Mash temps everywhere!

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tw0st3p

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Mar 11, 2010
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Avon Indiana
Hey folks,

I've been lurking on here for a while, but never needed to post anything until now. I recently switched to AG and have about 5 batches under my belt. Of those I have only been able to maintain a constant mash at the desired temp once. They are usually all over the place. I brewed yesterday and was looking for 53* and it bounced between 145-165.

Here is my setup/process:
I am using a 5 gallon cooler, and I pre-heat it. I enter grain temp & mlt temp into beersmith 2 to find strike water temp. I heat strike water and measure temp with a floating thermometer(could this therm be the problem?). Add strike water to cooler and stir in grain, once all dough balls are mixed I usually stick the floating therm in the cooler and seal it up. Then I usually have to check every 5-10 minutes on the temp and either leave the lid on or off depending on temp.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks
 
Make sure you check your temperature in multiple spots. Once you get the temp where you want it, close your cooler and leave it closed.
 
Preheat your cooler by adding the strike water 15 degrees hotter than strike temp, seal it up and wait 10min., if temp is too hot stir until the temp drops to strike temp, then dough in as usual. That should get you a stable temp with your mash. Seal it up, if you want to check the temp again, wait 15 minutes and check, everything should be stabilized by then and give an accurate temp of the mash, good luck.
 
It's really not possible for the temps to jump around like that, so something isn't right.

When you mash in, stir thoroughly. Then check the temperature in at least three different places. If the temps are different, stir some more. Once the temperature is equalized throughout, cover and walk away. You can check it again, maybe once, to make sure it's holding the temperature.

As the others mentioned, preheating the cooler for at least 15 minutes with a hotter-than-mash-temp water will help hold the temperature and keep the cooler from losing heat.
 
Thanks for the replies, it sounds like I haven't been stirring enough. I have only been stirring enough to get everything mixed up, then just sealing it up. Sounds like I need to stir long enough to get the temps equalized.
 
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