Mash steamer #2

A rough estimate for water to steam volume is that steam takes up 1000 times as much space as water at 212F. Increases in temperature above 212F have little affect on volume. Therefore a 22qt pressure cooker can produce enough steam to fill 735 cubic feet (9ft x 9ft x 9ft) volume, also 20.8 cubic meters (2.75m x 2.75m x 2.75m). Granted not all water will be usable but this should be sufficient for stepping up temperatures. Raising the temperature/pressure at saturation will result in a faster stepping(and higher rates) for volumes used.

 

The last batch I did, I put 12L of water in my 25L canner, brought it up to 20psi and used the steam to bring my mash to mashout, 150F to 165F in 5 min. ~15lb of grain and 20qts of water in the mash. The pressure went from 20 psi to about 5 in that time. instead of a ball valve, I put a needle valve inline with the steam as I thought I could meter the steam feed better, but it seems the needle valve leaks out the side unless it's fully open or fully closed.

Right now, my heat source is a 10 000 btu propane campstove, which works quite well. I did use the steam once to step from protein rest to sacc but I had to stop in the middle and generate more steam, so the 120F to 153F step took about 30min, 1F/min. I can improve this a bit as I was using 1lb propane bottles (chubbs) and they tend to get cold and put out less gas as time goes on. I plan on switching these out for a standard 20lb tank the next time.

 

just book marking!