Reciprocity Brewing 10 Gallon Automated Project

[ReciprocityBrewing]

Hey guys, I'm currently designing a new rig for 10 gallon all grain. I have some ideas in my head of what I want to do, but I also want advice before I start.

Design Goals (in order):
-Portability (I am moving in a year or so, it has to be able to come with me)
-Repeatability
-Efficiency

I am looking into building an automated HERMS setup, kind of like Blackheart (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/automated-herms-system-132119/) but I want to do it with electric because A: it's more portable and B: I feel like it would be easier to automate. In addition, I already have a rasberry pi set aside for this project so I will be using that for the automation.

I am also looking to build it in 3 stages (unlike Blackheart, I don't have a lot of money to drop all at once) so I can brew a few batches, recuperate funds, then move to the next. Stages:
1) Manual, where I have to manually connect and disconnect hoses and turn on and off pumps and heating elements
2)controlled, where I will have the rasberry pi display temperature and such, and I will only have to hit buttons to activate pumps/valves/heating elements
3) automated, where I will basically have the rasberry pi doing everything

I'm not planning on using tippy-dumps because it's not that hard to lift the kegs up. Also because I have something like this available: https://www.nymedicals.com/Classic-Hoyer-Hydraulic-Patient-Lifter-C-Base.html

Current design for the sculpture (pre-plumbing):

The tanks will be converted 15.5 gallon kegs.

So the questions:
1) Is HERMS the right way to go? I have a homemade CFC, is the HERMS cooler that much more efficient? Or can I just do RIMS with what I have (and maybe eventually upgrade to a plate chiller)
2) Is electric the right way to go? Natural gas is not an option due to the portability requirement, but I could potentially do propane.

Next Steps:
-Vessel designs in sketchup
-Plumbing layout in sketchup

 

[hillhousesawdustco]

1. First thing that catches my attention is your use of HERMS. HERMS = Heat Exchange Recirculating Mash System. It is used to HEAT or maintain temperature rather than cool, generally. The water in your mash is circulated from the bottom of your mash tun, through the HERMS coil in the HLT, and back into the mash tun to either raise temp in steps or to maintain your set mash temp.
It can be used in reverse to cool of course, but your have to cold water/ice to your HLT after you have used the HLT for sparging.

2. Electric is great because you can brew inside much easier. Especially relevant if you live in a cold climate because brewing in the snow kinda blows. It is also cheaper than propane in the long run, I think. I don't have much automation in my system other than a PID controlled herms system but I love having electric for my HLT (cleaning the element isn't a big deal because it just water in there and propane for Boil Ketttle. The boil kettle is just for...boiling...pretty much so I never saw the necessity of automating that process.

Good luck with your build- looks super sophisticated.

 

[ReciprocityBrewing]

Did a bunch more research since my first post and I am currently working up my liquid flow diagram. I am definitely going electric. My question related to HERMS was more along the lines of how some setups use the heat exchanger coil in the HLT to cool and recirculate the wort after the boil. I have decided to go with HERMS anyway because I do not like the risk of scorching the wort with a RIMS element, but I still want to know: is it that much more efficient to cool the wort by recirculating it through the HX coil in the HLT when it is filled with ice water? Or am I ok using my counter-flow chiller (made the traditional way with a garden hose around a copper tube) for now and eventually maybe upgrading to a plate chiller? Either way, I am still planning on recirculating the wort into the boil kettle to get a good whirlpool and thoroughly cool it before sending it to the fermenter.