Lazy brewers mash temperature control

[Jimbodaman]

Does anyone have experience with this product?http://www.homebrewing.org/6-Electric-Brew-Heater-_p_1724.html

It seems too good to be true just plop it in your mash tun set your temp and walk away. Adventures in Homebrewing isn't very specific about how you actually set the temperature is it a little dial with temp marking? Or just the amount of wattage going to the unit. They also say it's not for mounting to your MLT which is fine by me, so can the whole thing be submerged? I would think not. Last thing would the coil directly in the MLT scorch the grains or should I build a contraption to house it in?

Side note I want this because my 15 gal igloo ice cube is great in many ways and holds temps fine for 10 gal batches but sometimes I'm just doing 1.040 5 gal batches and it loses about 5-6 degrees.

 

[Jimbodaman]

I should say I'm not to lazy to give it a good stir every 15 minutes or so to prevent hot spots, and also noticed it's meant to hang over the side, there is a flange to hang it over the lip of your MLT however the water level rarely gets close enough for the heating element to be submerged in my set up.

 

[blizz81]

Yeah...this is too short-cut to where I see it working all that well. Not much detail on the product, quite a few limitations off the bat (has to jive with water level in your vessel, more or less will require recirculation of your wort, and yeah, I would probably want it heating liquid and not directly in the grain bed). Seemingly always on as well, though perhaps output is controlled by that dial...but still...

 

[LandoLincoln]

Yeah, I would not trust something like that.

I don't see a temp probe on that thing, which means that it's just outputting a certain amount of electricity to the heating element.

You're going to have to recirculate the wort in order to prevent a hotspot.

It does seem likely that grains would get scorched onto that sucker.

That little dial would be very unlikely to give you a good control over the heat of the mash.

Way more trouble than its worth. But if you're feeling adventurous, go ahead and prove me wrong.

 

[Jimbodaman]

Yeah, I would not trust something like that.

Way more trouble than its worth. But if you're feeling adventurous, go ahead and prove me wrong.

That was my initial concern too, doesn't seem like it'd work like I want it to. I'd be feeling adventurous about the product more in the $20 range hah.

 

[broadbill]

I thought the lazy way to control mash temps was to use a cooler!

 

[Jimbodaman]

I thought the lazy way to control mash temps was to use a cooler!

Well i guess I'm a sophisticated lazy man... or at least trying to be.

 

[daksin]

My lazy method is to wrap the thing in towel and walk away for an hour. Hasn't failed me yet.

 

[wilserbrewer]

The laziest method is to make larger batches....15.5 gallon 1/2 keg batch full volume mash this past weekend with a 30 lb grain bill dropped less than a degree, yea I threw a towel on top of the mash tun, that's about it....

Less HERMS RIMS AND INSULATION, bigger batches I say