Hey everybody,
I built a HERMS system recently and I had a problem with my last batch. For the first time, I brewed a 10 gallon batch (American hazelnut brown ale) and the grain bed in my mash tun kept getting compacted, thereby restricting the flow of wort through the system to a trickle, making it impossible for my temperature probe to get an accurate reading (thereby effectively nullifying the value of having a HERMS system to begin with). I think I have narrowed down the cause to two potential things: the need to throttle back the pump so that there is less pressure pulling on the grain bed (likely the major cause) and my false bottom. Currently, I use a 10 gallon igloo cooler with a bazooka screen at the bottom, which is just barely big enough for a 10 gallon batch of a 1.060 beer. Consequently, I am thinking about switching to a domed false bottom, which might more evenly distribute the pressure of the grain bed. However, my system currently uses 1/2" ID silicone tubing and pipes, while every domed false bottom I have found employs a 3/8" barbed elbow fitting. My concern then becomes that this will restrict my flow rate. While I would be open to using a flat false bottom (which would eliminate the need for using a barb), all of them seem to be built for keggles or pots and are significantly more expensive than the domed false bottoms. Consequently, I was wondering if my concerns involving the smaller diameter barb are merited and if so, can I swap the barbed fitting on the false bottom by using a stainless elbow attached to a 1/2" barb that I have lying around? In the alternative, does anybody know of a reasonably priced flat false bottom that I can use in a 10 gallon round iglo cooler? Additionally, could there be any other causes/solutions to my problem of having a compacted grain bed that restricts the flow rate from my mash tun? Thanks!
I built a HERMS system recently and I had a problem with my last batch. For the first time, I brewed a 10 gallon batch (American hazelnut brown ale) and the grain bed in my mash tun kept getting compacted, thereby restricting the flow of wort through the system to a trickle, making it impossible for my temperature probe to get an accurate reading (thereby effectively nullifying the value of having a HERMS system to begin with). I think I have narrowed down the cause to two potential things: the need to throttle back the pump so that there is less pressure pulling on the grain bed (likely the major cause) and my false bottom. Currently, I use a 10 gallon igloo cooler with a bazooka screen at the bottom, which is just barely big enough for a 10 gallon batch of a 1.060 beer. Consequently, I am thinking about switching to a domed false bottom, which might more evenly distribute the pressure of the grain bed. However, my system currently uses 1/2" ID silicone tubing and pipes, while every domed false bottom I have found employs a 3/8" barbed elbow fitting. My concern then becomes that this will restrict my flow rate. While I would be open to using a flat false bottom (which would eliminate the need for using a barb), all of them seem to be built for keggles or pots and are significantly more expensive than the domed false bottoms. Consequently, I was wondering if my concerns involving the smaller diameter barb are merited and if so, can I swap the barbed fitting on the false bottom by using a stainless elbow attached to a 1/2" barb that I have lying around? In the alternative, does anybody know of a reasonably priced flat false bottom that I can use in a 10 gallon round iglo cooler? Additionally, could there be any other causes/solutions to my problem of having a compacted grain bed that restricts the flow rate from my mash tun? Thanks!
