insulating kettle mash tun

Id like to make some insulation for my kettle mash tun.

What I want is something that can be removed as my tun is also my kettle.

I was thinking of stitching 2 strips of blanket together with a layer of something in between.

my question..

what to put in between?

also, does anyone have experience doing something like this?

oh yeah.. once my water is at strike temp, I dont add heat, so it doesnt have to be flame proof... hence the blanket.

I use an old winter coat. It has a zipper and snaps so I can snap it up to allow the valve to stick out the front. I thought about cutting off the sleaves and sewing them up but I dont think the extra work would be worth it.

jevanden said:

I use an old winter coat. It has a zipper and snaps so I can snap it up to allow the valve to stick out the front. I thought about cutting off the sleaves and sewing them up but I dont think the extra work would be worth it.

Click to expand...

sounds good.. what material is it made of?

hows the temp control?

thanks for replying

I made a jacket for my MT out of the foil bubble wrap type insulation. I cut slots for the kettle handles and notched the front for the drain port. The jacket simply wraps around the MT and it's held firmly in place with some velcro strips. It worked but was not flame proof and I direct fire my MT. The bottom few inches of the jacket got damaged from the heat and I don't think it had much insulating value after that. I'm currently making a new jacket out of a fire proof welding blanket. This is an expensive way to go, but I think it will work well. Check out this video:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200332391_200332391

The blanket I ordered arrived today. I should have it made into a MT jacket in a day or two and maybe try it out this weekend.

It is an old Eddie Bauer down filled coat. It works well and the temp only drops a degree or two in 90 min. The best thing is that if it gets sticky I can just throw it in the wash.

I'm an electric brewer so I dont have to worry about flame.

I use bubble-wrap insulation I got at Lowes (it comes in rolls, and its basically plastic bubbles (like the kind we used to enjoy popping, that they wrap things in for shipping) and its coated on both sides with aluminum foil. I cut slots in mine for the handles and plumbing (the bottom is also insulated, only my lid is not, and I lay a towel on top of that (usually). MINE is permanently secured but you could do like cat did (as long as you plan to take it off since it will not do well against flame).
Mine looses about a couple degrees over half an hour, but thats also probably because of my rig -I rarely let the mash just 'sit' since mine is designed to recirculate continuously either through the heat exchanger in the HLT or bypassing it, so it would be a bit leaky heat-wise.

HItransplant said:

oh yeah.. once my water is at strike temp, I dont add heat, so it doesnt have to be flame proof... hence the blanket.

Click to expand...

Sideline question: if you aren't adding heating during the mash, why have a kettle MT in the first place? Coolers are much better insulated and would work better in this situation.

Besides, if you got a cooler, then you could convert your Kettle MT to a HLT and set up a 3-tier brewstand (I'm assuming you have an separate boil kettle).

Catt22 said:

I made a jacket for my MT out of the foil bubble wrap type insulation. I cut slots for the kettle handles and notched the front for the drain port. The jacket simply wraps around the MT and it's held firmly in place with some velcro strips. It worked but was not flame proof and I direct fire my MT. The bottom few inches of the jacket got damaged from the heat and I don't think it had much insulating value after that. I'm currently making a new jacket out of a fire proof welding blanket. This is an expensive way to go, but I think it will work well. Check out this video:

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200332391_200332391

The blanket I ordered arrived today. I should have it made into a MT jacket in a day or two and maybe try it out this weekend.

Click to expand...

Id love to hear how it went if you have a moment to post up another reply once youve built and tested it... thanks.

broadbill said:

Sideline question: if you aren't adding heating during the mash, why have a kettle MT in the first place? Coolers are much better insulated and would work better in this situation.

Besides, if you got a cooler, then you could convert your Kettle MT to a HLT and set up a 3-tier brewstand (I'm assuming you have an separate boil kettle).

Click to expand...

I only have one 10 gallon kettle, which Id like to use for both the MLT and the boil kettle (dont have space or money to buy more at this point....someday hopefully I can). Im trying to keep everything stainless, which is why i havent gone the cooler route at this point (plastic makes me nervous...).

Wool blanket

HItransplant said:

Id love to hear how it went if you have a moment to post up another reply once youve built and tested it... thanks.

I only have one 10 gallon kettle, which Id like to use for both the MLT and the boil kettle (dont have space or money to buy more at this point....someday hopefully I can). Im trying to keep everything stainless, which is why i havent gone the cooler route at this point (plastic makes me nervous...).

Click to expand...

FWIW, I got by for a long time with a single 10 gallon Polarware kettle that I used both as a MT and a BK. It's a little more hassle doing it that way, but not too bad really. It does lengthen the brew day considerably, but that's not a big deal for me.

I did some simple testing last night with the Velvet Shield stuff. I draped it over a ceramic heater and measured the temperature on both sides with an infra-red thermometer. The underside measured approximately 160*F while the outside measured about 90* after a 15 minute run time. This was in my basement with the ambient temperature about 70*F. That's pretty good IMO. I'm still planning how to cut it up to make the jacket. I don't want to screw that part up, so I'm going slow and making a template first. Should get to try it out by early next week on an actual mash.

I use a "sleeping pad", top image here, cut to fit around my electric boiler and just remove it when its time to cool. Some tape to hold it together is enough for a session.
If you have an old one lying around then it's a cheap and easy solution.