How to recirculate wort with out messing up the grain bed?

[aamcle]

I have a recirculating Biab setup were the wort is returned via a spray head.

Unfortunately the force of the spray digs a hole in the top of the bed (not right through) but it's not too much of a problem as I stir the mash occasionally.

I'm going to be well stocked with beer soon and will have to move over to my smaller kit if I want to avoid a long gap before I can brew again.

This smaller kit is based on a 19 litre Burco with a 11 litre mesh bottomed malt pipe replacing a traditional bag.

I'd rather not move the spray head from the bigger rig and I think it might be troublesome if I did.

What I need is some way of returning the wort into the malt pipe without wrecking the grain bed.

Any suggestions or links would be much appreciated.


Thanks. Aamcle

 

[lael]

A lot of people use a hose returning into a dish (like a pie tin) that then overflows.

 

[JDW81]

What are you returning your wort through? Pump and hose or by hand?

If it is via a hose, you can camp the hose to your malt pipe and float the hose on the surface of the grain bed and allow the returned wort to gently flow across the top of it. This is how I return my wort via pump, RIMS tube and an autosparge device. No issues with channeling or boring holes through the grain bed.

JD.

 

[Fylp]

I got about a 20-25cm piece of 1/2" copper pipe, hammered the end shut and then drilled small holes along all sides. This slots perfectly into the silicone hose I have for recirculation. It is submerged to almost the bottom of the bag. I'll post a photo if you are interested.

Phil

 

[aamcle]

I'm recirculating with a small brown solar pump (6 watt?).
If I understand correctly I could clamp the return home to the side of the malt pipe and use a small float on the open end like the Blichmann Easybrew to make it stay on top.

Is that right?


Thanks Aamcle

 

[mb-squared]

I use a long piece of silicone hose as my return (long enough to wrap all the way around the inside of my MT) and it just rests on top of the grain bed. no need for any fancy floats.

 

[aamcle]

thanks all.

aamcle

 

[Fents]

slow down your flow rate with a ball valve if you can.

 

[Danielscott26]

I have a ball valve on the pump outlet and control the flow that way. I'm using a keg king magnetic drive pump tho not a brown pump I'm not 100% sure if the brown pumps are made to be controlled this way but I'm sure other guys in here will be able to tell you.
I also have a piece of tin foil in the mash tun that I run the recirculated wort onto so I don't cause any channeling.

 

[dannymars]

After trying various wort return systems, I also prefer the hose wrapped around the inside of the MT/Maltpipe. Spray heads are ok, but you gotta slow the flow enough to stop it boring holes...

 

[Phoney]

If you're BIAB'ing... What do you think is gonna happen when you lift up the bag at the end of the mash? You're gonna mess up the grain bed.

Keeping it nice and neat during the mash is a futile exercise & completely unnecessary with BIAB.

 

[zeggie]

Same as others have mentioned, I just run silicone hose wrapped inside my mash tun. Works fine.

 

[mattymoo]

For those of you that run the return through silicone hose, have you added holes to the hose or do you just send it all out the end?

 

[Fylp]

If you're BIAB'ing... What do you think is gonna happen when you lift up the bag at the end of the mash? You're gonna mess up the grain bed.

Keeping it nice and neat during the mash is a futile exercise & completely unnecessary with BIAB.

I agree, but please tell me if I'm missing something. I made a device to make it spray out evenly into the grain. I want my grain disturbed to get the good stuff pushed out of the husk... Don't I?

Phil

 

[klangers]

I have a ball valve on the pump outlet and control the flow that way. I'm using a keg king magnetic drive pump tho not a brown pump I'm not 100% sure if the brown pumps are made to be controlled this way but I'm sure other guys in here will be able to tell you.
I also have a piece of tin foil in the mash tun that I run the recirculated wort onto so I don't cause any channeling.

Generally, any centrifugal pump will be ok with being throttled at the outlet as long as the valve you use to throttle doesn't cause cavitation (this may or may not cause issues with the wort; on such small pumps this rarely occurs though). Just don't throttle the inlet or you'll cause cavitation which will damage the pump.

I agree, but please tell me if I'm missing something. I made a device to make it spray out evenly into the grain. I want my grain disturbed to get the good stuff pushed out of the husk... Don't I?

Phil

If you look at industrial breweries you'll see that they violently circulate or rake the mash. The idea is to get the most even heat distribution as well as to encourage the motility of the enzymes and sugars throughout. Unless your setup has perfectly homogenous plug flow through the grain bed (unlikely unless you have a false bottom and lauter spray arms), some stirring will be beneficial. Even RIMS or whatever will benefit from stirring; the grain bed is traditionally compacted during the vorlauf phase before lautering.

The only reason to keep the bed undisturbed is to ensure that the lauter effectively filters itself and disturbance of the grain bed will result in a more turbid/hazy/chunks-floating-in-it wort.

 

[aamcle]

Thanks all, I'm going to use a silicone tube.

Aamcle