Two vessel HERMS system idea

[BrunDog]

Oh boy that was a while ago. Let me admit that I have little experience with HERMs... none personal but brewed with friends who have. In a two element system you have a choice where to put the mash heating element. If you want/need an HLT, it makes sense to use that mass of heat on a secondary level with HERMs. If you can get away without an HLT (which is easier with some advanced controls but not necessary) then RIMs makes more sense as you will heat your wort rather than heating liquid to heat your wort.

Eliminating that third vessel saves space, reduces cost and extra hardware, eases cleaning a bit, etc.

So it’s my opinion... definitely not fact. HERMs is definitely more forgiving than RIMs. It’s a performance/ease balance IMO. Lots of ways to set up systems which is cool!

 

[Cioffi]

Oh boy that was a while ago. Let me admit that I have little experience with HERMs... none personal but brewed with friends who have. In a two element system you have a choice where to put the mash heating element. If you want/need an HLT, it makes sense to use that mass of heat on a secondary level with HERMs. If you can get away without an HLT (which is easier with some advanced controls but not necessary) then RIMs makes more sense as you will heat your wort rather than heating liquid to heat your wort.

Eliminating that third vessel saves space, reduces cost and extra hardware, eases cleaning a bit, etc.

So it’s my opinion... definitely not fact. HERMs is definitely more forgiving than RIMs. It’s a performance/ease balance IMO. Lots of ways to set up systems which is cool!

Thanks for the response. I'm weighing the pros and cons as to HERMS or RIMS. My biggest concern is putting together a system where I can nail my mash temps.

 

[cyberbackpacker]

@Cioffi the desire to work on the room and rig increases!!! I'm hoping to make some headway on my stuff this weekend myself-- I'll see how that goes!

As for Herms vs Rims-- they can both be dialed in to consistently nail and maintain your mash temps.

If thinking of using a RIMS though, I'd go with extra long heating elements (look at the quadzilla on brucontrol.com)-- they are your best bet so as to minimize any chance of denaturing mash enzymes and/or scorching wort.

Really, you've got your HERMS though, so I'd be inclined to keep that and just dial it's performance in more!