Hey Yall,
As with most of our systems and facilities, it's a never ending evolution toward perf....well, maybe not perfection , but certainly improvement.
We (my friends and I) have been using the electric RIMS system for a few years now, making little changes along the way. It works really well , and I have no plans to change anything soon.
Basically it's a 3 vessel RIMS system that is controlled by the custom dual PID (HLT and RIMS tube) panel with a manual controller for the boil kettle. I like the manual controller because if it's simplicity and quick response in the event your wort threatens to boil over. The system uses three small 12v powered pumps (HLT circulation, RIMS circulation, and the wort pump). The wort pump is typically used to both pump hot wort through the plate chiller at the end of the boil, and also to pump finished beer out of the fermenters. All fittings are cam-lock. The panel also has a temp sensor so that we can monitor the temp of the wort exiting the plate chiller and adjust flow rates accordingly for perfect pitching temp.
The fermenters are both conicals that are temp controlled. One is a blichmann 14.5 gallon stainless vessel, the other is a 21 gallon poly vessel that we use when making 1/2 bbl batches.
The brew bench as we call it, has enough storage to hold all the assorted equipment we all use to make great beer.
Recently, I wanted to expand my capacity beyond the old kegerator, and decided to go with a 5.3cf chest freezer due to the electric savings and quietness. The unit I picked gives me enough room to have 2 serving kegs on the floor, and 1 backup on the hump. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out .
Also, up until last month, we were forced to hang out with our folding chairs ... I whipped up a small bar and found some stools on craigslist , dragged an unused rug out of the attic and Boom!, tap room ! I also installed a appleTV/projector combo to show games and movies on the wall.
The garage still serves double-duty for cars most of the month, but on brew day, it's all business in there.
Steve