thermal layers

i have a 10 gallon rubber maid cooler and i got a new thermometer that can reach all the way down to the bottom and wow. The first six inches will be a certain temp while as you get lower it gets hotter, should i be stirring my mash all of the time to keep this from happening, and if that is the case my temperature will drop as soon as i mix the cold water with the hotter water on the top, and over time it will loose more heat, i am sure this has to do with my crappy effiecency that i am too embarased to share with you guys simply said I am in a pickle any suggestions?

Tom

If you have a pump you can recirc your mash. that would keep temps constant. What temp differential are you seeing? If its only a couple degrees I wouldn't really worry about it. I doubt this has much to do with your efficiency, the malt we use today converts quickly. It is probably sparging where you losing efficiency.

you shouldn't need to stir constantly. but should stir well at mash in give it a couple minutes and stir again, then check your temps as you go. Continue this until your mash pretty much equalizes out and remains constant at you desired mash temp. I usually don't sweat it if I find different temps of a degree or two.

I wouldn't recirc with a pump with a rubbermaid as you will loose a lot of heat. Give it a good stir and at the half way point stir again.

If it's cold in the brewery, I'll check the mash temperature and adjust, if needed, at 15 minutes.

Probably happens to many people but they are not measuring the temps all the way through the mash. Some like myself have gone to a recirculating MASH with a RIMS or HERMS to make life easier and more complex at the same time. I'd stir more frequently at this point and maybe try draining some wort manually and pouring it back on top to create a recirculation.

Honestly, I don't know if stirring even makes a difference (or, a positive difference anyway). If you don't stir it you have a mash bed that may vary 5 degrees (or whatever) from one point to another. If you stir it, you even out the temp but it's still lower than your desired temp. I'm not sure one situation is really any better than the other, unless you're get a huge temperature drop, like into the low 140s.

I say just let 'er rip and accept that the temp variation is part of your process. Maybe someday you'll decide to improve your process, maybe you won't. As long as you're making good beer, it don't matter.


(OMG this is my 666th post! Maybe you shouldn't take this advice )