Hops-a-Lot
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- Mar 2, 2009
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I have been doing some thinking lately about alternative equipment set-up (mostly due to space constraints) and one that I have on my mind currently is the use of an extraction column for mashing. I have some basic design ideas and plan to build a pilot system this year to test the program, but I was wondering if anyone on here had ever messed around with the concept before.
I would be using an insulated PVC pipe held vertically and fed from the bottom up at a flowrate adequate enough to maintain fluidization of the grain bed. There would be enough head space to avoid clogging the outlet. The feed would be from a HLT held at the desired mash temp and the output of the column would be run back to the HLT and recycled into the column in a closed-loop configuration. I am thinking that by recirculating back to the HLT (which is held at a constant mash temp, or adjusted for step mashing) and running back through the column you could significantly improve overall yield and reduce energy requirements.
For a five gallon batch using the mash rules of thumb as outlined by Papazian:
This would make for an overall water requirement of 2.5 + 5 = 7.5 gallons. Could you monitor the completion of the overall mash by taking SG reading at the recirculation tank (adjusting for dilution)? I am not sure if this has any merit and I am excited to give it a go to see what happens. It is my hope that my mash times can be lowered and my overall yield improved. I look forward to the discussion.
I would be using an insulated PVC pipe held vertically and fed from the bottom up at a flowrate adequate enough to maintain fluidization of the grain bed. There would be enough head space to avoid clogging the outlet. The feed would be from a HLT held at the desired mash temp and the output of the column would be run back to the HLT and recycled into the column in a closed-loop configuration. I am thinking that by recirculating back to the HLT (which is held at a constant mash temp, or adjusted for step mashing) and running back through the column you could significantly improve overall yield and reduce energy requirements.
For a five gallon batch using the mash rules of thumb as outlined by Papazian:
- Grain and Adjunct (lbs): 10
- Mash Water (gal): 2.5
- Water Absorbed by Grain (gal): 1
- Sparge Water @ 170F (gal): 5
- Water Added to Boil (gal): 0
- Water Evaporated During Boil (gal): 1
- Yield to Primary (gal): 5.5
- Yield to Secondary (gal): 5
This would make for an overall water requirement of 2.5 + 5 = 7.5 gallons. Could you monitor the completion of the overall mash by taking SG reading at the recirculation tank (adjusting for dilution)? I am not sure if this has any merit and I am excited to give it a go to see what happens. It is my hope that my mash times can be lowered and my overall yield improved. I look forward to the discussion.