RIMS

[ITV]

I recently acquired a used RIMS from a Homebrew Talk member.
It had the older Inkbird controller with only a switch for the pump. I added a second switch and relay for the heating element and wired it so that if the pump switch is turned off the heating element will also turn off.
I built my first unistrut stand which is way overkill. I also insulated the RIMS tube to help with heat loss. The only downside is that I am hiding the beauty of the Brew Hardware RIMS tube.
With the 1650 watt element I can increase the temperature by 10 degrees in 6 minutes. I used it to assist my gas burner in heating the strike water which ended up shaving 1 hour from my brew day.
Below are some photos:

 

[Coldies]

Great idea with the element being killed when the pump isn’t on. I’ve toasted a few elements (some ruined my brew day) a few times when I first starting running my RIMS system. You’ll love the system.

 

[phoenixs4r]

I've been trying to figure out the best way to mount that same rims tube for a bit. Never even crossed my mind to use strut for some reason. Thanks!

 

[ITV]

I've been trying to figure out the best way to mount that same rims tube for a bit. Never even crossed my mind to use strut for some reason. Thanks!

I used the strut that is 1/2 the depth of the normal strut. When I built it I thought that I could survive a toronado being so sturdy. With my design I could add another short piece of strut to tie the two legs together to mount a future pump. Currently I use a my chugger pump which is mounted to a wooden stand along with my plate chiller.

 

[phoenixs4r]

I used the strut that is 1/2 the depth of the normal strut. When I built it I thought that I could survive a toronado being so sturdy. With my design I could add another short piece of strut to tie the two legs together to mount a future pump. Currently I use a my chugger pump which is mounted to a wooden stand along with my plate chiller.

Ya that things built like a **** brick house man. Great job

 

[despicable231]

What did you use for the mash recirculation to the cooler? I'm making a very similar setup, but not sure what the best option for it is.

 

[ITV]

What did you use for the mash recirculation to the cooler? I'm making a very similar setup, but not sure what the best option for it is.

I use a chugger pump, however I just purchased a MKII pump so that I can fly sparge. I may end up using the MKII pump for recirculation.

 

[despicable231]

Sorry I meant what did you use on the inside of the lid of the cooler to return the wort to the grain

 

[ITV]

I use a Norcal sparge diffusion plate: Link

 

[despicable231]

So I have my setup that looks very similar, using a sparge ball instead of the NorCal plate because I’m an EE grad student on a budget.

The question I have for you is how different are your temperatures measured at your probe vs in your mash tun? I have run a test/calibration with just water and done 3 auto tunes on the InkBird as well as calibrated the InkBird temperature probe, but my temperatures measured in the mash tun are ~3-4F higher than at the probe in the RIMS tube

 

[ITV]

My mash tun temps are intially lower then the RIMS tube since I prefer to bring up the temp with the RIMS heater. It takes about 5 minutes for the temps to match (within 1 deg F).
Some potentional differences with my setup:
When I recirc I throttle down the flow.
My mash tun lid is completely on during recirc.
I insulated my RIMS tube to avoid heat loss.

Since I purchased my RIMS used, the previous owner had done the InkBird calibration, since it is dead on I did not recalibrate it.