mash temp

I keep having this recurring problem...when ever I put my grain into the strike water I always lose more heat than I want. For example promash tells me to heat strike water to 167 to achieve a mash temp of 154 and by the time I'm done pouring my grain in my mash is below 150. Any suggestions or is taking your time in a hurry something that needs to be perfected?

michaelpeach76 said:

I keep having this recurring problem...when ever I put my grain into the strike water I always lose more heat than I want. For example promash tells me to heat strike water to 167 to achieve a mash temp of 154 and by the time I'm done pouring my grain in my mash is below 150. Any suggestions or is taking your time in a hurry something that needs to be perfected?

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Preheat your mash tun with hot water for 10 minutes prior to adding the grain.

Are you preheating your mash tun?

What are you using for a mash tun? If it's a cooler then you might try preheating it. Another thought that comes to mind, is the actual temperature of the grain what you're using in your calculation? And of course, have you calibrated your equipment?

If you don't want to preheat the mash tun, just heat your strike water a few degrees warmer and figure out the correction factor to get the right mash temp. I had this problem when overestimating my grain temp using brewpal on my iPhone.

Another thing I might add is to store your mash tun inside. That way your correction factor will stay consistent. I had similar issues when storing my mash tun in the garage as my strike temp wasnt consistent since my cooler was changing temp by 40 degrees.

Yeah everything is calibrated. Yes I've been heating my mash tun (Igloo cooler), but obviously not effectively enough. What's the most effective way to do it?

I'll fill it half way with a mix of boiling water and hot tap. Personally, I like to get mine in the 160-165 range and I just leave it in there until my mash water temp is near where I want it then leave the lid closed and start draining the preheat water.

michaelpeach76 said:

Yeah everything is calibrated. Yes I've been heating my mash tun (Igloo cooler), but obviously not effectively enough. What's the most effective way to do it?

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If your temp is consistently lower by a specific amount, increase your strike water by that amount and you should hit your desired temp every time.

I would expect promash or any decent sw to have a thermal mass coefficient. If it does then adjust it to whatever got you to the mash temp you got. Then you know the thermal mass and can use it next time the sw will give you the correct strike temp

matt2778 said:

Another thing I might add is to store your mash tun inside. That way your correction factor will stay consistent. I had similar issues when storing my mash tun in the garage as my strike temp wasnt consistent since my cooler was changing temp by 40 degrees.

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This is what I do. I store all my brewing stuff in my converted garage (rec room) closet. Since there is no insulation my rec room is usually a few degrees cooler than the house. I bring my mash tun and grains into the house the night before I brew so I can always count on 70 degrees for tun/grain temps. I also always heat my strike water 5 or so degrees warmer than what beersmith calculates. Much easier to stir out a few extra degrees than try and mess with adding boiling water to the mash to raise the grain bed temp.

Yeah, lately I've been heating mine a few deg higher, in the 175 F range for 48qt Igloo, stir in grain, mix well, check temp and add cold water to drop right at the desired temp. The 175 is for colder temps, in the summer I heat my water to 170, which starts out my mash around 155.