Beer Forum

NOTE: This was originally posted in the All Grain forum last week with no replies in several days...cross-posting it here in hopes that someone will have some kind of thought provoking or enlightening opinion on the idea.

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What do you RIMS users think of adding an oxygenation stone to the RIMS tube so you can later use it to transfer your wort from your BK to fermenter and apply oxygen during the second half of the transfer? I was thinking replace one of the Tee fittings on the RIMS with a cross and apply O2 there....maybe on the outflow side.

I got the idea when trying to design/copy the oxygenation assembly at MoreBeer.

http://morebeer.com/products/stainless- ... barbs.html

Basically this is how I am thinking I can use it:

1) Begin mash as usual and recirculate through RIMS / O2 tube as necessary to keep mash temp stable
2) Recirculate mash continuously toward the end of mash to set grain bed
3) Transfer to BK and perform boil
4) Recirculate back through RIMS / O2 tube toward the end of the boil to sanitize
5) Cool wort down to pitching temp
6) Transfer half of my wort through RIMS / O2 tube to fermenter
7) Turn on O2 diffuser stone in RIMS tube for second half of transfer

I currently use an immersion chiller, but I suppose you could push the wort through a CFC or plate chiller before you sent it to the RIMS / O2 tube if you had a CFC or plate instead of an immersion chiller.

One thing I was just thinking about...is it OK to have the aeration stone in the wort flow (switched off) when wort temps are at boiling?

Perhaps I can call it the RIMS/02ube or something like that

Waddayathink???

I wouldn't put wort anywhere near my RIMS tube. I believe grain have Lactobacillus on them and I wouldn't trust the sanitation.

Are you doing this to accomplish a one pump system?

I currently use two pumps. One dedicated to HLT and Mtun and the other for BK, CFC, O2 and conical.

NervousDad wrote:I wouldn't put wort anywhere near my RIMS tube. I believe grain have Lactobacillus on them and I wouldn't trust the sanitation.

Your comment got the gears turning in my mind

Kbar wrote:Are you doing this to accomplish a one pump system?

I currently use two pumps. One dedicated to HLT and Mtun and the other for BK, CFC, O2 and conical.

Kbar, a one pump system was part of my motivation...the other part was trying to consolidate equipment that could possibly serve 2 different but similar purposes (applying heat or O2 during recirculation).

I was about to build a RIMS tube and the fancy shmancy oxygenation tube from MoreBeer was calling out to me so I thought, hey, why not combine them? Now I think I know why not.

In my thinking out the reply to NervousDad I realized I might have answered my own question as to whether or not this could be a viable all in one solution. My original concern was clogging the O2 stone, but the big concern now is the amount of trub and kettle funk that will be recirculating through my RIMS tube during the cooling period and potentially gumming up my RIMS tube and element...not to mention the O2 stone.

I think this idea is a wash. Thanks for the input to those who answered.

My friend Sean also put my creative "genius" in check when he helped me to realize an O2 stone on a stainless wand in my fermenter would be a super simple solution to my wort oxygenation without over complicating things and spending $80. I guess I will just build the RIMS tube and let it be a RIMS tube only as it should be Thanks Sean

RokGoblin wrote:

NervousDad wrote:an O2 stone on a stainless wand in my fermenter

Amen