Dedicated Rims Guide, Problems & Solution Thread

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Crusty

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Just wondering if those of you using Rims for the brewery would post here with some photos & descriptions of your setups.
There seems to be quite a bit of Herms info & pictures, descriptions, but not too much Rims information available.
It would help those of us considering Rims to have a look at what you guys are doing & what you would do differently if
you were starting again from scratch.
 
Great setup Rav.
I have spoken in length to a number of rims brewers & all the talk about wort scorching & burnt tasting beers are proving to be unfounded.
Fuzzy logic PID control & a nice steady wort flow through the rims tube, seems to be all that's required for smooth operation of a rims setup.
I intend to run my recirculation for a couple of minutes to ensure the grain bed has settled & the wort is running clear before firing the rims element.
 
So scorching can happen in a RIMS system... however it often comes down to poor brewer control. aka my fault!

Scorching:
Post linky

(I have brewed 40+ batches prior to having this issue rear its ugly head).
 
I was getting a little worried there Rav.
The scorching issues that I have heard about seem to be the fault of the brewer & NOT the Rims setup.
I spoke to another forum member who had a scorching issue which was also his fault. Half way through the mash, he decided to stir the mash & ended up with quite a bit of flour which ended up attaching itself to the Rims element & caused some scorching. He has done 40 odd brews as well & never had an issue with scorching until stirring the mash. He has not had any further problems since.
 
Yeah mate, totally my fault I am 100% sure!

My rims tube can now be accessed to clean regularly so I won't have any issues from now on.
 
Have been scouring the interwebs for info re setting up a RIMS.

What is the general opinion on low density vs standard elements. A standard element is much cheaper and easier to source. From what I can gather most people use a standard element and with a decent flow rate there is no problem.

Cheers

Dave
 
Thirsty Boy's RIMS chamber uses a standard high(er) density element with no issues afaik.

I copped scorching (by stupidly) stopping the wort flow with the element still on. The flow of wort past the element strips the heat and seems to eliminate scorching in almost all cases.

Rooting Kings also runs a pretty standard element with no issues on the scorching.

Standard element should see you through fine imo. Just ensure you turn off the element a minute or so before you turn off the pump.
 
Heres my single vessel RIMS system. Uses a 2200W element powered off a PID controller through a custom RIMS tube. Tube was designed with minimum space between element and tube inner wall to speed up flow past the element. Inlet and outlet are tangental to induce a swirling action. 200mm of tube length after the element to mix up the wort and get a constant temp before being read by the PT100 probe.

First brew this weekend and no scorching at all, nothing even stuck to the element. My setup allows me to run the march pump at almost full flow rate since I do a full volume mash and no sparge. This ensures a nice fast flow past the element.

I recirc through the inner mesh basket and grain bed then remove at the end of the mash and liquor is already in the kettle. 2 x 2200W elements to power the kettle boil. Loving the RIMS. Takes up a bit less room than a HERMS although everything else is the same. Could swap the tube out for a pot and coil with the same element inside and run as a HERMS but cant see the need.

Heres the link to a thread with some more pictures

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...60&start=60


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Excellent work husky, the rig looks fantastic.
Have run water tests on mine, calibrated my boil kettle volume & HLT sight glass & installed my silicone hoses.
I have received my grain, hops & yeast from Ross & will be doing a maiden brew on the new Rims system possibly on the weekend.
 
Mod Edit - 'Airlocked' this thread so easier to find for brewers future reference and moved it to 'Gear and Equipment' section of the forums.
 
sizzrimsv31.jpg

Found this on a yanky forum, it was setup with a low density 4500w element. with valves 1,3,and5 closed and 2and 4open it's a normal rims. With 1,2 and 3 open and 4,5 closed, it works as an instant water heater, for strike and and sparge. Obviously you would need some serious power to run it here, though I was thinking perhaps two rims tubes in series might do the job
 
Just bought a KegKing RIMS tube and 2200watt heating element.
Just need to get some plumbing fittings (needed to come back to work have a bit of a head scratch and thing before I bought fittings I didnt need)

Anyone got any kind of circuit designed to make sure one doesnt have the heating element on without wort flowing?
Im wondering if I use a PID with the sensor in the wort return dish combind with a simple "on/off" controller thats set at say 85 degrees that will cut power to the element if liquid in the RIMS tube gets above that temp thus avoiding scorching from having the element on without wort flow. Also need to workout the best method of a liquid sensor to make sure the element can be switched on without liquid in the tube.


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Kegking RIMS
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Kegking RIMS end (need to come up with a method of getting a thermowell in there and being able to keep it clean)
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Parts

RIMS housing $199.95
Triclover mounting $29.95
2200 watt element $39.95
Total (at this stage still need a few fittings and a thermowell) = $268.85
 
KegKing sell a "Bulkhead for temp probe" $12.95 on their website parts list. I thought they would have offered to sell you one to go with the RIMS tube.
I bought one of these RIMS tubes from KK a couple of weeks ago and fitted my own temp probe fitting through the end but it was a pain in the arse. Instead of mucking around trying to get a thermowell or bulkhead and probe in the end of the tube you could use a s/s T on the 1/2" outlet, you would then have to blank off the end of the tube.
 
Check out page 7 for the bulkhead.

http://www.kegking.com.au/Downloads/Catalo...rice%20List.pdf

Unless Kee is there you may not get all the info you need, thats my experience anyway. Didnt realise these were for sale as yet. Last I spoke to him they were still in testing. That was only a month or so ago. He was running them with a simple STC controller apparently. Looks like a nice simple way to get into RIMS.
 
He did sell me one of those bulkheads doesnt suit my temp probe though so I'm going to have to sort something else out. I think I might get the stainless 100mm weldless thermowell and insert my probe in that with some thermal grease.
I couldnt tell you the guy that served me. Nice enough guy with a bit of an accent.
First time I've been to KegKing so I spent ages just browsing. Some good stuff available there. I actually went with the intention of just checking out the kegerators.
 
That's the end of my brew day, I barely got started and there was a flash of light and a puff of smoke that came out of the end of my KK 2200 watt element in the RIMS tube. She no worky now. Back to KK on Wednesday, only used it once before today. :(
 
Must be the day for it. Set everything up for a German Pilsner and getting an "oral" error from the PID. Bit of reading on the net tells me its a probe issue. Put a K type in from fridge temp controller and it works so time for a new probe. Could have brewed without the rims as I used to but would rather wait for a new probe.
Lesson learned - Buy a second probe as a spare. Pretty sure it was just a cheapie from ebay anyways. Have one on order from Benney but wont be here until late next week, grrrrr....
 
I feel your pain Husky. On closer inspection of my heater the power cord insulation has come back about 5-8mm from the heater fitting, so I guess one of the connectors has shorted out.
 
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