Brewer's Edge Mash & Boil Temp control issues

[jcom87]

So today was my first brew on the M&B system. I got the system as an easier alternative to traditional BIAB for winter brews. Overall I have been impressed by the unit. I did tests before today, and it brought my water up to temp in a very reasonable amount of time.

However, while I have many good things to say about the unit, there were a few very annoying things that kept happening today. One was that about halfway through my mash it said my temp was at 175 (mash temp was 152). Periodically I stuck another thermometer in and the grains were 152 on the money. I had read that the wort outside the basket is higher temp than inside, and once I drained the basket the temperature on the unit seemed to be pretty spot on. Just a minor annoyance. But the problem I was really irritated with today was that the unit would heat to temp, and once it was reached it would turn from "heat" to "warm", as it should do, but it wouldn't maintain temp. It was my understanding that it would maintain temperature on its own, but I found myself tinkering with it more than any other system I've had.

Now, I should mention that I was nervous about tinkering too much so I mostly just made it work for the time being. I will be doing some further water tests on it. I'm mostly curious if anyone else has had this issue with the M&B. When I went from strike temp (168) down to mash temp (152) it dropped on its own with no heat (as it should) but when it reached 152 the heat didn't kick back on. I then reset the unit and set temp at 152, with the current temp around 150. You would think the heat would turn on at that point to reach temp, but instead nothing happened and it even dropped another degree to 149. It wasn't until I raised the temp all the way to 160 (only after resetting) that the heat finally kicked on. Is it possible that the unit has to drop maybe 5 degrees or so before it kicks back on? If so, doesn't that defeat the purpose? Mash temp is a very precise thing, so I try hard to maintain the same temp throughout.

Again, I made it work for the day. But I spent the money on this unit so it would hold temperature and it didn't seem to do that today. It should also be noted that I did not use a bag, so there is a chance that some grains got clogged up around the sensor and messed it up. Next time I will use a bag and report back. I should also mention that I nailed my OG, so overall I am happy with the unit, except for this issue. I'm just curious what other owners of the M&B think about this, and maybe some ways around it. Thanks.

 

[zero1d]

Brewed for first time this weekend on the M&B. Encountered some of the same issues. Per the feedback I got from the Facebook forum, the temp on the screen does fluctuate and taking temp readings direct from the grainbed is the right way. I stumbled a lot also learning the system but I expect it will get better. For example, I thought it would be a good idea for the first brew to be an American Hefe....hello stuck mash [emoji3]. Then on second brew, and IPA I forgot to drop the temp after doughing in...couldn't figure out why my mash temp was like 160! Duh!

 

[deBREWler]

As a self proclaimed advocate for the M&B I've certainly experienced some of the same as the OP.

One huge improvement for me was converting my old 10gal stainless kettle into a mash tun with it's own temperature probe. Check out my instagram page for details. What I do now is during the full volume (~7.5 gallon of water) mash I'll gravity feed wort from the MT into the M&B and then pump it back into the MT. Heating it in the M&B if necessary.

The M&B has a 6°F window before it will turn the heating element on. Let's say I want to mash at 152°F in the stand alone MT. I'll set the M&B to 155°F and begin recirculating wort between the two vessels. At 149°F the 1000W element will turn on and gently heat the recirculating wort until it's internal probe hits 155°F and then turn off. During my last brew day (which was a partigyle so it was technically two brews) I monitored the temp probe of the MT the entire time and it hardly moved a degree. I was surprised but thankfully it balanced out really nicely.

Long story short, there's a reason the other electric systems like the M&B have pumps. You should definitely be recirculating during the mash regardless of how your system is setup.