Help Making A Mash Tun

[HOOLIO]

Hi
I have already attempted a few partial "mashes" but haven't got anything to sparge in.
So I want to make something so that this year i can advance my brewing techniques.
I am keen to make a mash tun maybee a circular cooler style.
Can anyone advise me about which cooler is good to buy?
Maybe with a false bottom (mesh)?
and about changing over the tap?
An of course there is the price?
I live In Adelaide.
Any of your ideas would be greatly appreciated.
I would love to see pics of your setups.
what is the difference between a mash tun and a lauter tun?
Thanks for any advice
cheers from Toby

 

[Keifer]

Take a look in the 'show me your false bottom' thread, lots of pics of mash tuns! Only ever had a rectangular 55L esky so can't help you with the gatorade type.

 

[braufrau]

Hi
I have already attempted a few partial "mashes" but haven't got anything to sparge in.
So I want to make something so that this year i can advance my brewing techniques.
I am keen to make a mash tun maybee a circular cooler style.

I know I am going to be totally pooh poohed for suggesting this but I have
had a brilliant idea!

Oh oh! I hear you say.

Well this is it ... I'm gonna use my fermenter for a mash tun. For partials.
I'm going to make myself a nylon bag and mash in the fermenter wrapped sitting
on a foam mat with an old blanket and doona around it.

The effect will be the same as a cooler with a bag which is described in lots of places
on the web e.g. bewhaus

Once I've got the boil going I'll clean and sanitise the fermenter. I've got a big pot, so no
chance of boil over.

The advantage is a: cheap b: takes up almost zero extra space.

Of course I'll be batch sparging.

There now! Despise me if you will!

-braufrau

 

[Fents]

Im no handy man and trust me i've just made what i think is a reasonable and cheap mash tun. Its a standard pail bucket (dont know how many litres) with braided mesh hose and all connections. I can mash 6kg (2.5lts water per 1KG grain) of grain no worries, Dosnt loose temp over an hour and sparges really really well. I've just taken photo's of it for you and how it all gets put together and what not but i cant upload them at home (no cable for my camera), i'll do it first thing at work tommorow.

Whole thing only cost me $42.

 

[GMK]

Hoolio

I live in adelaide and have a small round daddy cooler mash tun - holds 15ltrs...ideal for single fly sparge batches.

Happy for u to borrow to help u on your way if you want.
Otherwise, i have made up a few round cylinder ones for some of the guys on here.

U are welcome up at the BrewInn Barossa to check it and my AG setup out if you want to.

 

[Punter]

mate, this was my first tun and worked a treat. Cheap and simple.

Its just a 15lt pail with foam insulation around it.

It used a false bottom made from the cut off bottom of another pail with
countless holes drilled.

this served me well for a while.

 

[Keifer]

There you go hoolio, can't beat an offer like that!

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Hoolio

I live in adelaide and have a small round daddy cooler mash tun - holds 15ltrs...ideal for single fly sparge batches.

Happy for u to borrow to help u on your way if you want.
Otherwise, i have made up a few round cylinder ones for some of the guys on here.

U are welcome up at the BrewInn Barossa to check it and my AG setup out if you want to.

Dont ya just love this site... :wub:

 

[PistolPatch]

Braufrau: That's sort of a good idea and sort of isn't but I like the way you're thinking Have a look at this thread from my more innocent days. You'd be better off using a pail with a tap to avoid infection risk. The material to use is Swiss Voille from Spotlight (thanks Ross). This will work fine. A pail never goes astray either.

Hoolio: You can line whatever your mash tun is with the Swiss Voille material if you would like to avoid making a manifold. You will still have to install a tap.

As to your question re a mash tun and a lauter tun. An esky actas both. It is the mash tun (let's call it a soaking tun for simplicity) and a lauter tun (rinsing tun). The correct abbreviation for an esky in which you mash and sparge is an MLT (Mash Lauter Tun).

If you are looking at an esky, have a look at this thread Maybe you can find an esky this size on EBay cheaply. Having an esky that you can mash in and then use as a fermenting fridge was a huge bonus to me. Now that I BIAB, I no longer need a mash tun but I can still use the esky as a fermenting fridge (maintains a very stable temperature with very few ice bricks needed) and a Party Cooler...

The esky fits a keg, soda-stream bottle and regulator. I've upgraded and now even have a proper tap on it! (Will post some pics tomorrow before my nephew takes it to his uni function )

What I'm saying here, is try and think ahead. There's nothing worse than buying something and then later on, as your brewing skills develop, finding the thing you spent money on is 1cm too small etc.

Spending money on a mash tun may be unneccessary at this stage. This thread may allow you to side-skip a mash tun altogether and get you within a bee's dick of doing your first AG. Easier than partials!

Keep us posted,
Pat

PS Just saw GMK's offer, DEFINITELY take that up.

 

[PostModern]

Spending money on a mash tun may be unneccessary at this stage. This thread may allow you to side-skip a mash tun altogether and get you within a bee's dick of doing your first AG. Easier than partials!

Geez, PP, you go off at everyone who mentions three vessel brewing in the BIAB thread. What's good for the goose, eh?

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

PP...Good to see you getting back into medium length posts... :lol:

 

[PistolPatch]

LOL Ducati!

PoMo: Looks like I must have written some stuff badly there. I'm not sure what though? Let me know where I've criticised 3 vessel brewing and I'll re-write the posts. Certainly wasn't my intention and I hate writing things that are not clear. The only intention of BIAB is getting people to brew a great beer ASAP. To date, BIAB is doing this so I think people should certainly consider it before outlaying a lot of money. Maybe I get a bit enthusiastic sometimes but usually I'll correct this when sober B)

Hope this makes sense,
Pat

EDIT: I was just thinking that seeing as the beers produced by BIAB compared to batch sparging have proven to be identical to nearly all brewers and certainly not inferior to the one brewer who, so far, could pick the difference, it is actually irresponsible not to advise people to consider the method very seriously.

I think I'm the only person also, that started with 3 vessel and moved to BIAB. The fact that I have no intention of moving back should make those contemplating AG think twice about the way they approach it. As the guys at Asher's brew day will tell you, I'm also prepared to do side-by-side brews with exisitng 3 vessel brewers as I did with Brad_G when in QLD. The more results we get here the better. They'll also tell you that my intention in doing this is to try and discover limitations of BIAB.

I'd certainly love to know if there are any. To date we have found none.

I'm Just trying to get the most accurate info available out to new brewers. Maybe I should start writing longer posts

Whoops! Looks like, with my edit, I have just done that!
Pat

 

[braufrau]

Braufrau: That's sort of a good idea and sort of isn't but I like the way you're thinking Have a look at this thread from my more innocent days. You'd be better off using a pail with a tap to avoid infection risk. The material to use is Swiss Voille from Spotlight (thanks Ross). This will work fine. A pail never goes astray either.

Hey PP. Thanks for the feedback.
Of course I was inspired by BIAB.

The comments in the thread you linked to seem to be split between "it will infect your fermenter" and
"it wont be a problem". Guess you decided to err on the side of caution.
If the grains are in a bag they wont scratch the plastic I wouldn't think. well a pail will be cheap.


Do you think recirculation is required with a bag? The brewhaus people seem to think the
wort will run clear if the sides of the bag don't fall in. brewhaus
If I don't need to recirculate, I don't need a tap. I could just pull the bag out and pour the
"runnings" into the kettle couldn't I? Then plop it back in and batch sparge?

The swiss voile is from the curtain section of spotlight isn't it?

-braufrau

 

[PistolPatch]

braufrau: Sorry, was busy writing a big edit in my last post - lol!

As to your questions...

I reckon PoMo's comments in the first thread I linked above re infection if using a fermenter as a mash tun should be considered seriously for two reasons. Firstly, I'm paranoid about cleanliness and secondly a bucket is cheap, handy and essentially does the same job.

The rest of your question depends on whether you still intend to do partials. I'm going to assume that you don't intend to partial any more. If you do, you'll know what to ignore below.

If you go the way you intend, this is what you're facing and it's going to be a PITA, as you'll see. Hopefully, going through what you intend, nearly step-by-step, will help you to find an easier way...

Firstly, you certainly won't need re-circulation so that's one good thing! Forget that.

If you use a bag in a fermenter, I would throw as much water in as you can in your mash and agitate the mash regularly as per BIAB Guide. (You will, by the way, have to heat this water first in another vessel, ie a kettle or pot. In BIAB, this vessel is also your bucket.)

The agitation acts as the rinsing you get by sparging. So, if you have a 25 litre ferementer/bucket/pail then throw in say 20 litres (if you're lucky) of water from your 'kettle' for the mash. You should then agitate regularly for the first 20 minutes and then occassionally over the rest of the mash.

Unless you have a tap, you will actually have to take the bag out of the vessel and you'll then need a pail/bucket to hang it over - agh!!!!

Doing this twice and waiting for the bag to drain would be a nightmare! You will have to do it twice as you'll need to add another 16 litres to the vessel and then agitate, remove bag again etc. Also, where did you heat that 16 lts by the way? That's right - from the kettle!

Hopefully, you are starting to see why I linked the BIAB thread

So, I reckon that an easier way, would be to just get a cheap 60-80 litre stainless steel pot (check out my last post in the BIAB thread - a thin-bottomed kettle will cost you less than fifty) and just full-volume mash.

See where I'm coming from?

Still very much like the way you've been thinking and hopefully the above will save you some wasted time and then free up your brain for some other exciting ideas - cool!

Let me know what you come up with,
Pat

1. By the way, bag brewing or mashing gives a very clear wort but this should not be your goal. There is nothing wrong with a cloudy wort. There is some evidence to say it is actually advantageous.

2. Finally, the Swiss Voille is in the curtain section

 

[Fents]

Heres my simple Pail Mash tun :

The whole thing

The guts of it

Closer look

Now i pulled it apart for you - This one is the T Piece brass collar

Now i brought three of these - There from the irragation section in mitre ten, basically just a thread at one end that screws into each side of the T Piece and then one on the front for the tap

So this is how it goes...T Piece with two plastic things screwed on each side. Then buy the mesh steel braided hose stuff and cut it at each end, then pull the rubber out of the middle of it..Slip the mesh over the barbs on the plastic things and tighten with hose clamps.

Drill a hole in the bucket and fit the t piece snug up on the inside just holding it, then on the outside goes a rubber washer, then a metal washer, then screw the tap into the thread of the t piece. Then one last Plastic irragation thingy screws into the tap on the outside so you can slip hose over it to drain it..

Whala!

Insulate it with camping mat stuff from clark rubber..

$42 all up and holds 6KG of grain and dosnt drop any temp over an hour.

Sorry about the quality of the shitty camera phone picks.

 

[drsmurto]

Been watching the thread develop and thought it time i joined in as i am super keen to move up to AG and skip the partials. I currently do 'enhanced K&K' and extracts. I have 3 x 30L fermenters + my bulk priming 'pail' which is just a pail type fermenter whose lid cracked.

Am i right in thinking that PP et al are advocating using a fermenter for the BIAB mash vessel, maybe wrapped in a camping mat a la Fents? Would i need the 'fancy' tap etc or would the normal fermenter tap work? Then i would need a 40+ L stock pot (kettle) and a bag made out of Swiss Voille?

So where is the flaw in my plan? I feel like i have completely over simplified things..... :unsure:

Cheers
DrSmurto - future AGer

 

[tangent]

the simplest option is 2 mayo buckets, a drill and a cheap plastic tap as stated above.
Samantha, you can just borrow mine if you want.... if it saves you making bags and trying to pull a full bag of wet grain through the hole in the top of a fermenter

 

[braufrau]

the simplest option is 2 mayo buckets, a drill and a cheap plastic tap as stated above.
Samantha, you can just borrow mine if you want.... if it saves you making bags and trying to pull a full bag of wet grain through the hole in the top of a fermenter

Thanks tangent that's very kind.
I can make a suit so making a bag will take me 2 minutes. Much easier than
making holes in a bucket which would require the big pointy whirly thingo .. that's secret
men's business.

We're still talking batch sparging with the bucket in bucket idea aren't we?

If I went eithe bag in bucket or bucket in bucket, where would I get the bucket with
the tap? Bunnings?

As well as cost, size and simplicity to make, doesn't the bag idea have the advantage of zero
empty space at the bottom.??

braufrau

 

[tangent]

I can make a suit

it's a deal then. A new pinstripe suit in exchange for my bucket in a bucket with tap already fitted and holes already drilled. (Fitting a tap requires that spinny thing.)

Why do you need zero empty space at the bottom?
The bottom of the top bucket is full of grist. The bottom of the lower bucket is full of draining wort.

 

[Wortgames]

the big pointy whirly thingo .. that's secret men's business.

And don't you forget it

As well as cost, size and simplicity to make, doesn't the bag idea have the advantage of zero empty space at the bottom.??

'zero' empty space isn't an advantage - remember that any bit of a mesh bag that sits hard against a plastic surface isn't really mesh any more, and if the bag sits right up against the tap, then the entire wort has to channel through a tiny circle of mesh at the tap inlet.

You really need the wort to filter out into some free space so that you use more of the filter surface rather than just a few square mm of it. So you should either hang the bag so it hangs clear of the bottom, or use some kind of baffle to hold back the bag and keep some distance. The only 'side effects' of excess space are the risk of the dreaded HSA if there is air in there (only really a problem if you are sparging from a height, like using a colander in the fermenter neck - even then it's a hotly argued topic) or from excess thinning of the mash if you need to have large amounts of extra liquid in the deadspace. A litre or two isn't going to cause any problems, in fact it will help things run smoothly.