Plz help w/ improving mash efficiency?

[thebigwilk]

Thanks for making that clear you have been very helpful.

 

[[email protected]]

I used to have the same problem but as soon as I got my own grain mill and started milling it a bit finer than Grain and Grape my efficiency improved straight away. Bit of a conspiracy theory but maybe G & G mill it that way so you buy more grain?

 

[manticle]

I'm sure they make tons of bucks from all that extra grain. John has a helicopter tied to a yacht with a lamborghini engine and is often seen in Monaco cavorting with high class escorts.

 

[GuyQLD]

[email protected], on 24 Jun 2014 - 6:13 PM, said:

I used to have the same problem but as soon as I got my own grain mill and started milling it a bit finer than Grain and Grape my efficiency improved straight away. Bit of a conspiracy theory but maybe G & G mill it that way so you buy more grain?

I'm sure it's far more likely they mill at a gap that suits most systems, lower efficiency perhaps but far less likely to cause stuck sparges.

 

[Adr_0]

I'm sure they make tons of bucks from all that extra grain. John has a helicopter tied to a yacht with a lamborghini engine and is often seen in Monaco cavorting with high class escorts.

Was that.... I think that was.. Sar... Ca... Saar..

No, never mind. Carry on.

In other news, it's not a crime to crush malt so that you get a solid beer and a safe - rather than stuck - sparge. Have never bought grain from them (can only fit so much in the back of a Lambo) so couldn't tell you.

 

[mxd]

you can ask g+g to crush it twice, tel em it's for a BIAB

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Its a fine line between a good crush and stuck sparges.

 

[bonj]

It's a fine, fine line between pleasure and pain....

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

There is nothing more painfull than a stuck sparge.

 

[mofox1]

I'm sure it's far more likely they mill at a gap that suits most systems, lower efficiency perhaps but far less likely to cause stuck sparges.

I was perhaps overly critical of the crush of my lhbs. When my mill arrived i did my own at a finer grade.

My efficiency went up a heap, but I also had a much slower sparge. Note: I probably also did a *better* sparge too, hotter sparge water with a 10 - 15 min rest which I repeated.

Next time you go, just ask for a finer mill setting and I'm sure they'll be happy to oblige.

 

[Adr_0]

Its a fine line between a good crush and stuck sparges.

What's your take on moistening the malt before crushing? Have you tried it before, and do it again if so?

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Moistening helps. But you only want to use about 100-150ml per 5kg of grain. Get a big bucket, and tip your water in and mix well with your hand & arm. Then let it sit for 10-15min to allow the husk to absorb the water. If there is any water sitting in the bucket then you have used to much

If you use to much water or let it sit to long it will soften the inner kernel and make for a useless crush.

 

[S.E]

I tried braid and a copper manifold, but I couldnt get them to work for me so I ended up going false bottom.

Other brewers have great succes with braid or manifolds.

Either methods are just as good so its a case of whatever works for you, use it. There is no real rule.

In what way couldn’t you get them to work for you, what problems did you experience? Do you mean they wouldn’t work at all or just bad efficiency or something?

 

[S.E]

There is nothing more painfull than a stuck sparge.

How often do you get stuck sparges? It may be worth your while trying a courser crush if it’s happening a lot.

I prefer to crush as course as I can depending on the grain, if the grain kernels are pretty even in size I barely crack them at all. This results in a floating mash, when you mash in the hot liquor will make the grain expand and crack further. Air in the kernels help them float so most of the grain bed is floating above the manifold. On my system I get the best efficiency like this, my fly sparge is more efficient with less channeling.

If the kernels vary in size greatly I crush finer to crack the smaller ones though. Efficiency drops but not as much as leaving too many uncracked kernels.
.
Another advantage to the floating mash and course crush is you never get dough balls. Just tip the grain in and give it a very quick stir and put the lid on the mash tun ASAP. Actually its best to stir the mash as little as possible if you overdo it the grain bed will collapse and not float.

 

[Truman42]

Its a fine line between a good crush and stuck sparges.

It certainly is.
I had all sorts of dramas with stuck sparges (Well stuck mash actually as I reciculate through a herms) with my mill gap set at 1mm but I was using a drill motor which was way too fast. Since using a 60rpm wiper motor and adding a valve to throtle back the flow into the MLT to set the grain bed, I dont get any stuck sparges but my efficiency has dropped to around 65%.

Im hopeing with the new mill motor Im using which has an rpm of around 150 that I will get a slightly better crush and therefore better efficiency without having to adjust my mill gap or suffer from another stuck mash.

 

[S.E]

It certainly is.
I had all sorts of dramas with stuck sparges (Well stuck mash actually as I reciculate through a herms) with my mill gap set at 1mm but I was using a drill motor which was way too fast. Since using a 60rpm wiper motor and adding a valve to throtle back the flow into the MLT to set the grain bed, I dont get any stuck sparges but my efficiency has dropped to around 65%.

Im hopeing with the new mill motor Im using which has an rpm of around 150 that I will get a slightly better crush and therefore better efficiency without having to adjust my mill gap or suffer from another stuck mash.

I’m not sure if a slower motor speed alone will improve your efficiency any. I use a drill and crush fast especially crushing for a floating mash it fly’s through the mill.

 

[Adr_0]

It certainly is.
I had all sorts of dramas with stuck sparges (Well stuck mash actually as I reciculate through a herms) with my mill gap set at 1mm but I was using a drill motor which was way too fast. Since using a 60rpm wiper motor and adding a valve to throtle back the flow into the MLT to set the grain bed, I dont get any stuck sparges but my efficiency has dropped to around 65%.

Im hopeing with the new mill motor Im using which has an rpm of around 150 that I will get a slightly better crush and therefore better efficiency without having to adjust my mill gap or suffer from another stuck mash.

I would think channelling would be more of am issue there than grain crush... It tends to erode any benefit of recirculating.

 

[S.E]

I would think channelling would be more of am issue there than grain crush... It tends to erode any benefit of recirculating.

Do you mean erode the benefit of fly sparging?

 

[S.E]

Just saw recirculating through herms, sorry yes that too.

 

[S.E]

I’ve found this old thread and detailed explanation of the floating mash.

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/23624-floating-mashes/

Might be of interest if you are getting stuck sparges and/or poor efficiency.