Thinking of building a RIMS system, to replace my 10 gallon cooler..... Thoughts?

[benrenden]

Hey guys,
I was thinking of upgrading my brew setup, and the only part of it that i'm not happy with (not because of the way it performs necessarily but for other reasons) is my cooler mash tun.
I've been looking at a bunch of different options but I was thinking of using something like this:
https://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/Bre...on_Complete_Kit_p/biab-complete-kit-16gal.htm
then adding something like this :
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00VUSZ2HM/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

My thoughts are I would use my HLT to warm up the water first anyway, so 120v element would be sufficient as it would only be to maintain temperature. I like the fact that the kettle comes with the pump and what not, I would obviously have to add a few fittings, and temperature control is no issue i've already built my brew controller for my HLT and kettle with a combination of an SSR and a SSVR (for boil kettle). I also think the ss basket might work better than a false bottom but ive never used either with a pump as my system is all gravity fed at the moment...

What are your thoughts?

 

[benrenden]

The more I give this thought, The more im inclined to building a HERMS system instead, utilizing a 50FT s.s. wort chiller I don't use anymore and incorporating that into my HLT. This way I would only have to buy the vessel / basket / pump system and I would almost have all the other necessary parts. The only downside I can think of is maintaining temperature with a HERMS system seems like a bigger pain then a RIMS system as you are now heating the HLT water instead of directly heating the wort which means there is one extra heat exchange that needs to happen. But I have no experience with either so any advice will be appreciated!!

 

[augiedoggy]

The more I give this thought, The more im inclined to building a HERMS system instead, utilizing a 50FT s.s. wort chiller I don't use anymore and incorporating that into my HLT. This way I would only have to buy the vessel / basket / pump system and I would almost have all the other necessary parts. The only downside I can think of is maintaining temperature with a HERMS system seems like a bigger pain then a RIMS system as you are now heating the HLT water instead of directly heating the wort which means there is one extra heat exchange that needs to happen. But I have no experience with either so any advice will be appreciated!!

Well if your planning on using a pump to recirculate the mash the whole time my advice would be to skip the basket and go with a bag ... the basket looks cool but allows too much of the wort to just take the path of least resistance around it and out the sides vs through it consistently so efficiency would suffer all else being equal. (of course those that only know this setup will state its great the thing is other who have used both have commented they are not impressed with the efficiency of the basket.

Now if recirculating and clear wort are not your concern and you just plan on heating the wort in the mashtun on and off to maintain temps then the basket should work fine. I use a regular bayou classic 16 gallon kettle with its false bottom myself and average 86% on my brews with it.

That rims would work but I urge you to price out the 1" stainless tees and pipe nipples as well as components to build your own as they will be cheaper if your concerned about the total cost of this conversion running away on you.
I started with a herms and once I went to a rims I never looked back. No comparision if you plan it right IMHO. you an also heat your sparge water while mashing... Not practical with a herms as other recent threads discuss. plus you can step mash and correct for low strike temps in a much more reasonable time before conversion already takes place.

 

[benrenden]

Thanks for all the info!!! So in your opinion, and I value this alot as I have zero experience with all of this, your saying RIMS over HERMS, but my question to you, would you recommend a bag or a simple false bottom? I feel like the false bottom would be the best solution, but my thinking on going to a basket was i've heard of people having issues with the pumps, as in not enough wort under the false bottom on the inlet side of pump. I guess if you get a false bottom with tall legs you could avoid this issue?

 

[benrenden]

I was also thinking that if you put the outlet hose of the pump directly into the basket area you might not lose too much efficiency, but this is all just me speculating. haha

 

[augiedoggy]

Thanks for all the info!!! So in your opinion, and I value this alot as I have zero experience with all of this, your saying RIMS over HERMS, but my question to you, would you recommend a bag or a simple false bottom? I feel like the false bottom would be the best solution, but my thinking on going to a basket was i've heard of people having issues with the pumps, as in not enough wort under the false bottom on the inlet side of pump. I guess if you get a false bottom with tall legs you could avoid this issue?

The thing is with a false bottom you wont get air introduced under the false bottom, where would it come from cavitation perhaps from running the pump too hard? The liquid works like a hydraulic setup where as you pump it out it pulls more liquid through the grain bed to displace it.. The key is not to run the pump at too fast a speed. I have been using a false bottom with the cheap 24v dc pumps ive been using for 4 years now and it works just as I had hoped it would. absolutely no issues with air under my false bottom unless I let my grainbed run dry while fly sparging... I only recirculate at 1.5-1.8 gallons per minute and it works perfectly for my 6 and 11 gallon brews. I also question whether a bag helps trap air under it in some cases I dont know honestly since although I bought a bag from the custom bag maker here I never actually had a reason to try it.

As for as herm vs rims, everyones need are a bit different and some solutions make more sense to others but for me rims offered multiple advantages with no tradeoffs.

 

[augiedoggy]

I was also thinking that if you put the outlet hose of the pump directly into the basket area you might not lose too much efficiency, but this is all just me speculating. haha

Some do that but then you still get uneven flow. What about the grain above the hose and all the liquid that goes out the sides?... The BEST way to ensure the most even flow through the grainbed is with a bag or false bottom.

 

[Peam]

I have a false bottom in my cooler and circulate with a pump through a hop rocket for my mash. The only time I don't have enough wort is if I crush too fine or the pump is just going way too fast.

As for throwing the hose on the basket, what's to stop the wort running off the top and down the sides where it's met with no resistance as @augiedoggy pointed out. In fact, even with my false bottom it'll do that along the sides if the pump is going hard. Go false bottom and take your time with it. Make sure your temp probe is on the outlet side of your element too