Mlt In A Bag?

[freezkat]

I have seen something on this before but when I searched MLT and Bag nothing came up. Sorry if this is a repeat. Go ahead and move this post and delete the thread.

No change esky conversion:

Can the original spout be used on the water cooler if it can be cocked open?
Would it be ok to just pour into a funnel?

Have your grain bag just sit on top of this spiral loom.

I was thinking, a vein or 2 of these (minus the wires) in the bottom of the esky would channel wort nicely to the spout.

If the spout could be cocked open have it pour into a funnel fitted to a hose that would end up in your boil pot.

 

[bum]

I hope this is sarcasm.

 

[freezkat]

I hope this is sarcasm.

nope. Why?

 

[Thirsty Boy]

If you're confident that that plastic is OK for contact with a hot foodstuff - then yeah, It'd probably work OK.

But - I think you'll get better results if you go with a solution more akin to regular mash tun construction - False bottom, hosebraid, slotted copper pipe etc etc and then if you want to line your MLT with a bag to make for easier cleaning and fast stuck sparge resolution, you can. I'd make it so the bag material part isn't needed at all, its just a convenient bonus that can be dispensed with if it ever becomes less convenient.

Your original idea will most likely work though.

 

[bum]

nope. Why?

The bag system was devised to (amongst other reasons) do away the traditional (or modern) concept of what a mash tun is. You're trying to incorporate it back in but going halfarsed on both fronts.

Sure, as TB says, it'll work but it looks like the worst of both worlds to me.

Has anyone thrown some voile in a schooner yet? Surely that's the last wheel left to re-invent?

 

[Thirsty Boy]

The bag system was devised to (amongst other reasons) do away the traditional (or modern) concept of what a mash tun is. You're trying to incorporate it back in but going halfarsed on both fronts.

Sure, as TB says, it'll work but it looks like the worst of both worlds to me.

Has anyone thrown some voile in a schooner yet? Surely that's the last wheel left to re-invent?

Nah - its really nothing to do with a "bag" its just a mild variation of a standard homebrewer mash/lauter tun. These type of ones work perfectly well. Not something that I would personally bother with or suggest to someone as a "good" idea - but not something I think is an inherrently a bad idea either. Just one of the modest wiggles in the realm of reasonably normal.

Mash tun liner - been done, works.... if it seems like a good idea to you - Go.

 

[freezkat]

The bag system was devised to (amongst other reasons) do away the traditional (or modern) concept of what a mash tun is. You're trying to incorporate it back in but going halfarsed on both fronts.

Sure, as TB says, it'll work but it looks like the worst of both worlds to me.

Has anyone thrown some voile in a schooner yet? Surely that's the last wheel left to re-invent?

My reasoning I'm asking is I have 2 of these being stored in my shed. I don't want to alter them since I need them for there intended use still.

The valve doesn't stay open on it's own but that is remedied with a little gear puller.

With the bag, if it gets stuck lift it up and squeeze it around (sounds like BIAB without the stove,don't it)

 

[Thirsty Boy]

fair reasoning

you can go with your solution, which is just a variation of the normal mash tun paradigm - or you can just yank the bag out of there and run off to a kettle, which is a variation of the BIAB paradigm.

I'd try both and see which you like best.

Those plastic thingies, a cake rack, a few lumps of wood, a shovel full of gravel, a nice perforated false bottom ... anything that keeps the bag off the bottom and allows wort to flow through will give you your "lauter tun" effect.. the smoother, flatter, higher surface area and more even and even draining it is, the better it will be for that particular purpose - but that only matters particularly if you intend to fly sparge. If you intend to batch sparge then anything that gives you free wort flow out of the bottom of the bag will do just fine.

 

[[email protected]]

My reasoning I'm asking is I have 2 of these being stored in my shed. I don't want to alter them since I need them for there intended use still.

The valve doesn't stay open on it's own but that is remedied with a little gear puller.

With the bag, if it gets stuck lift it up and squeeze it around (sounds like BIAB without the stove,don't it)

Why not give this a go http://cruisenews.net/brewing/infusion/page1.php

No permanent mods required.

 

[freezkat]

Why not give this a go http://cruisenews.net/brewing/infusion/page1.php

No permanent mods required.

I have never checked...are the original spouts removable? If so, that's brilliant.

 

[pk.sax]

I realised that I cut the slots in my manifold a little too wide for anything with too much wheat. Out of sheer laziness about making a new manifold I stick my old faithful sheet of voile in the mash tun to avoid sucking in too many medium size particles that don't get sucked through the rise to the tap too easily. Simple fix really and would work on an unmodded esky too. I like TB's idea of boiling up some pebbles and using them as a false bottom.

 

[freezkat]

I realised that I cut the slots in my manifold a little too wide for anything with too much wheat. Out of sheer laziness about making a new manifold I stick my old faithful sheet of voile in the mash tun to avoid sucking in too many medium size particles that don't get sucked through the rise to the tap too easily. Simple fix really and would work on an unmodded esky too. I like TB's idea of boiling up some pebbles and using them as a false bottom.

Like chicken grit or pea-gravel?

 

[pk.sax]

Like chicken grit or pea-gravel?

River pebbles?
Basically to raise the bag off the drain point of the vessel (tap) and allow wort to drain through the grain evenly. And high enough to create some resistance to the sucking force that draining from the tap creates in the area next to it. this is why manifolds generally try to be as distributed as possible with holes (drainage points) and tightly sealed around the tap area.
A pebble system would need some height to negate that sucking effect, losing volume, but then, most brewers complain of dead space on top o the wort/grain mix... Also, can be controlled by only half cocking the tap, slower outflow = less suction.

 

[Batz]

The tap on your Igloo has a plastic nut inside, it's easy to remove and fit a stainless value, it's just as easy to put it back to original.
With a bulk head and value fitted you can also fit aqualityy false bottom or manifold.

batz

 

[winkle]

I realised that I cut the slots in my manifold a little too wide for anything with too much wheat. Out of sheer laziness about making a new manifold I stick my old faithful sheet of voile in the mash tun to avoid sucking in too many medium size particles that don't get sucked through the rise to the tap too easily. Simple fix really and would work on an unmodded esky too. I like TB's idea of boiling up some pebbles and using them as a false bottom.

I bet Pumpy is feeling that he was before his time.

 

[zebba]

Did bag on stones for 10+ brews.

It works but:
- massive channeling down the sides. And this still causes minor issues with batch sparge (i.e. Can't recirc effectively)
- the stones take a lot of heating, or of you don't pre heat suck a lot out of the mash
- a lot of break in the kettle

I spent $20 and made a manifold. I now have more room for grain, less cleaning, and my mash efficiency is marginally lower, but brew house efficiency is heaps better as I lose far less to kettle trub. Like 3 to 4 litres less in a 20 litre batch. Paid for itself.

And the mash efficiency is getting fixed - it's a sparge issue and due to the big overall efficiency increase I'm still trying to dial in my volumes

So yes, it works. But twenty bucks and half an hour with a hack saw works so much better. You just gotta come up with a way to get the manifold hooked up to the outlet. For me that was simple, for you, maybe not

 

[freezkat]

I think I'm going to pull the taps of anyway. 15 years of fruit drink and boy scouts in charge of cleaning them.

 

[bum]

Not meaning to labour the point, freezkat. I've read your subsequent posts and your current intentions.

Mash tun liner - been done, works.... if it seems like a good idea to you - Go.

I used a bag in an esky in the manner you've described (not quoted) to brew partials before I had the bits for my full volume rig together. I have no issue with the bag. Although, it must be said the method did give me the irrits (but that is me, I'm sure the method may work for others).

The issue I have is with this halfarsed manifold-esque idea. There's no way that thin plastic coil will channel anything useful - I mean, think about 5kg or more (dry weight) grain on top. One could dodge up a more traditional type manifold (still use the bag if they wish) for only a few bucks and get great results. You can;t just chuck whatever in the bottom of a tun and expect a bag to fix it.

 

[freezkat]

Not meaning to labour the point, freezkat. I've read your subsequent posts and your current intentions.


I used a bag in an esky in the manner you've described (not quoted) to brew partials before I had the bits for my full volume rig together. I have no issue with the bag. Although, it must be said the method did give me the irrits (but that is me, I'm sure the method may work for others).

The issue I have is with this halfarsed manifold-esque idea. There's no way that thin plastic coil will channel anything useful - I mean, think about 5kg or more (dry weight) grain on top. One could dodge up a more traditional type manifold (still use the bag if they wish) for only a few bucks and get great results. You can;t just chuck whatever in the bottom of a tun and expect a bag to fix it.

You're forcing me to attempt this now