Braumeister - Tips & Tricks

[SnakeDoctor]

I really don't get it. The filter is somewhat fixed in position by the centre rod, but the mash pipe has plenty of play. So the mash pipe goes in and when you drop the filters in you shimmy the mash pipe over until the filter has an even spacing around it. Done, no stray grains, so need for a silicon seal. It works exactly as the german engineers intended.

I'm probably doing a poor job of explaining, but the angle between the bottom and the rod is not 90 degrees like you would expect (and is required by the design).



Here is an exaggerated cross-section via mspaint.

 

[Black n Tan]

Got it. If that is the case and it is new I would be talking with the retailer.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

As the tie rod is secured to thin a thin stainless base it looks like you have a small buckle of the plate, it should be fine as Black n Tan said previously, because of the thin base I would imagine a lot of the rods seem off centre, the malt tube should put it back in alignment then just tighten up.
I have posted this pic before but maybe on a different thread but it will alleviate the problem of grain getting through.

 

[niels]

As the tie rod is secured to thin a thin stainless base it looks like you have a small buckle of the plate, it should be fine as Black n Tan said previously, because of the thin base I would imagine a lot of the rods seem off centre, the malt tube should put it back in alignment then just tighten up.
I have posted this pic before but maybe on a different thread but it will alleviate the problem of grain getting through.

Is it just me or does it look like your malt pipe is up side down? The orange seal must be at the bottom of the pipe...

- Niels

 

[Batz]

Is it just me or does it look like your malt pipe is up side down? The orange seal must be at the bottom of the pipe...

- Niels

I didn't even notice that until now, funny.

Batz

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

Is it just me or does it look like your malt pipe is up side down? The orange seal must be at the bottom of the pipe...

- Niels

Awshii!

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

I did a 50l brew today with 9.3kg of grain with the big pipe. I have only used it a handful of times, because I normally brew single batches.

9.3kg is within the range for the big pipe, but there was a good 8cm of float for the top filter till it hit the bar during pumping. Possibly because this was a hefe and the wheat grain takes up less space than the husky barley? I am sure I've done around 9kg of grain before without the mash sitting so low.

I found that for the first time, I had a decent amount of grain coming out. When I picked up the filter to do an efficiency stir, I noticed a decent amount of smaller grains above the mess but below the hard filter. I think the extra space in the loose mash was allowing this to happen. I am contemplating getting some washers to make a smaller version of the 25l pipe spacer to avoid this happening in the future. Thoughts?

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

Annnnd...just separating two thoughts into two posts:

Today's much looser mash of 9.3kg in the big pipe compared to my previous IPA brew where I put 6.15k in the small malt pipe which was a fairly tight fit. There was an 8% efficiencey difference between the two brews. I know there can be a range of factors in efficiency, but has anyone else noticed better efficiency when your malt pipe is more loosely packed?

 

[Black n Tan]

Annnnd...just separating two thoughts into two posts:

Today's much looser mash of 9.3kg in the big pipe compared to my previous IPA brew where I put 6.15k in the small malt pipe which was a fairly tight fit. There was an 8% efficiencey difference between the two brews. I know there can be a range of factors in efficiency, but has anyone else noticed better efficiency when your malt pipe is more loosely packed?

That is consistent with my experience. When I pack 13kg into the mash my efficiency drop by a few points compared to a normal 10kg batch. I factor that into the recipe design and tend to sparge with more water, when I push the grain amount to the limit, to try and reduce my efficiency losses.

 

[Black n Tan]

I did a 50l brew today with 9.3kg of grain with the big pipe. I have only used it a handful of times, because I normally brew single batches.

9.3kg is within the range for the big pipe, but there was a good 8cm of float for the top filter till it hit the bar during pumping. Possibly because this was a hefe and the wheat grain takes up less space than the husky barley? I am sure I've done around 9kg of grain before without the mash sitting so low.

I found that for the first time, I had a decent amount of grain coming out. When I picked up the filter to do an efficiency stir, I noticed a decent amount of smaller grains above the mess but below the hard filter. I think the extra space in the loose mash was allowing this to happen. I am contemplating getting some washers to make a smaller version of the 25l pipe spacer to avoid this happening in the future. Thoughts?

May be try throwing in a few handfuls of rice hulls on top of the grain when you are using wheat and see if that helps blocks the smaller grains getting past the filter. If I am using significant amounts of wheat I use rice hulls and haven't noticed any significant grains getting post the top filter.

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

May be try throwing in a few handfuls of rice hulls on top of the grain when you are using wheat and see if that helps blocks the smaller grains getting past the filter. If I am using significant amounts of wheat I use rice hulls and haven't noticed any significant grains getting post the top filter.

Not a bad idea, I'd always thought if hulls loosening up wheat, but maybe they can lock em down, too...

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Is it just me or does it look like your malt pipe is up side down? The orange seal must be at the bottom of the pipe...

- Niels

No it is not upside down I have a seal on the top as well as the bottom and have made a filter plate to fit over the top, two purposes for this, more room for the grain, and to stop grain finding any gaps.

 

[malt and barley blues]

Consider that copied

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

No it is not upside down I have a seal on the top as well as the bottom and have made a filter plate to fit over the top, two purposes for this, more room for the grain, and to stop grain finding any gaps.

Iiinteresting. Not sure I get the filter plate bit. You machined one yourself, or you're using it upside down so it gets that one inch higher?

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Made it myself, I also have a thicker perforated plate which goes over the top, the perforated plate I cut with stainless steel cutting disc and the filter I used a nibbler.

 

[zoigl]

Regarding adding rice hulls... I read of a previous post by someone unknown to me, that he made a tea of rice hulls. That got me experimenting.
The night before I brew, I take a 5 litre jug, add 2 litres (volume) of dry rice hulls, then add 2 kitchen kettles of boiling water.
Rice hulls have a really bad smell, and soaking in boiling water overnight seems to soak out this smell.
I have a conical sieve which fits my SS bucket, I pour the lot into the sieve.
A further benefit is that the wet rice hulls sink immediately with the grain into the malt pipe.
Usually I do 3 additions one at the start of adding the crushed grain, one midway and a final addition before adding the top filter upside down, I cut a copper tube the same size as the SS tube on the filter.

 

[micblair]

I just did a brew with both mesh screens on the bottom of the malt pipe (mashed-in and realised I was a screen short...amongst other things), ran the brew without it and couldn't report of any ill effects. I would be curious if its even a requirement at all? Seems like if you have the right crush, the husks do a perfectly good job as acting like a screen anyways.

 

[zoigl]

Hi Brew Master
I am curious as to whether or not you had the filter screen on top and that you left the fine mesh screens on the bottom. I have an early BM which uses cloth filters over the SS mesh screens.
I have had geysers shooting up when using a high proportion of wheat in the grain bill. So I now use rice hulls because wheat has very little husk to act as a filter. The rice hulls help separate the grain/mash when the pumps are working.
I have found with my pumps that it takes very small amount of grain to block them or at least slow them down.

 

[lael]

I'm curious, what is a high % of wheat?

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Hi Zoigi,

I bought the perforated plate 3 mm thk and the 1 mm filter mesh as off cuts from from Geordie I cut them to size and in the photo I have only the filter mesh on the top as I wanted to see what would happen without the 3 mm perforated plate and what happened is what I expected and that is the 1 mm mesh started to bend with the pressure of the grain so the perforated plate is necessary.
I don't see why you couldn't carry on using a fabric mesh screen as long as it covers the top of the malt pipe and just use a perforated plate over the top of that, in fact it would be just as effective and cheaper.
The rubber seal ring I put on the top of the malt pipe I bought before I had altered anything, as I do have a strong grip and noticed that I had put a dent either side of the malt pipe where the tie bar went so I didn't want to damage it further.