This a decent idea for a RIMS type system?

[thejuanald]

Edit: Oops I meant HERMS, not RIMS. Is there any way to edit the title?

So I got a pump and a plate chiller for christmas and I wanted to try keeping my immersion chiller to use for a HERMS type system.

I only have one kettle, I use a propane burner, and I have a large cooler for the mash tun. If I do what's in the image, I could recirculate my mash and maintain temperature while maintaining temperature and then mash out by raising the temperature and then fly sparge with the water in the kettle. Does that seem reasonable or would it not work well because I'm using a propane burner and would have to watch the temps myself rather than if I went electric?

 

[myerstyson]

I wish I could comment, but I'm in the BEGINNERS beer brewing forum.

 

[thejuanald]

I wish I could comment, but I'm in the BEGINNERS beer brewing forum.

But I'm a beginner, especially when it comes to HERMS haha

 

[Clonefan94]

I don't know a ton about HERMS systems, but in theory, I think what you are doing should work.

My big initial concern would be the cleanliness of the inside of your IC though. Those things are tough to dry out completely and i've seen some really nasty stuff come out of mine, even after I thought I blew all the water out with an air compressor, which I do after every use.

 

[iijakii]

I know I've seen systems like this before, people using ICs as HERMS. I can't comment on effectiveness but try to search the forums for it, others have done it before. I don't see why it wouldn't work fine. The cleaning comment above is a valid concern.

 

[microbusbrewery]

It'll require monitoring, but you have the right idea. Electric with a PID controller requires a lot less monitoring, but what you describe will work. One thing you have going for you is those coolers are fairly well insulated, so they don't lose a ton of heat. The inside diameter of your IC might be a little small. If it's 3/8 rather than 1/2 it'll restrict the flow, but you usually have a low flow rate anyway to avoid compacting the grain bed.

You'll be able to do step mashes and mashout without having to add more water...can be good things.

Re sanitation, it really isn't an issue. Just recirculate hot water through it after mashing. I've been using electric HERMS since 2009. Mine is a little different because I use a standalone heat exchanger, but it's the same principle. I occasionally run hot PBW through it. If you have an air compressor you can use that to blow it out too.

 

[dogslapbrewery]

I was thinking of trying to get this setup rolling in spring but use one of those super cheap tiny solo food grade pumps and mount a thermometer on my igloo cooler.
You can find a video in youtube "cheap herms system" where he pretty much does the same thing. Only down fall was you need to monitor it but Im sure the way those igloos hold temp you wouldnt have to hit it with propane that often.

 

[jrcrilly]

That setup is just like the test bed I put together to evaluate the usefulness of a HERMS rig in my setup. It worked great for mash temp management but was pretty slow in raising the temperature for mashout. I describe the experiment here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/budget-herms-system-part-one.html

I switched to a 1/2" X 50 foot HEX coil and that sped things up a lot. The limitations were HEX efficiency (smaller, shorter tubing had less surface area for heat exchange) and volume (it took longer to push the entire mash through the smaller tubing).

If you get it running the way you want it to but want to add temperature regulation, you wouldn't have to switch to electric. It is easy enough to add a solenoid valve and controller.