RIMS Hybrid Double Tier Setup Build Thread

[rlefevre]

Hello all,
First want to say thanks to all who have posted build threads before me. I have learned so much from this site.

I am currently a propane brewer, and do not have access to a good source for 220V, and do not want to modify my house as I will only be here for the next 1-2 years, so full electric was not an option for me. Despite this, the fine control of an electric RIMS setup was attractive to me, so I decided to go the hybrid route using electric RIMS for mash temp control, and propane for boil. I hope you true electric brewers here in the electric forum will accept me despite this.

My goals for the project were to use equipment I have available, yet to not go cheap on certain components if I felt it added quality to the system or added "cool" factor. After all, a pretty inexpensive system can make great beer, yet we all spend money on bling. :rockin:

On to the build. What I ended up deciding on was to use my existing coolers for MLT and HLT, and to use the RIMS tube from brewhardware with camlock fittings. For a control panel, I went with the DIY eBIAB kit from ebrewsupply and modified it for a RIMS panel.

Below is a picture of the final setup. In the next few posts, I will go over the build process. Of course when I actually brew with this setup, I have the garage door open or brew on the back patio. Don't want to inhale that carbon monoxide.

 

[rlefevre]

The first item I received was the RIMS tube from brewhardware.com , so that is what I set up first. I used the full stainless 1500W 120v element from them as well. My garage is wired for 120v 20a GFCI, so my goal was to keep the whole project under 120v 15a to give myself some wiggle room.

Here is the element installed in the triclamp adapter from brewhardware:


This kit requires that you bend the connectors 90 degrees to fit in the housing.


All hooked up and ready to go:

 

[rlefevre]

Here is a pic of the RIMS tube mounted on the side of my stainless table. Drilling into the stainless table was a total PITA and took much longer than expected for 2 simple holes. I elected to use the horizontal position for the RIMS tube for a few reasons. First, I think it provides the best drainage as with vertical orientation there will always be that small volume sitting at the base of the element that the cam-lock can't drain. The other reason was having the element and all it's electrical connections at the low point of the system in case of leaks just freaked me out.

 

[rlefevre]

Here is a quick shot of my pump setup. I elected to use a chugger pump with stainless inline inlet. I chose to have both the inlet and outlet facing down to maximize drainage and minimize kinking of the silicone tubing. You can see here that I also have an additional thermometer mounted at the inlet of the pump, just to keep a double check on temps throughout the process.

 

[rlefevre]

Next up was the control panel. As I mentioned, I decided to go with the DIY eBIAB from ebrewsupply.com. When you think about it, the control system for eBIAB is very similar to hybrid RIMS, I just do not need 220v at any step of the process. Ryan Gray from ebrewsupply worked with me to exchange some of the 220v components for 120v as I would not need 220v. Ryan provided great service and always responded quickly to emails. They are a small company and each kit is made to order, so just be aware that there shipping times are longer then amazon prime (took about 2 weeks from order to receiving the kit), but the product is well worth it. There were a couple small issues with the order and Ryan quickly addressed them and made them right.

I chose to splurge and go with the stainless kit. If there is one thing I hate it is painting and the associated chipping and reduced durability associated with it. I am really glad I made this choice. The stainless option from ebrewsupply is really not much more expensive and is probably cheaper then if I would have tried to get the regular steel one powder coated myself. I also went with the pre-cut panel to save myself that time and effort cutting stainless.

Here is a pic of the front of the panel:


Here are the plugs. Overkill for a 120v 15a system, but I just used what the kit came with.



For a mount I used a VESA TV mount. It is fully articulating and allows great adjustment and supports the weight of the panel just fine.

 

[rlefevre]

Here are a couple pics of the inside of the panel. I am by no means an electrical engineer, but it turned out OK. Just not quite up to the neat-ness of some of the builds on this forum. I did not take detailed pics of the wiring process as other thread have covered that better than I can. Features that I chose to include are that the element cannot fire unless the pump is on. The emergency stop kills the element and pump, but retains power to the PID. Note that the main breaker is currently 32a 220v, this will be switched out shortly for 20a 120v for more appropriate protection.



And a shot of the door wiring.

 

[rlefevre]

Finally, here a few shots of my brew kettle. This point is no longer electric, but I thought I would include it for completeness.

I use the trub shield from brewhardware to help minimize trub in the fermenter.



For cooling I use an immersion chiller with the "spin cycle" whirlpool attachment from brewhardware. I have found this combo cools the wort very quickly. I will probably go to a CFC eventually, but given how fast I can chill now, it just hasn't seemed worth it.



Here is a more detailed pic of the spin cycle attachment. I chose to attach it directly to the immersion chiller to avoid putting an extra hole in my kettle.

 

[Jester]

Nice setup! I have been thinking about taking a similar upgrade path.

 

[augiedoggy]

Nice, But whats with the dirty kettle? for the love of god clean that thing!