adding more complexity to your process as your comfort level increases.

Brew on

 

[whoaru99]

Wonder if there is a HERMS coil hiding out somewhere, considering can't direct fire that tun?

 

[Spartan1979]

Any chance the seller would help you out with your first brew?

 

[bmac8]

I think you're sort if putting the cart before the horse. You have an advanced brewing system you need to learn about first before attempting to brew your first batch. Most folks slowly upgrade to a system like that. Lucky you though, that is a great setup!

Do some searching on how all the pieces work and with each other. Make sure all of pieces are cleaned and sanitized as needed. Check and make sure you have all the pieces. It might sound stupid but what if you're missing a hose. Find a spot that you can set up everything like you going to brew then do some more reading and watch some YouTube on a system like that, or close to what you have.

After all that homework and you feel confident, then work on your first recipe. As suggested, try something simple so you can learn the system and your brewing technique.

Everyone here will want to know how it goes and everyone here is willing to help with more questions.

Good luck! Again, sweet system!

Thank you so much. Great advice.

 

[bmac8]

I am going to be the anti on this one. I read, or tried to read, Palmer's book and it just confused me even more than I was. I started this about two years ago with Extract kits on the stove. Move to a single kettle, all grain brew in a bag and added a Igloo 10 gallon cooler as my mash tun. While I am sure the book is a great resource for info, it was much too advanced for me and most it just flew right over my head. I found Youtube and good folks here to be much more helpful and easier to understand, well most of the

Any chance the seller would help you out with your first brew?

Good thought--Poor guy is in the hospital with something serious... I only just met him while buying his system... but yes, I know he would help me to understand it all... but it might be a long time until he is up for it. I don't want to bother him.

 

[bmac8]

Good catch on the insulated mash tun. Definitely would not want to direct fire that bad boy.

So, the video link posted isn't apples to apples because you can't direct fire your mash tun. Still though, I think conceptually gives pretty good perspective on what it's all about.

Noted! Thank you.

 

[bmac8]

Here's some additional baby step info.

This is your mash tun (SS Brewtech Infussion):
View attachment 834859

This is where you're gonna put your crushed grain into warm water and let it sit for like 60 minutes to extract the sugars.


This is your RIMS heater:
View attachment 834860
It will have an electric heating element in it that you'll control with one of those two Blichmann Tower of Power controllers. It will use a temperature probe to measure the wort as it recirculates through the RIMS. You'll pick a mash temperature (148F - 156F), and then use your pump to pull wort out of your Mash Tun, send it through the RIMS, and then based on the temperature reading, the controller will either turn on or off if it's below or above the temperature you set on the controller.

When the wort you're recirculating during the mash comes back into the top fitting of your mash tun, you connect it to this Recirc Manifold:
View attachment 834861
It lets the wort come in in a nice pattern so you're not drilling a hole in your grain bed with a firehose gusher stream of wort.


Since your pictures show 2 kettles (one SS Brewtech, the other Blichmann), you have what's referred to as a 2-Vessel (2V) setup. So after you mash for an hour, you pull the sugary wort liquid out of your mash tun using the same pump that has been recirculating, and direct it into the other kettle, which will be called a Boil Kettle (BK).
View attachment 834862
This point forward in your process is exactly like how you made your beer when using extract. The mash tun portion is creating your extract from soaking crushed grain. Now the BK is going to need some further pictures/investigation from you to see what is the planned heat source. Is there an electric heating element inside? If so, you would probably hook it up to the other Tower of Power controller. If not, maybe you'll be using your propane burner, or however you did your extract batches.

The Stout is your fermentor:
View attachment 834863
It's basically just your new plastic bucket. Treat it the same way. Sanitize it before putting your cooled wort into it. Monitor the temperature and put your yeast in at the right time. Have a blow-off or airlock to allow the CO2 created during fermentation to escape, etc.


The controllers for use during your mash and/or your boil are pretty simple. If you flip the toggle switch up to "Auto", it's going to turn the power on & off based on the temperature you've set with the little digital readout on the left, while comparing to the temperature it's measuring from your temperature probe. The middle position "Reset" is like off. And when the toggle switch is down to the "On" position, the controller will just be sending continuous power, not monitoring the temperature. When in that mode, the black control screen to the left lets you set the % power output, so you can dial down your boil intensity once your BK starts to boil.
View attachment 834864


Now on your control stand, you have two controllers:
View attachment 834865
There are little labels on there for "Mash", which would control your RIMS. And "HLT" which stands for Hot Liquor Tank, which is just a dumb name for hot water pot. If your Boil Kettle is electric, you could use this controller to control its heating element (even though someone put a sticker on there saying HLT). If your BK is not electric, then this HLT would be for a 3rd kettle that you use to heat water for sparging (since your RIMS can heat your water for mash-in). As a beginning journey, you can probably just skip the sparge step, and a do a "full volume mash" / "no sparge". If you so desire later, and want to do a 3rd vessel to heat sparge water, it makes your process a bit more complicated, but gets you better mash efficiency out of your grain. But that sparge process in itself is the topic for a whole other debate.

THAAAAANK YOUUUUUU! This is exactly what I needed to get my sanity back... Thank you!!!

 

[bmac8]

Here's some additional baby step info.

This is your mash tun (SS Brewtech Infussion):
View attachment 834859

This is where you're gonna put your crushed grain into warm water and let it sit for like 60 minutes to extract the sugars.


This is your RIMS heater:
View attachment 834860
It will have an electric heating element in it that you'll control with one of those two Blichmann Tower of Power controllers. It will use a temperature probe to measure the wort as it recirculates through the RIMS. You'll pick a mash temperature (148F - 156F), and then use your pump to pull wort out of your Mash Tun, send it through the RIMS, and then based on the temperature reading, the controller will either turn on or off if it's below or above the temperature you set on the controller.

When the wort you're recirculating during the mash comes back into the top fitting of your mash tun, you connect it to this Recirc Manifold:
View attachment 834861
It lets the wort come in in a nice pattern so you're not drilling a hole in your grain bed with a firehose gusher stream of wort.


Since your pictures show 2 kettles (one SS Brewtech, the other Blichmann), you have what's referred to as a 2-Vessel (2V) setup. So after you mash for an hour, you pull the sugary wort liquid out of your mash tun using the same pump that has been recirculating, and direct it into the other kettle, which will be called a Boil Kettle (BK).
View attachment 834862
This point forward in your process is exactly like how you made your beer when using extract. The mash tun portion is creating your extract from soaking crushed grain. Now the BK is going to need some further pictures/investigation from you to see what is the planned heat source. Is there an electric heating element inside? If so, you would probably hook it up to the other Tower of Power controller. If not, maybe you'll be using your propane burner, or however you did your extract batches.

The Stout is your fermentor:
View attachment 834863
It's basically just your new plastic bucket. Treat it the same way. Sanitize it before putting your cooled wort into it. Monitor the temperature and put your yeast in at the right time. Have a blow-off or airlock to allow the CO2 created during fermentation to escape, etc.


The controllers for use during your mash and/or your boil are pretty simple. If you flip the toggle switch up to "Auto", it's going to turn the power on & off based on the temperature you've set with the little digital readout on the left, while comparing to the temperature it's measuring from your temperature probe. The middle position "Reset" is like off. And when the toggle switch is down to the "On" position, the controller will just be sending continuous power, not monitoring the temperature. When in that mode, the black control screen to the left lets you set the % power output, so you can dial down your boil intensity once your BK starts to boil.
View attachment 834864


Now on your control stand, you have two controllers:
View attachment 834865
There are little labels on there for "Mash", which would control your RIMS. And "HLT" which stands for Hot Liquor Tank, which is just a dumb name for hot water pot. If your Boil Kettle is electric, you could use this controller to control its heating element (even though someone put a sticker on there saying HLT). If your BK is not electric, then this HLT would be for a 3rd kettle that you use to heat water for sparging (since your RIMS can heat your water for mash-in). As a beginning journey, you can probably just skip the sparge step, and a do a "full volume mash" / "no sparge". If you so desire later, and want to do a 3rd vessel to heat sparge water, it makes your process a bit more complicated, but gets you better mash efficiency out of your grain. But that sparge process in itself is the topic for a whole other debate.

I cannot thank you enough. This is EXACTLY what I needed to get my brain back into my head. I am working to organize and figure the hoses, clamps, attachments... and I will run a water batch and an extra one to clean all before I even think about brewing.

You really went above and beyond to help. Thank you so much. I owe you a beer, someday! I will keep you posted!

 

[bmac8]

Wonder if there is a HERMS coil hiding out somewhere, considering can't direct fire that tun?

If I understand what you mean--is that to cool the wort, or to heat to strike temp? Anyway, I am pretty sure, yes, I have that included somewhere.... still laying out my inventory... thank you for replying!

 

[bmac8]

Jump into the deep end from the wading pool.

A bit ironic though this came up. Just yesterday I bought a two burner Blichmann Top Tier stand and a single controller Tower of Power off FB marketplace, but not all the kettles and extra bling you got.

I've been doing 5g all grain with one kettle, a cooler mash tun, and lots of lifting so maybe not quite as steep learning curve but still some, no doubt.

Hope my questions help you too! Let's GOOOOOO!!!!

 

[bmac8]

You have a very nice propane system.

Don't run a propane burner in that garage without adequate ventilation (I know you know, just making sure.)

The system you have makes use of an SSBrewtech Mash tun which can't be heated directly.

I would recommend reading the manual first:

https://www.blichmannengineering.com/pub/media/wysiwyg/UpdatedManuals/TOP_Owners_Manual-V5.pdf
The first step would be to hook up the controller, boil kettle, burner, mash tun and just be able to heat some water.

Practice makes perfect, so get to work and just start working with the equipment, even if you don't understand it. Tackling a problem head on makes fear disappear.

Take the boil kettle:

View attachment 834872

Place it on the burner (hidden behind the fermenter in this picture, couldn't find a clear picture of it):

View attachment 834873

Connect the output of the mash tun (bottom valve) to the input of the pump (bottom valve) (using a silicone hose and quick connects)
Connect the input of the mash tun (top valve) to the output of the pump (top valve)
Connect the output inside of the mash tun to the wort disperal ring and set that ring on top of your grain bed.

View attachment 834874View attachment 834875View attachment 834876

View attachment 834877View attachment 834878


Connect the sensor on the burner to the input on the tower of power:

View attachment 834879View attachment 834880

Fill your mash tun half full with water
Plug in the tower of power.
Turn on the pump, water should flow from the pump and back to the mash tun (recirculating)
Light the burner and turn on the mash controller.
Set mash controller to your desired temperature (This will heat the water in your boil kettle)

The mash controller is a PID, it will display the current temperature of the water (wort) and the desired temperature. The controller will fire the burner trying to match the desired temperature.

Once the basic mash tun recirculation is working and you can heat water in your boil kettle, you can then pump (or drain) the hot water from your boil kettle into your mash tun and start recirculating.

Thank you so much for all of this amazing info. I'll get there... it may take a while... but I will! I'll keep the group informed!
AND YES re propane and the ventilation--I appreciate your reminder--never hurts to put safety first!

 

[bmac8]

Having a sac of grain means you have a mill. I suggest that for the first couple of brews (if recirculating) set the gap at .035-.040 to prevent stuck mash. Use 65% efficiency for the first one and then you can figure out with an OG measurement.
Make sure when using the pumps that the inlet is wide open and you control the flow rate with the pump outlet valve to prevent cavitation.
I think a SMASH with pale malt and cascade will make an awesome beer,just ordered a pound of cascade.

Are those 10 gal vessels or can you make 10 gal batches?

It will make 10-gallon batches. I bought the grain at the local home brew supply and I put it through the crusher there. The guy was not helpful to me otherwise... but I didn't want to leave empty handed. It seems I am headed toward a pale ale of sorts, but Smash sounds cool... um, what is a Smash?

 

[mashdar]

Single Malt And Single Hop (i.e. one variety of each), often used to try out different hops and base malts for comparison.

 

[bmac8]

bmac - I can't speak for others but I was responding to your saying this would be not only your first time with your system, but your first all-grain brew. Hence my suggestions. It's a totally different world in so many ways. Mashing, most obviously. So diving into that while diving into an advanced brewing system will be really difficult. You're overwhelmed and frustrated already, and I believe this will only multiply going forward without some basic experience on all-grain.

I am an experienced brewer, though I've had periods when I've been away for years. My last system was a 3-vessel 20 gallon Spike system I built myself, learning welding along the way. I had substantial investment in time and money not only in brewing equipment, but lab and yeast propagation equipment, 3-roller mill (with substantial after-market investment to make it a motorized bench mill), complete cask ale setup, dedicated 1/2 bbl fermenter with 4" tri-clover, complete counterfill bottling and kegging equipment, not to mention a ton of hop, yeast and malt inventory, and a ton of books.

I sold everything down to the last worm clamp. I am literally starting over. I have a 7 gallon stock pot left over from my chef-owner days. No spigot or wp tubes, ports, etc. That will be my brew kettle. My sparge vessels will actually be a few 2-3 gallon stockpots, also on the stove indoors. The LHBS where I work has water cooler mash tuns for rent, and I can use one for free. That will be my mash tun. I'll be using a plastic bucket for a fermenter and will bottle condition naturally. Roughly 30 bucks to get back in.

You can do the same and I think you'd be wise to do it.

To be honest, I don't think having a friend along for your first several brews is also not a bad suggestion. To some extent, everything new we learn in life tends to come on the shoulders of someone who came before us....tips, practical experience and theoretical knowledge, wealth of answers to questions that can only come up through brewing itself and not reading books, etc.

Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I gotta give this thing a shot! But it is nice to know an experienced brewer like you can also do your thing with a do-over setup that works best for you. ...I'm giving this all-grain system my best shot. What's the worst that can happen? Thank you again. Glad you came back to brewing too. I'm sure you are a master!

 

[user 246304]

Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I gotta give this thing a shot! But it is nice to know an experienced brewer like you can also do your thing with a do-over setup that works best for you. ...I'm giving this all-grain system my best shot. What's the worst that can happen? Thank you again. Glad you came back to brewing too. I'm sure you are a master!

Oh, thank you bmac, but I am about as far from a master as it comes, though I've been plinking for a long time now. The people on here, in particular the Brits like @Northern_Brewer and @cire and all the people who have really worked to make good ale in this line (but there are so, so many more here, too numerous to mention, who do such a boundless variety of excellent beers!), are where I learned. I just know my intent and do my best. And it's taken a long time for me to simply relax and quit chasing some kind of impossible ideal. Age will tend to take the wind out of that sail, I suppose.

Good luck and happy brewing to you! Looking forward to seeing how things come along for you.

 

[Bobby_M]

The issue is that you bought a rather advanced system from someone that kind of pieced it together to suit their own progression in the hobby. If I were you, I'd sell it immediately and grab a Brewzilla Gen 4 or Anvil Foundry. I can't emphasize enough how much easier it is to brew on systems like that, especially given the stage of brewing you're at right now.

 

[Brushwood Brewing]

Keep it simple: Remember that the only difference with all-grain brewing (compared to the extract brewing you were doing) is that you soak the grains first, for roughly 60min around 150F. Otherwise everything is the same.

You've received some very helpful responses which should help you piece it together, and I definitely agree with the advice to do a test run with water first. Try a few batches on this system, but if it's not for you, don't give up the hobby. You have a very advanced system, and it may not fit your brewing style. Like @Bobby_M said, you could switch over to an electric all-in-one system and do brew-in-a-bag (BIAB), with something like an Anvil Foundry. There are much simpler ways to make beer that's just as good.

Most of all: keep it fun. Keep trying. That's fantastic that you were enjoying the extract beers you started with, so don't lose that joy!

 

[Bobby_M]

As a homebrew store owner, I kind of understand how you feel like you couldn't get the kind of help you needed. Did the guy have the benefit seeing all the pictures of what you had or were you just trying to describe them not knowing what they were yourself? Maybe he hadn't seen some of that gear and was unfamiliar. Not every shop owner has operated a Blichmann Tower of Power. I certainly haven't as automated gas valve systems where on their way out over 10 years ago. This is kind of like buying a car that needs a new clutch and you tow it to the shop, you tell the guy you want a racing clutch even though you've never driven a manual transmission car before.

 

[JohnDBrewer]

Join a local homebrewing club. And search YouTube.

 

[Chris Cardona]

Sweet system you got there. I used to live in Salem and learned to brew there. I used to go to a small homebrew supply store where the owner guided me through my brewing issues and mistakes. I am now in Florida and belong to a very active homebrew club. Do you have a local homebrew club where you could seek out a brew buddy?

 

[bike2brew]

I appreciate the reply. I am a decent 5-gallon brewer. This is totally different. I like your suggestion to find a local friend with more experience, but, respectfully, that's kinda why I am posting here...
Also, just venting my frustrations.
Thank you for trying to help me...I'll grt there somehow.

Really cool set up. Looks like you will have a very capable brewery once you get your process figured out. I would reach out through your LBS to identify someone in your local home brew community or HB Club to come by and help you out. Perhaps even walk you through a couple brews. Most folks I know around me would welcome an opportunity to help out and play on someone's new gear. Good luck and have fun

 

[bmac8]

Sweet system you got there. I used to live in Salem and learned to brew there. I used to go to a small homebrew supply store where the owner guided me through my brewing issues and mistakes. I am now in Florida and belong to a very active homebrew club. Do you have a local homebrew club where you could seek out a brew buddy?

I'm still looking for a group like that! But there has to be. I appreciate my new friends here. I'm getting closer to knowing what I am doing.

 

[bmac8]

The issue is that you bought a rather advanced system from someone that kind of pieced it together to suit their own progression in the hobby. If I were you, I'd sell it immediately and grab a Brewzilla Gen 4 or Anvil Foundry. I can't emphasize enough how much easier it is to brew on systems like that, especially given the stage of brewing you're at right now.

You are not incorrect about this. He kind of sold me on the idea that I was getting a turn-key "nano brewery, ready to go. I can't give up yet! And I can't afford the systems you mention, but if this goes south, I am sure I can get my money back selling each of my components separately. I am trying to make this work. I've received a lot of good help here. Thanks!

 

[bmac8]

Here's some additional baby step info.

This is your mash tun (SS Brewtech Infussion):
View attachment 834859

This is where you're gonna put your crushed grain into warm water and let it sit for like 60 minutes to extract the sugars.


This is your RIMS heater:
View attachment 834860
It will have an electric heating element in it that you'll control with one of those two Blichmann Tower of Power controllers. It will use a temperature probe to measure the wort as it recirculates through the RIMS. You'll pick a mash temperature (148F - 156F), and then use your pump to pull wort out of your Mash Tun, send it through the RIMS, and then based on the temperature reading, the controller will either turn on or off if it's below or above the temperature you set on the controller.

When the wort you're recirculating during the mash comes back into the top fitting of your mash tun, you connect it to this Recirc Manifold:
View attachment 834861
It lets the wort come in in a nice pattern so you're not drilling a hole in your grain bed with a firehose gusher stream of wort.


Since your pictures show 2 kettles (one SS Brewtech, the other Blichmann), you have what's referred to as a 2-Vessel (2V) setup. So after you mash for an hour, you pull the sugary wort liquid out of your mash tun using the same pump that has been recirculating, and direct it into the other kettle, which will be called a Boil Kettle (BK).
View attachment 834862
This point forward in your process is exactly like how you made your beer when using extract. The mash tun portion is creating your extract from soaking crushed grain. Now the BK is going to need some further pictures/investigation from you to see what is the planned heat source. Is there an electric heating element inside? If so, you would probably hook it up to the other Tower of Power controller. If not, maybe you'll be using your propane burner, or however you did your extract batches.

The Stout is your fermentor:
View attachment 834863
It's basically just your new plastic bucket. Treat it the same way. Sanitize it before putting your cooled wort into it. Monitor the temperature and put your yeast in at the right time. Have a blow-off or airlock to allow the CO2 created during fermentation to escape, etc.


The controllers for use during your mash and/or your boil are pretty simple. If you flip the toggle switch up to "Auto", it's going to turn the power on & off based on the temperature you've set with the little digital readout on the left, while comparing to the temperature it's measuring from your temperature probe. The middle position "Reset" is like off. And when the toggle switch is down to the "On" position, the controller will just be sending continuous power, not monitoring the temperature. When in that mode, the black control screen to the left lets you set the % power output, so you can dial down your boil intensity once your BK starts to boil.
View attachment 834864


Now on your control stand, you have two controllers:
View attachment 834865
There are little labels on there for "Mash", which would control your RIMS. And "HLT" which stands for Hot Liquor Tank, which is just a dumb name for hot water pot. If your Boil Kettle is electric, you could use this controller to control its heating element (even though someone put a sticker on there saying HLT). If your BK is not electric, then this HLT would be for a 3rd kettle that you use to heat water for sparging (since your RIMS can heat your water for mash-in). As a beginning journey, you can probably just skip the sparge step, and a do a "full volume mash" / "no sparge". If you so desire later, and want to do a 3rd vessel to heat sparge water, it makes your process a bit more complicated, but gets you better mash efficiency out of your grain. But that sparge process in itself is the topic for a whole other debate.

Any chance the seller would help you out with your first brew?

The seller--the poor guy is in the hospital. Something serious, I believe, so I don't want to bother him until he is well again. He did offer to guide me later. Thank you for replying.

 

[bmac8]

Here's some additional baby step info.

This is your mash tun (SS Brewtech Infussion):
View attachment 834859

This is where you're gonna put your crushed grain into warm water and let it sit for like 60 minutes to extract the sugars.


This is your RIMS heater:
View attachment 834860
It will have an electric heating element in it that you'll control with one of those two Blichmann Tower of Power controllers. It will use a temperature probe to measure the wort as it recirculates through the RIMS. You'll pick a mash temperature (148F - 156F), and then use your pump to pull wort out of your Mash Tun, send it through the RIMS, and then based on the temperature reading, the controller will either turn on or off if it's below or above the temperature you set on the controller.

When the wort you're recirculating during the mash comes back into the top fitting of your mash tun, you connect it to this Recirc Manifold:
View attachment 834861
It lets the wort come in in a nice pattern so you're not drilling a hole in your grain bed with a firehose gusher stream of wort.


Since your pictures show 2 kettles (one SS Brewtech, the other Blichmann), you have what's referred to as a 2-Vessel (2V) setup. So after you mash for an hour, you pull the sugary wort liquid out of your mash tun using the same pump that has been recirculating, and direct it into the other kettle, which will be called a Boil Kettle (BK).
View attachment 834862
This point forward in your process is exactly like how you made your beer when using extract. The mash tun portion is creating your extract from soaking crushed grain. Now the BK is going to need some further pictures/investigation from you to see what is the planned heat source. Is there an electric heating element inside? If so, you would probably hook it up to the other Tower of Power controller. If not, maybe you'll be using your propane burner, or however you did your extract batches.

The Stout is your fermentor:
View attachment 834863
It's basically just your new plastic bucket. Treat it the same way. Sanitize it before putting your cooled wort into it. Monitor the temperature and put your yeast in at the right time. Have a blow-off or airlock to allow the CO2 created during fermentation to escape, etc.


The controllers for use during your mash and/or your boil are pretty simple. If you flip the toggle switch up to "Auto", it's going to turn the power on & off based on the temperature you've set with the little digital readout on the left, while comparing to the temperature it's measuring from your temperature probe. The middle position "Reset" is like off. And when the toggle switch is down to the "On" position, the controller will just be sending continuous power, not monitoring the temperature. When in that mode, the black control screen to the left lets you set the % power output, so you can dial down your boil intensity once your BK starts to boil.
View attachment 834864


Now on your control stand, you have two controllers:
View attachment 834865
There are little labels on there for "Mash", which would control your RIMS. And "HLT" which stands for Hot Liquor Tank, which is just a dumb name for hot water pot. If your Boil Kettle is electric, you could use this controller to control its heating element (even though someone put a sticker on there saying HLT). If your BK is not electric, then this HLT would be for a 3rd kettle that you use to heat water for sparging (since your RIMS can heat your water for mash-in). As a beginning journey, you can probably just skip the sparge step, and a do a "full volume mash" / "no sparge". If you so desire later, and want to do a 3rd vessel to heat sparge water, it makes your process a bit more complicated, but gets you better mash efficiency out of your grain. But that sparge process in itself is the topic for a whole other debate.

Just an update: getting closer to brew day! Of all the great replies in this forum, yours probably helped me most. Cleaning garage, getting set. Thank you for encouraging me with the equipment IDs and kind words. The baby steps were missing... I am at least crawling and cruising now...Odds were against me, but improving now...having fun thinking of names already:

"UNLIKELY PALE ALE"
"IMPOSSIBLE JOURNEY ALE"
"SMASH & LIKE"
"HULK SMASH" (maybe add some drops of green? Ha! For St. Pat's?
"ALL-GRAINER NO-BRAINER"

Today I am tackling temp control for the fermenter. Oregon winter temps and my garage range mostly in high 40s, low 50s. I'm checking out heating ideas and working on insulation jacket (using furniture pads.) I think I could get away with a long heat wrap designed for outdoor plumbing freeze-protect... wrapped multiple loops around just above the cone. The other way to go is to build a little wooden box around the fermenter and keep a small space heater in that box. I will decide today. Pics to follow...

Getting there. having fun.

Micraftbeer, I am replying to your post, but I mean to thank the whole thread. Still getting used to this site. Everyone has been helpful. I will keep everyone posted!

 

[ba-brewer]

Could also brew on your new system but ferment in your old buckets until the weather is more favorable, that would remove a project that is keeping you from brewing.

Putting something flammable against the heat wrap does not seem like a good idea. I am sure the heat density of the wrap is low but they meant to be used in free air.

 

[beren]

Great that you are getting there! One thing did stick out which says a lot more than it seems: 'a turn-key "nano brewery, ready to go.' You bought a borderline semi-pro brewery, not simple homebrew, gear before fully learning how to brew. Not the end of the world but makes things a lot more complex. Also, 10gal batches are a lot unless you give a lot away or like drinking the same thing all the time, that's 5 cases of beer. I do 5-6 gal batches on the stove with a heatstick and a cooler mash tun. Some batches I wish I had more of, but some are kinda 'meh'. Not bad enough to dump but takes forever to finish the keg. Just some personal thoughts as every so often I'm tempted to get a bigger setup.

 

[beren]

Today I am tackling temp control for the fermenter. Oregon winter temps and my garage range mostly in high 40s, low 50s. I'm checking out heating ideas and working on insulation jacket (using furniture pads.) I think I could get away with a long heat wrap designed for outdoor plumbing freeze-protect... wrapped multiple loops around just above the cone. The other way to go is to build a little wooden box around the fermenter and keep a small space heater in that box. I will decide today. Pics to follow...

Simple solutions are an old freezer or fridge. if you only ever need heat, they don't even need to run All you need for heat is something like a brewbelt or waterproof seed heater and an inkbird temp controller. Or a thin plywood box with 2" of foam panels if you want a more custom diy route.