I've been home brewing for about 3 years or so, of which the last year and a half have been exclusively all grain. I'd heard about RIMS and HERMS systems, and after a bunch of online research, found Keith's Old Station Brewing Company online. Keith's system was right in the ballpark of what I wanted to build for myself. I contacted him through email. He was very helpful in sharing his thoughts on both his own design as well as reviewing my approach. I based mine largely on his example, but modified the overall design to be a single tier and made it so it's weldable by a novice (that's me). I cannot express my gratitude enough. Thanks, Keith!
I intend to turn this into a full blown HERMS system by adding a heat exchanger to my HLT, or by building a smaller, electrically heated vessel like the TexanBrew Mini-exchanger so that I can separately monitor and heat the mash while heating my sparge water.
I want to thank Keith H. for putting his brewing site up on the web. It was a great source for reference and ideas. I owe him some beer for all of his help. I also want to thank my good friend and RealBeer.com buddy Greg G. (handle - Grog) for helping me to acquire the kegs, kettle hardware and other fittings, as well as lending his plumbing expertise.