DiegoBrewer
Member
So - this is what a stuck sparge looks like with a COFI filter. This is with the pump VERY restricted. :-(
This was my first time conditioning my grains. Did a great job keeping dust down - not so good for circulation. I was able to salvage the batch and them skim all the grain out of the wort prior to boil (took a while).
Turns out that after the initial grain overflow that much of the central COFI tube was clogged with hulls. Took forever to clean even using an air compressor!
Live and learn!
Just brewed a hi-gravity Old English with 24 LBS of grain. The sparge didn't get stuck, but it had similar results as your picture with the wort overflowing the top of the basket a full flow. I stirred the mash after 30-minutes, kept the pump at 1/4 restriction to keep the grains covered, then hit it with full flow every ten minutes and mashed for a full 90-minutes. I hit my efficiency but it was more work than I bargained. Not sure the infusion tube is up to the task when the basket is that full, so I need to find another solution.