Strike water help / Pre-heat tun / Beersmith

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cbird01

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I just loaded Beersmith for my first AG batch. In helping me hit my target mash temps I have some confusion. Many people tell me to pre-heat my tun with some boiling water. I have configured my equipment in Beersmith and when I create the mash profile, it gives me the option to adjust temp for equipment. By checking that, my strike water goes up from 166 to 170. I would assume that if I pre-heat my tun, I should not adjust temps for equipment, otherwise I will end up too hot.

Seems easier to forget about pre-heating and just use the higher strike water temp.

Any comments?
 
I like to prehead the tun. It makes hitting the temp easier and more accurate. I also like it because it rinses my mash tun out after it sits for a few weeks.
 
I used to pre-heat, but for me it's a waste of time and water. I just punch in 72f for grains and mash tun, and go up 2 to 3 degrees warmer on strike water. I hit my temps every time.
 
It won't be a waste of water if you reuse that water for your sparge water, or even cleanup water. I personally preheat and when I haven't I've missed my mash temps by 4º or more. But like others have said, it's personal preference. Either preheat and use a lower temp strike water, or don't and up the strike water temp.
 
It all comes down to knowing your equipment and current brewing conditions. I use a Rubbermaid 5 gallon MLT and usually preheat with a gallon or two of 180-190 degree water to hedge my bets a little in hitting my temps. Using a strike calculator works out well- but I've brewed with people who just assume an average 15 degree buffer to meet their intended mash temp.

Do some testing with your equipment to see how much your MLT loses over a given period of time.
 
If I figure my strike water should be 170 I'd dump the water in at 178*F wait until it drops to 170*F to add my grain. That way I can check the MLT for leaks & heat the MLT up a little. I question the wisdom of dumping boiling water into plastic MLT because it could easily warp it at that temp. (I use a cooler) and because of the potential for chemicals to leach into the water/wort at that temp.

Adding 7-8 gal of hot or boiling water to "preheat" the MLT then dumping it out and adding another 7-8 gal. of 170*F strike water just seems like a waste resources to me.
 
wildwest450 said:
I used to pre-heat, but for me it's a waste of time and water. I just punch in 72f for grains and mash tun, and go up 2 to 3 degrees warmer on strike water. I hit my temps every time.
Click to expand...

Do you mean you type it into Beersmith and go 2-3 degrees above the strikwater temp they give you?
 
Pre-heating may have other benefits outside of just hitting your initial temperatures.

I have not been pre-heating my MLT to this point but for my next batch I will be. The reason being that my mash will lose 2-4 degrees over the course of an hour. Your mash and your MLT want to reach equilibrium in terms of temperature so you can either not pre-heat and simply allow your mash do the work of heating the MLT or you can pre-heat and give your mash a head start.

I'd leave the box for "Adjust temp for my equipment" (or whatever it's called) unchecked and just plan to heat your strike to 5 degrees over where you want. Pour the strike into the MLT, close the lid and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Take the lid off and if your temp is still high stir to cool and dough-in.
 
^^^^

Exactly. This method works great for me, and it's easy to adjust temps down with a few cups of cold water from the hose if you overshoot the mark by too much.
 
Turkeyfoot Jr. said:
Pre-heating may have other benefits outside of just hitting your initial temperatures.

I have not been pre-heating my MLT to this point but for my next batch I will be. The reason being that my mash will lose 2-4 degrees over the course of an hour. Your mash and your MLT want to reach equilibrium in terms of temperature so you can either not pre-heat and simply allow your mash do the work of heating the MLT or you can pre-heat and give your mash a head start.

I'd leave the box for "Adjust temp for my equipment" (or whatever it's called) unchecked and just plan to heat your strike to 5 degrees over where you want. Pour the strike into the MLT, close the lid and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Take the lid off and if your temp is still high stir to cool and dough-in.
Click to expand...

Ok, this makes sense to me...thanks guys!
 
cbird01 said:
Do you mean you type it into Beersmith and go 2-3 degrees above the strikwater temp they give you?
Click to expand...

Exactly, then you check the water temp after you pour it in. I let it sit for a minute, if it's a little high you can stir a degree or two out in no time. Or you can check after you add the grains, it's easier to go down a degree or two then up.
 
abracadabra said:
If I figure my strike water should be 170 I'd dump the water in at 178*F wait until it drops to 170*F to add my grain.
Click to expand...

Same here; I set a digital thermometer to go off when it gets close so I am ready to mash-in when it hits the strike temp.
 

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