DIY Sparge Arm

Got one for the 10 gallon round Igloo Cooler? I've did some searching but nothing on how to build one..sure I can go to the Brew Store and buy one for $22, I would rather nake my own

How do you mash and sparge? Do you have a pump?

I have a piece of tubing that sits on top of the grain bed. The tubing is run along the edge my my MLT and the outflowing wort or water sort of wirlpools on top of the grain. I basically copied what Sabco does in their Brew Magic system (fast forward to 8:40 below):



You could also make something very much like a copper manifold you would use to strain your wort.

I have yet to do all-grain. I have everything except for the sparge arm. I have seen in some videos where the brewer just uses a colander to "sprinkle" the sparge water. Seems like a very simple way to brew. Correct me if I am wrong.

1. Heat up the quanity of water to appropiate the apprpiate temp . 155 degrees for example
2. Pour mash water into mash tun
3. Dump in grains stirring as you dump
4. Close lid and let it mash for called recipe time,,,60-90 mins
5. Pour some wort into pitcher dump it back into tun, keep up this process until wort runs clean about 3 times
6. Run sparge water over bed of grain and start to dump wort into boil pot until you have thr 6-6 1/2 gallons.
7. The rest of the boil is a piece of cake.

Okay. I get it now. Since you're not doing any sort of recirculation and you don't have a pump, you don't need a sparge arm. You're just going to batch sparge. Dump the water in.

1. Strike temp - There are lots of calculators for this. For simplicity, try Green Bay Rackers. Enter your grain temp and your target mash temp. Then based on a mash ratio (1.25-1.5 qts of water per pound of grain), the calculator will tell you what temperature you water needs to be. I suggest you shoot for about 5-10 degrees higher than the calculated temp. If you miss your mash temp, I think it's easier to cool it down than to heat it up. The water temp will drop when you add it to the cooler. Give your cooler a few minutes to heat up and then check your temp. If you're still too high, you can stir the water and wait a little longer or add some cool water to get it where you need it.
2. Mash In - Add your grain and mix thouroughly. If your temp is off, you can adjust by adding a little hot or cold water. If it's within a degree or two, don't worry about it. Take notes so you can nail it next time.
3. Mash - Give it an hour. I won't hurt if you go longer. Some people even mash overnight. It sounds like you have a good idea of what to do for the mash and lauter.
4. Lauter - Using a pitcher. Drain some wort and carefully add it back to the top of the mash trying not to disturb the grain. Repeat until the drained wort is reasonably clear. Don't worry too much about this. A little grain in the boil won't do anything.
5. First Runnings - Drain all of the wort from your tun. Let it rip. You don't need to go slow. Keep in mind that you might end up with a stuck mash if you go too fast.
6. Sparge - Add enough water (170 degrees) to get your boil volume up to whatever you are looking for. Just dump the water in. Mix thouroughly. Drain. You can do a couple of sparges if you don't have room in your tun for the necessary water.
7. Boil

6582. Ok thanks, looks like I have all the info I need. I may be brewing up my last extract kit for awhile. Brewing an Amber light ale right now. I have two Porters and a nut brown ale waiting in line

If you batch sparge, you don't need a sparge arm, but after dumping the sparge water in, you need to give it a really good stir.
A sparge arm is a good idea if you fly sparge, and for that you would need a false bottom or manifold in the cooler.
Mine died the other day (after about 20 years) and I made a replacement similar to this
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/rigid-copper-sparge-arm.html. 8 * 1/16"holes drilled in the loop delivers water at a good rate for fly sparging.

If you have never sparged before, I would recommend batch sparging.

-a.