Recirculating mash question

[LeeBonesBrewing]

I am a few days away from brewing on my new 3 Keggle single tier stand that I just finished up. I am just making sure that I have my system dialed in to eliminate any unforeseen obstacles that always pop up on a brew day. To the guys that recirculate while mashing have you found that a slower or faster recirculation proves to be better? As far as efficiency and heat retention. I am running some test runs with plain water to make sure I have a good feel for my systems capabilities and heating/propane usage.

 

[pvault98]

I recirculate rather slowly...I guess you could ultimately go as fast as possible without compacting the grain bed and sticking the mash. I have never ramped up the speeds too fast I guess mainly out of fear of over compacting the grain so I can't speak to a comparison. At the slower speeds I still get crystal clear wort and good, consistent efficiency. Your lautering rate will more likely dictate the efficiency than the rate at wich you recirculate during the mash.

 

[SleepyCreekBrews]

Same here , slow, about a liter per minute
Ensure you vorlauf before trying to recirc with the pump...you don't want to be pumping a mess of grain though your Rims tube or Herms coil and end up with a clog. ;-)

 

[77punx]

Make sure you put your ball valve on the out end of the pump not the in. You don't want to regulate the flow into the pump!

 

[helibrewer]

After dough-in I wait 10 minutes then start a slow recirc. After about another 5 minutes I am up to full open and my flow meter gets to about 2 gallons per minute rate.

 

[laughingboysbrew]

I think it depends a lot on your false bottom as well. If it's really good, you won't run into stuck mash, so you can run more through the pumps without worry. Lots of people stir during recirc as well. I am using Blichmann kettles with their false bottom and it's awesome. Nothing gets through. I dough in, then run wide open. I am getting 80-87% efficiency.