Phideaoux44
Well-Known Member
Alright, so after brewing for years, I am FINALLY getting into All Grain brewing and have fabricated a one tier three burner set up with converted Sanke kegs. I have yet to get the pump and therminator mounted, but in the meantime I am deciding on how I want to sparge before I get too far along. I have seen a lot of debate over which is better, fly or batch and I wont trouble anyone with another thread regarding that. However, I would like for you experts (or at least the biggest experts I know) to critique my set-up. I am leaning away from a fly sparge because I dont want to have a second pump. And the design I came up with is part batch, part HERMS (If I understand this all correctly). I made up a rudimentary design utilizing state of the art computer software (paint) and cutting edge artistic ability (the kind of ugly stuff you wouldnt hang on a fridge even if your kid drew) so that hopefully you guys can see what Im trying. Again, I know this isnt an entirely unique or novel solution, but I am hoping that you can critique it or tear it apart before I build it and waste money and time.
Ultimate outline: Mash tun drains into manifold and is pumped through heat exchanger coil in hot liquor tank (fired or not fired depending on water temp) and then be pumped back through the sparge arm on top of the grains. Hopefully then I can get the bed filtering properly, the clear runnings, and a decently steady mash temp without having to fire the MT and risk grain scorch. I would run this during the appropriate amount of mash time and when its time to dump the first batch, I would switch hoses around (and if I understand correctly) drain the MT into the brew kettle, fill the MT back up and continue the circulation again for one more cycle before final drain and boil. Shouldnt this insure a good clean and decently efficient mash? Sorry for the long-winded life-story-length post, but I would owe you my first born if you guys could help me make sure this idea works before I put too much more time and effort into an idea that wont float. Thanks ahead of time.
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Ultimate outline: Mash tun drains into manifold and is pumped through heat exchanger coil in hot liquor tank (fired or not fired depending on water temp) and then be pumped back through the sparge arm on top of the grains. Hopefully then I can get the bed filtering properly, the clear runnings, and a decently steady mash temp without having to fire the MT and risk grain scorch. I would run this during the appropriate amount of mash time and when its time to dump the first batch, I would switch hoses around (and if I understand correctly) drain the MT into the brew kettle, fill the MT back up and continue the circulation again for one more cycle before final drain and boil. Shouldnt this insure a good clean and decently efficient mash? Sorry for the long-winded life-story-length post, but I would owe you my first born if you guys could help me make sure this idea works before I put too much more time and effort into an idea that wont float. Thanks ahead of time.
View attachment sample.bmp