Jump in efficiency. New pump to thank???

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stevea1210

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So I have my system dialed in pretty well at 75% eff. That has been my standard on my current equipment.

So the last two batches I brewed I had 83% and 89%. 83% was on a new mill, but from a store Ive gotten 75% regular. 89% was from BW, who always gets me 75%.

The only change to my process was adding of a new march pump (AHS group buy). I used the pump to recirculate the wort for two minutes prior to draining the mlt, and two minutes before draining each of my 2 batch sparges. I also used the pump to go from mlt to bk, instead of gravity.

Can the pump be the reason for the jump? After the 83%, I figured maybe it was the crush from a new mill. After the 89% the next day, that was from a known crush, Something else is the reason.

thoughts?
 
Sure it could be. Getting all the sugar from the grain requires the grain to be well washed.

Were you stirring the mash before sparging?
 
I mean, before you had the pump, were you stirring?

Actually pre-pump it was a similar process:

volouraf
-- drain 2 - 4 qts of wort
-- pour back into top of mlt
drain mlt
pour in sparge water
stir mash
let sit 5 - 10 minutes to settle

rinse repeat...

the big difference is I would only volarouf 2-4 qts prior to pump, now I recirc for two minutes. I don't know the volume that moved, but more than 2 quarts. To avoid compacting the grainbed I wasn't running the pump wide open
 
I have every reason to believe that recirculation, even if only just before drain, would help to wash the grain bed and release more of the sugars you aim to extract during mash.

I bet if you wanted to test your theory you could brew and NOT use the pump, instead vorlauf a few gallons before going from MLT to BK. Repeat for the sparge.
Pain in the butt but would effectively do the same thing.
 
I noticed an efficiency jump when I started recirculating with a pump. I was around 70% now around 80%. My usual procedure is dough in and stir really well then let her sit with no recirculation until the temp starts to fall 1 degree below target. Then, I will vorlauf a couple or three 2 liter pitchers of the first runnings. Next I hook up the pump to recirculate back to the top of the mash tun. And fire up the burner (low) to achieve target temp. Even after I turn of the burner, I will then leave the pump recirculate for the remainder of the mash. I fly sparge and only stir the mash physically when I dough in (really long stir though). The wort is extremely clear going into the boil kettle, as an added bonus. I have never had a compacted grain bed from this long (30+ min) recirculation... (knock on wood...)
As a side note, I also attribute the efficiency increase to using a higher water to grain ratio. (1.75 qt per pound vs. 1.25 qt per lb before.) I did both changes around the same batch.
 
I just brewed my third batch this week with the new pump. Today I got 87% eff. So 3 batches with the pump, and 83%, 89%, and 87%.

I think I'm going to scale my next recipe up to 85% eff.
 
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