Looking for a more free flowing bag....

[PsychoBiter]

We just added a recirculation pump to our BIAB system to help with efficiency and whirl pooling/cooling. We use a bag from Wilser currently, but looking for something with coarser mesh if possible.

Anyone know of something? I would love to get a basket, but not in the brew budget timeline at this point.

 

[singybrue]

I would recommend the BIAB false bottom from Brewhardware.
I have a recirculating system with a wilserbag and this bottom and it works great.
I usually fish out the false bottom before the boil but not always.

 

[porterpounder]

I don't, but that title reads like a personal add for a very bitter old hippie.

 

[TheMadKing]

You could try rice hulls or slower milling speeds or grain conditioning too. The bag is probably not the root cause of the issue.

 

[TexasWine]

We just added a recirculation pump to our BIAB system to help with efficiency and whirl pooling/cooling. We use a bag from Wilser currently, but looking for something with coarser mesh if possible.

Anyone know of something? I would love to get a basket, but not in the brew budget timeline at this point.

Agree with others here in that if you're having recirculation issues, it isn't the bag. Recirculating introduces a lot of variables that many don't take into consideration before jumping in, or at least I didn't when I made the change.

Some best practices I've learned.

-Get a false bottom from Brewhardware, as mentioned.
-Condition your grains just before milling, also mentioned.
-Don't pulverize the grain to flour.
-Start the flow from the pump slowly by throttling the discharge and gradually increase the flow over the course of 10 minutes.
-Let the mash sit for 5-10 minutes before starting the pump.
-Get a sight glass and watch the level under the bag. If it drops significantly, you're pumping too fast.

Now, all that being said, my experience has been that recirculating the mash won't help your efficiency one iota. The primary benefit is the ability to do step mashes, which I employ on most batches nowadays. I would also argue that repeatability is improved, but some folks would rightfully debate that.

Edit: forgot to add, I use wilserbrewer bags with no issues.

 

[PsychoBiter]

I would recommend the BIAB false bottom from Brewhardware.
I have a recirculating system with a wilserbag and this bottom and it works great.
I usually fish out the false bottom before the boil but not always.

I have a false bottom (it was flimsy, but worked before I started using a pump) that I crushed with the pump. I know the solution is to throttle the pump down, but my goal is to have the pump on high, thus putting the grains in suspension and keeping them moving. This is an experiment I tried with a copper-T down in the mash to possibly help with efficiency. It kept the grains in suspension until it started losing flow. I could pull the bag up and some wort would stay above the grains inside the bag and slowly flow out the sides. I think something that would flow better would help in that regard.

You could try rice hulls or slower milling speeds or grain conditioning too. The bag is probably not the root cause of the issue.

The root of the problem is my crush, but without a mill I am at the mercy of my LHBS. The cause of my poor flow, is the bag however.
My next step is getting a mill and milling finer, my LHBS won't crush any finer, but I am pretty sure this will make the flow problem worse. Milling finer will improve my efficiency which is what this experiment was all about. I'm not convinced keeping the grain in suspension will help improve efficiency as much as I hoped. This was a relatively cheap experiment. I am looking into mills now.

 

[PsychoBiter]

Now, all that being said, my experience has been that recirculating the mash won't help your efficiency one iota.

I think I agree with this now.

I used the pump to whirl pool while chilling with a small IC, which helped reducing time to fermenter temps by a lot. Eventually I want get a RIMs system to do step mashes and maintain mash temps better, which will help with making a more consistent beer.

 

[Hoosier-Brewer]

I think I agree with this now.

I used the pump to whirl pool while chilling with a small IC, which helped reducing time to fermenter temps by a lot. Eventually I want get a RIMs system to do step mashes and maintain mash temps better, which will help with making a more consistent beer.

It may not help the efficiency, but I find it helps me maintain temperature during the mash. I also ran into the slow flow through the bag on my last brew where I double crushed the grain. I may add some rice hulls to help.