BIAB : kettle add ons - stirring wand and temp probe

[Rivenin]

Hey all!

more stuff from a noob here

How well do youthink this would work, or if it would even be worth it... i've been trying to figure out ways to do this but loose as little heat as possible, eg, opening the lid to stir every 10-15 minutes to maximize eff. figured this would be the best way to go about this

basically,

drill two holes through the lid,

1 of them would be for the stirring paddle setup, one would be for a temperature probe.

the thermometer would be digital, it would be going through a copper pipe, which both ends would be sealed with food grade silicone, or a compression fitting (this whole idea is still up for debate)

the stir paddle, not sure what it would be made out of just yet. But, it would be sticking out the top to a handle so, in reality, i would be able to sir the mash as much as i wanted without losing any heat.

would this be a good idea? or am i over thinking things?

 

[AnchorBock]

That's an intriguing idea. I would be concerned the stirring paddles (or whatever they are) might snag the bag. I have simply resorted to not stirring during the mash because it's been too cold here and I think I'm losing more temp then it's worth to stir.

 

[ultravista]

Why not something like the Brutus Super Mixer. I've got one for mixing thinset. The principle is the same and it's heavy duty. You could rig it in the mash tun and power it with a variable speed drill.

If through the drilled lid/cover, you won't suffer any heat loss. Leave it in the mash and fire it up when needed.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

 

[bootsbier]

I love that you are thinking of creative ideas on how to solve the dreaded temp problems us BIABers suffer from. My last brew, I kept a gallon of the starting water off to the side and boiled it. If I saw any temp drop from opening the lid, I just added a little boiling water. It seemed to work ok.

Unfortantaly, we are also loosing heat just thought the metal pot. This is why insulated coolers are used for mashing. I would hate to see you start drilling holes in your equipment and not solve the problem. Also, proper stiring is very important. Your lid mod looks like it may miss some nooks and crannies in the pot. This may mess up your efficiency.

Keep us posted on what you come up with

 

[RM-MN]

I think you are all way over-thinking this. Since you are going to brew in a bag, you will have crushed or ground your grains much finer than the normal all grain setup will allow because you don't have to worry about a stuck sparge. With that finer crush/grind, your conversion will occur much faster. It may occur within the first 15 minutes even. During that short time, your water/grain mix will not cool off sufficiently to worry about as long as you keep the lid on the kettle. All you really need to do is calculate the strike temperature for the water which will depend on the quantity and temperature of the grains, bring the water to this temp and turn off the heat. Slowly stir in the grains so you don't get a doughball and put the lid on. Wrapping the kettle in some kind of insulator will be helpful but not essential. Do leave the grain in there for longer than the 15 minutes but at 15 take a small sample to check conversion (taste or iodine test) and stir it again.