Scorched my mash or how to heat your MLT?

Last session I tried a step mash with my direct fire MLT for the first time. My "false" bottom is a frying pan splatter screen with some copper fittings drilled into the center and connected to the outlet valve. MLT is a converted keg. When trying to heat the mash from one temp to the next I ended up burning the wort under the false bottom. (not just a little....like I needed to use sandpaper to clean it out at the end of the day!!)
The question is: how do you heat your MLT. Did I just get overly agressive with the burner or is there a technique I should be using to heat up the mash with out scorching the liquid and not overshooting my next mash temp? Thanks for any help.

Did you stir the mash while adding heat? most direct fire mash tuns use a pump to circulate the wort while adding heat.

I did some stirring, but not constantly. Do I need to recirculate if I'm going to heat the mash in the MLT or will constant stirring do the trick?

I don't use a direct heat mash tun so I can only offer my thoughts on the matter. I would be willing to say that constant stirring while adding heat would suffice. I'm sure that someone who does direct heat will chime in soon.

You really need to recirculate to do it properly. You also need a false bottom that covers the entire bottom of your kettle. Here is mine:

I used direct heat in my MLT for quite a while. Now I recirculate with a pump. Less labor intensive

But if you are going to do it here is what I found sucessful.

1. You need to be really low on your heat.
2. When applying heat to get to your desired temp vourlauf. Meaning pull the heated wort from the borrom and pour it back on the top.
3. Try to insulate the mash tun so your temp does not drop as rapidly.

My typical brew session would consist of me hitting strike temp and mixing in grains. Say to 152 degrees. After about 20-30 min the temp would drop so I would fire up the burner and recirculate with a pitcher and stir mash until I got back up to temp.

Shut off burner and wrap the MLT with an old sleeping bag (obviously dont have the fire on while its wrapped!)

Usually in a 60 min mash I would have to repeat this 3 times.

I have found that recirculating with a pump is alot easier.