Hi,
I brew extract and partial mash. I'd been using a two-gallon beverage cooler for partial mashes but I switched to an Anova Nano Sous Vide about a year ago. I really like it for holding exact temps, but I'm having some issues with finding proper sized, food-safe containers. I've purchased six, eight and twelve-quart containers, so I have several sizes on hand.
The issue I run into is with water amount/depth. The Nano extends six inches into the container, and the minimum water depth is three inches from the bottom of the Nano. That seems like a good range, but the six-quart container is 7 inches deep, the 8-quart is 9 and the 12-quart is 8, so the nano doesn't come near the bottom in any of them. It's not much of a problem when I'm steeping grains as I don't mind adding some water to clear the minimum water depth (the Nano is super-sensitive about turning off if the water isn't above that mark). But when I'm mashing, I try to stick to the recommended grain/water ratio recommended in BeerSmith 3.
My last batch had 4.3 pounds of grain and called for six quarts of water. I thought that would be too much for the 8-quart container, so I went with the 12. In order to pass the minimum water line, I had to add 16 ounces of water and put a piece of 2x4 under one end of the container to tilt the water toward the sous vide - obviously not ideal. This would not be an issue if the sous vide wasn't two inches from the bottom in the 12-quart container. I'd thought about just setting the sous vide inside the container, but that seems like a bad plan.
I was wondering if anyone else has had similar issues and if you've found any solutions? Ideally, I'd like to find a sous vide/food-safe container that holds 10-12 quarts and is closer to six inches deep. That would spread the grain bag out some more and let my sous vide reach the bottom of the container.
Since I've taken you this far, I was also wondering if anyone does a quick second sous vide run with clean kettle water to rinse the grains after the mash, or do you just rinse them in a strainer over the kettle?
Thanks for your help!
I brew extract and partial mash. I'd been using a two-gallon beverage cooler for partial mashes but I switched to an Anova Nano Sous Vide about a year ago. I really like it for holding exact temps, but I'm having some issues with finding proper sized, food-safe containers. I've purchased six, eight and twelve-quart containers, so I have several sizes on hand.
The issue I run into is with water amount/depth. The Nano extends six inches into the container, and the minimum water depth is three inches from the bottom of the Nano. That seems like a good range, but the six-quart container is 7 inches deep, the 8-quart is 9 and the 12-quart is 8, so the nano doesn't come near the bottom in any of them. It's not much of a problem when I'm steeping grains as I don't mind adding some water to clear the minimum water depth (the Nano is super-sensitive about turning off if the water isn't above that mark). But when I'm mashing, I try to stick to the recommended grain/water ratio recommended in BeerSmith 3.
My last batch had 4.3 pounds of grain and called for six quarts of water. I thought that would be too much for the 8-quart container, so I went with the 12. In order to pass the minimum water line, I had to add 16 ounces of water and put a piece of 2x4 under one end of the container to tilt the water toward the sous vide - obviously not ideal. This would not be an issue if the sous vide wasn't two inches from the bottom in the 12-quart container. I'd thought about just setting the sous vide inside the container, but that seems like a bad plan.
I was wondering if anyone else has had similar issues and if you've found any solutions? Ideally, I'd like to find a sous vide/food-safe container that holds 10-12 quarts and is closer to six inches deep. That would spread the grain bag out some more and let my sous vide reach the bottom of the container.
Since I've taken you this far, I was also wondering if anyone does a quick second sous vide run with clean kettle water to rinse the grains after the mash, or do you just rinse them in a strainer over the kettle?
Thanks for your help!
), They come in different depths; 6" seems to be the deepest, although the inside depth appears to be around 5.5", which I think would still work for me. The half-size pans (full-size are way too big for my needs) are 12.75"x10.375"x6" (internal size should be around 11.5" x 9" x 5.5"), which would hold 10 quarts and be a great size. I found one company that sells one-third and one-quarter pans as well; their shipping is very high though. I may order a half-size pan and see how it works.
