Building a DIY Recirculating Mashing System

It was time to upgrade the system! I decided to repurpose some old equipment and upgrade to a recirculating infusion mashing system (RIMS) for the brewery. Major purchases were an Inkbird IPB-16s PID controller and a pump, along with some fancy quick disconnects and tubing for easy transfers. I love the new system and it is working beautifully, holding steady temperatures and producing very clean and clear wort, not to mention cutting down on brew day time significantly.
#RIMS #electric #homebrew
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[@jakobwessely2]

I've accidentally found this chanel by searching for a good explanation on how to brew lagers at home. I'm coming from Germany and just completed brewers training and i can confirm that everything you say makes sense. With your tips i was able to make a very tasty Märzen so thanks a lot and greetings from Germany :)

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Thank you so much! I'm really happy I was able to help out, and of course glad the beer turned out well. I wish you the best in your career!

[@jlqtraceur]

Man just looking at this I can say, i love my robobrew v3

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Sure, its complicated, but I definitely love building my own stuff vs buying a system that does it for me. But that's just me. Having a robobrew sure cuts down on space and effort!

[@jlqtraceur]

@@TheApartmentBrewer I started the same, then I bought the robobrew and now I just bought a 84 gal system

[@alexclawson4096]

Your putting your Teflon tape on backwards. Just remember, “It’s time to tape, and time goes clockwise”

[@AddkisonAlesAndLagers]

Awesome RIMS set up! I love seeing a 2 vessel build. I miss Joe's videos. I watch a lot of his stuff regularly. Cheers!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Thanks! So far its working nicely! It sure seems like his channel is dormant, which is a shame since he did have fantastic videos.

[@nickharding6262]

Hi from London, UK! Thanks for all the great videos. I’m a newbie appartement brewer and starting to accumulate a lot of gear but transfer is where I’m having problems. I only have a wort chiller at the moment with a cheap pump but I’m seriously thinking about upping my kit having seen your video.

[@Bassguitarist1985]

Great Job! I have a similar system, but no PID, instead a potentiometer adjusted Solid State Voltage Regulator with a 2250 watt ULWD 120VAC. I built the controller myself, and could easily switch it to 240VAC later on. I too still have some kinks but it brews really well!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

That sounds awesome, but that's almost 19 amps coming from a 120V circuit, what kind of breaker are you running that on? My electrician friends advised me not to exceed 83% of the breaker rating especially if its long periods of usage time. I run mine on a 20 amp, but thats only at about 68% load. Not criticizing here at all, just want to know more.

[@Bassguitarist1985]

@@TheApartmentBrewer very good questions. Using a 20A dedicated circuit with a gfci plug. Your electrician friends are absolutely correct by the letter of the NEMA code. Its the heat generation in the wires, however code states (IIRC) not to draw greater than 83% capacity for more than 3 hours. In that amount of time to get 5-6 gallons to a boil would be no problem. Certainly wont win any speed records but it will get there. When I do i draw about 900-1000 watts to maintain the boil. The other option for you is to get another 1650 watt heat stick with a simple on/off switch to supplement your ramp up temp times. Brew on dude! Here is what I got on tap! taplist.io/taplist-310786

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

@@Bassguitarist1985 Thanks for the reply! I think going electric can be intimidating to people first checking it out because of the code and safety concerns but thanks for breaking it down. Definitely educational for me and hopefully for people checking this out in the future! Thankfully my ramp up times aren't an issue since I supplement the heat stick with my stovetop burner for now, but that's a good tip with the second heat stick. Cheers!

[@CJMSoulier]

Good work! Looking forward to seeing the brew day with the new setup.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Thanks! It did do very well but I have to make some adjustments for future recipes for sure. Still, it makes a huge time difference and I really underestimated how useful the pump would be!

[@mrdespizeme]

I just use a sous-vide immersion cooker submerged in a smaller pot filled with water, with a copper immersion chiller submerged in the same pot. The wort is pushed via pump thru the chiller, and back into the mash. Control flow via ball valves on the output side of pump, and temp control via the sous-vide cooker. Works like a champ.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Sounds like a small scale HERMS system! Very interesting idea

[@mrdespizeme]

@@TheApartmentBrewer Works really well, and thankfully, already had everything required. The sous-vide cooker was purchased a few years back for my wife. I'm able to pretty much step all the way thru the mash temps using this method.

[@henrik747]

This really inspires me! I'm chugging along with my cheap picnic cooler with a bazooka and valve for sparging. I have done four brews and I'm already thinking about upgrading. Damn you :)

[@chrisgeo1642]

I am current,y using a similar set up using a digiboil 220w and a water cooler mash tun with the kettle serving as hlt and boil kettle. I do have a propane burner and 10gal kettle which I was using as a three vessel system but I started wondering why when the 220 is plenty to boil with. I also use a plate chiller my advice to those thinking of going that route is clean it immediately after use and use an air compressor to blow out the water after because it will hold water and that water will get nasty.

[@finnroohomebrewing]

Just found your Chanel from Stoneyard Vineyards Chanel. Just subbed and looking forward to watching your other videos, great DIY system build by the way. Cheers from NZ

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Thanks! I appreciate the sub! Cheers!

[@chrisbrendamills]

Great video! Looking forward to the future video showing your new system working!! I have a Pico C unit that I just use for my recirculation and mashing of wort. It keeps the temperatures dead on so far. -Chris

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Thanks! Is that unit a higher wattage? I had trouble finding ones that worked for 1650W

[@chrisbrendamills]

@@TheApartmentBrewer 1500 watts of powerful steam heat brew. But it's only for 5L batches. Small size but works for me

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

@@chrisbrendamills Sweet! Interesting stuff and thanks for sharing

[@gobigparts]

Never seen anyone pull the tape of the spool to use it before. Usually I just hold the spool and wrap fitting. Always wrap the fitting in a way that when you tighten the fitting you are also tighening the tape. Never put it on so when you thread the fitting in it is pushing against the end of the tape.

[@charlesmiller5606]

This Inkbird appears to require an NTC (negative temperature compensation) probe (R25 = 10kΩ). RIMS tubes look like they require a 1/2" NPT on the sensor end. The input jack appears to be a TRS (tip-ring-sleave); not sure of length. Putting it all together, looks like your probe is best for your rig or a RIMS tube. Can you list your sources for the probe and the replacement jack? BTW, congratulations, Dad!

[@charlesmiller5606]

(Unless that's an NPT thermowell with the thermistor wire coming out of the end--any clarification welcomed!)

[@charlesmiller5606]

Uh, that probe looks to have 3 wires; are you sure this isn't a PT-100 probe (which is not compatible with NTC probes)? Won't work correctly with this Inkbird.

[@derekp6636]

some 3-1 or wd40 would probably help that drilling go a little easier, very nice idea i'm prolly going to do something similar.

[@russelwandler4586]

I'm not good with the navigation on here. Is there a product list?

[@jcinsaniac]

Nice build - do you have to worry about scorched wort and proteins while recirculating? I thought about doing something similar, less the blichmann autosparge - just a couple of ball valves to throttle the wort flow. I have an old stainless pot from an oil fryer...I thought about putting a hole in it with an ulwp element and another hole for the thermocouple. I currently use a sous vide probe directly in the pot for managing mashing temps - it works, but struggles and cannot recirculate properly. I had stumbled across the Inkbird 16s controller...problem is, the controller is 1/3 of the cost of a more effective solution, like the Anvil 10.5 gallon brewing system - I'm almost ready to go with that since I got a 65 Watt pump - just get the unpumped Anvil.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

I really love the controller, and I found this build to be a little cheaper than a clean slate recirculating system, albeit a bit less graceful. So far, I've only scorched wort once with this system and that was under a very specific circumstance: a high protein grist at protein rest temps, and not submerging the element deep enough. Outside of that it's been very reliable. I think whether you choose to go with a brand new system or not should be based on space and a cost benefit analysis, and whether or not your old equipment will play a role. Best of luck!

[@DrunkDelilahBrewery]

Great Video Dude - thanks for sharing.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Thanks for watching, cheers!

[@warpcat]

Great overview (and thanks for listing your parts): I recently upgraded to k-rims (with gas) from biab, but looking to do electric like you do in the BK (for mashing) with a heat-stick & pid for more accurate control: How have you liked the heat-stick + inkbird combo so far?

[@jameseickman1395]

Where did you source the heat stick?

[@cHuiiiTo0]

can it work if i just use a PID for the heat element and a pump to recirculate?

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Yeah, probably

[@tommanning7337]

Very cool 👍🏻👍🏻

[@speedbuggy7240]

Stainless Steel hole saw or chassis punch.. Look them up if you haven't already.. And you only need 1 -2 raps of Teflon tape on the threads and always turn the pipe clockwise onto the tape. You put way to much on and keep the tape flat while raping. That way it doesn't come off while you thread it in.. Sry in advance if someone already said this.. Hope it's working good for ya..

[@tomwhelan8586]

Looks like my old apartment in northeast Philly.

[@afhostie]

So now that you have both this system and the claw hammer, is it worth building your own versus the claw hammer? And what was the total cost?

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Each really has its pros and cons. I think the clawhammer system is far more convenient and efficient, but the custom system is able to hit better boil rates and fit more in the mash

[@tman9338]

Stoked to find your channel. Estimated cost for this upgrade.?? Trying to do 20 gal batch and struggling with temp loss in mash

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

I think it ran me somewhere roughly around $400-$500. Made a big difference though!

[@jamesw.anderson2846]

Yup, teflon tape wraped backwards.

[@kurtwolter3984]

I just watched this. Great content! So what thermowell did you end up using? I think you mentioned changing it during the build. I have the same PID and would like to do something similar. Thanks!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

I believe it was this one: amzn.to/36qV1Qh

[@kurtwolter3984]

@@TheApartmentBrewer Thanks!

[@slugger777]

Are there any hygiene concerns on the ball valves over time? How do you clean all of this stuff? Might be worth making a vid about cleaning equipment thoroughly.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Good question! Aside from typical post brew cleaning, I will usually do a full volume boiling PBW flush every two to three brews. And it is definitely a good idea to take apart the ball valves and clean them with PBW as well.

[@slugger777]

@@TheApartmentBrewer do you just rinse out the boil kettle and the rest of your equipment the rest of the time that you do not clean with PBW? At the moment I am cleaning after every brew.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

I'll scrub it down with soap and water, save the PBW for the deep cleans. Never had a problem the entire time I've been brewing.

[@slugger777]

@@TheApartmentBrewer awesome thanks for the info

[@drdouglaswilde4514]

Use an SV stick and mash for 15 hours overnight. Cheap, simple, effective but most important, EFFICIENT!

[@tman9338]

What is SV stick?

[@drdouglaswilde4514]

@@tman9338 Sous Vide - facebook.com/groups/137408133724544/

[@digitalAgentRE]

I wonder if you hooked up your electric stove to the controller and did a side by side on the stove? Have the mash off the stove and no element. I wonder if the controller could kick on the stove top electric element? And make this system work without the heat stick

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Interesting idea but not gonna work since the controller only can handle 120V, but a stove is usually 220 or 240V

[@jongerenski1545]

Noticed the Union glass, are you an alum?

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Yup! '16

[@jongerenski1545]

@@TheApartmentBrewer my wife graduated in ‘99. Lots of good memories from there!

[@DolemiteGK]

Why not just make a HERMS system with the drop in element in the HLT?

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Good question, but a HERMS coil would have costed an addition $150+ and would require even more kettle modifications. I found RIMS to be more economical for my situation

[@DolemiteGK]

@@TheApartmentBrewer Great point. You're basically doing a blend of both methods, so youre a pioneer!

[@MartinMaat]

That background "music" behind you talking is very annoying.

[@Gabriel2.0]

just don't look up rimming on the internet....