Getting the last bits of grain out of MLT

[Hwk-I-St8]

I've seen a lot of discussions about getting the bulk of the grain out of the MLT. That's the easy part, IMO.

I've also seen info on CIP and I like the concept.

My issue is this. I use a scoop or whatever to get the grain out of the MLT. There's always some that sticks to the sides, the false bottom etc. The only way I can get it all out is the haul the thing to the sink, lay it on it's side and rinse with the sprayer, letting the runoff take about the last of the solids.

For the CIP guys especially, but also anyone else that has an answer, is there another way to remove the last of the solids?

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

Interested to see what answers come, I do exactly what you do, with a 30gal mash tun. So needless to say if there is a better/easier way, I'm in.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

Interested to see what answers come, I do exactly what you do, with a 30gal mash tun. So needless to say if there is a better/easier way, I'm in.

Exactly. Mine isn't that big, but it's a chapman thermobarrel, so it's got some extra weight.

I'm really curious to hear how the CIP folks do it. I suppose, for them, they could pump water to the sprayer and let it drain into a waste bucket until the solids are gone?....

 

[Qhrumphf]

Drain valve in the actual bottom would be the only practical way to get it all without tipping it over and and hosing out. With a wide enough pickup tube and zero dead space could probably scoop, fill with water to suspend everything and drain and flush it out that way, but wasteful and don't know how well it'd work, at least not without multiple tries and/or a lot of extra work.

 

[grampamark]

I made cleaning the MLT easier by mashing in a bag. Might not be a good option for larger kettles, but for 5 gallon batches in a 10 gallon MLT, it works for me.

 

[sicktght311]

Shop vac is your best friend in your homebrew house. Get yourself a good 6gallon shop vac and it will take care of everything

 

[Cool_Hand_Luke]

I made cleaning the MLT easier by mashing in a bag. Might not be a good option for larger kettles, but for 5 gallon batches in a 10 gallon MLT, it works for me.

Second this. Starting lining my mash tun with a wilser bag a few months ago. I left my mash tun exactly the same with manifold and everything. The bag is just used to lift out the grain after I’m done lautering and sparging. Hoist up with a pulley, wrap a trash bag around it, drop into a tote, and use the same pulley to invert the bag and dump the contents into the trash bag. The tote just serves as a more sturdy set of handles to lug the grains to the garbage bin (no friends or neighbors with chickens unfortunately).

The bag then just gets a quick 1 minute rinse and hung to dry. Then a quick rinse of the mash tun to rinse out any remaining wort. Whole process takes about 4-5 minutes.

I typically do 10 gallon batches.