Efficiency varies..... Wtf

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dukes7779

dukes7779

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Have been doing my own milling for about 6 months and my efficiency has been anywhere from 70-85%........what gives?? Have made no adjustments to mill and have verified that my gap has not changed. Hitting temps also. What else could it be??
 
bulk grain or buy each time? Do you check your crush as you mill? Particle size of kernels could change from batch to batch and cause fewer/more cracked grains.

Has anything in your process changed, ie. stirring techniques during, before, after mash/sparge? There has to be some subtle nuance.
 
Buy in bulk, maybe different stirring during mash/sparge. Anything else I should be aware of??
 
There is a good sticky at the top of this section about maximizing efficiency when batch sparging. The sparge /lauter process can have a big impact on efficiency.

The mash process can also affect it. Whenever I use pilsner grain, I need to step mash or I lose efficiency.
 
dukes7779 said:
Buy in bulk, maybe different stirring during mash/sparge. Anything else I should be aware of??
Click to expand...

pretty much your crush, avoiding dough-balls and stirring well before and after the mash and each sparge addition are the keys.
 
Is it the same recipe? If not, efficiency generally suffers with larger grainbills. When I'm doing higher gravity beers, I adjust my efficiency in Beersmith down.
 
I had a pretty low efficiency when starting out. I was averaging 60%. I changed the rate of draining my mash tun from as fast as I can to taking 20-30 minutes to drain my mash tun and another 20 minutes to drain my sparge water. This increased my efficiency to 75%. I guess the moral of the story is even the smallest tweak you do whether you realize you are doing it or not can make a big difference in your efficiency. Just be consistent with your process and the efficiency should stabilize.
 
How fast do you mill? If I rip thru the grain fast w my drill - then I get 90%. If I slow it down around 200 rpms, then I get 75%...just what I notice...
 
Coohang said:
How fast do you mill? If I rip thru the grain fast w my drill - then I get 90%. If I slow it down around 200 rpms, then I get 75%...just what I notice...
Click to expand...

Really? I read another thread where the consensus, with corona mills, was that milling as slow as possible would increase efficiency.:confused:
 
Hi

Do you measure the input by weight or volume? If by weight, the moisture content may be varying (can be a 10% item - yikes!).

Anything that results in a finer crush will likely increase efficiency. Packing grain into the mill, running faster / slower (depending on the mill). Gap setting drifting with time. All will mess things up.

Lots of variables.

Bob
 
arnoldk2 said:
I had a pretty low efficiency when starting out. I was averaging 60%. I changed the rate of draining my mash tun from as fast as I can to taking 20-30 minutes to drain my mash tun and another 20 minutes to drain my sparge water. This increased my efficiency to 75%. I guess the moral of the story is even the smallest tweak you do whether you realize you are doing it or not can make a big difference in your efficiency. Just be consistent with your process and the efficiency should stabilize.
Click to expand...

+1 on this! I had the same problem for my first 10+ batches until I started doing this.
 
You know, I do sometimes fill the mill hopper full and mill because I am alone. Sometimes my wife or buddy will slowly pour in the grain as I mill......hhmmmmm. Thanks so much everyone!
 
What is everyone using to calculate efficiency?? I brew with iBrewmaster which now calculates efficiency but had been using Brewersfriend web site. When I compare them I get different numbers.........
 
dukes7779 said:
What is everyone using to calculate efficiency?? I brew with iBrewmaster which now calculates efficiency but had been using Brewersfriend web site. When I compare them I get different numbers.........
Click to expand...

It's not that complicated to calculate for yourself. I suggest you do that and see which one is correct, then just use that one.
 
I'm in that same range for efficiency and usually find that my recipes using more kilned malts hit anywhere from 67-74% while my recipes with less kilned malts hit 75 - 84%

Makes sense considering kilned malts are less fermentable and I tend to use US05 (high attenuator) on my recipes with less kilned malts.
 

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