Underletting Mashtun

[stoutdrinker]

I use an electric urn for my HLT, mounted directly above a converted esky which is my mush tun.

Up until now i have been pouring water into the tun and then adding my grain. Usually with minimal mixing things are good with few if any dough balls.

Now, I am thinking about changing my "plumbing" to simplify things and this means I would underlet the grain.

My questions are one, am I more likely to get dough balls this way and two, given a choice is either method better than the other? (not including the convenience factor).

Cheers,

Stout.

 

[Justin T]

From what I have seen on various systems, underletting will not produce many dough balls at all

 

[bindi]

This topic came up again last year, have a read.

 

[Pumpy]

I use an electric urn for my HLT, mounted directly above a converted esky which is my mush tun.

Up until now i have been pouring water into the tun and then adding my grain. Usually with minimal mixing things are good with few if any dough balls.

Now, I am thinking about changing my "plumbing" to simplify things and this means I would underlet the grain.

My questions are one, am I more likely to get dough balls this way and two, given a choice is either method better than the other? (not including the convenience factor).

Cheers,

Stout.

Pic of my valve config for underletting

 

[mika]

I simply run a hose from the outlet of the HLT to the inlet of the mash tun, with a bit of gravity, flows in easy as. 2 Batches down and absolutely no sign of a dough ball.
As I understand it convienence and the lack of dough balls is the only reason you'd want to switch methods.

 

[GMK]

Yep gotta agree.

I have always underlet the Mash Tun.
Never ever seen a dough ball yet...

IMO - the only way to go.

 

[Doc]

I underlet. I do get the odd dough ball in every batch, but then I double crush, and end up with quite a bit of flour.

Beers,
Doc

 

[stoutdrinker]

Thanks guys,

I will modify some "plumbing" & underletting it shall be!

Cheers,

Stout

 

[lonte]

OK, so can I confirm the process here ... the MT is already full with the whole grain bill, you connect HLT to an inlet (say, the usual "outlet") at or near the bottom of the MT, and fill from the HLT through that. That's pretty clear, but ...

Do you stir the grain, and if so when? When the water level finally breaks through the surface, from the beginning, or when?

 

[Tony]

I do nothing but underlet.

I fill the tun with the dry crushed grain and pump the hot water in my tun's outlet. It fills up from beneath the false bottom.

if im using 10KG of grain i pump the full 30 liters of water in and then stir it well to equalise the temperature and break up any nasty dough balls.

I check the mash temp and adjust with cold or boiling water till its right.

them mash as normal.

This methid is great if you have a recirculating system cause you account for the thermal mass of your pipework and pump in your strike water. and when you start to recirculate, everything is already pre-heated and wont drag down the temp.

I Like the method because as the mash fills from the bottom, it pushes the air out through the grain. If you fill it from the top the air bubbles up through the liquor from the bottom. This may not be so much of a concern but i like the underlet method better.

It just seems to work well and is easy.

cheers

 

[mika]

The whole purpose of underletting is to add water to grain, not grain to water. So wait till the water covers the grain, then stir it up, you'll still get pockets of un-wetted grain that need to be stirred in.