partial mash, how long should I allow?

I was thinking of doing a mini-mash kit this time around, buying whatever equipment was needed. My big concern though is the time needed. It sounds like it will more than double brew day time, and that isn't always feasible. It is hard enough to find 2 hours from beginning to full cleanup, never mind 3 or 4. Does it really take this long?

Mashing does add a bit of time to the day... 2 more hours is probably a good estimate. All the right equipment will speed things up though. Having an HLT and a boil kettle saves time because you can sparge directly into the boil kettle instead of transferring the wort around between vessels. I've been using the hybrid batch/fly sparge method to speed things along as well.

Remember you won't spend any time steeping so that will probably help the timeline.

Not in my experience. If you're doing extract with steeping grains, it's about 20 minutes longer.

In my first PM's, I did the same technique as extract with steeping grains. I put the grains in a grain bag (loosely, so they would all get wetted), and mashed them (just like steeping) at 155 degrees for 45 minutes. Then I sparged with 1 gallon of 170 degree water that heated up while I was mashing the grain. To sparge, I just lifted out the grain bag and put it in my spaghetti strainer and poured the sparge water over. Then I brought those runnings in the same pot up to a boil and started my boil. It was super easy.

My next PMs were done in my botting bucket, lined with an enormous mesh bag. I put the grain in, put 169 degree water in (so that the grainbed was 153-155), stirred, wrapped in a sleeping bag, and drained after an hour. I added the sparge water and stirred and then drained that. That only took about 30 minutes longer than the old way, and it yielded much better beer than the extract batches.

I can do an entire AG batch from mashing in to pitching yeast in less than 4 hours. I don't always try to hurry it, and sometimes it's longer if I have a multistep mash schedule. But, it really doesn't take that long. I think that it added about an hour to my brewing day. The PM only added about 1/2 hour, I believe.

My experience is much the same a Yooper's. I'll start heating the first runnings while the sparge is sitting.

I mentioned this idea to my wife after I posted this morning and we both agreed that this could wait until fall. It is hard enough to keep up with all of the current time demands without adding to them. It takes a good portion of a day to do this.

But I'll give it a try. I'll start gathering the equipment I need.