HERMS vs. RIMS

[Duff_Man]

I'm somewhat new to all-grain brewing, and was wondering if anyone can tell me the difference between HERMS and RIMS systems.

[canman]

rims systems heat the mash by heating the mash liquor directly, usually by pumping liquor through a chamber with an electric element whereas HERMS recirculates the mash liquor through a heat exchanger in the HLT, a softer gentler heating method.

[IronMike]

The following link is to a very well written article which discusses the pros and cons of RIMS and HERMS. I found it very useful when deciding what kind of brewery to build.

http://sdcollins.home.mindspring.com/HERMS.html

IronMike