Getting higher brew house efficiency

I been AG brewing for quite a bit and i can never get 70+ BHE..I use a 10 gallon igloo cooler with a make shift SS braid filter..My average BHE is usually 45-60% which is too low..I do not want to have to double up malts,hops to achieve my desired OG..What some tricks of the trade to help boost my BHE..My system is pretty standard..It must be poor milling cause i have not invested in a mill yet always get my grist pre crushed..Could that be the one variables that is wrecking my BHE?

My system: 10 gallon igloo cooler SS braid filter and ball valve

Dead space: 1/2 gallon

mash tun weight: 9lbs

mash tun specific heat: not 100% I think 0.30

A good, and consistent, crush is definitely one of the major factors for achieving better efficiency.

Sparging methods can have quite an influence on the outcome too, I believe.

Get hold of a cheap Corona mill and give it a shot to see if that gets you a jump in efficiency. I've only done BIAB AG, so can get away with a really fine crush, and I'm hitting 83 - 85% quite consistently.

I posted this to another member but its the same exact question.

Efficiency can be increased by making sure you do a few things correctly each and every time. Here's what I would consider important points to increasing your gravity:

1.) A good crush on your grain. Typically you want to crack your grain to the point where your husks are mostly intact but not shredded. You can get better efficiency by crushing the hell out of it but you will certainly run the risk of a stuck sparge. You can add rice hulls to the mash to counter this so really the crack is up to you. I'd say go with a crack where the hulls stay mostly intact, but if you like taking risks, crack the hell out of it and add rice hulls. Don't say you we're not warned though.

2.) A good mash always break down to temperature and time. A good rule of thumb (although it can always be broken) is higher mashes for a lower time and lower mashes for longer times. The key thing about the mash temps are to do a mash out. No matter what, raise the mash temp to 168 -170 (no higher than 170) and hold for about 10 minutes. This stops the mashing process and also makes sure the sugars are all "loose" from the grain and can freely be drained. If you don't have a setup where you can raise your mash temps use one of the online sparge calculators to find out how much boiling water to add to the mash to raise your temp to the desired goal. One tip for you here, if you add boiling water have some cold water on hand to drop the temps if you overshoot that 170 degree mark. You don't want the mash over 170 or you run the risk of releasing tannins and a harshness from the grain. I heard recently that this is not as big of a risk if your PH is correct but I never break this rule.

3.) Sparge slow. I don't like to wait when I sparge but it is really important to sparge slowly to get the best extraction out of the grain. Some guys can take an hour to sparge, take as long as you need just don't go fast. Slow moving water will wash the grain more efficiently. Go slow and watch that efficiency rise.

If you can stick to these three items, your gravity will rise. One item I personally always do as well is to balance your ph to around 5.3 (above 5, lower than 5.5). If you can't tell, I've had this issue as well. Do what ever you can to follow these rules and you will have no problems.

crush has the biggest affect,second is sparging.I routinely got 80% or better when using a cooler and batch sparging.(I'm talking extraction efficiency)

If you want to get your best efficiency, you have to know where your problems are. Accurate measurements of gravity and volumes are vital to figuring out where you can improve.

This article by HBT member Kaiser really helped me dial in my efficiency. I am consistently getting 80% now. His other articles on mashing are great too. So is his work on stirred yeast starters.

http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Troubleshooting_Brewhouse_Efficiency

Batch sparge as slow as you can. I found my efficiency went up when my sparge was at a trickle.

Thanks yall..def gotta get a mill and see how much higher milling myself will get me and keep tweaking til i get dialed in to 80+%..yeah i also gotta be aware of my sparging..i batch sparge but i might be using too much water now that i think of it..thanks for the pointers

kirkosaurus said:

Batch sparge as slow as you can. I found my efficiency went up when my sparge was at a trickle.

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you mean fly sparge?..From what i know batch sparging is just dumping hot water in the MT after first run off to rinse grains and recirculation again until runnings are clear

I had minor issues with batch sparging until I started stirring the mash really well after first runnings. I brewed last night and hit 83%.

^^ besides crush i think stirring is one of the most important.. make sure you can really get down in there and mix a little longer than you think you should

Agreed on the crush being the #1 issue. Also I haven't heard anyone mention the method of filtering. My efficiency went up when I went from a braid to a copper (or CPVC) manifold. Done right, a manifold is as good as a false bottom in terms of efficiency (I have both). Look in the appendix of How to Brew, it has a great section on manifold design. Personally I don't drain slow, I don't mash out, I just dump it in and let it rip, but 1) do stir each sparge and 2) don't hesitate to split your sparge water and sparge twice to rinse the grain well. I reliably get 75-80% doing this. As you can see, different people do it differently.

dbrewski said:

Agreed on the crush being the #1 issue. Also I haven't heard anyone mention the method of filtering. My efficiency went up when I went from a braid to a copper (or CPVC) manifold. Done right, a manifold is as good as a false bottom in terms of efficiency (I have both). Look in the appendix of How to Brew, it has a great section on manifold design. Personally I don't drain slow, I don't mash out, I just dump it in and let it rip, but 1) do stir each sparge and 2) don't hesitate to split your sparge water and sparge twice to rinse the grain well. I reliably get 75-80% doing this. As you can see, different people do it differently.

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Im trying that next brew day..i never thought to split the sparge water.. good call..I was questioning the SS braid but before i spend anymore cash im gonna try and correct all the other variables and if my BHE is still low i will invest in a better false bottom/ or copper manifold..thanks

I use a CPVC manifold. Took me a half hour to build and cost me around $10. I also don't limit my flow. I vorlauf 1/2 open, and as soon as there are no grain particles (1/4 gallon or so) I run it wide open.

I have also split my sparge, but only if I can't get enough water in my mash tun to hit my volume.

AgentHubcap said:

I use a CPVC manifold. Took me a half hour to build and cost me around $10. I also don't limit my flow. I vorlauf 1/2 open, and as soon as there are no grain particles (1/4 gallon or so) I run it wide open.

I have also split my sparge, but only if I can't get enough water in my mash tun to hit my volume.

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Thats an other reason im thinking of getting a manifold or premade false bottom cause i get a stuck run off if i open the valve to much cause of the ss braid

First I am not making any assumptions. It may seem silly, but...
How are you defining brew house efficiency?
How accurate are your measurements? for example,

• Do you measure the OG of the final volume into the fermenter?
• Do you cool the wort to below 70F before taking an OG reading?
• How accurate is your water measurement?
• Do you account for expansion if it is hot?

Not that I have missed those steps or anything. (whistles, looks around)
Troubleshooting Brewhouse Efficiency by braukaiser

Epimetheus said:

First I am not making any assumptions. It may seem silly, but...
How are you defining brew house efficiency?
How accurate are your measurements? for example,

• Do you measure the OG of the final volume into the fermenter?
• Do you cool the wort to below 70F before taking an OG reading?
• How accurate is your water measurement?
• Do you account for expansion if it is hot?

Not that I have missed those steps or anything. (whistles, looks around)
Troubleshooting Brewhouse Efficiency by braukaiser

Click to expand...

yes
yes
by water measurement do you mean mash/sparge volume?
the last question got me stumped