Mashing in a keggle

I'm not going to go to this set up for a while, but I am curious how you ladies and gents hold temps in keggles for mashes?

I am currently using a RIMS setup, but before that a few blankets and a lid did the trick.

RIMS, HERMS, or insulate the hell out of it.

I love my 15.5 gallon mash tun.
Welded valve, false bottom, and a very thick reflectix jacket to keep it all well insulated.
Once the temp is right, I jam a lid over the opening, and put a towel over that, then throw a blanket around it just to be safe. It holds temps so well it's scary.

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I do BIAB (no sparge) in my keggle; the thermal mass of all that water and grain together is sufficient to hold mash temp to less than a 2 degree drop over 90 minutes.

I was thinking early just how easy it must be to mash in one, as long as you can hold the temp. I already have a valve, false bottom and a diptube.

I do direct fire with a false bottom. It's not perfect, but if you get it right you can keep it within a couple of degrees.

Reflectix. Home Depot. It's not permanently attached... I have a piece of spandex that I wrap a couple of times like a big rubber band.

I'm interested in doing the same when/if my cooler fails.

bniesen said:

I'm interested in doing the same when/if my cooler fails.

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Pretty much my situation. My cooler still works, I need to get a few years out of my current set up.

I have both a 10 gal cooler and a Keggle Tun. I primarliy use the cooler unless im brewing a bigger beer. I do 10 gal batches so Im even looking at investing in a square cooler later for those very large beers! So how many layers opf reflectix are you all using on you metal tuns?

A good insulation like with Bobby_m direct fireable mineral wood surounded by something metal will hold steady for 30-40, then I kick on the rims and vorlauf for another 30 or so while maintaining the temp.

humann_brewing said:

A good insulation like with Bobby_m direct fireable mineral wool surrounded by something metal will hold steady for 30-40, then I kick on the rims and vorlauf for another 30 or so while maintaining the temp.

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fixed

crackhead7 said:

I have both a 10 gal cooler and a Keggle Tun. I primarliy use the cooler unless im brewing a bigger beer. I do 10 gal batches so Im even looking at investing in a square cooler later for those very large beers! So how many layers opf reflectix are you all using on you metal tuns?

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Thanks. It's good to hear from someone who uses both, and which one you chose. You probably just saved me $200+

crackhead7 said:

I have both a 10 gal cooler and a Keggle Tun. I primarliy use the cooler unless im brewing a bigger beer. I do 10 gal batches so Im even looking at investing in a square cooler later for those very large beers! So how many layers opf reflectix are you all using on you metal tuns?

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I used to do the exact same thing, reserving my keg MLT for bigger beers. Now that I bought my Jaybird false bottom for the keg, I've retired the cooler and bazooka screen to the attic.

I only do 1 wrap of reflectix. I bought a crapload of it, so I could have used more. I don't think I lose too much temp during the hour mash. I'm planning on putting a RIMS element on my system at some point which will make the insulation unimportant.

passedpawn said:

fixed

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yes, that would certainly made a big difference wouldn't it.

Anyways, works great. I direct fire it to heat the strike water which in turns heats up the vessel quite nicely and helps to hold a bit better.

mineral wool?? never heard of it. Like steel wool??

I used my keg MLT for the first time this weekend - previously have been doing 5-gallon batches using a cooler. I had no idea what to expect for thermal losses, so I bought Reflectix and put 1 wrap around just after mash-in (probably should have done it ahead of time, but it was a chaotic day). Mash in temp was 154° and it held for almost an hour! I thought I'd have to fire and recirculate throughout the mash, but didn't have to. I actually thought maybe my thermometer was reading incorrectly until i opened the top to stir at the end of the mash when it then dropped to 152°. Granted it was about 85 outside at the time, but all in all I was impressed with the Reflectix.