RIMS ?Brass a good choice?

[RandyAB]

I wnat to build a rims heater. Is brass a reasonable choice for the tube and fittings? I can't find stainless locally.

 

[Sawdustguy]

A brass tube is going to cost you a fortune. Try copper, theres nothing wrong with copper and you could use sweat fittings.

 

[RandyAB]

Hey Guy. Thanks for the reply. Thanks for your great thread on building RIMS as well. I'm having problems sourcing copper fittings where I live. The brass fittings come in at $107 for the 1.5" nipples, a coupler, the Tees and the bushings. Not too bad. I was worried that the brass would effect taste. BTW...what do you think about 1.5" as opposed to 2" as you described. Also, the 1500W 120v elements that I can find here are all about 10" long. I was gong to couple 2 4" nipples togther to insure enough room for the element and 4" thermocoupler. Any disagreement with this.
Thanks
Randy

 

[stlbeer]

I paid less than $100 for stainless steel from Murray Equipment and it was delivered to my door in a couple of days.

 

[rtichota]

+1
I paid much less than that for stainless from Murray - they were out of a certain reducer, but once that got it in stock they had everything to my door in no time

 

[LakewoodBrew]

I don't know the details of your parts list but the element I used was not centered on the thread axis and the offset required the larger pipe diameter.

You'll want to be sure the element isn't touching the pipe wall.

 

[RandyAB]

Murray is in the US. Online shopping unfortunately is not as convenient north of 49. Companies such as McMaster flatly refuse to ship to us.

 

[RandyAB]

I was looking at going with the 1.5" based on Guy's original thread whereby many people responded that 1.5" would be more efficient than 2". Is there a general consensus on which size to get? Also, there is obviously a down side to going too short. I don't really see a down side to having the tube a bit on the longer side other than space considerations.

 

[Sawdustguy]

I was looking at going with the 1.5" based on Guy's original thread whereby many people responded that 1.5" would be more efficient than 2". Is there a general consensus on which size to get? Also, there is obviously a down side to going too short. I don't really see a down side to having the tube a bit on the longer side other than space considerations.

Randy,

Inch and a half would work just fine. I think the only rule may be is not to have the sensor too close to the element. I think an inch to two would be ok. Make the length the length of the element plus 2" plus the length of the sensor.

 

[RandyAB]

Thanks Guy.

 

[McCuckerson]

A brass tube is going to cost you a fortune. Try copper, theres nothing wrong with copper and you could use sweat fittings.

I was looking making a sweated copper RIMS tube, but I always got hung up on how to secure the element. I couldn't find any adapters that worked with the element thread (1" NPS). If you have a solution I am all ears. I love the idea of a sweated tube. The reducing tees are PERFECT and I would even solder the thermocouple to the body like I did with my HERMS HEX. Could you get away with using a 1 1/4" NPT adapter and lots of teflon tape?

 

[rcbishop]

I'd be a little worried myself about using a brass RIMS tube, as brass contains lead. Not everyone agrees on how big an issue that is, but considering the amount of surface area of brass that would be in contact with your wort, it doesn't seem like a good idea.

A lot of people (myself included) have made RIMS tubes out of copper pipe and used an NPT fitting with lots of teflon tape at the element end. In my case, I never had any trouble getting it to go in leak-free, even under pressure.

 

[McCuckerson]

A lot of people (myself included) have made RIMS tubes out of copper pipe and used an NPT fitting with lots of teflon tape at the element end. In my case, I never had any trouble getting it to go in leak-free, even under pressure.

Good to know, exactly what size NPT is used for the element? I know that NPT are quite larger than standard.