I have a HERMS that is giving me very poor efficiency, anywhere between 52-63%. I have tried a few things, but nothing is working.
1. Checked my grain milling and I have a good crush with a good mix of flour and cracked grains. There has not been a single stuck or slow sparge.
2. I checked the temperature of the mash using multiple methods (one meter was professionally calibrated) and it was too high. Found the HLT with the electric heater was stratifying and the heat exchange coil was in the upper portion. Added a fan with a water agitator to get the water moving so it is now a constant temp. The mash was spot on where I needed it to be.
3. Considered the temp controller was measuring only a small area of the mash, so instead set the HLT to my target temp and have the pump circulating the wort constantly. Checked various areas of the mash and they were all at target temp.
4. Heated the HLT up to 168 with the pump running to heat the mash and had good flow into the kettle. Took about 10 minutes to sparge.
My only thought at this point is to add a mash stirrer to the system to prevent dough balls and to ensure no channeling. Any other ideas?
1. Checked my grain milling and I have a good crush with a good mix of flour and cracked grains. There has not been a single stuck or slow sparge.
2. I checked the temperature of the mash using multiple methods (one meter was professionally calibrated) and it was too high. Found the HLT with the electric heater was stratifying and the heat exchange coil was in the upper portion. Added a fan with a water agitator to get the water moving so it is now a constant temp. The mash was spot on where I needed it to be.
3. Considered the temp controller was measuring only a small area of the mash, so instead set the HLT to my target temp and have the pump circulating the wort constantly. Checked various areas of the mash and they were all at target temp.
4. Heated the HLT up to 168 with the pump running to heat the mash and had good flow into the kettle. Took about 10 minutes to sparge.
My only thought at this point is to add a mash stirrer to the system to prevent dough balls and to ensure no channeling. Any other ideas?