First time with Keggle Mash Tun - How well will it hold temp for me?

[doublehaul]

I've always used a 10 gallon round cooler for a mash tun, but have switched to 10 gallon batches and take an efficiency hit when I stuff it full, so I'm switching to a keg converted to a bottom drain mash tun.

I bought 25' of 24" reflectix to wrap it with. I could probably throw a sleeping bag over it too.

I plan on mashing 23lbs of grains in it batch sparge style on Monday. I won't have direct fire or a HERMS setup or anything. The forecast says 73F, chance of showers. My plan is to see how well it performs, to see if I can make it through the summer before getting a HERMS setup. My mash range I want is 147-150, so I was thinking starting at 150 and hoping it doesn't drop too much.

I just don't want a disaster by dropping like 10 degrees and not converting completely or something - my grain bill is 23% flaked corn.

Any advice or thoughts? Sound like an OK plan?

 

[brew_ny]

if your grain is 70 and you want to mash at 150 your water needs to be more like 162

here is a good calculator

http://www.brew365.com/mash_sparge_water_calculator.php

I batch sparge I only really use it for mash in water volume and my strike temp

then just sparge to what I need for the boil

all the best

S_M

 

[doublehaul]

if your grain is 70 and you want to mash at 150 your water needs to be more like 162

here is a good calculator

http://www.brew365.com/mash_sparge_water_calculator.php

I batch sparge I only really use it for mash in water volume and my strike temp

then just sparge to what I need for the boil

all the best

S_M

Thanks. Not what I'm asking - I'm asking how well a keggle mash tun will hold temperature compared to a 10 gallon round cooler.

 

[blizz81]

I did one batch before hooking up my RIMS just to get a baseline and it...did not hold temp well. Have a jacket with 3 layers of reflectix, lid that fits perfectly, but did not put any foam or insulation on top of the mash. It was inside around this time last year, probably around 70* in the house.


Don't have my notes in front of me but I want to say it lost anywhere from 6-14 degrees over 60 minutes depending on where I measured in the mash - it definitely varied towards the outsides of the keggle more. I did not stir during the mash, which you could to avoid stratification...but also invite more universal temp loss.

 

[doublehaul]

I did one batch before hooking up my RIMS just to get a baseline and it...did not hold temp well. Have a jacket with 3 layers of reflectix, lid that fits perfectly, but did not put any foam or insulation on top of the mash. It was inside around this time last year, probably around 70* in the house.


Don't have my notes in front of me but I want to say it lost anywhere from 6-14 degrees over 60 minutes depending on where I measured in the mash - it definitely varied towards the outsides of the keggle more. I did not stir during the mash, which you could to avoid stratification...but also invite more universal temp loss.

YIKES! How much grain were you mashing? How full was it?

 

[blizz81]

YIKES! How much grain were you mashing? How full was it?

I was doing a pliny clone, and that was our last brew before we made efficiency improvements and we were in the 60%s, so I think it was a fair amount of grain. 19lbs, maybe? Fullness, I mashed at 1.25qt + 0.825gal for volume under the false bottom. More than half full, if I remember.

I knew it would not hold temp well on its own (from what I had read around) so I wanted to do a style that would lend well to being dry / highly fermentable. I think if you're going to use a keggle by itself, you're likely to have a hard time with this without some sort of method to maintain temp. Could be wrong, wouldn't be the first time.

 

[iijakii]

Some people manage fine with sleeping bags/blankets.

 

[Natdavis777]

I use a keggle with reflectix and it will hold pretty well for a 60-75min mash. In the summer time, I may lose a degree or two. In the winter it could be 3 to 4 degrees (this could be though that I had to have the garage door open to vent propane fumes, so temps were floccin cold).

Overall I am really happy with it. For most beers, I start @ 154-156F and end around 152-154F after an hour.

Old setup before the brewstand build and going electric, but this was a night brew in the middle of winter. Did me well

 

[kzoostout]

I don't mash in a keggle, but I've found that there is a big drop off in temps if I don't have any insulation directly on top of my mash. I'm currently using a Coleman Xtreme 70 quart for no sparge mashing and I was surprised at how much temperature it lost over the course of an hour. I wrapped a couple of pieces of polystyrene foam board insulation cut to size in Saran Wrap (I'd like to come up with a better barrier) and floated it on top of the mash and it basically stopped all temp loss.

Tl;dr - The amount of head space you have will have big impact on the amount of heat you lose.

 

[doublehaul]

I'm planning on wrapping with reflectix, but I'm not sure how to insulate the lid. I just have a cheap aluminum lid, I was thinking I'd cut circles of reflectix and and tape it to it with alumin tape, but I don't know how far the reflecix will go. I also saw where the manufacturer recommends 3, 3" strips around the vessel, then wrap it with reflectix, and that air pocket increases the R-Value. I'll definitely throw some blankets over it. Maybe I should start at a higher temp, but then you hear how all the magic happens the first 15 minutes of the mash, I don't know. I'm brewing a Classic American Pils.

 

[doublehaul]

I don't mash in a keggle, but I've found that there is a big drop off in temps if I don't have any insulation directly on top of my mash. I'm currently using a Coleman Xtreme 70 quart for no sparge mashing and I was surprised at how much temperature it lost over the course of an hour. I wrapped a couple of pieces of polystyrene foam board insulation cut to size in Saran Wrap (I'd like to come up with a better barrier) and floated it on top of the mash and it basically stopped all temp loss.

Tl;dr - The amount of head space you have will have big impact on the amount of heat you lose.

My round home depot cooler holds temp really well, even in the dead cold, but I will throw blankets over it if I think of it. But, I don't have headspace. That's a good idea with the float.

 

[Natdavis777]

My old cooler setup was a champ. It would hold the same temp for an hour easily. For my keggle, I made a slide over lid out of the reflectix and use a normal lid for the keggle underneath it.

 

[wilserbrewer]

The fact that you are doing a large mash of 23 lbs will work in your favor. I would perhaps cheat your mash temp up a couple degrees anticipating a little heat loss. 150-147 doesn't leave much room on the bottom end.

Reflectix is good stuff, but a large blanket or sleeping bag certainly may help.