you can't fit 3 gallons in a 2 gallon mash tun

SWMBO got me a three gallon carboy (I've been making one gallon batches), and I just realized today that this means I need to upgrade my mash tun as well. Because, you know, you can't fit three gallons into a two gallon mash tun.

My current mash tun uses the braided hose design that I saw on Basic Brewing Video. Can I apply the same concept to a larger mash tun?

And I'd like to upgrade to a ball valve. Where's the best place to get one?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=23008
Subject is for a 10 gallon, but this works for a 5 gallon as well.

But you should probably just buy the 10 gal so that you don't have to upgrade in the future. Unless you plan to stay on small batches, of course. Then you can disregard this point.

Jack said:

... you know, you can't fit three gallons into a two gallon mash tun.

Click to expand...

So THATs why I always spill a gallon on the floor :cross:

Time to graduate. Your working way to hard for such little reward. Move up to the 5 or 10.

Pimp Juice said:

Time to graduate. Your working way to hard for such little reward. Move up to the 5 or 10.

Click to expand...

This might not be an appropriate time to tell you that I've been thinking about doing split mashes because I'm running out of space in my apartment to store my expanded brewery.

How have you been managing 2 gallon mashes? That's like one night's drinking!

Jack said:

This might not be an appropriate time to tell you that I've been thinking about doing split mashes because I'm running out of space in my apartment to store my expanded brewery.

Click to expand...

I see, you don't have the room. I'll be quite now, brew on.

I brew both 5 and 3 gal batches in my little apartment with only a 5 gal cooler and a bag. On www.luckybastardbrewing.com I break it down.

5 gal cooler with mesh bag, no need for complicated braids or anything...


The extreamly high tech sparging mechanism

mike

When sparging the idea is to pour over until it comes out clear like in the pic above or clear as in Clear of any floaties??

It's called vorlauf, and yes I usually take the first stuff that comes out of my mash tun and pour it carefully back into the top of the cooler, until the runnings are relatively clear of gunk. It doesn't need to be tottaly clear however, the pic above is from the end of a batch sparge, i.e. the very last runnings.

mike

ok, Thanks for using the Vorluaf word too! I've not been able to find a definition brew related but have seen it a lot when referring to sparging.
Vorlauf refers to exactly which process? The recirculating the first running, or the recirculating until it runs clear of floaties?

Vorlauf is the same for any process. It is what emerges from your mash tun when you add the sparge water and eventually becomes wort.

By clear, we're not speaking of it being clear like glass. We're speaking of it being clear of particulate matter.

Uhm, this may seem painfully obvious, but your mash tun never holds your entire boil volume. The difference is made up with the sparge water.


No need to upgrade anything. But you really should just go up to a ten gallon cooler and stop messing around!

:cross: