Losing 4 -5 Degrees in an Hour-Long Mash

[cjgenever]

The dead air inside the tun will remain at 100% humidity and constantly be sapping heat from the mash it reaches equilibrium within the tun. This situation resets every time the lid is opened. I think a thermal blanket in close proximity to the mash would be wise for small mashes at low temperature. There are useful resources at Engineering toolbox.com. you would be surprised how much energy it takes to raise the temperature of humid air. Perhaps I'll do the physics calculations of OP exact numbers when I get the time.

 

[cjgenever]

I had a similar problem with my large cooler, I got a big one and was loosing temp due to headspace. I had several scrap pieces of 2" foam insulation from my fermentation chamber project. So I cut them to fit my cooler, wrapped them with a ziplock freezer bag, and put them on top of the mash when I'm done stirring, close the lid and... Holds within a degree for the entire mash. Simple, low cost, problem solved!

EXACTLY! We also do this with our chest freezer. It really does save on the electric bill. My mom used to use loaves of bread, but I found they collect I've crystals over time and are wet when thawed so I started using foam scraps from work. They're free and are way more effective than anything else.

 

[MEPNew2Brew]

OP here - LandOLincoln - thank you for the aluminum foil suggesting. I used is and lost about 1.3 degrees F over an hour event though the ambient (outdoor) temp was 10-11 degrees F lower (47 degrees first batch no foil; 37 degrees F on next batch.

Best part - pulled the foil off, crumpled it up in a ball and tossed it in the recycle bin. No cleaning.

Maybe I'll get a small cooler some day. But, for now, I think I am going to use the aluminum foil.

Thanks all for the discussion.

 

[ph0ngwh0ng]

OP here - LandOLincoln - thank you for the aluminum foil suggesting. I used is and lost about 1.3 degrees F over an hour event though the ambient (outdoor) temp was 10-11 degrees F lower (47 degrees first batch no foil; 37 degrees F on next batch.

Best part - pulled the foil off, crumpled it up in a ball and tossed it in the recycle bin. No cleaning.

Maybe I'll get a small cooler some day. But, for now, I think I am going to use the aluminum foil.

Thanks all for the discussion.

Dang, I think I'll try this instead of the reflectix thingy. No washing = me happy.

 

[LandoLincoln]

OP here - LandOLincoln - thank you for the aluminum foil suggesting. I used is and lost about 1.3 degrees F over an hour event though the ambient (outdoor) temp was 10-11 degrees F lower (47 degrees first batch no foil; 37 degrees F on next batch.

Best part - pulled the foil off, crumpled it up in a ball and tossed it in the recycle bin. No cleaning.

Maybe I'll get a small cooler some day. But, for now, I think I am going to use the aluminum foil.

Thanks all for the discussion.

See? See, you nay-sayers? It works!

Yes, I did forget to mention the "no-clean up needed" part. That is a good bonus.