No sparge recirculating mash tun question.

[Honda88]

What efficiencies are people achieving by doing a no sparge and just recirculating the wort. I'm assuming that constant recirculation is improving the efficiency versus just a simple stir here and there... I'm looking at setting up a manually controlled recirculation mash tun and eventually automating it sometime down the road with a rims tube or in kettle element. I was thinking about doing a 15 gallon build so I can do higher gravity beers if I want too. Id like to stick with 10 gallon but I really like the idea of no sparging because it sounds so much easier to just run a pump and control the heat....mash out...and then chill in the boil kettle.

 

[wilserbrewer]

With an adequate grain crush, stirring vs recirculating won't make much impact on efficiency imho.

Recirculating for efficiency sake doesn't seem worth the effort to me, but it may be a fun project for you?

 

[Honda88]

hmmmm. I was just thinking that sucking the wort from underneath the grain bed and pumping it up top would leech more sugars out of the wort than just stirring it but I could be wrong. I'm trying to figure out how I want my mash tun configured.

 

[acidrain]

hmmmm. I was just thinking that sucking the wort from underneath the grain bed and pumping it up top would leech more sugars out of the wort than just stirring it but I could be wrong. I'm trying to figure out how I want my mash tun configured.

The point of the mash is to enable the enzymes to convert the starch to sugar, not just wash the sugar out of the grains.
If you want efficiency, why are you going no-sparge?

The BIAB guys are gaining efficiency with a very fine crush.
It sounds like you are using a traditional false bottom or bazooka tube?
If you really want the ease of no sparge, consider a bag.

 

[aeviaanah]

I have recently moved to no sparge or minimum sparge brewing and as a result am getting 64% efficiency from standard batch sparge at 74%. Recently I have started recirculating with min sparge and have not seen any increase in efficiency. It does help with making a nice grain bed and clear wort. I suspect the sparge volume and temp play a bigger role in maximizing efficiency

 

[Honda88]

yes I understand the enzymatic process of mashing but once those starches do convert to sugar you have to get them away from the grain...Sparging basically does just that. That's why I was wondering since recirculating is moving water over the grains if it provided a "washing" effect. It would be nice if someone did a side by side comparison with a no sparge batch...one recirculating the whole time and the other just stirring...I would be interested in the results. I might just have to do it myself sometime.

 

[elerten]

No sparge is no sparge no matter how you do it. Efficiency can be helped with crush and water chemistry.

 

[day_trippr]

Agreed. Whatever the gravity is of the first-and-only runnings, at the very least all of the moisture left in the bed is the same gravity, which likely means everything that's saturated is at the same gravity as what went in the kettle.

Unless you dilute or displace that sugar the total extract efficiency is going to take a hit...

Cheers!

 

[Honda88]

I see what you are saying. Thanks.