Fly Sparging - 40gal System

I know there are tons of fly sparging threads, but I still had a couple of questions for my application.

Right now I have the Synergy Brew 40gal setup. It is 2-Tier and has a March Pump.

My question is three fold:

1) I understand that you drain the sparge water from the HLT into the Mash very slowly and drain at the same rate. My boil kettle and Mash Tun are at the same level so this drainage would have to be pumped to the BK; is this too much to have the march pump running for an 30min/1 hour solid?? Is there a better method with using the pump?? Maybe let the Mash fill up 25% and then pump?

2) The lid of the Mash Tun has an addition to the underside that the hose from the HLT rest on; it sort of allows the water to run off in multiple directions as opposed to just hitting the middle. Would it benefit me to make some sort of fly sparging arm?

3) How long should I sparge for? I know I need to sparge until i get my desired boil volume, so I guess I should say it this way, at what rate should sparge (.75gal per minute) @ 22gal would be 30minutes sparge time


Thanks for all the help!
Brent

i run my march pumps for hours. both for herms recirculation and sparging.

i just use a simple silicone hose that lays on top of the grain bed. I keep 1-2 inches of water over the entire grain bed.

i get 90%+ with this method. No fancy sparge arm needed in my opinion.

I sparge for about an hour on a 10 gallon setup. until I get my pre-boil volume...always watching to ensure my runnings don't drop below 1.010.

I should probably watch the mash ph as well, but I don't have a meter yet.

canyonbrewer said:

i run my march pumps for hours. both for herms recirculation and sparging.

i just use a simple silicone hose that lays on top of the grain bed. I keep 1-2 inches of water over the entire grain bed.

i get 90%+ with this method. No fancy sparge arm needed in my opinion.

I sparge for about an hour on a 10 gallon setup. until I get my pre-boil volume...always watching to ensure my runnings don't drop below 1.010.

I should probably watch the mash ph as well, but I don't have a meter yet.

Click to expand...

So it sounds like I can keep some water in the bottom and run the march pump until i hit my desired pre-boil volume.

This may be a dumb question, but I will ask it anyway, do you just drop a hydrometer in the BK to make sure you are above 1.010?

Let me add one more question:

This is me thinking out loud. But if I am fly sparging, and draining the MLT at the same rate I am flowing in and I do not have a sparge arm or anything to spread the width of the grain bed, am I really rinsing all of the grains??

Nighttime Bump!

brentt03 said:

Let me add one more question:

This is me thinking out loud. But if I am fly sparging, and draining the MLT at the same rate I am flowing in and I do not have a sparge arm or anything to spread the width of the grain bed, am I really rinsing all of the grains??

Click to expand...

Yes, because you're building up a foundation of water about 2" over the grain which remains for most of the sparge process. It's not like rinsing pasta in a colander.

brentt03 said:

So it sounds like I can keep some water in the bottom and run the march pump until i hit my desired pre-boil volume.

This may be a dumb question, but I will ask it anyway, do you just drop a hydrometer in the BK to make sure you are above 1.010?

Click to expand...

No, most people who fly sparge use a refractometer to spot check gravity every gallon or so towards the end.