brewmaster101

Recipes 

I'm doing a biab method. I use the 5.2 ph treatment, double crush my grains, 90 minute mash, 10 minute mash out with a 7.5 gallon mash. I can't get above 65-70%.
Anybody brew in a bag or all grain and have any suggestions on efficiency increase?

acidrain

Recipes 

I'm at 72%.
I'm going to switch screens to a punched stainless false bottom next.

It's bad form to hijack somebodies thread, and you should start your own, but...
I question your 90 minute mash.
You don't need to mash for 90, and I never have adjusted my PH (Seattle good neutral water).
Usually it comes down to grain crush... it should be slightly coarser than cornmeal.
I was getting 80% pretty consistently.
Oh, and squeeze the bag... I was only loosing about 1 qt in 12 lbs of grain.

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sonex

Recipes 

It depends on the gravity of the beer. smaller beers I get 80-85%. on big grain bills efficiency drops to high 60's to high 70's. Thats why hydro checks are important, so after brewing a recipe for the first time I can adjust the grain bill to get my intended finish gravity consistently. efficiency can be affected by how fermentable the malt being used. base malts are more fermentable than specialty malts.

Bricks41

Recipes 

Second batch using my mill, had 50% white wheat so I had some sparge stoppage, but still hit 78%. Looking forward to doing something more manageable.

TheKrumm

Recipes 

i average around 72% never gone under 70

OG2620

Recipes 

I get 90% in a 70 qt. Coleman Xtreme with a copper manifold and 0.035" gap setting on my Barley Crusher. I'm pretty consistent with beers ranging from OG 1.040 to 1.090.

legasus233

Recipes 

I hit about 75% on my first all grain using a 10 gallon coleman cooler and 1/2" cpvc manifold. It was a bit bigger beer, Abrasive Ale clone, OG 1.080

duckdogs

Recipes 

I usually range between 85-89% 0.035 cursh stirring during the mash every 10 to 15 min. Stirring and recirculating before runing off again aftere each batch addition.

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sonex

Recipes 

if I was setting up a new system I would go with what is typicaly used as the defalt settings on most recipe calculators of 75% and then adjust after aquired data.

brewmaster101

Recipes 

Mgortel, sorry I meant to start my own thread after reading yours. Didn't mean to post under yours. Again sorry.

To answer your original question I put 70% in beersmith and adjust up or down.

I also bought the refractometer that helps me gauge mash efficiency as I go.

Hope that helps a little. Happy brewing days.