Insulation from a sanke-MLT

I am just about to start construction a 3-tier sanke keg brew tower, but I am having trouble finding something that will provide effect, but neat insulation for the MLT and HLT. What are people using successfully?

I've heard of people using reflectix. Basically bubble wrap made from mylar. Any big box store carries it.

I just made a insulated jacket for my direct fired mash tun out of a high heat resistant carbon fiber welder's blanket. I will probably give it a test drive this week sometime. I will take some pics. It's visually neat and nice looking, sort of like a black heavy wool felt about 1/2" thick. The material was not cheap, but I have enough to make at least one more which puts the cost at about $50 each jacket. I'm hoping to be able to increase the temp ramp up rate a bit. My RIMS does very well as is, but always looking for ways to tweak the system. I'll post back with a thumbs up or possibly down. We shall see.

Hmm, interesting idea on the welders blanket. Being carbon fiber, however, that is quite pricey. Maybe Ill stick with the reflectix, and if it proves inadequite, I will try the elders blanket... or maybe I can find a welders blanket made of a less costly material.

You have to mention if you plan to direct fire it or not as it makes a HUGE difference in what materials would be recommended.

I don't really know yet. I think right now, I will probably just insulate it and use a heatstick if I need minor adjustments...

Mcmaster part 9334K25 looks promising. Or two feet of 9385K23.

Two wraps with reflectix from Lowes would be fine also.

no idea on quality but harbo freight has a welders blanket for about 40

bucfanmike said:

no idea on quality but harbo freight has a welders blanket for about 40

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I took a look at those. The material is described as heat resistant fiberglass. I can't find anything about the thickness or weight of the material. It is much cheaper than the carbon fiber and might be an economical substitute. I'm gonna check it out next time I visit HF.

I just looked at one while I was at HF... they are not much thicker than a canvass tarp so it might take several wraps of one to provide any insulating value. Still interested to see how your carbon fiber jacket works out, Catt.

RiverCityBrewer said:

I just looked at one while I was at HF... they are not much thicker than a canvass tarp so it might take several wraps of one to provide any insulating value. Still interested to see how your carbon fiber jacket works out, Catt.

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I heard a rumor that you won a Best of Show recently and with a Pilsner yet. Any truth to that? If so, save me some. That's a style I want to perfect.

If it works, I may have enough material to make one for your Blichmann if you are interested.

I'll be in touch.

Definitely interested... swing by Thursday if you want we will be brewing an Oktoberfest... I'll show you my medals

Finally got around to testing out the insulated jacket made from the carbon fiber stuff. I give it the thumbs up. I was able to ramp up temps at about 2.5 to 3 degs/min, which is about a 0.5 to 1.0 degs/min improvement over non-insulated. At mash temp of 152* the outside of the jacket was barely warm to the touch. Do to the overlap, about 1/3rd of the jacket is double thickness. The jacket shows no sign of damage even along the very bottom where substantial heat was coming off the burner. I'm running a low pressure Camp Chef 6" ring type burner under the MT.

I'm satisfied with the temp ramp up rate, but the real beauty seems to be the improved temp stability. The MT burner only fired about 3 or 4 times during the 60+ minute mash, and when it did fire, it only burned for a minute or two. It seemed much easier to hit and maintain mash temps. Some of this may be an illusion, but yesterdays brew session was the smoothest I've ever had. Brewed 12 gallons of Kolsch. There were absolutely zero problems in the session and this was a step mash; 122*/10, 134*/15, 152*/60 & mash out @ 168*/20. No glitches and hit both the OG & volume dead on with an efficiency of about 80%.









Joe, ping me and I'll get some of the fabric over to you if you are still interested. I still want to try your German Pils. Don't drink it all before I get over there!

Just got mine setup tonight for a run tomorrow... doing ~20 gallons of Cream Ale so this should be a pretty good test of it.



I will report back tomorrow with numbers.

RiverCityBrewer said:

Just got mine setup tonight for a run tomorrow... doing ~20 gallons of Cream Ale so this should be a pretty good test of it.

I will report back tomorrow with numbers.

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Looking good! Please don't drink all that German Pils before I can get back over there. That sure is one mighty fine beer.

Catt22,
who has this carbon blanket material and where can I get some?
Thanks. Carl.......

BrewBeemer said:

Catt22,
who has this carbon blanket material and where can I get some?
Thanks. Carl.......

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Hey Carl,

Mytarp.com is where I bought it:

http://www.mytarp.com/4-x-6-velvet-shield-welding-blanket-hd.aspx

They will also custom cut the material to your specs, but I do not know what that might cost.

I've had great success with McMaster Carr item # 9385K23.

Catt22 said:

Hey Carl,

Mytarp.com is where I bought it:

http://www.mytarp.com/4-x-6-velvet-shield-welding-blanket-hd.aspx

They will also custom cut the material to your specs, but I do not know what that might cost.

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Function and durability outweighs cost plus future efficiency with brewing.
Any R factor specs on this product?
Thanks Catt; i've a couple of welding blanckets for repelling sparks and slag damage.
Overall anything is better than a bare keggle against ambiant air temps.

BrewBeemer said:

Function and durability outweighs cost plus future efficiency with brewing.
Any R factor specs on this product?
Thanks Catt; i've a couple of welding blanckets for repelling sparks and slag damage.
Overall anything is better than a bare keggle against ambiant air temps.

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Carl,

AFAIK, there is no manufacturers "R" rating for this material. I am not using it as the designers intended, but this would not be the first time I've done something like that.

arturo7 said:

I've had great success with McMaster Carr item # 9385K23.

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That polyurethane insulation will burst into flames if you try to use it on a direct fired MT. Don't see how that could be avoided.

Catt22 said:

That polyurethane insulation will burst into flames if you try to use it on a direct fired MT.

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The OP said he plans to use a heat stick.

I give the carbon fiber insulation a thumbs up as well.

Air Temp: 80F
Tap Water Temp: 68F
Direct Fired Mash Tun controlled by a BCS-460
Burned 7.6lbs of propane w/ 75min boil

I was able to heat 13 gallons of 68 degree water to 160 degrees in 1hr 10 minutes... I could have gone faster but I was busy with other things and forgot to crank up the reg. So that worked out to about 1.3 degrees per minute. I also didn't account for the new insulating value in my strike temp so I overshot by about 3 degrees... I was used to an 8 degree drop but instead it only dropped 5. So I intended to mash at 152 but ended up at 155, not a big deal... now I know for next time. As Catt stated, the best part was that once I closed the lid and stabilized the recirc, the temp in the tun didn't budge. It dropped 1 degree because I tried to adjust in the beginning, but even after that it held 154 for 60 minutes and my burner never fired to bring the heat up.

If anyone is looking for these... there are some decent deals on ebay. Just search for "velvet shield" and you will find several of them. If you cut carefully, you can insulate 3 vessels easily with a 4'x6' section.

OT, but what's up with your grist? Are those a bunch of uncrushed grains in your mash?

Catt22 said:

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Maltose said:

OT, but what's up with your grist? Are those a bunch of uncrushed grains in your mash?

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Nope. Those are a few completely empty hulls. There were essentially near zero un-crushed kernels in the grist. I'm not sure why some of the hulls float on top like that, but it's not at all unusual with my system and milling methods. The malt was well conditioned and my mill tends to squash the grains rather than shredding the hulls which I like a lot. The efficiency was +80% with this batch IIRC, maybe a little more than that. This was a Kolsch and I racked it to the secondary yesterday to begin the lagering period. It's looking very promising so far. Should be ready to drink about the first week in August.

RiverCityBrewer said:

If anyone is looking for these... there are some decent deals on ebay. Just search for "velvet shield" and you will find several of them. If you cut carefully, you can insulate 3 vessels easily with a 4'x6' section.

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Be advised that the Velvet Shield blankets are available in two thicknesses. I used the heavy duty 24 oz/ Sq Yd version for maximum insulation. The standard duty material is only 16 oz. Check the specs before you buy from whatever source. You can also order the velvet shield material custom cut to just about any size you might need.

I wanted a way to insulate my bottom drain keggle (no direct heat) and still remove it easily from its insulation for cleaning etc.. I took a 20 gal and a 35 gallon poly drum, cut a hole in the bottom of the 35 at the diameter of the 20 so the 20 would fit snugly through, and both bottoms could sit flush with each other. I then cut them down to the height I wanted, put the 20 in the 35 and welded the bottoms together with my plastic welder. Then I filled the space between them with spray foam, cut a donut from the lid of the 35 to seal the top and welded it shut. I cut a 6" hole in the bottom of the 20 for my bottom drain to come through. The top half of the 20 gallon barrel will become an insulated top. The keggle fits inside the 20 gallon drum nicely. So, essentially, I made a round insulated cooler that my keggle fits in.

what about silicon foam sheeting? THey make silicon potholders, so there should be no risk of melting, and a 1" sheet should have some measurable r-value, although I can't seem to find a rating in the correct units.

Here's another source for rubber "insulation"...
http://www.rubberflooringinc.com/all-rolls.html