oops should this be closed?

Oh yea don't forget to close the valve on your boil keggle when you are fly sparging. I walked inside since everything was going so well the first 15 minutes, come back out 5-10 minutes later and the driveway is full of wort!! I tried to sacrifice what was left but ended up with 5 gallons of 1.022 wort. Decided to cut my losses and dump it rather than spend $16 on hops and yeast for a half batch. So to everyone out there please please please remember to turn valves off before filling that keggle. And the sad part is I was completely sober and not hung over... Maybe that was the problem

There has been quite some talk around here lately about how drinking while brewing may actually improve your beer. However, I think this is probably just that happy frickin' Gnome being crazy as hell.

Thanks for the advice, I'll keep my valve closed.

2 yrs experience annd i leave the dangblasted valve open today! fortunately i don't leave the drain till the first runnings are in the boiler so i only lost about a cup of wort.

THIS is why I FILL my keggle THROUGH the valve on the bottom~

eschatz said:

There has been quite some talk around here lately about how drinking while brewing may actually improve your beer. However, I think this is probably just that happy frickin' Gnome being crazy as hell.

Thanks for the advice, I'll keep my valve closed.

Click to expand...

Aw, c'mon! Surely you know better than to trust a gnome!

I have done this during the HLT fill. Doh... My question is, What made you think you could walk away during sparging? Just curious.

I've done the same thing - with valves on the kettles and mash tuns. Just chalk it up to stupid brewer's tricks.

- The Pol, I LIKE that idea!!

- beerthirty, Why can't you walk away during fly sparging if you make sure the valves are closed. The first 1/4 was going well so whats 5 - 10 minutes of not being there?

beerthirty said:

I have done this during the HLT fill. Doh... My question is, What made you think you could walk away during sparging? Just curious.

Click to expand...

That's the part I don't get.

Wouldn't the wort start spilling as soon as you start the drain/sparge into the boil pot?

My valve is approx 2.5 gal from bottom with a pick up tube... no spillage before it gets that high and then the siphon action went into effect.

I fly sparge also and if I don't keep it monitored I run the risk of overflowing the mashtun or draining it. Its hard to balance 2 valves and keep the level constant with low flow. More power to you if you have never experienced this problem.

WHAT THE GNOME BREWED!?!?! I dont believe you.

I just put a QD on my keggle drain, and fill it through that valve. As long as the water level in the MLT is higher than that in the keggle (which mine always is) it will transfer without being exposed to any air. Why drop a hose in the top, when you already have a hole in the bottom?