Vessel's For Mashing

[T.D.]

hehe, KoNG, I was just about to ask what the largest amount of grain was that the 37L mash tun will take!! Looks like we need both ends of the spectrum!

I have been tossing up whether to up my batch size to 50L from 25L. If I did this I would like to keep using my 37L igloo cooler for a mash tun but I think it will be touch and go in terms of capacity. Some recipes I have come up with require around 26L of mash water and that's for around 9kg of grain. I don't know what the equivalent liquid displacement of grain is. Could I fit 26L of water and 9kg of grain in a 37L mash tun, and still have a bit of rom to make sure I keep 2 inches of sparge water above the grain bed?

 

[dreamboat]

I reckon it will fit.
I have a 30L (urn) mash tun, which drops down to around 26L considering losses under the false bottom. I can mash around 8kg of grain in it (just) at around 2.4L/kg. It will be pretty full at that, but still workable.


dreamboat

 

[BigAl]

I always do ~50L batches no problem with ~70 - 80% efficiency.

I always mash 10kg grain with 3:1 water to grain ratio, i.e 30L of water. This fills the 10 gal cooler right to the top with only 10mm clearance.
This way there is minimal heat losses, and i know exactly what the thermal dynamics of my system are so can hit desired mash temp consistently. I tried 13kg once and its possible but a much lower water to grain ratio is required, probably ~2:1, but its more like i will miss mash temp and have to stuff about more.

Grain is cheap IMO so ive never bothered with less than 10kg. If i want a lower SG i just add more water and make more beer . Its not like im not giong to drink it :chug:

 

[jayse]

If you mashed thick at 2:1 you could get around 13kg of grain into a 37litre mash tun. If you have promash the mash designer calculates the mash volume for you, makes it ever so easy.

Heres my tun
jayse

 

[KoNG]

oohh great T.D....
you jumped in second and got your question answered and mine got skipped..!! cheeky.

so is 2-3 kg going to be too little ..?

 

[BigAl]

Kong,

You could probably do it, but...
a) the filter bed (i.e the grain depth) might not be as efficient in filtering the wort
B) the temperature loss during the mash will be high as the surface area of the tun compared to the small volume of the grist is high.

But then again, im sure it will turn out and okay beer, its just not optimal. You could put a piece of foam down in the tun at the level of the mash to reduce the temperature loss.

Is there any reason you want to mash so little amount of grain?

 

[T.D.]

hehe, sorry KoNG! I have never gone below around 4kg in my mash tun. I haven't noticed any change in efficiency by changing the grain volume though. I have a similar outlook to BigAl - if I want a lighter beer I will probably still mash around 4kg but then just increase the boil (or final) volume to dilute down the gravity a bit. Are you mashing a small amount of grain to get a light beer or a smaller batch size?


Now that I am pretty sure I can do a 50L batch with the 37L mash tun, I will look into the logistics of upgrading a bit more!

 

[KoNG]

Cheers guys, :beer:
reasoning is.. that i intend to go AG in the near future, but my living arrangements dont allow for a full boil at this stage.
so when purchasing and making my mash tun... i thought i should just get the most suitable for doing a 23L AG in the near future.. (and i could get a 36L esky quite cheap).
So now i am stuck with the problem of doing partials with my full size tun.
i'll be looking at mashing around 3kg most times i'd guess.
i will find out how it goes over the long weekend :blink:

 

[SJW]

This is my new mash tun set-up.
Not the hole in the removable lid, where the spear/valve was, thats where i attach my drill to a very large industrial paint stirer so I continually stir the mash.

 

[n00ch]

That looks good SJW. I intend to do exactly the same thing as you have done with the copper tubing attached to the false bottom to hold it tightly to the bottom.

 

[SJW]

You got it n00ch. The idea of having that false bottom floating around the bottom with a dirty great paint stirer mixing the mash did not appeal. Although I must give credit to Marks Homebrew in Newcastle as he welding in the s/s threaded bar and bent up the copper pipe, and it sits hard on the bottom of the keg. I love it.

STEPHEN

 

[BigAl]

just get the most suitable for doing a 23L AG in the near future.. (and i could get a 36L esky quite cheap).

Kong, a 36L esky will allow you to do a double size batch (~45L), you only need a ~5 US gallon mash tun for a 23L AG setup.

 

[warrenlw63]

Here's mine.

38 Litre Igloo with something similar to SJW in terms of false bottom technology .

Copper pipe keeps the false bottom hard against the cooler floor and avoids the dreaded Phloating Phils. :beerbang:

Warren -

 

[KoNG]

just get the most suitable for doing a 23L AG in the near future.. (and i could get a 36L esky quite cheap).

Kong, a 36L esky will allow you to do a double size batch (~45L), you only need a ~5 US gallon mash tun for a 23L AG setup.

[post="79923"][/post]​

i better hurry up and move... so i can sort out a 50L boiler then..!
all in good time.

 

[BigAl]

My thoughts exactly, if your going to spend ~6 hours brewing, you may as well make twice the volume :chug:

 

[Jazman]

i have the 36 litre keep cold with a copper manifold not temp probs and find it great for batch sparging

 

[Tony]

I use an inverted 50 liter keg to mash

I will be circulating it through a heat coli in the HLT soon but it just sits at the moment

here are some pics

cheers

 

[GMK]

i have a 37ltr Rubbermaid - i am putting 16kg of grain in it on Sunday - making 30ltrs of Lees Harvest Barley Wine at 1117OG...

Will take some pics and let you know how we go...

 

[Rex]

Rex,
I think that link is to the photo gallery.
There are upgrades underway at the moment which should restore the gallery.
Plenty of pics should be available when it goes through.
Luke.

[post="79856"][/post]​

Bummer, I saw one pic of Asher's setup in another thread, looks sweet! Should post em here or on a website so we can get some tips

 

[n00ch]

Mark was actually telling me about yours the other day SJW. He is the one who said he would bend me up a bit of copper like that so it would stick tight to the bottom. It really does make sense.