Congrats on your first brew day with your new rig! Enjoyed following the progress of this build. 
John
John
Lets Do This - 20 Gallon Concord 3 Vessel HERMS
- Thread starter FuzzeWuzze
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
OP
OP
FuzzeWuzze
I Love DIY
So I was brewing Bertus Brewery's latest Pliny the Elder clone last night and ran into something new and im curious if anyone else has had this happen. So it just had 14# of grain, put in my mash in water, wasnt quite enough so i added a bit extra...stirred it up and started the pump and everything seemed to be functioning as i would expect.
Then i noticed something weird, my sight glass was totally empty!? Wort was still flowing through the pump, but after a minute or two it would stall out...i assumed it was a stuck sparge because i havent done a grain bill this big yet with the Jaybird false bottom, stirred and it would start up then get stuck. On the 3rd time turning off the pump and stirring the mash though something weird happened...big giant bubbles coming up through my grain and wort splattering up inside my sight glass as it filled up to where it should be...i let it go for about 15 seconds until it stopped and then set the pump again and off it went for the remainder of the mash.
Did i create a vacuum under my false bottom!? How do you go about preventing such a thing? Not starting the pump open full throttle?
Then i noticed something weird, my sight glass was totally empty!? Wort was still flowing through the pump, but after a minute or two it would stall out...i assumed it was a stuck sparge because i havent done a grain bill this big yet with the Jaybird false bottom, stirred and it would start up then get stuck. On the 3rd time turning off the pump and stirring the mash though something weird happened...big giant bubbles coming up through my grain and wort splattering up inside my sight glass as it filled up to where it should be...i let it go for about 15 seconds until it stopped and then set the pump again and off it went for the remainder of the mash.
Did i create a vacuum under my false bottom!? How do you go about preventing such a thing? Not starting the pump open full throttle?
iijakii
Well-Known Member
Your grain bed was compacting and you didnt have enough liquid flowing through it. Your sight glass was reading empty because all of the liquid was stuck above port.
Definitely start the pump partially closed, could also try vorlaufing a bit. Could also try rice hulls.
Definitely start the pump partially closed, could also try vorlaufing a bit. Could also try rice hulls.
We've had lengthy discussions about this very issue.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=543873
Some suggest waiting 10-15 minutes before starting the pump. Others say don't crush as fine. Me, I've found a way for the wort to short circuit the grain bed and get back to the bottom of the kettle.
One thing everyone agrees on. Don't start the pump full throttle.
rafoster1987
Member
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2013
- Messages
- 20
- Reaction score
- 1
How are the kettles working out for you? I am considering doing a similar electric setup and going with three concord pots. I'll likely do a 30a PID system and source the parts myself or start with a diy kit from ebrewsupply.
rafoster1987
Member
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2013
- Messages
- 20
- Reaction score
- 1
I'm reviving this thread as I am considering doing a similar build. FuzzeWuzze, how is your system doing now?
Similar threads
