Very Homemade Mash Tun

[floydmeddler]

Hi all,

Am planning my second all grain on Friday night and have tweaked my home made mash tun. Originally I had a flexible pipe stainless steel outing as the filter but I had major issues with it clogging up. The first brew was a bit of a disaster. So... I've gotten rid of the stainless steel altogether and settled for this extremely cheap and tacky set up using a bottle with over 100 holes:

Basically it all just slides together and sits in there perfectly. I put water at 80c in there and the bottle didn't become flimsy at all. Am I in for a better chance this time or is this just completely cr*p?!

Here's what it looks like in the bucket:

Cheers,

Floyd

 

[Swinging Beef]

Why, son. Why?

 

[Goofinder]

I'd be worried that it wouldn't hold up to the weight of the grain and just collapse rendering it useless.

 

[floydmeddler]

Why, son. Why?

Very helpful. I will, someday, (like you probably) own a really good mash tun. Like I say, this is my 2nd all grain brew and I'm just trying things out.

F

 

[floydmeddler]

I'd be worried that it wouldn't hold up to the weight of the grain and just collapse rendering it useless.

Hi, thanks for the reply. The bottle is made of thick plastic so I'm pretty confident it will hold the grain. That is a scary thought though I have to say :unsure:

F

 

[Supra-Jim]

I too think it may collapse under the weight of the grain bed. Is there some way you could support it or have some protection around it that may take up some of the weight?

:icon_cheers: SJ

 

[crundle]

If you think it may collapse, you could fill it partially or completely with something like gravel (clean of course) to prevent collapse.

I seem to remember someone on this forum using a gravel bed or similar to filter the mash.

Good on you for trying something different, you never know till you try!

Crundle

 

[Bill8o]

Might be worth a try. I'd be interested to see how you go with it. The only problem I can see is that I think you'll have a bit of trouble getting that last little bit of liquid out of your mash tun.

 

[tourist]

If it does collapse, I don't think it will squash flat enough to prevent fluid flow. Having said that, I think that you will encounter a fair bit of dead space below the level of the bottle neck where sweet wort will not leave the tun unless you tilt in the final stages of your sparge. Should be interesting...

 

[Swinging Beef]

Very helpful. I will, someday, (like you probably) own a really good mash tun. Like I say, this is my 2nd all grain brew and I'm just trying things out.
F

HA!
Mine is a 50 litre drinks cooler that was appropriated on council clean up and one metre of copper sourced from the same place.
I would have thought that the bucket in a bucket option would remain the best low cost method if you cant acquire freebies until next council clean up. You just go to a take away store and ask for two empty mayonaise buckets. Drill the bottom of one, and tap the other.
I feel your current experiments are using a lot of your time for little return, thats why I ask "why".

 

[sumo]

Don't listen to the naysayers.... They said BIAB wouldn't work at one stage!

Just give it a go and see. If it doesn,t you can alway get the wort over the side!

 

[white.grant]

Apart from the collapsing issue which I think is a certainty, I'm also thinking you will have very poor efficiency from that type of manifold. John Palmer's web site has a lot of useful information about flow vectors and building your own manifold. Linky It could save you some cussing...

cheers

grant

 

[cubbie]

Apart from the collapsing issue which I think is a certainty, I'm also thinking you will have very poor efficiency from that type of manifold. John Palmer's web site has a lot of useful information about flow vectors and building your own manifold. Linky It could save you some cussing...

cheers

grant

If you are batch sparging I don't see efficiency problems do to flow vectors. My SS braid has never collapsed, maybe I have a stronger braid than some, in terms of you manifold I would be very worried about a collapse and think the gravel idea is a great option. In any case I would not expect it to collapse completely so provided you can extract the volumes you require via a batch sparge I would give it a red hot aussie go. Have some rubber gloves on hand if you get a stuck sparge.

 

[Pumpy]

Hi all,

Am planning my second all grain on Friday night and have tweaked my home made mash tun. Originally I had a flexible pipe stainless steel outing as the filter but I had major issues with it clogging up. The first brew was a bit of a disaster. So... I've gotten rid of the stainless steel altogether and settled for this extremely cheap and tacky set up using a bottle with over 100 holes:View attachment 24311

Basically it all just slides together and sits in there perfectly. I put water at 80c in there and the bottle didn't become flimsy at all. Am I in for a better chance this time or is this just completely cr*p?!

Here's what it looks like in the bucket:View attachment 24312

Cheers,

Floyd

Great idea however dont be dissapointed test it with Hot water at the temp and over that you are planning to mash at plus some weight

I have under my ss false bottom a thick PP ring and was amazed to see how that had distorted with the heat


Pumpy

 

[Phrak]

Give it a go! :beerbang:
As has been mentioned, you're likely to leave a fair amount of liquid behind once the level drops below the drain point. Reason being, you're not able to sustain the vacuum needed for a siphon with the holes above the drain point.

You're probably better off drilling holes out of the under-side only, as long as they're not going to be sucked and blocked against the underside of your mash tun.

Anyway, let us know how you get on!

 

[muckanic]

Polypropylene would have better heat resistance. For just a little bit more cost and time, you could make either a slotted or dotted manifold out of black irrigation pipe. That might also increase the area of your drainage, which can be handy. But try the bottle by all means. Or just do 3 batch sparges coarse filtered through a strainer, let it sit for a while, then rack off from the deposit. Yeah, I know, potential problems of HSA, heat loss, premature cold break and all that, but hardly a show-stopper.

 

[raven19]

As Pumpy said, the heat will distort the plastic significantly IMO.

Gravel inside could be an option as suggested also.

 

[seemax]

How big is your esky?
Have you considered BIABIAE (Brew in a bag in an esky)?

You can do a very basic, full volume infusion, no sparge. ie add preboil + absorb loss to esky with grain, mix, wait 60mins, pull bag and squeeze, drain full wort into kettle.

OR you can do a single or stepped infusion plus a mash out and even do a small volume sparge at the end

My kettle is poorly insulated and loses temp quickly (I should try the camping mat). This method requires a large enough esky but no special plumbing/manifold, just the existing drain and some hose/tap.

Just another option... but by all means give the bottle design a try and let us know! Trying new ideas is all part of the fun.

 

[atkinsonr]

My concern would be nasty chemicals leeching from that plastic bottle into your wort, particularly given the high temperatures.

Test it with some boiling water, see if the plastic changes it's properties in anyway (eg: goes milky). If so - go and find some copper pipe instead.

 

[Blackfish]

Dude,

Go to the $2 shop (If you can find one not in receivership) get a "spatter screen". A stainless mesh thing for putting over your frypan to minimise mess.

Cut out a piece, roll it to about cigar size and fold one end over to seal it. Open end on tap, secured with a hose clamp or maybe a cable tie. Done for less than $5!
It might even last you beyond this brew. Not to mention less risk of wasting the grain if you fluff it