MLT to boil kettle

[MrStrangeBrew]

what is best way to transfer wort from MLT to kettle. pump it in from the bottom or pumo it in from the top? im using 10gal cooler for MLT and have a keg im converting into ketle just wondering if i need a valve on the bottom or one on the bottom and the top.

 

[BendBrewer]

I am assuming that you mean the top or bottom of the kettle. I pump into the bottom of the kettle but I also have a Cam Lock high on the kettle so that I can recirculate.

You don't really need to be afraid of oxygen at this point but if you can avoid introducing too much than avoid it. Hence why I add from the bottom.

 

[MrStrangeBrew]

Yeah cause when you boil your getting rid of the oxygen anyway right? Yeah I was gonna go with cam locks too. And yes I was talking about kettle. Now when you say recirculate are u talking about recirculating the wort in the mash tun like RIMS or do you recirculate the wort while your boiling in kettle.

 

[J-Malone]

Yeah cause when you boil your getting rid of the oxygen anyway right? Yeah I was gonna go with cam locks too. And yes I was talking about kettle. Now when you say recirculate are u talking about recirculating the wort in the mash tun like RIMS or do you recirculate the wort while your boiling in kettle.

You will definitely boil off alot of the oxygen in the wort. But there are potential hot side aeration issues (if you believe in the theory) that can occur from pumping in through a top recirc port.

I would say, the best way to do it, is through the bottom, but if you did it through the top, I am not sure you would tell the difference. (supposedly HSA only shows up after longer periods of storage, but that is the theory)

 

[MrStrangeBrew]

hmmm interesting. i guess ill just be pumping from the bottom to be safe and it will be cheaper does pump struggle at all since it is pumping from bottom instead of "falling freely"from top valve.

 

[BendBrewer]

No, the pump is plenty strong enough. If you go with the Cam Locks, make sure to go the Street Elbow route and avoid any barb fittings on the Cam Locks.

I recirculate in the Mash and Batch Sparges in the MLT and I recirculate in my kettle to sanitize hoses, pump and plate chiller.

 

[MrStrangeBrew]

good glad to hear the pump can handle it. and yeah i am gonna go with the street elbow style. barbs look very restricting. any good places to go? i found bargainfittings.com which seems to have all the stuff i need.

 

[MrStrangeBrew]

so you just boil water and hook different things up to them to sanitize before you brew?

 

[J-Malone]

so you just boil water and hook different things up to them to sanitize before you brew?

After you get through with each brew you should be pumping boiling water through everything to clean and somewhat sanitize after brewday. Then when you have the next one, you can just pump boiling wort through everything on brewday as you are brewing to sanitize.

 

[MrStrangeBrew]

Well that totally makes sense im just a little stupid. But dont tell anyone. Thanks for the tips can't wait to get started. What are you guys doing for the water out of ur chiller do u send it through ice to recycle or are you just letting it drain out? Like for a 5 or 10 gallon batch

 

[J-Malone]

Well that totally makes sense im just a little stupid. But dont tell anyone. Thanks for the tips can't wait to get started. What are you guys doing for the water out of ur chiller do u send it through ice to recycle or are you just letting it drain out? Like for a 5 or 10 gallon batch

I capture the first 5-7 gallons (it is the hot stuff) and I use it for clean up. then I recapture the rest in the HLT and add ice to chill from ~100 to pitching temps.

you should use ground water until the temps are around 100, using ice before then would be wasting ice...

 

[onthekeg]

Well that totally makes sense im just a little stupid. But dont tell anyone. Thanks for the tips can't wait to get started. What are you guys doing for the water out of ur chiller do u send it through ice to recycle or are you just letting it drain out? Like for a 5 or 10 gallon batch

You aren't being too green using ice to cool your chiller water, unless it was natural ice. I usually no chill so I don't have any chiller water to dispose. Works for me but there are others that may disagree. I still have to wash the kettle when I'm done just like everyone else.

 

[MrStrangeBrew]

You aren't being too green using ice to cool your chiller water, unless it was natural ice. I usually no chill so I don't have any chiller water to dispose. Works for me but there are others that may disagree. I still have to wash the kettle when I'm done just like everyone else.

so after you are done with your boil you just flame out and wait for it to cool down naturally. how long does that take? i heard that not chilling it quick enough is bad? is that true or am i confused with something else?

 

[MrStrangeBrew]

I capture the first 5-7 gallons (it is the hot stuff) and I use it for clean up. then I recapture the rest in the HLT and add ice to chill from ~100 to pitching temps.

you should use ground water until the temps are around 100, using ice before then would be wasting ice...

so when you have enough water captured in MLT you stop using ground water and hook pump up to MLT and chiller and pump ice water from MLT through chiller? are you using a plate chiller?

 

[J-Malone]

so when you have enough water captured in MLT you stop using ground water and hook pump up to MLT and chiller and pump ice water from MLT through chiller? are you using a plate chiller?

Not really...I stop capturing once the water is no longer very hot (~100). Once that happens I put Ice in the HLT and pump it from there into the chiller and the return is back into the HLT and I recirc like that. All the while I am whirlpooling the wort in opposite dierction of the chiller's flow. (ie, if the chiller flows bottom to top clockwise I am whirlpooling from the top and it flows counter clockwise...this creates a very efficient heat exchange)

You would need 2 pumps for this.

 

[MrStrangeBrew]

oh wow thats a great idea. i was going to buy a plate chiller but i guess the same thing applies to that as well.

 

[J-Malone]

oh wow thats a great idea. i was going to buy a plate chiller but i guess the same thing applies to that as well.

Not exactly. I have a friend with a plate chiller and he just uses a prechiller and runs ground water through it first, then drops it in a bucket and adds ice, so the ground water runs through the chiller in ice and chills it....works great for him and he only uses 1 pump

 

[MrStrangeBrew]

Not exactly. I have a friend with a plate chiller and he just uses a prechiller and runs ground water through it first, then drops it in a bucket and adds ice, so the ground water runs through the chiller in ice and chills it....works great for him and he only uses 1 pump

a prechiller? so he just puts the whole plate chiller in an ice bath? or he just runs a section of the hose thorugh ice?

 

[J-Malone]

prechiller is a small IC that you submerse in ice water and put it in line so you would have hose hooked to ground water tap...connected to the prechiller in ice water...then run to the plate chiller.

I have however heard of people putting the plate chiller in a bucket of ice water to do something similar

 

[MrStrangeBrew]

Oh yeah that's good stuff! and now I see what you mean with the ice bath and how he is using it later on when wort cools. Sounds like a great setup and even tho not using natural ice (allthough I will be able to in the winter months where I live) it still seems efficent enough for me.

 

[J-Malone]

It is very efficient. You dont want to use the ice right off the bat, bc you would just be wasting the cooling efficiency. You can only drop temps so fast, and ground water gets you to the safe range, then you can add ice to the line to get to pitch temps

 

[MrStrangeBrew]

nice. thanks for all your help ill be sure to post some pics of my setup when complete! should be getting kegs back from guy with plasma cutter on monday so wont be too much longer!