My RIMS

[user 103238]

Well, after several months of planning and research, I've placed orders for the primary components for my RIMS system. 12" stainless RIMS tube from BobbyM, Auber SYL-4352 PID, 25 amp SSR, heat sink, and 2.5" RTD sensor, 120V/1500W low density hearing element, and Chugger pump. Now to start piecing the incidentals together. My goal is to have everything up and running within the next month.

 

[EODstads]

I get home sometime (hopefully) early august and I am putting a RIMS system together as well. I'm gonna keep an eye on yours and see what happens!

 

[user 103238]

Well, guess I'll try not to F this up! After a lot of HBT research, and sorting through the RIMS for Dummies thread, I decided to jump in balls deep. I'm in the process of converting a keg to a mash tun, and going with a RIMS system to help maintain mash temps seemed like a logical approach. Hope you make it back to the states by your expected date. Any specific batch that you have in mind to celebrate your return?

 

[EODstads]

Well, guess I'll try not to F this up! After a lot of HBT research, and sorting through the RIMS for Dummies thread, I decided to jump in balls deep. I'm in the process of converting a keg to a mash tun, and going with a RIMS system to help maintain mash temps seemed like a logical approach. Hope you make it back to the states by your expected date. Any specific batch that you have in mind to celebrate your return?

Check out my research I have been doing on my thread and if you have any input let me know:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/gas-fired-rims-build-420243/

 

[user 103238]

That definitely looks interesting. I'm somewhat new to the concept of RIMS, so I don't know if I would have any constructive feedback, but I'll take a closer look at it later and let you know. I currently have 2 Blichmann burners that I use for the HLT and BK, so I figured going electric for the RIMS would be a nice addition, and would save me the cost of a 3rd Blichmann!

 

[audger]

if you havnt already purchased it, you might want to get a 40a instead of 25amp SSR... it will run cooler and is usually identical in price.

 

[user 103238]

Appreciate the information. I have already ordered a 25A along with a heat sink that should be arriving early next week. If I have any issues with it running too hot, I will definitely keep your suggestion in mind.

if you havnt already purchased it, you might want to get a 40a instead of 25amp SSR... it will run cooler and is usually identical in price.

 

[user 103238]

In the last couple of weeks, I have converted the keg into a mash tun, installed camlock fittings on my kettles, and ran a test brew with the pump. Ended up having several issues: ended up with a stuck mash, and struggled to hit the low end of my mash temps. I bought a Barley Crusher to help prevent stuck mash/sparge (was previously using a Corona mill which has served me well ip until now). I didn't factor in the temperature loss I was going to face, going from a 5-gallon cooler mash tun to a 15-gallon stainless steel keg. Thankfully, the RIMS project is going to resolve that issue!

 

[user 103238]

All of the stainless came in, and I've wired up the power supply and installed the RTD to the RIMS tube. I've installed the PID as well as the switches, lights, and RTD connection into the panel box. I hooked up a temporary power supply to the PID to do some cursory programming. The RTD sensor was spot on during an ice water calibration. In the upcoming days I will hard-wire the power supply, and select what type of outlets I will be using to power the pump and RIMS. I intend to run the power in series, so that the RIMS will only power on if the pump is running.

 

[stonebrewer]

Very similar to what I did a few months back. I was very pleased with how mine worked as I had a temperature gradient in my mash tun, even though I recirculated, and this solved that. Mash was rock solid at whatever temp I dialed in. Make sure you autotune it when you get wort running through the system. Also, try to get the mash within a couple of degrees of your desired mash temp...having to come up 5, 7, or more degrees with that 1500 W element will take a while if you don't and you may have to autotune again once you get to mash temp. Are you pumping into the probe side port or the element side? I am pumping in the element side and it is rock steady. I read a post on here where someone did it the opposite way so they could attach their RIMS directly to the tun...interesting concept. Cheers!!

 

[PJM]

@stonebrewer - what do you mean by auto tune?

 

[stonebrewer]

@stonebrewer - what do you mean by auto tune?

PJM: auto tune is a function of the PID controller to properly control the device. The way the PID works is to keep something at temperature via measurement of the error from where it should be to where it is actually at. There are three parameters, P - proportional, I - integral, and D- derivative which can be thought of as the past error, the current error, and the future error. I am not an expert on control theory, but these values need to be set correctly in order for the control loop feedback system to function optimally. The PID controllers from Auber use fuzzy logic when tuning these parameters. It basically heats to a certain point, shuts of the heater, waits until the temperature drops below that point, and repeats 3 times to figure out the optimal settings. Works great! You can also manually setup the PID values, I think, but you better know what you are doing. If you do not tune the parameters, what I saw when running an experiment was that the device overshot and kept creeping away from the temperature setpoint. I then ran the autotune function and the RIMS kept the temperature rock steady at 150 degrees. It is supposed to keep the temperature within 0.2% of the setpoint, in this case +/- 0.3 degrees F.

 

[user 103238]

I was anticipating heating my strike water about 15 degrees over my intended mash temp, which should bring it within a couple of degrees, and then let the RIMS stabilize it from there. After a few hands on brew sessions, I'll be able to make adjustments for the strike water temp. I was planning on running a fairly thorough "wet run" with water only before adding grain and wort to the equation. While water and wort are different, I can't see the difference being significant enough to effect any of the variables included in the autotune - can you? Like your system, I was planning on pumping into the element side and allowing the RTD to monitor the temperature of the wort as it returns to the tun.

If you get a chance to update your RIMS thread, I'd love to see pictures of your system. Thanks for the feedback!

Very similar to what I did a few months back. I was very pleased with how mine worked as I had a temperature gradient in my mash tun, even though I recirculated, and this solved that. Mash was rock solid at whatever temp I dialed in. Make sure you autotune it when you get wort running through the system. Also, try to get the mash within a couple of degrees of your desired mash temp...having to come up 5, 7, or more degrees with that 1500 W element will take a while if you don't and you may have to autotune again once you get to mash temp. Are you pumping into the probe side port or the element side? I am pumping in the element side and it is rock steady. I read a post on here where someone did it the opposite way so they could attach their RIMS directly to the tun...interesting concept. Cheers!!

 

[stonebrewer]

I'll put some pics up this weekend. I did the autotune with water originally, but it seems there is enough of a difference that doing it with wort was required. Let me know how yours behaves as I was a bit suprised by this. When I did my original test run, I heated up about 5 gallons of water and then ran the RIMS for about an hour as a "test drive", mainly to check for leaks and test out the PID. Good thing I did because my RIMS leaked around the temperature probe and I learned how to autotune before going live with my PtE clone. Fixed the leak was a few extra wraps of tape.

Sounds like you have a good plan. Good luck and I look forward to reading more of your posts as you get your system up and running!
Cheers!
Tony

 

[user 103238]

Interesting. I guess that actually makes sense, because with water you can flow relatively unrestricted, while with wort you are limited to the flow rate that your grain bed will allow. Definitely good to know!

Picked up the recessed power-in connection today and started running more wire and connections. I was hoping to find two similarly recessed outlets for the pump and RIMS power, but it will take at least a week to get them here in town. I may just use a standard outlet and split the connections where separate switches control each outlet. And as luck would have it, I purchased double pole switches, which will simplify the process of ensure that the RIMS outlet cannot be powered unless the pump outlet has been activated. I'm pretty sure I should be ale to have the system ready for an inaugural brew day within the next week.

I'll put some pics up this weekend. I did the autotune with water originally, but it seems there is enough of a difference that doing it with wort was required. Let me know how yours behaves as I was a bit suprised by this. When I did my original test run, I heated up about 5 gallons of water and then ran the RIMS for about an hour as a "test drive", mainly to check for leaks and test out the PID. Good thing I did because my RIMS leaked around the temperature probe and I learned how to autotune before going live with my PtE clone. Fixed the leak was a few extra wraps of tape.

Sounds like you have a good plan. Good luck and I look forward to reading more of your posts as you get your system up and running!
Cheers!
Tony