How long do you Fly Sparge for?

[Hollywood260]

So, I was reading an article about fly sparging. As I currently am batch sparging and wanting to get into fly sparging to increase my efficiency. But the article I was reading said that a longer fly sparge time from anywhere between 75-90 is preferred. Which is roughly 1-1.5 gallons of sparge per 15 minutes.

So, how long do you sparge for?

 

[str1p3s]

I shoot for about 1.5 cups/minute but settle for no more than 2 cups/minute. It's the most difficult part of my brew day. I have a hard time getting the flow rate right. It's almost always either too fast or too slow and I can't find a good balance. I'll barely open the valve and it will be trickling way too slow and I'll barely nudge it open and it will be way too fast.

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

Team #batchsparge even the Pro of fly sparging is really a Con.


Pros of fly sparging include:

While one benefit of fly sparging in the past was increased lauter efficiency, this is debatable at best and with new split batch sparge techniques, most definitely not worth the extra time that it takes to perform. Thus the increased popularity in batch sparging.

Cons of fly sparging include:

The need to have an effective mashout, due to the fact that fly sparging can take up to an hour, the brewer will want to denature any enzymes in the mash.
Extended fly sparging can increase mash pH to a level where tannins will be extracted from the grain husks, which is not desirable
Channeling can become a problem if the manifold in the bottom of the MLT is not designed properly, which causes the sparge water to drive right through the grain bed, reducing efficiency and leaving sugars in the MLT.
You must match the Inflow of the sparge water very closely to the OUTflow of the wort from the bottom of the MLT during the entire sparge.
Possible lower quality wort during extended fly sparging due to rising pH and low sugar content of final runnings.


http://www.brewersfriend.com/2009/07/04/sparging-methods/

 

[VApatriot]

Here's my set-up while fly sparging, I only ever fly sparge for 60 minutes max. I almost always have a hard time making it take 60 minutes, the valves on my HLT and mashtun are a little fussy to get the flow to just the right amount, can't just set it and forget it.

 

[dwhite60]

I fly sparge to boil volume. That's it. On a 3 gallon batch (collect 3.75 gallons of wort) takes about 20 to 30 minutes at most.