RIMS HERMS help

[kegtoe]

I am looking at the RIMS and HERMS set-ups and i'm pretty intrigued. I like to build stuff (see my keezer build at the bottom) and this seems like it would be a good project with an aweful lot of flexability.

Some questions i have are:

What are the main differences be tween RIMS and HERMs? I didnt find the Wiki to be much help. It seems to me that more of the RIMS are electric while HERMS is direct fired and gas / propane powered.

Also, i am having a tough time with the electronics. Can someone dumb down that part for me. I read the RIMS for dummies, but im clueless with things like a PID controller, termocouplers. etc. Any help would be great.

 

[Sawdustguy]

A RIMS and HERMS do the same thing but accomplish it differently. In a RIMS brewery the mash is pumped from below a false bottom in your Mash Tun through an external heat exchanger that is heated by an electric element or steam and is returned to the Mash Tun. This recirculating clarifies the Mash and is kept at a specified constant temperature by the heat exchanger which is controlled by a PID controller.

A HERMS does the same except the heat exchanger is a coil of copper or stainless steel tubing that sits in the Hot Liquor Tank. The mash is circulated through the coil of tubing to keep it at a specified constant temperature. The hot liquor tank serves triple duty by heating the strike water and sparge water and heats the water in which the for the HERMS coil is submerged. The Hot Liquor Tank is heated via an electric element or gas and is kept at a contant temperature under control via a PID.

 

[kegtoe]

Thanks sawdust guy. Who did your label??

Can someone tell me how to hook up a PID controller? What other components would i need?

 

[bendavanza]

A PID controller will come with wiring instructions, each one is a little different. You will need an SSR, heatsink, and a temperature probe, RTD preferred. And some wire, etc.
There is a thread here called RIMS for dummies and ELectric for Dummies if I'm not mistaken, lots of valuable info there. I have a thread on mine linked below.

 

[kegtoe]

I get the difference betrween an RTD and a thermocouple or sensor in a thermowell. What is an SSR? how is hte heatsink connected to the PID - electrically or hardware??. Can i out put to a female plug in 120v?

 

[Brewers Hardware]

An SSR is a solid state relay. There are no mechanical contacts and they can react very fast.

I wrote a little primer on home brewery automation that might help. It's a work in process so I'm interested in comments.

In a nutshell though, RIMS passes your wort across a heat source (heating element, burner) where HERMS passes it through a heat source (coil in a HLT).

 

[erik]

When I was sourcing parts, I found the best place for PIDs and RTDs was auberins.com. Their prices aren't better than you can find on ebay, but the customer support is better and they provide better docs and known higher quality products.

PID:
http://www.auberins.com/index.php?m..._id=14&zenid=456550f0a7012e170c053b0eb34c565f

RTD:
http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=15&zenid=456550f0a7012e170c053b0eb34c565f

 

[kegtoe]

erik, that is exactly what i have been looking at. Can you tell me what the DIN means? Do these PID controllers let you control more than one thing or would i need a seperate PID for each item?

 

[GNBrews]

The DIN is the shape/form-factor of the PID housing. They need to conform to certain shapes in order to fit in the panels they're usually installed in.

 

[erik]

Do these PID controllers let you control more than one thing or would i need a seperate PID for each item?

If you are thinking HLT and BK and even ferm chamber you could buy 3 of them or buy a few of these and solder them on the RTD wires. Then you can connect the PID to different RTDs, but then you also have to setup a switched environment so when you change sensors from the HLT to BK, you can also change to controlling a different SSR.

That's too complex for my weak little blond head I'm too easily forgetful and I'd f--k it all up. I can see myself wondering why my HLT is boiling dry while the BK is still cold.

I got lucky right after buying one, a brewer on B3's board decided he didn't want his 2 PIDs and RTDs so he gave me a good deal on them. I use one for each item and have the benefit of being able to run all three devices at once if I really want to double up a batch while fermenting (though I'd have to use my chest freezer for a fermentation chamber).