sparging

Im pretty new to all grain and all of the recipes I have been using call for a 60 minute sparge. when i slow the flow from the mash tun that slow I have gotten a stuck sparge 3 out of 5 times. the last batch I ran the sparge alot faster for about 30 minutes. My hydrometer broke so I didnt get a reading on the gravity. Im worried that Im not going to get a good extraction with that fast of a run off. any ideas?

Maybe you are milling your grains too fine. Try adding 1/2 lb of rice hulls to each batch until you work it out.

Do you batch sparge or fly sparge?

With fly sparging, slower is better, but with batch sparging, you can drain it as fast as you want providing you stir well, let it rest a few minutes, and recirculate until the runnings are clear after each addition of sparge water.

With the right equipment, fly sparging may be slightly more efficient, but batch sparging is drefinitely much faster and not so dependent on the equipment.

-a.

Im using a 10 gallon gott style cooler, I milled my grain at my local brewery, I dont know the setting of their mill but I thought the same thing. I have been fly sparging.
when you batch sparging you would use the same temperatures right?

At the end of mashing, the temperature of the mash is probably in the low 150's.
When I fly sparge, I add about 1g of near boiling water at the end of the mash to bring the temp up to about 170 before starting the sparge. I also try to keep the sparge water just about level with the top of the grain bed so the water supports the weight of the grain. I also do the same thing when batch sparging, but most people would add hotter sparge water to the first batch to raise the mash temp. (I batch sparge so infrequently that I haven't determined what temp the initial batch should be.) If you keep the sparge temperature at about 170, you will rinse out more sugars than if you sparge at a lower temperature, but if you go much over 170, you run the risk of extracting excess tannins (especially when fly sparging).
I use a 5g Gott cooler with a false bottom. I had a few stuck sparges when I started using it, because I was using it incorrectly.
The following procedures completely got rid of the stuck sparges.
1. When doughing in, always add foundation water before adding any grain. I add water until it is about 2 - 3 inches above the top of the outlet from the false bottom.
2. Drain a small amount of the water out of the spigot before adding any grain. This purges all air from the delivery system and prevents airlocks.
3. Add the grain in small amounts while stirring, and add extra water if the grain is not completely wetted. This helps prevent the grain compacting against the false bottom.
Following these rules, I've mashed with as little as 1 qt per pound, and as much as 1.5 qt per pound, and never had a stuck sparge.

Hope this helps

-a.

I have been adding base water but only about a gallon so it sounds like I could use some more.I dont think that I was adding the grist with enough water to keep it wet enough. should I try adding all of my mash water at once then mix in the grist?

Whatever works for you.
I find it easier to add relatively small amounts of grist and water while stirring, making sure that there is always enough water to keep the grain suspended.

-a.

I add all my strike water at first and add my grain after. Been working for me for the last 2 years.

rice hulls are fermentable right? will .5lbs add any flavors or change the color? how do the rice hulls work to stop stuck run off? should I add rice first to make another filter bed or something?

No, Rice Hulls are not fermentable. They add no color or taste. They are completely benign.

I add the rice hulls first but it is not really necessary. You might not need as much as .5 lb - usually 4 oz will do the trick.

I was reading in John Palmer's "How to Brew" book that you should sparge until your gravity checks at about 1.008. Is that when the total wort gravity pre-boil is 1.008 or when the sparge runnings reach that point? If that is the case does that mean you are supposed to take gravity readings throughout the sparge?

CollinsBrew said:

I was reading in John Palmer's "How to Brew" book that you should sparge until your gravity checks at about 1.008. Is that when the total wort gravity pre-boil is 1.008 or when the sparge runnings reach that point? If that is the case does that mean you are supposed to take gravity readings throughout the sparge?

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That's the gravity of the runnings, so yes you would have to take readings as you sparge.

CollinsBrew said:

I was reading in John Palmer's "How to Brew" book that you should sparge until your gravity checks at about 1.008. Is that when the total wort gravity pre-boil is 1.008 or when the sparge runnings reach that point? If that is the case does that mean you are supposed to take gravity readings throughout the sparge?

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That's for the runnings. You would need a really big boil kettle to hold 1.008 of pre-boil wort and boil down to a decent OG. Probably be a three hour boil.

Yes, you should take a reading as you get close to the end of the sparge. I usually take one near the begging for fun and then take another one as I get close to my pre-boil volume. I have yet to stop the sparge based on a gravity reading though. I could probably sparge off more into another kettle and use those runnings for starters before having to stop at 1.008.

Cool..Thanks! I am actually going to be boiling in a 15.5 gallon Sanke but I'll only be doing 5 gallon batches to start. I went ahead and bought all the gear to move up to 10 gallon batches if I feel like it....cheaper than having to buy all new stuff in the long run.

D2T said:

That's the gravity of the runnings, so yes you would have to take readings as you sparge.

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If you are going to take the gravity of the runnings, I would highly recommend a refractometer. So much easier than using a hydrometer.
However, I always reach my required volume before the runnings get that low, so I stop sparging then. Sparging when the runnings get below 1.008 results in excessive tannin extraction with no worthwhile increase in sugars.
It is however worth checking the gravity of the runnings when you have collected the required volume if you are experiencing klow efficiency, as too high a gravity at this point indicates an inefficient sparge.
To be honest, I don't remember what too high a gravity is, because I stopped doing it many years ago.

Also, this may not be true for partial mashes.

-a.

so how do rice hulls help prevent a stuck sparge?

killian said:

so how do rice hulls help prevent a stuck sparge?

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The same way as adding sand to a clay soil prevents flooding. The rice hulls are relatively large, and prevent solid layers of impermeable goo from forming.

-a.

By keeping the mash from compacting into a solid form.

Take a look at your crushed grain sometime and how the hulls tend to keep the rest of the grain grist in a looser form. Without the hulls in with the crushed kernels, the grain would be more dense and compact.

this was all helpful thanks