I'm in a jam and need some help

I'm using my 5 gal mlt to mash 7 lb grain. The mash was totally stuck when tried to start the runnings. I blew in the outlet and air would get through but no wort would come out.
I dumped the entire mash tun out and found an extremely clogged line, cleared it returned the mash and started extracting.
My mash is at 137 now, what should I do. I was going to boil 1/3 and add it back but should I add hot water in the mean time?
Please help, this happened before and I got screwed.

P.S. Myself and my kitchen are very sticky right now, now my keyboard is too:rockin:

That's all you can do, boil up more wate. add a few litres and measure the temp. Keep going till you hit temp.
If you are looking like you'll over fill, drain some wort, boil that then add back.
Decotion?

Are you using a braid, manifold or false bottom?

Its a false bottom, from phils mashing equipment or something like that.
It doesn't work too well, I think I'm going to make an braid of tubing with a bunch of holes in it and put that under the false bottom.

I only use a SS braid tube for my 10 gal cooler MLT. So far I haven't had any problems with it. It has gotten a little beaten up recently from alot of stirring when sparging though. It's cheap and so far no stuck sparges.

Had the same thing happen with a Phil's Phalse bottom. It happened because I didn't hold down the false bottom when I added the grain and grain got underneath it. If you start by adding grain to the water, hold down the false bottom with a mash paddle or something similar. Not an issue if you add the water to the grain. Second time it can happen is if you batch sparge and you dump the water in too quick and it disrupts the bottom.

It has only happened to me once in 5 years. When it did, I didn't worry about reheating since the mash was done already anyway. The only issue can be that it gets a bit to thick at the lower temperature, but if your sparge water is hot enough, it is going to heat back up fairly quickly anyway.

GrundleCruncher said:

Its a false bottom, from phils mashing equipment or something like that.
It doesn't work too well, I think I'm going to make an braid of tubing with a bunch of holes in it and put that under the false bottom.

Click to expand...

I have a phalse bottom and it works great once you know how to use it.

Next time, before adding any grain, add enough foundation water to cover the highes point of the bottom by about 4 inches (or more). Then, before adding any grains, drain a small amount of water out of the outlet to flood the outlet tube with water. (This prevents an airlock in the tube, and ensures that the false bottom stays in the bottom). You can then add a little bit of grain and some more water until all the grain is added. With this method, stuck sparges will be a thing of the past.

Some people add all the mash water before any grains, but I find it difficult to mix the mash this way.

Whatever you do, don't blow through the outlet. This causes an airlock. You can raise the outlet above the level of the mash, and pour water in it. This prevents airlocks, but won't work if the tubing is locked by grain getting under the false bottom.

One other thing, you don't need to screw the outlet elbow all the way in. Mine is screwed in about 1/3 of the way, which allows some grain to get underneath the bottom without clogging the outlet.

Doing what I preach, I've had no problems with the phalse bottom in the last 10 years.

-a.