Howdy -- my mash temps are driving me nuts! I have big rectangular cooler I mash in with a copper manifold. Works great insofar as I have never had a stuck mash, but I couldn't tell you the actual temps I'm mashing at because the temps read different all over the cooler. Generally, dead center of the mash is the highest temp and that is what I go off of, but if I take a temp anywhere on the outer 3 inches I'm seeing almost 5 degrees cooler. So I just keep stirring but of course that means I'm losing temp opening the cooler every 10 minutes. Anyone else have this problem? Is there a fix?
Mash Temps issue
- Thread starter blanchmd
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I see similar temp differences too, but opening it up and stirring won't make it better, actually worse.
So after stirring well, until the center temp is about right, or a degree or 2 high, it's all going to work fine. Then lay a double layer of aluminum foil on top of your mash to keep the heat "down," and close her up. About 20' into the mash I open the lid a little, pierce my thermometer through the foil to get a reading or two, then shut the lid until it's done. Those holes make a great sieve when you pour your vorlauf back in, on top of the foil. There's less grist disturbance, especially when the grain bed is shallow, which most rectangular coolers will give you. Of course I reuse the foil, the sieve gets better with each use.
I have my strike water about 5 degrees higher than calculated, to compensate for heat loss while stirring the grain in.
So after stirring well, until the center temp is about right, or a degree or 2 high, it's all going to work fine. Then lay a double layer of aluminum foil on top of your mash to keep the heat "down," and close her up. About 20' into the mash I open the lid a little, pierce my thermometer through the foil to get a reading or two, then shut the lid until it's done. Those holes make a great sieve when you pour your vorlauf back in, on top of the foil. There's less grist disturbance, especially when the grain bed is shallow, which most rectangular coolers will give you. Of course I reuse the foil, the sieve gets better with each use.
I have my strike water about 5 degrees higher than calculated, to compensate for heat loss while stirring the grain in.
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Are you preheating the mash tun? Next batch try adding a gallon of boiling water to the tun before you add grain and strike water...dump it before and see what happens.
Natdavis777
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That is what I was going to ask as well... If not, just overheat your strike water by 10 degrees and then shut the lid for 10 min. The walls of the cooler will absorb the heat and "zero out" per say. Then when you hit dough in temps, continue as normal.
My first setup was a rectangular cooler, and I admire how well that thing maintained temps.
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