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Efficiency sucks, AGAIN

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Beerbuck

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Just brewed another batch, which has a bad efficiency again, got 60 %~ and cant get more, Used a mash tun with 2 batch sparge. Should I use stainless stell braids to raise up my %?
BTW i crushed my grain at .20 which dosent gave higher efficiency than before at .023
Really dont know what to do to increase it.
All my temp were ok ans everything went well!
 
how are you lautering if you're not using a SS braid?

what is your mash ratio?

are you sure your thermometers are accurate and calibrated?

are you sure your hydrometer/refractometer are accurate and calibrated?

are you sure you're measuring volume correctly?

what type of water are you using? any water additives?

And, if you're hitting 60% every time, that's not neccissarily a bad thing. Consistency is more important that a high # in my opinion.
 
60% ain't so bad. I used to get ~62% w/ 5 gal batch-sparge batches, then I switched to 5 gal fly sparges and my efficiency went up to ~65%. Now, with 10 gal fly sparge I get ~73%.
The level of efficiency is not really important, consistency is.
BTW, there are going to be some people here telling you they are getting 89% with batch sparge and they are full of poo poo. Just disregard them.
One more thing: do you know that when you measure efficiency in room temp you need to add ~2% for the difference in temps, since the correct wort temp for measuring efficiency is 60F?
 
Everything seems to be ok, Using the city water, water mesuring is good too
Using an electronic thermometer and accuracy is good too
Using a math tun with copper manifold
 
+1 on Kaiser's spreadsheet. You may have conversion problems, lautering problems, or both. Without more data it is impossible to tell.
 
Make sure your thermometer is calibrated properly and that you are actually reaching conversion temperatures.....

Make sure you are using at least 1.25 quarts of water per pound of grain for the mash, I prefer 1.5 quarts.

Your double batch sparging process should be dual, 10 minute batch sparges with a 10 minute rest. Stir the crap out of it when you add the sparge water, and again at five minutes.

Using these guidelines I regularly exceed %80 efficiency using a 48 quart cooler and grain crushed by brewmasterswarehouse I find Ed's grind to be quite fine, the efficiency is through the roof and i have never had lautering problems.
 
Make sure your thermometer is calibrated properly and that you are actually reaching conversion temperatures.....

I had some terrible batches with a bad thermo. Some calculated in the low 50% range. I mashed a few batches 10-11 degrees low. That does not work! Get a few thermos to compare and if you can afford it a good quality one. Temps are crucial!
 
I had some terrible batches with a bad thermo. Some calculated in the low 50% range. I mashed a few batches 10-11 degrees low. That does not work! Get a few thermos to compare and if you can afford it a good quality one. Temps are crucial!

This. Go cheap if you must on some things......but NOT on a thermometer. I did a lot of reading up on this forum, and others, and ended up with a Thermapen. Not cheap, but worth every penny.
 
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