Critique my braid

[japhroaig]

My previous mash tun, after seven years of solid use, finally gave up the ghost today. It was an orange cooler, and the wear from the ball valve opening and closing finally means it no longer perfectly seals every time.

So, because of that and because I want to make a few higher gravity ten gallon batches I upgraded to a SS 15 gallon pot with a stainless ball valve and thermometer port. My question is before I fire this mash tun up for the first time, do you think the braid I plan on using will be up to the task? It is stainless steal as well and has had the inner tubing removed per the Homebrew talk wiki.

I fly sparge--or at least that's what I've always done--so is this an acceptable setup for a ten gallon system? I usually have hit ~70% efficiency with my previous tun, and anything efficiency within a few points will make me a happy camper. Thanks!

 

[artyboy]

Looks good to me. You might look into stepping up to a false bottom, though.

 

[japhroaig]

Yeah, on my previous tun I had a plastic false bottom over a manifold--might sound like overkill, but I never had a stuck sparge with that method. This new tun is twice the diameter (maybe more) than my previous one, so my old bottom just looks silly in there.

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

Looks fine. No need for a false bottom in my opinion. I hit 75-80% effiency consistantly with my copper manifold so I don't see the point in spending 40-50 bucks on a false bottom.

 

[passedpawn]

IMO a false bottom is a step down. That braid will work beautifully. I also very strongly believe that batch sparging is a better method (while not techinically better, it will result in more reproducible efficiency, and beer).

[passedpawn quickly exits stage left, then returns after a moment while donning flame retardant suit]

 

[japhroaig]

Yeah, but fly sparging looks cooler

 

[passedpawn]

Yeah, but fly sparging looks cooler

You got me there. Because I'm a gadget guy, I've often considered it. But I like my fine grind, so it'll never happen.

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

You got me there. Because I'm a gadget guy, I've often considered it. But I like my fine grind, so it'll never happen.

+1. I started out fly-sparging, but found better efficiency with my system when I batch sparged. So...I'm sticking with what works. I suppose it's a bonus that it's faster and easier too.

 

[babalu87]

False bottoms = over rated

 

[QuixoticDevice]

Looks fine to me. Is that just the braid or do you have anything inside it to keep it from collapsing? I seem to recall someone (Biermuncher maybe?) using heat resistant vinyl tubing with a bunch of notches cut into it inside the braid to keep it from being crushed by the grainbed.

 

[japhroaig]

Just the braid, no reinforcement. Guess I'll have to see how it does. From pressing on it the braid feels really stable.

 

[ksbrain]

IMO a false bottom is a step down. That braid will work beautifully.

I totally agree. The braid doesn't let any pieces of grain through, unlike my false bottom always did.

 

[weirdboy]

I have my SS braid in a big circle like that in my 12 gallon cooler MLT, and it works wonderfully. No collapsing or whatnot that I see other people complaining about...I think those people aren't using actual stainless to be honest.

 

[CaliBrewin]

I have my SS braid in a big circle like that in my 12 gallon cooler MLT, and it works wonderfully. No collapsing or whatnot that I see other people complaining about...I think those people aren't using actual stainless to be honest.

where are you guys getting your SS braids from?

i used one from around a toilet hose then supported it from the inside using the vinyl tube method...

i would like to do a circular braid configuration like yours. did you use some sort of double ended adapter for the inside of the mlt?

 

[weirdboy]

I just used a T-fitting on the inside and made a circle.


I honestly don't remember where I got the braid now...I think it was a washing machine hose or something.

 

[japhroaig]

Home depot, bout ten dollars. I used a tee as well to make it circular, there is a pic on the first post.

Just brewed with 28lbs of grain and it worked like a champ. Need to rethink my sparging now that the tub is so much wider, but that just gives me more excuses to brew.

 

[japhroaig]

So I have a couple of observations from this last brew. First off, by the end of the mash the temperature difference between the wall of this new kettle and the center was about 8 degrees F. I was pretty surprised by that, but I guess I shouldn't have been--the previous tun was well insulated given that it was a cooler. So, I will be insulating my new tun so it is more consistent.

Second, no stuck sparges, and the braid is super easy to clean. Hooray!

Last, my efficiency sucked (60% ), but I know it either has to do with the new base malt I used (Weyerman Pilsner malt instead of Western 2 row), sparging with a fly that was *waaay* too small, and/or my mash temperature.

I usually like to only change a thing at a time when troubleshooting, but a few things seem just way too obvious. Insulate the tun, go back to my previous base malt, check my thermometer calibration for the fourth time just in case, and fix my sparge problems. I may even give batch sparging a go

Any, my latest creation--Pivo v Coburg (also nicknamed Coburg Urquell)--should still be delish and potent enough. Cheers and thanks for all the advice!

 

[bob1852]

you shouldn't be fly sparging with a braid....

you can get channeling which can leave a lot of sugars behind.

 

[passedpawn]

you shouldn't be fly sparging with a braid....
you can get channeling which can leave a lot of sugars behind.

I agree with AZ. Also....

Even with a false bottom, you'll likely get channeling due to bad sparge arm design, bad milling, bad luck, and the general chaos present in the universe, specifically your MLT.

 

[King of Cascade]

1). your efficiency will not be affected by your mash temp. only your attenuation will be effected by this. Most likely a volume issue, did you have extra wort? Did you calculate your sparge water? Or did you just run the sprage water till your kettle was full? You really need to pull all the water out of the mash to get maximum efficiency.
2). I totally disagree with this statement below, If it were true, commercial brewers would be using this technique instead of fly sparge and using false bottoms. At every brewery I brewed at we used fly sparge and false bottoms

“IMO a false bottom is a step down. That braid will work beautifully. I also very strongly believe that batch sparging is a better method (while not techinically better, it will result in more reproducible efficiency, and beer)”

 

[japhroaig]

From at least two inches in from the wall of the tun the temp plummeted from 151F to 140F, while the interior only went from 153f to 148f. Since a decent portion of the mash fell out of the range of optimum conversion, it certainly didn't help. Prime suspect? Nah, but I doubt I got all the starch converted.

There is no doubt fly sparging can be more efficient. Just in this specific case, since my fly equipment was undersized, I think it may have been a major player in my problem.

Even so, yay beer.

 

[King of Cascade]

From at least two inches in from the wall of the tun the temp plummeted from 151F to 140F, while the interior only went from 153f to 148f. Since a decent portion of the mash fell out of the range of optimum conversion, it certainly didn't help. Prime suspect? Nah, but I doubt I got all the starch converted.

There is no doubt fly sparging can be more efficient. Just in this specific case, since my fly equipment was undersized, I think it may have been a major player in my problem.

Even so, yay beer.

Yeah but how long did you mash for? Conversion happens faster then you think...

 

[japhroaig]

All I'm trying to say is a number of things were different this go around, and at the very least my mind would be more at ease about my efficiency if my temps and times were more stable

Also, I'm gonna get a braid for my boil kettle so I can stop using hop bags. One less thing to pick up at the store. Thanks for all the replies!