Rims Insiration Using A Dishwasher Heat Exchanger

[megs80]

Hi All,

Im building temp controlled water recirculator which isnt for brewing but could used as a rims setup. The heat exchanger is from a dishwasher (2100W) and uses a temp probe is from craftbrewer. Im also using a march pump smaller but pricier than the usual brewers choice.

Ive added a couple of pics, Hope some of you find this interesting.

Note, all fittings and weilding work was done by pertek

Cheers,
Meggs

 

[Bizier]

Is this a micro-RIMS camouflaged as a kitchen implement?

Tidy as always mate.

 

[megs80]

Is this a micro-RIMS camouflaged as a kitchen implement?

Tidy as always mate.

Sure is. Will be running 11lpm through this bad boy

 

[Bizier]

How does the element look in terms of heat loss to the outside air?

 

[megs80]

The element is a coil which is fused around the 40mm SS tube. It also has a cover.

 

[sirhendo]

cool as - what make and model of dishwasher did this come from?

Cheers!

Hendo

 

[chappo1970]

Indeed it's very interesting Megs. To echo, what brand of d/w did it come from? Is there a part no?

To be honest the contact surface area looks to be, maybe, too small to have effective heat exchange to be used in a rims application. Also, and I am happy to be corrected, but a dishwasher only has a small volume of water to deal with, where as in brewing the volumes are much larger (dependent on system obviously)and the coupled with heat sink effect of the grain bed and tun might make it not a very good option.

Don't get me wrong Megs love the concept and idea, very innovated and lateral, I would be interested to see what your results are.

Cheers

Chap Chap

PS Keep up the good work!

 

[Doogiechap]

Guys I have one that came out of my Dishlex DX 403 piece of cr@p. These guys sell them but my local appliance supplier had them for about half that price.
I still have mine which is fully functional which I would be more than happy to send for the cost of the postage if anyone was interested. I pondered using it for a CIP setup but toooo many other priorities on the go.....
Well done Megs in putting that together. Make sure you earth that beastie and keep the electrics well away from moisture. I'm looking forward to hearing how you go !
Cheers
Doug

 

[megs80]

Thought id just rehash this topic to let you know how it went. Well due to using the wrong type of power supply (not my fault but i didnt recheck) and stuffing a $400 pump in less than 10 seconds of use. I started tests of this system a couple of weeks later. The system works close to faultless circulating 20ltrs of water at 11 Lpm it went from ambient of 65c in less than 3mins. My temp control device steps at .5c and my liquid would pass 1c for 2secs and stay on .5c over for less than a minute. This system cost about $300+ pump. Not sure what other people are making rims systems for but this is a proof of concept.

Cheers,

 

[seravitae]

As chappo was saying the surface area is quite low, I will be interested to see the results but be warned that heating elements that small are often designed only to have clean, running water over it (water must be flowing over element (to "cool" it) while it is running otherwise it can overheat) - pumping wort through that I can imagine will lead to some massive scortching.

However this is a neat idea for an 'on demand' style water preheater maybe - for those people who don't want a HLT, you could use one of those guys to fill your MLT at strike temp by adjusting the flow rate and/or power.

 

[megs80]

Hey Sera,

The heating element does not directly touch any liquid. It is fused in a coil around a 4cm diameter stainless tube. The heated heated length is approx 12cm. The tube is smooth inside and has no holes resulting in a very clean finish.
The temperature is taken where the element finishes inside the tube. The theory is that this is the hottest point in the system. This also means if the pump fails inside the exchanger wont past the desired temp.
This system is a prototype for another job requiring exact temp control. When I do some more testing ill run a strong sugar solution through at sparge temps to se if there is any scorcing.

Cheers,

 

[roger mellie]

Thought id just rehash this topic to let you know how it went. Well due to using the wrong type of power supply (not my fault but i didnt recheck) and stuffing a $400 pump in less than 10 seconds of use. I started tests of this system a couple of weeks later. The system works close to faultless circulating 20ltrs of water at 11 Lpm it went from ambient of 65c in less than 3mins. My temp control device steps at .5c and my liquid would pass 1c for 2secs and stay on .5c over for less than a minute. This system cost about $300+ pump. Not sure what other people are making rims systems for but this is a proof of concept.

Cheers,

Am I reading this right

You are saying that you can heat 20L of water from 20 C to 65 C in 3 minutes.

Assuming no losses - You would need about 21 KW of power to do this in a static vessel.

Given that you are recircing your losses would be significantly > 0.

Am I missing something?

I have one of these heaters as well and the biggest drawback I could see is the diameter of the stainless tube inside the element. I machined up an aluminum insert with a triclover at each end - havent tested it yet since my new Herms brewery arrived but might have cause to in the future.

RM

 

[adryargument]

Reviving a dead thread - just finished building mine from a dishwasher element (Thanks Doogiechap).

Was heating up nicely this afternoon (5 minute test with a bilge pump that wasn't really working) however will do further testing tomorrow on a 45L test setup.
Not to sure where to put the thermometer yet but it will most likely be on the mashtun inlet.

 

[Doogiechap]

Nice integration bloke
I'm looking forward to seeing those terminals being all covered up B)
Cheers
Doug

 

[adryargument]

Terminals are all wrapped and soldered.
She's currently in a PVC pipe with end caps so there's no real threat of water damage etc.

Good news is that it heats at about 1 degree per minute - mash tun with around 40L in it.

 

[raven19]

Not to sure where to put the thermometer yet but it will most likely be on the mashtun inlet.

Ideally it should be located directly downstream from the heating element.