HE-Man RIMS Mash Tun Design.

This is the mash tun for my HE-Man RIMS system. It consists of a 10 gallon Rubbermaid (Gott) beverage cooler. I chose the cooler design because I planned on using the HE-Man RIMS design. Direct heating, or firing, of the mash tun is not necessary and the cooler is very well insulated to maintain mash temperatures. Once I hit my temperature, I can leave it sit for hours with only 1 or 2° drop in temperature. It is also light weight and very easy to clean.

The spigot unscrews from it's fitting leaving a nice hole in the bottom side for a 1/2" Swagelok bulkhead fitting. The bulkhead fitting is designed for mounting Swagelok tubing through a panel (bulkhead). It is not designed to provided any kind of non-leak seal between the panel and either the inside or outside. However, by adding an o-ring to the inside with washers on both sides, I was able to get an excellent seal.

On the inside of the bulkhead fitting, I have a short piece of 3/8" SS tubing and a Sure Screen (available from Brewer's Resource ). On the outside of the bulkhead fitting is a SS 1/2" full flow ball valve and a Kynar 1/2" male NPT x 3/8" hose barb elbow. The 1/2" tee down spout feeds the recirculating pump. In all, the pipe assembly cost about $100. You can accomplish the same thing with a rubber stopper, a piece of racking cane tubing, some flex hose, a stop cock and the Sure Screen for about $15. Since I will be using a pump to circulate the wort through the heat exchange manifold (HEM) in the liquor tank, nice solid SS fittings were my choice.

Now many would stop here as the Sure Screen does make a very effective screen for draining the wort from the mash. However, I believe that the Sure Screen can't possibly be as efficient at draining the wort from the edges of the mash tun as it will from the center where it sits. Thus, I utilize a false bottom that sits above the Sure Screen and is the support for the grain bed. In my setup, the Sure Screen is purely a device that prevents grains from entering the recirculation system and clogging the lines and destroying the pump.

My false bottom is a perforated SS screen with three SS bolts for feet, that I purchased through Stainless in Seattle . You can also use a Phil's Phalse bottom but you cannot incorporate the Sure Screen as I have. If you go the Phil's route, I suggest you secure a small piece of cheese cloth over the intake to prevent grains from entering the system whether you use a pump or not.