Keggle Users, There has got to be a better way

How do you clean out your keggle style mash tun? Once in a while you see one of the tippy plate rigs posted but, if you don't have that how do you get the spent malt out and ready for your final wash down and back flush? Somebody out there has got to have a better way for this less than happy, happy task!

A lot of people use shop vacs! I don't have a keggle, but can often be found scooping out my grain from my cooler... PITA!

I use heavy duty leaf bags. The 30 gallon size fit over my MLT just fine. Then, I flip it over into one of those blue recycle tubs, and give it a thump to get the spent grain out. Remove the MLT, tie up the bad, and use the tub to hold the bag while I dump it into the big trash can.

Shop Vac.

I use the manual tippy rig.... I pick it up and dump it into a trash can. After that, and 20 seconds with a hose and another dump, it is clean of grain. Just needs to then be scrubbed down a bit better.

I've liked the shop vac options, except for then you need to clean your shop vac. If there is a silver bullet to this cleaning task I'd love to know it.

Carry it to the egde of the woods dump the grain and let the varmits eat it up. hose out the mashtun rinse repeat.

If lifting the heavy mash tun is the issue, I saw a guy on YouTube who had built a pulley system above his mash tun and then used one ratcheting come-a-long to lift the mash tun and another to raise the bottom of the mash tun higher than the top and the grain dumped out into a trash can very easy. It was kinda elaborate and probably ha some expense to it, but if lifting is an issue and you want to continue to use keggles, it might be a viable option for you.

Shop vac and bottom drain...

Vac out the majority of the stuff, then it's just a bit of hose and spray nozzle to direct the stragglers out the bottom.

luke2080 said:

I've liked the shop vac options, except for then you need to clean your shop vac. If there is a silver bullet to this cleaning task I'd love to know it.

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Meh. I strap mine to a hand truck. When it's time to empty the vac I just wheel it out to the compost pile, unstrap it, and tilt it over to dump next to teh pile. I have no desire to lift wet draff.

Once the draf has had some time to dry out in the sun (and get properly buggy) I mix it in with the compost.

GilaMinumBeer said:

Meh. I strap mine to a hand truck. When it's time to empty the vac I just wheel it out to the compost pile, unstrap it, and tilt it over to dump next to teh pile. I have no desire to lift wet draff.

Once the draf has had some time to dry out in the sun (and get properly buggy) I mix it in with the compost.

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Maybe I'll attempt this method. I do hate unhooking the MT to clean during the boil, which ends up dumping some wort onto the BK's burner from the MT's spout.

luke2080 said:

Maybe I'll attempt this method. I do hate unhooking the MT to clean during the boil, which ends up dumping some wort onto the BK's burner from the MT's spout.

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Ayup. I usually have the MT cleared, rinsed, and the HLT heating up cleaning water before the BK has come to a boil. Half way through teh boil I rig my system to start recirculating hot PBW between the HLT and MLT.

Once the BK is drained I dump the MLT cleaning water into teh kettle and recirc that through my chiller station while I start packing it all in.

The ONLY time I lift my kettles is after cleaning to invert them for storage.

luke2080 said:

If there is a silver bullet to this cleaning task I'd love to know it.

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1) Put keggle in recycle bin
2) Buy new keggle

You forgot the dynamite.

Bobby_M said:

You forgot the dynamite.

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I reserve that for stuck sparges.