SSBrewTech Announced a New Insulated Mash Tun!
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madscientist451
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Yeah, I'm sticking with my cooler set up as well, but I don't see anything wrong with those who have the $ and want nice things.
It is very tempting.....
It is very tempting.....
Unlike an Igloo, it's nice and shiny. I actually received mine yesterday and I love it. It is very well made and is beefier than I expected. I cleaned it and passivated it last night and hope to get to use it this weekend. I particularly like the fact that there is a slight concave (not really a conical bottom like you would think of in a fermenter) on the bottom with the drain hole in the middle. That means there is no wort lost under the false bottom like in my current igloo set up.
normonster
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Inside the mash tun, the bottom is slightly concave. In the middle is a drain hole which goes down and then has a 90 degree bend in it which goes to the valve on the side of the mash tun. See attached.
NervousDad
BFM
The bottom is bowl shaped and it has a hole in the center. The value looks like it's coming out of the side but it's really below the base. They use the same design as stout tanks.
Gameface
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If I upgrade from my 15g mash tun to a 20 I might strongly consider one of these. I'm wondering, though, for those of you that have them, how well do you think it would work to place the sparge port where the themo currently mounts and use a 90 degree elbow to bring it to the top then attach a lockline setup as a sparge arm?
I know my question is a little confusing, but basically I want to use the existing hole for the thermometer to pump in my strike and sparge water. Obviously I don't want to add it at the same level the hole is at so it would be routed to the top from inside the mash tun. If not done that way I'd have to go through the lid, which wouldn't be preferable for me as it would make checking the flow visually more of a PITA.
Really surprised they haven't added a port specifically for sparging, but whatever.
I know my question is a little confusing, but basically I want to use the existing hole for the thermometer to pump in my strike and sparge water. Obviously I don't want to add it at the same level the hole is at so it would be routed to the top from inside the mash tun. If not done that way I'd have to go through the lid, which wouldn't be preferable for me as it would make checking the flow visually more of a PITA.
Really surprised they haven't added a port specifically for sparging, but whatever.
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Joe_CraftBeerTraders
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The thermo port hole is designed for the 17mm thermowell they have. I havent experimented with putting a 1/2" coupling in there for using other hardware. Id have to check the fitment.
But to answer your question they have designed a sparge arm to work with the mash tun. Its actually a really cool design. Its a gravity designed system that mounts to the handle of the mash tun. It also has interchangeable "sparge gaskets" which change the spray pattern of the sparge water. It looks pretty sweet. Im hoping to have my hands on one of these in the coming weeks.
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Joe_CraftBeerTraders
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augiedoggy
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but then you have to recirculate and sparge with the top off of the mashtun right?
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Joe_CraftBeerTraders
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normonster
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Ok that's pretty cool right there. I lose a bunch to dead space then a bunch more in my BK/chiller/pumps. Would love to get that extra bit.
That means it's designed to be used just like a cooler then, right? No direct heat at all?
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Joe_CraftBeerTraders
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Although they are coming out with a heater/warmer to maintain temperature (not heat the water). See:
https://ssbrewtech.zendesk.com/hc/e...nctionality-later-on-the-InfuSsion-Mash-Tuns-
I'm not sure you would need it unless you live in Alaska and mash outdoors in the winter. When I was pasivating my tun last night, I used water which was at 110 degrees and StarSan. I let it sit all night outside (probably got down into the 60's with the fog) and this morning it was at 106 degrees. A loss of 4 degrees over 10 hours is not bad. In fact, it may lead me to do some overnight mashing to speed up my brew day. Do a full volume/no sparge mash in at night, let it sit all night, then lauter, boil, chill and pitch the yeast the next morning. I'll bet the mash would hold temperature better than water alone.
https://ssbrewtech.zendesk.com/hc/e...nctionality-later-on-the-InfuSsion-Mash-Tuns-
I'm not sure you would need it unless you live in Alaska and mash outdoors in the winter. When I was pasivating my tun last night, I used water which was at 110 degrees and StarSan. I let it sit all night outside (probably got down into the 60's with the fog) and this morning it was at 106 degrees. A loss of 4 degrees over 10 hours is not bad. In fact, it may lead me to do some overnight mashing to speed up my brew day. Do a full volume/no sparge mash in at night, let it sit all night, then lauter, boil, chill and pitch the yeast the next morning. I'll bet the mash would hold temperature better than water alone.
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Joe_CraftBeerTraders
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So two things about that. The heater is awesome and will definitely help maintain rock solid mash temps specially for the longer mash schedules. Me personally I would use it for sour mashing where you would want 120-130F maintained for 30-40hrs. That being said, be careful with overnight mashes. You are potentially doing a sour mash then and will have the ideal environment for the natural lacto on the grain take over and sour the mash. Just an FYI
Gameface
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The thermo port hole is designed for the 17mm thermowell they have. I havent experimented with putting a 1/2" coupling in there for using other hardware. Id have to check the fitment.
But to answer your question they have designed a sparge arm to work with the mash tun. Its actually a really cool design. Its a gravity designed system that mounts to the handle of the mash tun. It also has interchangeable "sparge gaskets" which change the spray pattern of the sparge water. It looks pretty sweet. Im hoping to have my hands on one of these in the coming weeks.
As pointed out above, you have to use that sparge arm with the lid off. As a HERMS brewer I wouldn't want to do that.
I think it's pretty silly that they don't include or provide an option for a sparge port. Unless there's a practical way for me to add that then that mash tun is not an option at all in any way.
augiedoggy
Well-Known Member
Not as negligible as the gains from an insulated mashtun while recirculating ??
You would lose more heat out the top than you would the stainless non insulated sides using a regular kettle as a mashtun!
Sorry,
But the only benefit I see here is if someone does it oldschool and doesnt recirculate with a herms or rims and for the cost of this you could install either of the latter and make cleared better beers with advantages like step mashing...
normonster
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The dude just got a sweet piece of equipment he's stoked about and you post that man? Jeez. Kinda rough.
Bummer, I guess I'll just box it up and return it. Oh well, I guess I'll have to find something else to spend my money on. Maybe a $300 pair of socks, an electric dog polisher, a fur lined sink or a gasoline powered turtle neck sweater....
normonster
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normonster
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AfroHopster
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lol I purchased one I love the bling bling, can't wait to get mine
Gameface
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It's probably possible to utilize the 17mm temp probe port to mount a 1/2" NPT fitting. Looks like there's a little extra room that would allow the current 17mm hole to be drilled out a little larger.
But, BUT! ...Bling! Some people gotta have bling even if the physics doesn't support their purchase.
I used my SS Brewtech Insulated Mash Tun for the first time this weekend.
Pros:
1. Accurate digital thermometer/thermowell. It was nice not having to open the top and check the temp. (after I confirmed the accuracy of the digital thermometer in the thermowell)
2. Well insulated -- held my mash temp. for 1 hour with about a 1/2 degree heat loss
3. No wort loss from any dead spaces under the false bottom
4. gallon markings etched into the interior (helpful when I filled it with water before doughing in)
5. minimal grain in the wort when lautering -- I credit the gasket around the false bottom for a lot of this
6. Easy clean up -- it's stainless steel! No need to worry about scratching the plastic
7. Built like a tank, so it should last a lifetime
8. It's shiny and looks cool!
Cons:
1. It's heavier than I thought, particularly when full of water and grain. Since I have a gravity fed system, I have to lift it onto a table a few times during batch sparging. It is way heavier than an Igloo cooler! I may switch to no-sparge.
2. More expensive than an Igloo or similar plastic cooler
I know some complain that you can't heat the water in it or control the temperature for step mashing, but I didn't buy it for that. I bought it to replace my aging and scratched Igloo cooler MT. For my purposes, it works and is an upgrade.
Pros:
1. Accurate digital thermometer/thermowell. It was nice not having to open the top and check the temp. (after I confirmed the accuracy of the digital thermometer in the thermowell)
2. Well insulated -- held my mash temp. for 1 hour with about a 1/2 degree heat loss
3. No wort loss from any dead spaces under the false bottom
4. gallon markings etched into the interior (helpful when I filled it with water before doughing in)
5. minimal grain in the wort when lautering -- I credit the gasket around the false bottom for a lot of this
6. Easy clean up -- it's stainless steel! No need to worry about scratching the plastic
7. Built like a tank, so it should last a lifetime
8. It's shiny and looks cool!
Cons:
1. It's heavier than I thought, particularly when full of water and grain. Since I have a gravity fed system, I have to lift it onto a table a few times during batch sparging. It is way heavier than an Igloo cooler! I may switch to no-sparge.
2. More expensive than an Igloo or similar plastic cooler
I know some complain that you can't heat the water in it or control the temperature for step mashing, but I didn't buy it for that. I bought it to replace my aging and scratched Igloo cooler MT. For my purposes, it works and is an upgrade.
AfroHopster
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I was finally able to brew with my new mash tun. I made a clone of Bell's Two Hearted Ale. They are heavy and the rubber feet aren't secured; however none of that mattered in the actual brewing process. I set my equipment profile in Beersmith to accommodate for the the new mash tun as follows:
Mash Volume: 10.00
Mash Tun Weight: 35lbs
Mash Tun Specific Heat: .12 cal/g-deg C
Mash Tun Deadspace: 0.00
The mashing went well and I hit my all my numbers within a tenth of a degree. I performed a batch sparge after a vorlauf (about 2 quarts) and everything went fine but during the second sparge I noticed more grain matter making it into the boil kettle. I may look into the sparge arm one day, but no time in the near future. Since I have only brewed with this once I can't yet blame the mash tun or my process, I will just have to brew again and see what happens. Regardless the mash tun worked like it was supposed to and was a clear improvement from my old mash tun (a 10g gott cooler from Lowes).
Pictured is my set up with the new mash tun.
Mash Volume: 10.00
Mash Tun Weight: 35lbs
Mash Tun Specific Heat: .12 cal/g-deg C
Mash Tun Deadspace: 0.00
The mashing went well and I hit my all my numbers within a tenth of a degree. I performed a batch sparge after a vorlauf (about 2 quarts) and everything went fine but during the second sparge I noticed more grain matter making it into the boil kettle. I may look into the sparge arm one day, but no time in the near future. Since I have only brewed with this once I can't yet blame the mash tun or my process, I will just have to brew again and see what happens. Regardless the mash tun worked like it was supposed to and was a clear improvement from my old mash tun (a 10g gott cooler from Lowes).
Pictured is my set up with the new mash tun.
TMH2O
Member
I just got mine today. It is beautiful. However, as we all know, beauty is only a part of it. I will be brewing a batch tomorrow and will follow up with results.
Looks nice! Can any new owners comment on how easy it is to clean? At 35 lbs it seems like it would be a little cumbersome to pick up, move around, dump out, etc., compared to a 10 gallon plastic cooler. It would be nice to be able to CIP after scooping out most of the grain. Is the bottom drain tube wide enough that you could rinse stray grains through it without worrying about clogging?
ipsiad, I brewed with it Sunday and the cleaning wasn't bad at all. With an Igloo cooler I always just picked it up and dumped. With this thing being so much heavier, I scooped out grains with a pitcher until most were gone first. Then with the valve closed I rinsed, dumped, and removed the false bottom. Finally, I opened up the valve and rinsed any grain left behind through the port; no clogs. It's definitely a small opening though, just a dip tube, so you'll want to scoop out most first or at least get the left over grains very diluted before you open the valve for final spray out.
After using my MT a number of times, I am still glad I bought it. The only cons to it are the weight and the rubber feet on the bottom which kept falling off. I finally used some black car trim adhesive to attach the feet and they haven't fallen off since. The only other bummer (not SS Brewtech's fault) is that I had a mouse or rat take big chunks out of the rubber on the handles, and the rubber around the temperature probe/gauge. I guess I didn't get all the wort off of these areas, so the mouse/rat tasted the sugar and chewed on them.
normonster
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Major bummer dude. Mice suck
Bankrupter
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I have no idea why they would insulate this to begin with. Any sealed twin wall stainless container (preheated) can maintain temps for up to 12 hours.. This is just pretty bling for the rich boy brewers.
Wow, I feel real inferior now. I guess I'll go back to mashing in a cardboard box to avoid being labelled a "rich boy brewer."
Wow. Just joined today and this is what you have to offer? OK all you Blichmann and Stout kettle owners - you heard him. Pretty bling is off limits.
Let's start with someone PMing Kal from The Electric Brewery and let him know he needs to get rid of his Blichmann kettles. And probably the panel he built. And while we are at it, he should move out of that house with the custom basement brewery too. Next he needs to get a tiny apartment and brew on the stove with an undersized kettle that was mainly made for cooking food and that doesn't have any fancy valves or ports made for brewing. Finally, let's have him shut down the website where he tries to help others build similar "pretty bling" items because if only rich boys can afford them and anything "rich boys" buy are obviously evil. While we are at it, let's petition to get places like MoreBeer to stop selling those obscenely priced brew structures to "rich boys" that are the epitome of "pretty bling". They should only be allowed to sell cheap ingredients like grain.
Seriously, how dare someone make enough money to buy the finer things in life without considering how others feel about it. These people must think they have the right to determine how to spend their own money? Don't they know they should consider how others feel first?
And with only one post, the ignore list grows by one.
Absolutely false. You are thinking of vacuum insulation which would be difficult and costly to do on this scale. Vacuum bottles work well to contain heat b/c heat needs a medium to transfer through. So if you pull a vacuum, it eliminates the medium for the heat to transfer.
And take your negative attitude somewhere else, it's not helpful to prospective buyers whatsoever
So much for my cardboard brew kettle!
Yeah, I'm going to pile on here....
So, you're saying that they should have made it twin wall stainless with no insulation in between? That would have saved what? $2 on insulation? And how is the insulation the pretty bling?
Yeah, I'm going to pile on here....
So, you're saying that they should have made it twin wall stainless with no insulation in between? That would have saved what? $2 on insulation? And how is the insulation the pretty bling?
not even a matter of savings. you take away the insulation and the MLT would hardly be better than a single wall.
