two vessel RIMs??

[drinkdrankpunk]

Ok so I'm still pretty new to brewing. I built a pretty nice three tier and brewed a few all grain batches on that but I moved to Germany and now I live in a little tiny apartment so I sold all of my brewing stuff except enough to brew 1 gallon batches in the kitchen. that's cool and all but it is just not enough for me. I have a small storage room in the basement so I can keep everything down there but I would need to be able to bring it all up stairs and outside to brew. I think I want to try to brew with a RIMS and thinking I could get by with two kettles, one pump and one burner. Not exactly sure how to make it all work any advice would be helpful. Also I have no clue how to build the set up I have been looking on Google but if someone has a good place to look for some plans that would be great too.

 

[WissaBrewGuy]

So I have/will have a similar setup except I use keggles as my kettles (so my capacity is 10gal) but until recently I only brewed 2.5gal batches. The 2.5gal size will probably be perfect for you. You should have three vessels. I use my wort kettle (WK) as a hot liquor tank (HLT) and then I have a separate tank for my mash tun (MT). the way it works is that you heat the liquor in the HLT then mash in to the MT. before you mash out and sparge, heat the sparge water up in the HLT and when its a couple degrees past what you want you pump it into an insulated cooler, put the lid on the cooler and set aside. Then you drain your MT into your HLT/WK and sparge with the cooler which has become your HLT in a way. That is how I do it. I am working on a RIMS system currently for mash stability but you really don't need it to get started as you know.

 

[drinkdrankpunk]

that's pretty much exactly what I was thinking of doing it. but I want to be down to just two pots and that's it. I had three 15 gallon pots before and the system was fine I just think I want it even more compact and want to be using just two. I think Im gonna go ahead and by two 10 gal kettles and see what I can come up with. but I am really interested in trying a rims system. before when I had my three tier I had nothing like that. just three pots three burners and gravity. then I later got a pump just before I sold it all.

Here is what I was working with before.

 

[WissaBrewGuy]

Nice setup! Ok There is a way to do a two vessel build but you must realize that your efficiency wont be as great as a 3 vessel systems. This thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/brutus-20e-build-61699/
outlines a Brutus 20 build.
As for a RIMS system, brewershardware.com has a nice RIMS tube setup that I will be building soon but there are other DIY alternatives out there.

 

[drinkdrankpunk]

I was actually just looking at the RIMS tube from Brewershardware and just read the thread on here about it. that sounds lie that is the way to go. I doubt I could piece something like that together myself for that price. If I buy one of those then I would need to get the actual heat element and then some kind of controls for it right?

 

[WissaBrewGuy]

Yes. You will need to buy a pretty high power heating element. I have a 5,500W 240V element I will be running at 120V. Brewers hardware has an enclosure for the element I will get as well. I priced out what it would cost to get his cheap Tri-clover to 1" NPT and build my own enclosure and it is more expensive than just spending the extra $40 on the more elegant enclosure he sells. You will need a small 12VDC pump: https://www.ussolarpumps.com/

and you will need a PID controller with the appropriate electronics. Are you in Germany still? If you are then you will need to adapt everything for Euro voltage.

 

[BoShimTang]

Ok so I'm still pretty new to brewing. I built a pretty nice three tier and brewed a few all grain batches on that but I moved to Germany and now I live in a little tiny apartment so I sold all of my brewing stuff except enough to brew 1 gallon batches in the kitchen. that's cool and all but it is just not enough for me. I have a small storage room in the basement so I can keep everything down there but I would need to be able to bring it all up stairs and outside to brew. I think I want to try to brew with a RIMS and thinking I could get by with two kettles, one pump and one burner. Not exactly sure how to make it all work any advice would be helpful. Also I have no clue how to build the set up I have been looking on Google but if someone has a good place to look for some plans that would be great too.

Dude,

You're in Germany! The beer is cheap, plentiful, and GREAT!! Not to mention, traveling throughout Europe is easy and the same is true everywhere. I loved the Belgian supermarkets for their selection of beer and the fact that they will sell it by the bottle so mix and match is no problem. Pilsner originated in the Czech Republic and there are several Czech brands that are amazing!

Not to mention, for a very small deposit you can keep several racks of 500 ml flip-top bottles and bring them back home to use for Homebrew.

 

[drinkdrankpunk]

yeah WissaBrew Im in Germany, but I live on post so I got both 220 and 110 in my apartment.

BoShim I live in a strange country part of Germany that is a tiny town and the beer selection is pretty boring. So yeah when I am able to start traveling around I plan on it. A LOT! but for the mean time while I'm here at home I think I deserve a good beer. I am really excited about going to a few breweries not to far from here though. I have a lot of day or overnight trips planned. I have been wanting to go to Cantillon since my buddy brought me a bottle of Lou Pepe 2010 Kriek last year so that is one of the trips.

 

[freisste]

Do you live in the south part of Germany? If so, I can attest to the underwhelming beer selection. I spent a week there for work, not realizing the part that borders France is German wine country. The wine was good and all, but I was severely disappointed in the beer.

 

[drinkdrankpunk]

Do you live in the south part of Germany? If so, I can attest to the underwhelming beer selection. I spent a week there for work, not realizing the part that borders France is German wine country. The wine was good and all, but I was severely disappointed in the beer.

yeah kind of south west. close enough that I can make it Belgium in about 4 hours and Luxemburg in about 2 so there is some good stuff near by but in the tiny town I am stationed there is nothing. Honestly I am just biased and want to be back in Colorado where all my favorite beers are.

 

[freisste]

yeah kind of south west. close enough that I can make it Belgium in about 4 hours and Luxemburg in about 2 so there is some good stuff near by but in the tiny town I am stationed there is nothing. Honestly I am just biased and want to be back in Colorado where all my favorite beers are.

I stayed in Edenkoben. South west border. Lame beer selection. Your choice at almost every restaurant was Pils or Weizenbier. Again, they were good beers and I liked the wine when I got bored of beer, but I was expecting way more selection. Good luck surviving until you get home to Colorado.