Batch Sparging Braid Advocates...Lend me your ears!

[FishinDave07]

The lo-down:

I constructed FlyGuy's 10 gallon MLT w/ SS Braid and it went well...for the 1st batch.

Every batch after, i was noticing slower and slowwwer and slowwwwwwer sparges.

I finally had enough of it and made a circular braid like bdavanza and others on here.

HOLY SHENNANIGANS!!! i got 90% efficiency on my Pils + Cascade SMaSH that i brewed a couple of hours ago!@#$&^%$. Thats better than 60% on my previous brew for sure.

The sparge was flowing like Niagra falls...just more fermentable and viscous

Instead of using copper fittings i used 2 3/8” MIP x 1-1/2” brass nipple (Watts A-786) for the "arms" of the T, and what ever T fitting works with those.

I HIGHLY recommend this!!!

Dave the Happy Sparger

 

[jagg]

Glad to hear it worked out for you.

 

[happymonk]

I assume by sparge you mean run off. Sparge goes on top, run off comes out the bottom of the mash. Not to be picky, just helping out. I too did the same change last year, works great. Just do not run off too fast. I had to put a reducer on my hose and a smaller valve because my run off was too fast. Way to go...

 

[Mad_Milo]

Just trying to wrap my head around this...

With batch sparging, why does a faster run off (or a circular manifold) make for better efficiency?

I use a straight SS braid in a 9 gal rectangular cooler, and am lucky to hit 65% eff. with batch sparging, and usually 1 lautering. This is without a mashout infusion.

 

[FishinDave07]

happymonk: thanks for the clarification, the druckness is setting in...

Mad_Milo: My run off use to be worse that old people's prostates...drip...drip...drip . Now it doesn't take 30 minutes to drain the mash tun, its more like 5 or less.

I don't do a mash out infusion. But i do stir a lot with sparge water at 168 or a little higher (typically higher on the first sparge to get my grain bed temp. up and make them sugars soluble).

Hope this helps!

Dave the Happy Sparge/Run-off-er

 

[FlyGuy]

Nice to hear you got a system that works well for you. Amazing what a little tweaking can do.

Let me guess, though -- you had rubber tubing inside your old braid. If so, that was your problem.

Regarding efficiency, the only way that the design of your braid can affect your efficiency is if you are leaving wort behind in the mash tun or you are trying to fly sparge with a braid design that was meant for batch sparging (and you are getting a lot of channelizing in the grainbed). A jump of 30% efficiency after reaplacing your braid just doesn't make sense for someone batch sparging.

 

[Mad_Milo]

Ok. I'm doing it right then. I have a straight braid which goes down the middle of the rectangular cooler, and it runs off full blast. I also use a higher sparge temp to get the grain bed up near 170 and stir it well. It's usually thinner than the mash as well.

I was just trying to figure out why/how you obtained that nice jump in efficiency. I've read the sticky on batch sparging, and that got me up to 65%, from the first two batches near 60%.

 

[BrewBrain]

1/2 hour to drain MLT? Something other than straight braid was going on IMO. I've done many batches with the straight braid with no issues at all. I never approach 1/2 hour.

 

[FishinDave07]

Let me guess, though -- you had rubber tubing inside your old braid. If so, that was your problem.

not quite. I removed the tubing per your instructions and then inserted a length of plastic tubing with multiple half-inch holes in it.

It seemed to work fine the first time, but then went down hill from there.

Efficiency thoughts:

1. Crush is the same as always from AHS
2. Mashed for 75 min.
3. Wort loss, beyond calculated grain absorbtion, is ONLY 1/3 cup. I measured.
4. Raised the grain bed temp to 170 F during sparge
5. Stirred like hell
6. Used 5.2 Buffer

 

[Mad_Milo]

Let me guess, though -- you had rubber tubing inside your old braid. If so, that was your problem.

There is something else to watch for when you select your donor SS supply line. I noticed at our area Home Depots that the SS supply lines had a plastic or rubber coating over the SS braid. You'd have to remove that (along with the hose guts) to get liquid to strain through it.

Fortunately, our Lowe's has straight up SS supply lines, no coating.

Just a heads up!

 

[rsmith179]

Maybe I just don't understand exactly what you were going for here, but why did you put a hose inside the SS braid? Do you need a tube/hose inside the braid? I thought the whole point was to allow for the liquids to be "strained" and flow out. When constructing my mash tun, I took out the original hose inside the braid and just attached both ends of the braid to a t-connector. Works like a charm!

 

[FlyGuy]

No, you shouldn't need a hose inside your braid. If you put one in, it has to be a stiff, heat-resistent polyvinyl tube or some other material that won't warp with heat. My guess is that the OP had trouble because the plastic tubing inside his braid warped with the heat and blocked the flow of wort to his ball valve.

 

[FishinDave07]

There is something else to watch for when you select your donor SS supply line. I noticed at our area Home Depots that the SS supply lines had a plastic or rubber coating over the SS braid. You'd have to remove that (along with the hose guts) to get liquid to strain through it.

Fortunately, our Lowe's has straight up SS supply lines, no coating.

Just a heads up!

my previous straight braid was from lowes and it was SS for sure, because when i cut the edges it cut me back .

For the circular braid, i got it at HD in a pack labeled SS, which it is.

Maybe I just don't understand exactly what you were going for here, but why did you put a hose inside the SS braid? Do you need a tube/hose inside the braid? I thought the whole point was to allow for the liquids to be "strained" and flow out. When constructing my mash tun, I took out the original hose inside the braid and just attached both ends of the braid to a t-connector. Works like a charm!

i got it from somebody on here to give it a "skeleton" of tubing with holes in it. I thought that for sure it wouldn't hold up to 18 pounds of grain from my RIS and that it would collapse.

This time around, i took SS picture hanging wire and made a spring to hold up the braid from the inside.

No, you shouldn't need a hose inside your braid. If you put one in, it has to be a stiff, heat-resistent polyvinyl tube or some other material that won't warp with heat. My guess is that the OP had trouble because the plastic tubing inside his braid warped with the heat and blocked the flow of wort to his ball valve.

I think that is where i went wrong.

 

[AnOldUR]

Maybe I just don't understand exactly what you were going for here, but why did you put a hose inside the SS braid?

I thought that for sure it wouldn't hold up to 18 pounds of grain from my RIS and that it would collapse.

I was worried about the same thing with my 10 gallon round Igloo cooler (read: tall and narrow.) Copper tubing with holes has worked well.

 

[FishinDave07]

I was worried about the same thing with my 10 gallon round Igloo cooler (read: tall and narrow.) Copper tubing with holes has worked well.

Nice set up

 

[Denny]

With batch sparging, why does a faster run off (or a circular manifold) make for better efficiency?

It doesn't. It's an advantage, not a requirement, of batch sparging.

And for you guys worried about "braid collapse" (kinda sounds related to ED!), I've had 70 lb. of grain in a cooler with a braid and it didn't collapse.