Alright guys, I am working with Spike and as I want to give them a formal query, I do hope to pin a few things down. I know I asked a question earlier on Tees and pump air bleeding. I hope this isn't duplicative; I'll try and let it not be.
1. Spike's turnkey e-system is beautiful, in my opinion. They recirculate their HLT, like I think any of you do. I'd like to do the same, even if I'm manually firing the gas. I don't know if looping a recirc is necessary - all vessels start at 2', I can easily stir with a paddle from time to time to see the HLT temp and work gradients away. What do you guys think - if yes, how would you do it, with a gas system? And I presume it stops, obviously, with the start of sparging. Yes?
2. They constantly recirculate their mash and not only obtain clear wort early in the mashing cycle because of it, but obtain very high brewhouse efficiencies. I understand how that would work with an e-system but do not see how to safely do it with a gas system, due to risking local scorching. Thoughts?
3. I was interested in Ss Brewtech's vorlauf "disc." It appears the disc is attached to the inside of the MT via weldless fitting. I asked Spike if they could do something that would fit this, and they said while they don't, what they recommend is a side pickup tube that runs along the inner wall. They do this for both vorlauf and sparging.
I am stuck in an earlier time, I sincerely know. I'm accustomed to a kind of ring that "sprinkles" the entire bed of the wort, and am having a hard time seeing how these newer things - mostly, how a simple tube on top of the mash, or a float ball, or, as here, a pickup tube that lies alongside the side of the mash - doesn't give you severe channeling. Can someone convince me it works well? I say that, because it would solve everything to have Spike put the upper port in, a side tube, and done for both recirc and sparge.
4. Finally, on their MT, they have their thermal probe in a Tee off the tun, before the valve. I've seen this before in other applications. I'm trying to see how that would give you an accurate read on mash temp. Is this predicated on constant recirc, as those guys do?
Thanks for any help on this.
1. Spike's turnkey e-system is beautiful, in my opinion. They recirculate their HLT, like I think any of you do. I'd like to do the same, even if I'm manually firing the gas. I don't know if looping a recirc is necessary - all vessels start at 2', I can easily stir with a paddle from time to time to see the HLT temp and work gradients away. What do you guys think - if yes, how would you do it, with a gas system? And I presume it stops, obviously, with the start of sparging. Yes?
2. They constantly recirculate their mash and not only obtain clear wort early in the mashing cycle because of it, but obtain very high brewhouse efficiencies. I understand how that would work with an e-system but do not see how to safely do it with a gas system, due to risking local scorching. Thoughts?
3. I was interested in Ss Brewtech's vorlauf "disc." It appears the disc is attached to the inside of the MT via weldless fitting. I asked Spike if they could do something that would fit this, and they said while they don't, what they recommend is a side pickup tube that runs along the inner wall. They do this for both vorlauf and sparging.
I am stuck in an earlier time, I sincerely know. I'm accustomed to a kind of ring that "sprinkles" the entire bed of the wort, and am having a hard time seeing how these newer things - mostly, how a simple tube on top of the mash, or a float ball, or, as here, a pickup tube that lies alongside the side of the mash - doesn't give you severe channeling. Can someone convince me it works well? I say that, because it would solve everything to have Spike put the upper port in, a side tube, and done for both recirc and sparge.
4. Finally, on their MT, they have their thermal probe in a Tee off the tun, before the valve. I've seen this before in other applications. I'm trying to see how that would give you an accurate read on mash temp. Is this predicated on constant recirc, as those guys do?
Thanks for any help on this.
