keggle heat absorption

Curious if I can just take set temp strike water - pump it into MLT ( which is a keggle also ) and then monitor briefly to see temp reduction and use this for my later "true" strike temp water calculation? If start with 170 and then in 2nd keggle goes to 165 in a few minutes is the 5 degree difference essentially my loss etc? I do intend on purchasing Beersmith or BeerPro in the future but dont I need to input this data anyway? thanks, doc

You must also think about the temp of the keg before you added your 170*F water for this test. A keg with a stable temp of 55*F will absorb more heat energy than a 72*F keg. You numbers will be all over the place unless you have a fixed standard temp the keg will be at or your room temp your brewing in that's a fixed temp to repeat these same temp degree losses every time. Remember 29 pounds of stainless keg will absorb a lot more energy or cause a higher temp drop vs those thin not cheap stainless pots that are out there. Those "extra thick" 1.4mm of 0.055" or 18 gauge of 0.050" vs a thick keg. Now take that keg and insulate it you will have more stable temps start to finish.

If you heat the strike water right in the MLT, it won't absorb any heat at all.

Bobby_M said:

If you heat the strike water right in the MLT, it won't absorb any heat at all.

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That would be correct but the OP stated heating in one keg then pumping into the MLT keg not heating to strike temp "right in the MLT".
That answer didn't help the OP one bit, granted he is making a simple task into a complicated one but may have a reason why he is heating that way. At least try to give the OP an answer he can use as a positive answer to his question.

brewbeemer,

I am not by design making this more complicated - I thought it would be easier. I guess I could heat the strike in my mlt and then use my hlt for the sparge water -- I have a three keggle system and was just trying to use one flame to heat etc. make sense or am I crazy?

docmoran said:

brewbeemer,

I am not by design making this more complicated - I thought it would be easier. I guess I could heat the strike in my mlt and then use my hlt for the sparge water -- I have a three keggle system and was just trying to use one flame to heat etc. make sense or am I crazy?

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Hell yeah your crazy, the world would be boring with everyone being normal.
No worries I now see the position your in and why you started this thread.
I would make sure the MLT was insulated the best you can not a 1/8" covering but a full scale assault against the MLT's heat loss top and bottom ends included. Like I replied before it would be a good idea to keep notes on the different air temps and the MLT before adding your 170 or 175*F HLT water then checking the temp in the MLT after 6-8 minutes. That should be long enough for the keg to warm up and water temp both stabilized.
A 50 degree brew day might reqiure 178*F to reach your strike temp vs 171*F on a 90 degree brew day. Just examples not proven correction numbers. This will be something you will have to do to make a correction chart for your system. I would guess 3 different temp days like 50, 70 and 90*F air temps would be close enough unless you want 5 different temp corrections on your chart. This for 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90*F air temp day.
If your brewing in a windy day that's another factor to add in.
If your brewing below this 50*F or above the 90*F then yes i'll call ya crazy. J/K. All the above are just examples not real or proven numbers. Remember a 10 gallon brew batch will hold the MLT temp better than a 5 gallon batch due to mass alone.
Time to do some testing and note taking. JMO's here.

brewbeemer,

thanks for the great info -- i likes the idea alot. Question regardless, would I be less crazy and technically boring if I did heat the small volume strike water on 5 gallon batches in the MLT and then direct flame it alittle when needed during mash - have HLT heating seperately for sparge addition etc. I know I said didnt want to run dual heat but certainly can as have source for all keggles. Guess niavely thought that direct flaming mash if needed was no no in this world? Please excuse the big crazy but tryin to figure the best way out. thanks, doc

BrewBeemer said:

That would be correct but the OP stated heating in one keg then pumping into the MLT keg not heating to strike temp "right in the MLT".
That answer didn't help the OP one bit, granted he is making a simple task into a complicated one but may have a reason why he is heating that way. At least try to give the OP an answer he can use as a positive answer to his question.

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Why don't you follow me around as I post to make sure I don't provide any advice that is not in direct response to the literal question asked. You answered the direct question already so I was providing some addition insight and not trying to undermine your post. Additionally, we come to find that he very well CAN take advantage of what I suggested. Don't be such a condescending ******.

docmoran, my advice was dependent on the assumption that you were going to have direct heat under your MLT instead of HERMS so if you're not equipping the MLT with a burner, forget what I said. If I'm heating a large amount of strike for a 10 gallon batch, I'll actually split the volume between my MLT and HLT to double the effective BTU.

Also, the grain is going to lower the temp of your strike water. So you get hit twice. The Mash tun reduces your temp and so does the grain.

Linc