No sparge RIMS

[thejuanald]

So I am getting a march pump sometime soon and I have been thinking about doing a type of RIMS setup with my boil kettle and 10 gallon plastic mash tun. I was hoping to get feedback on it.

What I plan to try is to heat my strike water and then transfer it to my mash tun, then add in my grains, mix it up, make sure it reaches temperature and then heat up the remaining water that I would need to reach a 7 gallon boil volume. Once it reaches the same temp as my mash, I start circulating that into my MLT as that gravity drains to my kettle and circulate this for the remainder of the mash. From there I can mash out and then drain everything to the kettle and get to the boil. Is this feasible with a 10 gallon plastic mash tun and 8 gallon boil kettle? I'm assuming I might get a bit lower efficiency, but that is easy to correct with $1-2 in grain. I saw some setups here that were similar to this but with using just one vessel.

 

[thejuanald]

Nobody has an opinion on this? Is there something I'm just missing here because it seems like a great idea to me.

 

[pablosbrewing]

Nobody has an opinion on this? Is there something I'm just missing here because it seems like a great idea to me.

Probably a better topic for the Electric Brewing forum, but I may have an answer for you.

I assume you are saying run the RIMS from the boil kettle to the MLT - If so yes that should absolutely work. You could probably just skip the HLT altogether.

My new system will be similar except my kettle is my RIMS and I will not have a separate HLT. I have been brewing BIAB so having the full volume of water in the mash system is not a problem for me.

I will be using an electric element in a single kettle (PID control) serving 3 purposes:

• At the beginning it is the HLT
• During mash it is the RIMS heater
• At the end it is the BK

The mash tun will be an Igloo cooler with a full false bottom for good flow. I will also be using a mesh BIAB bag to hold the grain and make sure no grain husks get through to valves, etc.

The full volume of water will be heated in the kettle, and recirculating to mash tun. This will continue from heating to strike temp until the mash is completed.

Edit: you don't want to drain any water into the boil kettle during the mash, if it will not be recirculated throughout the mash.

 

[thejuanald]

Thanks for the information! I wouldnt be using an electric system, just a bayou classic burner. I would manually be heating it whenever needed to maintain the temperature. Might be a little bit of work but may be doable. No sparge would be okay right? Are there any issues with the mash being thinner because I'm using the whole boil volume? I would be trying to maintain the same volume in the the boil kettle and mash kettke as well as I could.

 

[pablosbrewing]

Thanks for the information! I wouldnt be using an electric system, just a bayou classic burner. I would manually be heating it whenever needed to maintain the temperature. Might be a little bit of work but may be doable. No sparge would be okay right? Are there any issues with the mash being thinner because I'm using the whole boil volume? I would be trying to maintain the same volume in the the boil kettle and mash kettke as well as I could.

I think that would work fine with the burner setup, recircualtion will make it easier to control.

I've read that thinner mashes may be more fermentatable, I have been mashing low (147-148F) for IPAs so I'm not sure.

Yes to full volume mash - I was hitting 75% with no sparge, and I'm thinking recirculating should boost that.

 

[thejuanald]

Awesome, thank you for the replies. I will try it out as soon as I get my pump in

 

[AnOldUR]

So if you had your kettle and MLT at the same level you could connect the bottom port on the MLT to the bottom port of your kettle. If you then pump liquor from a different port in the kettle (or just drop tubing into it) to the top of the MLT, gravity would equalize the level in the two vessels through the connection in the lower ports. And with no pump pulling from the filtering system in the MLT (just gravity) you would have less chance of compacting the grain bed. You have mash temperature control though direct heating the kettle. Am I reading this right? It might be a balancing act until you get the flow rate correct, but I like it! Interesting concept. New to me, but probably not others.

 

[thejuanald]

So if you had your kettle and MLT at the same level you could connect the bottom port on the MLT to the bottom port of your kettle. If you then pump liquor from a different port in the kettle (or just drop tubing into it) to the top of the MLT, gravity would equalize the level in the two vessels through the connection in the lower ports. And with no pump pulling from the filtering system in the MLT (just gravity) you would have less chance of compacting the grain bed. You have mash temperature control though direct heating the kettle. Am I reading this right? It might be a balancing act until you get the flow rate correct, but I like it! Interesting concept. New to me, but probably not others.

The problem with that I think is that you would need the two volumes in the two vessels to be at the same level, with one vessel containing grain and some water, and the other just with the remaining water, I think that might be difficult to achieve.

 

[pablosbrewing]

Not mine - but this is the basic concept. You do need gravity to be able to fully drain from mash to kettle.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f253/show-me-your-two-tier-518874/#post6781267

I plan to use a float switch to keep the level above the mash.