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Mash issues..RIMS

 
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JimFromTheCity




Joined: 03 Sep 2018
Posts: 2
Location: Columbus Ohio


PostLink    Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2018 8:36 pm    Post subject: Mash issues..RIMS Reply with quote


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So, if you have a minute..

Since upping my BH size from 15 gallon kettles to 50, I've been having a problem with what I think could possibly be denaturing of my Beta Amylase by my RIMS tube. The only thing I did was get bigger pots and add an additional 5.5kw elements to the boil and HLT. The Rims tube I did nothing to. Until the last batch.. I assumed since I was brewing 3 times the amount that I used to brew, the RIMS tube was working more because of the volume increase. We started getting weird shakes like cavitation in the pump. However, it only did that when the element fired and would stop if you turned off the heat. I thought the 1.5" tube was way to small for the 5.5kw element and the wort was being boiled instantly or near boil instantly.. Made a new tube.. Its now a 3" spool 18" long. I felt this would provide a much better buffer compared to the 1.5". Could that 5.5kw element rip way to hard for the wort? Its definitely not scorching, and flow is fine.

3"X18" RIMS triclamp, 5.5kw element in bottom, 1.5" TC inlet about 2" up from the bottom. Top has 3"- 1.5" TC flat adapter with a 1.5" TC instrument Tee where my probe is. That puts it 9.5" from the end of the element. Could that be too far from the element? https://imgur.com/Mnfzao8

55.75 lbs grain. 70.27 Quarts. 5.2 stabilizer
I did sort of a step dough-in. Shooting for a 148 mash temp, I only brought the water up to about 152 (in the mash tun), add about 1/2 of the grain. It dropped to 148 so I brought the temp up to 152 again which only took about 5 minutes and finished dough-in landing dead on 148. Mashed 75 minutes. Fly sparged with 25.7 gallons at 168. About 37 gallons into the boil pot with Gravity of 1.036, shooting for 1.043.

Using an inkbird PID on auto mode for control. Temps would climb up to near 160 at the thermometer when the element would run, I had the temp set to 4-5 degrees above 148 to keep the Tun temp tight at 148. I think I'm starting to understand where things went south here as I type this..

Cycling so much wort past the element near or at 160 degress, I'm almost certain I have denatured Betas and wrecked my efficiency..

I've ordered a new controller from Auber instruments and it has the "Regulator" function. I hoping this will help me in the path to smooth temps..

If you have any input I'd love to hear it.
Thanks,
Jim
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Ozarks Mountain Brew




Joined: 22 May 2013
Posts: 737
Location: The Ozark Mountains of Missouri


PostLink    Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2018 9:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

so to be clear the rims is what heats the mash? do your have a herms at all or just rims? if so I would suspect your needing to do an infusion with your water to not allow the tube to heat up so much then the mashout shouldn't matter, calculate the amount of strike water temp here

https://www.brewersfriend.com/mash/


Last edited by Ozarks Mountain Brew on Tue Sep 04, 2018 3:34 pm; edited 1 time in total
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kal
Forum Administrator



Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2018 11:18 pm    Post subject: Re: Mash issues..RIMS Reply with quote

JimFromTheCity wrote:
Cycling so much wort past the element near or at 160 degress, I'm almost certain I have denatured Betas and wrecked my efficiency..

I don't have anything to add to help you out unfortunately, but this above statement is one of the reasons I was concerned with using RIMS (and instead opted for HERMS) when designing my brewery.

That said, this is generally considered a low risk with RIMS given that alpha amylase (the primary enzyme in conversion of the malt starches to sugars) begins to break down at temperatures above about 160F and evidence shows that it takes a considerable period of time before a significant portion of the enzymes are compromised. The relatively short period of time the wort is at a high temperature is probably not a problem.

More info in my article here: http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=28112

There are definitely a lot of brewers using RIMS that are happy with it, so there's certainly a way to make it work.

Good luck and welcome to the forum!

Kal

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JimFromTheCity




Joined: 03 Sep 2018
Posts: 2
Location: Columbus Ohio


PostLink    Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2018 9:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Ozark and Kal,
I moved the temp probe to the just off the end of the element. A quick test shows it behaving much more stable. I also tried it with a 2.5kw element, that smoothed things out even more. I think we will half batch and see what happens..

Thanks again,

Jim
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