Batch sparge equipment

[FujiVT]

Looking for feedback here - I have a brew session coming up and I see 2 ways of collecting/storing the sparge water.

1. Use the boil kettle and heat the sparge water during tha mash and store the sparge water in a cooler/HLT until needed.
2. Use a separate kettle to heat the sparge water while the 1st runnings are draining into the boil kettle.

Which do people prefer and why? I have plenty of extra coolers lying around that can be used so I am leaning that way.

Also - do people typically start heating the 1st runnings while the sparge is happening? If so how do you collect your specific gravity sample? Do you take a half sample before you light your burner?

Thanks!

 

[kh54s10]

How ever you heat or store your sparge water doesn't really matter. I have a three tier gravity system. HLT on a propane burner up top. That drains into the mash tun on the intermediate level. And that drains into the boil kettle that is high enough to drain into a fermenter set on the floor.

This allow me to fill the HLT from a hose and I am never physically moving hot water. It all just goes downhill by opening valves.

You will want to start heating your sparge water before the mash ends. Depending on if I added more cold water to the HLT, it might take 10-15 minutes to heat. It only takes about 5 minutes to drain the first runnings.

I use a refractometer so I take a sample out of the kettle after the first runnings are in. I then do a double sparge to get an accurate preboil volume. I take a sample after the first sparge and again at preboil. I don't know how necessary. I usually hit my numbers very close and have only made an adjustment with DME once.

I tried putting heat to the boil while still draining sparge just once. It made for a lot to do in a short period of time and the water got to a boil so quickly that I didn't catch it and had a massive boil over. So I just let it take a little longer. Less stressful.

 

[khannon]

I built my own keggle system to do 10 gal brews, I use one 15 Gal keg I insulated and use a "bazooka" style braid that I put some stainless steel springs inside of to mash, a 15 gal keg for a boil kettle (I think I need to go a little bigger as boils can be tight), and a 13 gal keg for a HLT, I'm still working up to a second burner, so I dough in, wait, mash out while heating sparge water, it takes some time to get the timings of these to coincide, then I sparge and get help(hopefully) to lift the large pot of very hot wort to the burner to go to the boil phase.

I usually take a gravity sample of the first runnings, second runnings, and them mixed as it goes on the heat. This helps me to know where I am and if I need to make any adjustments, like boiling longer, adding sugars or water etc.. I use a couple sample tubes, cool them to take readings, and dump them back into the boil.

As a solo (other than help with lifting) brewer, I think it works pretty well, and maybe I could shave a few minutes by starting to heat while sparging, but I think it would increase the number of things I had to pay attention to in a short time.

As a bonus, I then use my HLT to fill with ice water to pump through the plate chiller, ending up with warm to hot water to clean with at the end.

 

[kevin58]

My original all grain system came with two round coolers. One for mashing and the other to use as an HLT. I only had one burner so I after heating strike water and transferring it to the MT, I would heat the sparge water and transfer that to the HLT.

My current system is a three keggle rig with burners on all three vessels and a pump which is so much easier.

 

[RM-MN]

You forgot option 3, use cool water for the sparge. If your conversion is complete the cool water will extract nearly the same sugar as hot water. The only real downfall is that it will take more time to heat the wort to boil.

 

[Br3w4u]

I heat my mash and sparge water in the same 15 gallon kettle then mash in a cooler with the amount needed. Leave the sparge water in the kettle. When it comes time to sparge I drain my wort to a 5 or 8 gallon kettle ( whichever is necessary for that brew) then I close the ball valve on the cooler and pour in the sparge water from the main kettle. Pour the wort from the small kettle in to the main kettle and drain the second runnings in to the main kettle. It’s a lot of lifting but I have done it this way for years and it doesn’t bother me.

 

[pantherburn]

I heat my mash and sparge water in the same 15 gallon kettle then mash in a cooler with the amount needed. Leave the sparge water in the kettle. When it comes time to sparge I drain my wort to a 5 or 8 gallon kettle ( whichever is necessary for that brew) then I close the ball valve on the cooler and pour in the sparge water from the main kettle. Pour the wort from the small kettle in to the main kettle and drain the second runnings in to the main kettle. It’s a lot of lifting but I have done it this way for years and it doesn’t bother me.

I do the same, except I drain my first runnings into a plastic bain marie that has gallon and liter marks painted on the outside. This helps insure first runnings equal what is projected.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

I used to coach softball and soccer so I already had a 5 gallon insulated drink cooler that I used to use for gatorade. I just heat in my kettle during the mash and transfer to that. I don't even have a fancy valve. I just hose clamped a heat/food safe hose to the factory spigot. That way I can still use it for beverages when necessary.

Works great. I put it on a milk crate next to the cooler MLT and gravity feed for the batch sparge.