Hot liquid/wort pump

[Keith Adams]

Hi everyone,

I brew with a BIAB system currently. I have a 10 gallon kettle that has both a temperature gage and a ball valve. I’d like to figure out a way to hook up a pump to the ball valve to recycle the hot wort through the lid (much like the Clawhammer system does) during the mash to get better efficiency.

Does anyone have any suggestions for pumps I could use?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Recirculation alone won't increase your efficiency.

Anyway, the MKII is a solid pump and a great value. If you're looking for maximum features at any price, the Riptide would be my suggestion.

 

[IslandLizard]

Milling finer will get you better mash efficiency, recirculation won't.

Reserving a gallon or 2 of water for doing a dunk sparge, after lifting and squeezing or letting the bag drip out somewhat, adds a few extra points.

 

[Keith Adams]

So the recirculating really just works in concert with your heating element to hold a steady temp throughout the kettle?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Recirculation:

• Helps maintain consistent mash temp. (debatable whether that's necessary, if doing single infusion)
• Allows step mashing, which can increase efficiency. However, extending the mash time, milling finer, and/or sparging are more effective and certainly more cost-effective ways to increase efficiency. Step mashing can certainly improve beer quality though.
• Helps improve wort clarify, but maybe not so much with a BIAB system. Whether wort clarity impacts beer quality is debated, but it's generally considered good practice to put clear wort into the kettle.

Beyond the pump, you'll also want to invest in other things to make it a functional system: a false bottom, silicone tubing, fittings/valves, wort return system, and likely a mechanism for controlling temperature, to form a system called a RIMS, K-RIMS, or HERMS, which almost necessitate the use of an electric element controlled by a PID (unless you're fine babysitting it and don't care too much about fluctuations). It's a long way down the rabbit hole.

This is all sort of anti-BIAB philosophy where BIAB is all about being easy, at the possible expense of certain high-level quality standards (although many brewers will emphatically tell you that BIAB beer is great, and that's fine).

 

[augiedoggy]

Recirculation seems to go hand in hand with a .030 crush to new me a fairly consistent 91% brewhouse efficiency on my home rims system I use a $20 tan food grade high temp pump like this one... been using for 6 years now. the 24v one is stronger than the 12v and I recirculate at 1.8gpm to prevent channeling.. I also have never needed rice hulls.

I net 86% BH efficiency on the 3bbl system which we use a courser crush with and rice hulls and the brewpub due to needed a higher recircualtion speed of 4-5gpm due to mass and the time needed to raise and maintain as well as step temps.

 

[nealm]

augie,
my long running 24v tan pump has finally given up the ghost. Looking for a new one but I can't find any a on my former source. fleabay. What I am seeing there and on the web are black plastic units some saying limit temperature to 170f and others 212f but no mention whether they are food safe. Are you aware of a source for these pumps

 

[Bobby_M]

augie,
my long running 24v tan pump has finally given up the ghost. Looking for a new one but I can't find any a on my former source. fleabay. What I am seeing there and on the web are black plastic units some saying limit temperature to 170f and others 212f but no mention whether they are food safe. Are you aware of a source for these pumps

Q: Is Loc-Line safe for food contact?
The material used to manufacture Loc-Line is an acetal copolymer. This material, in accordance to the rules 21 CFR 177.2470, meets the requirements of this regulation for aqueous food contact. Not applicable for fatty foods and alcohol. All colorants are used at the recommended let-down ratio and meet 21 CFR 178-3297 for food contact.

 

[Indian_villager]

Q: Is Loc-Line safe for food contact?
The material used to manufacture Loc-Line is an acetal copolymer. This material, in accordance to the rules 21 CFR 177.2470, meets the requirements of this regulation for aqueous food contact. Not applicable for fatty foods and alcohol. All colorants are used at the recommended let-down ratio and meet 21 CFR 178-3297 for food contact.

To add onto this, it is rated for food contact up to 250F apparently.
https://www.loc-line.com/files/compliance/Direct Food Contact.pdf