Advice on Mash Tun

[Chuffy]

There is a lot more maths involved:

Grain absorption is the amount of water absorbed by the grain
Sparge volumes can affect astringency if the mash is over sparged.
Amount of boil off....will affect final volume and gravity.
Mash efficiency will affect final gravity.
Grain crush may result in more water and grain being required for grain absorption to equal expected starting gravity.

good info thx vm

i am not going to worry about those things too much at the beginning tbh. The volume will be what it is. i'll focus on getting a good mash and once i'm comfortable with the basics, the other factors will be addressed, which will improve repeatability. I wont be even trying AG for a while. i want to recreate a 150 lashes first, which is a modified extract recipe. This will gain me experience with my burner and work flow, so at least when i get to AG the whole process isn't new. Most of what i have read is that its hard to stuff up AG e.g it will be drinkable. Being able to repeat consistently, hit the numbers etc.....are what takes the skill/ experience etc and this is where alot of u guys are at, it appears, im learning alot already, more to come

 

[Chuffy]

For reference sake. This is my esky mash tun. The esky is 75lt. I make brews either 20 to 40lt. The black hose connect is the correct thread. The ball valve fits in perfect with plummers tape over the thread. A bazooka screen with the thread removed fits inside nice. Bent shaped so its flat on the floor.
Single infusion batch sparging is the technique. Place in your mash water hotter than mash temp to pre heat the esky. When its strike temp slowly mix in the grain. Lock it shut and leave it. Nothing to think about. Go shopping or whatever. Doesn't really matter if it sits longer than necessary. I multiple sparge with enough water to just cover the grain. Sometimes 4 times. You get good efficiency that way. Some may worry about over sparging but I think its fine if the run off doesn't get below gravity 1.010. and the ph of the sparge water isn't too high.

how do u think the 30cm round flase bottom will perform in an esky like that?....., like this 1:

http://kegking.com.au/brewery-equipment/brewing/domed-stainless-steel-false-bottoms-30cm.html

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

.
Place in your mash water hotter than mash temp to pre heat the esky. When its strike temp slowly mix in the grain.

Good piece of advice

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

There is a lot more maths involved:

Grain absorption is the amount of water absorbed by the grain


Buy some reputable Brewers Software...it will do the maths for you.



Think carefully...buy once.

Nothing like throwing in 12ltr of water and getting 4-5ltrs out on first runnings :lol:

 

[MickGC]

considering you already have the 58l KK keggle with false bottom,
Why not just get a large kettle say 80-120l? and using the keggle as MT?
Just wondering what the reason to not use it was?
How big of a batch do you want to make? reckon you will want more in future?

 

[MastersBrewery]

considering you already have the 58l KK keggle with false bottom,
Why not just get a large kettle say 80-120l? and using the keggle as MT?
Just wondering what the reason to not use it was?
How big of a batch do you want to make? reckon you will want more in future?

more work maintaining temps, more gear to do so too.

 

[Chuffy]

considering you already have the 58l KK keggle with false bottom,
Why not just get a large kettle say 80-120l? and using the keggle as MT?
Just wondering what the reason to not use it was?
How big of a batch do you want to make? reckon you will want more in future?

yes...this is making more sense to me now. I never have any trouble buying new gear usually, but this cooler mash tun wasn't sitting right for some reason. I'm going to revert to original thinking and invest in a HLT (e.g large pot) and mash in the keggle. There's good info online regarding insulating it.....i can direct fire it, so can grow into step mashes if i want to, mash out by heating the grain bed, blah, blah..its the gear that i got so i'm going to run with it. it will be a little labour intensive in the beginning...i will use the keggle as my kettle also, so i will cool mash, drain to another vessel, clean keggle, reintroduce wort to keggle.

i only have 1 burner also so that in itself will require some faffing to heat strike water for sparge while mashing.....just something for the keg to sit on ABOVE the burner, so i can slide burner out for another vessel, i have access to a I beam lift in garage so i can lift the keggle higher. My first go at AG is starting to form in my head, at least the work flow, for all this moving wort around etc. Then i'll know what i want to buy next for the system

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Direct fire your mash tun since it will be in a keg. You only need to get it up to 80 something.

A lid is crucial ( and zero deadspace above the grain bed) for a mash tun. You dont really need a lot of insulation, a 2-3*c drop over 1hr wont be a problem

Plenty of brewers have strapped yoga mats to the outside with simple belts

Then you just take the mat off and BAM...you have a kettle

 

[Chuffy]

zero deadspace above the grain bed

What do u mean by this?...only fill it to cover the grain?

on a side note...just scored 1 of these 2nd hand for $70:

http://www.harveynorman.com.au/birko-30l-commercial-hot-water-urn.html?CAWELAID=720013240000117784&gclid=CNr74pXM9MwCFYWVvAodDPUALQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

i'm starting to get excited, its coming together

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Zero deadspace by using a peice of styrofoam sitting directly on top of the mash so you dont loose as much heat. That alone helps to keep heat in very well

 

[Chuffy]

ahh i see what u mean

 

[yoboseyo]

Just wondering, is there much of a difference between brands of insulated coolers? Would one from Kmart do the job as well as an Esky or Rubbermaid?

 

[boybrewer]

More than likely there is some difference . The cheaper ones would have little to no insulation in them . Where as the more expensive ones would have various amounts of insulation up to the the ones that will hold ice for up to 5 days obviously the most expensive . If you are willing to pay around $100 for an esky you will get one that will do the job sufficiently . I used a 55 lt Willow esky and it would only drop a couple of degrees over the hour long mash . The sides and bottom were insulated but the lid wasn't and that is were I lost the temp , so I just sat a towel on top to try and keep the temp more stable.

 

[yoboseyo]

More than likely there is some difference . The cheaper ones would have little to no insulation in them . Where as the more expensive ones would have various amounts of insulation up to the the ones that will hold ice for up to 5 days obviously the most expensive . If you are willing to pay around $100 for an esky you will get one that will do the job sufficiently . I used a 55 lt Willow esky and it would only drop a couple of degrees over the hour long mash . The sides and bottom were insulated but the lid wasn't and that is were I lost the temp , so I just sat a towel on top to try and keep the temp more stable.

any way to tell by inspection, or do you go by brand/price?

what brands would you recommend? Is willow better than Esky?

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Any esky will do.You can even use a big stainless pot wrapped in a yoga/camping mat. They work very well

If its a cheap one just throw a blanket over it and use a piece of foam on the mash

Mash temps dont drop a great deal. Dont worry if it drops 2-3*c over an houre

Most conversion is done in the first 20-30mins with good modern malts

 

[Benn]

My cheap 60l esky/tun has a good 50mm of styrofoam insulation within its walls and floor. Curiously, it looks identical to the Colemans sold at the hardware. I can't accurately comment on its thermal properties as I recirculate via a pump & KK heating element.
Only put 7 batches and a couple of test runs through it but it's structural integrity is holding up ok so far. Had it 3/4's full of 80 degree water for about an hour during one of the test runs.
Chrs

 

[boybrewer]

I didn't go that far into them when I purchased mine I just purchased a Willow and did what Batz said just put a piece of styrofoam on top of the mash held the temp quite well for the lid is not insulated at all .

 

[yoboseyo]

Where did you get a piece of Styrofoam as big as the cooler?

 

[crowmanz]

broccoli box or a kids boogey board

 

[Chuffy]

i have done the back flip on the esky mash tun mainly because i already bought a keggle for the purpose...if i din't have the keggle i'd be on the plastic fantastic band wagon. i'd though id add some of my thinking on the issue, just to help maybe someone else in the same position:

-i was really stuck on buying an esky just to mash, if i could get the 10gallon gatorade jobbies that u can get in the states for under $50, here in Aus....then i'd have prob done that. However, its going to cost approx $200 here, once u buy the esky and the good hardware. Of course, u can jury rig an existing esky but its not without issues e.g. the bung thread on the esky i was going to use, is very tight...i was having a fair bit of trouble finding fittings to fit...theres a risk of damaging this thread (which is some kinda of poly) with metal fittings. Plus every time i go camping (5 times this year) i'd want to pull it apart. My eskys are expensive and designed to keep ice for a week, not mash for an hr

-Any esky no matter how crappy is going to do the job of a MT, temp wise. if it can keep ice for a couple of hrs (30c ish below ambient) it will keep mash temp ok (30c ish above ambient). There is no esky alive that cant keep ice for at least 12 hrs (40c+ ambient temps aside)

-i didn't appreciate at first how versatile it is being able to heat the MT...more complex recipes, more complex procedures performed more simply, at the downside of insulating the keggle (which is simple to do), or not at all (if u follow some people)

-An esky MT can only perform 1 task (very well though). The keggle can be any vessel, MT, HLT, boil kettle not at the same time, granted, but is very versatile....i'll even use mine to boil up crabs

-Im not sure about pouring boiling water into eskys...im sure the esky will survive but what about stuff leaching out of the plastic. I wouldn't be too worried as the time frame is relatively short, but another consideration...i guess my beer could taste of crab......mmmmmm crab