Mashtun insulation

[Sgwilson]

Has anyone tried using a yoga matt to insulate their mash? My mash does not take direct fire (I have a RIMS) so it'll only need to stand up to the initial strike water (and sparge too, I guess) I'm not sure if the matt will melt or not. Does any one have any first have experience?

 

[Grod1]

looks like you already cut your wives yoga mat up so i guess you will be sharing with us how it works out

welcome btw

 

[wilserbrewer]

Yoga mat should be good insulation.

That looks like a large kettle, or is it a keggle?

Large batches hold heat pretty well ime unless your outdoors in cold weather.

 

[Sgwilson]

@wilserbrew, it's a keggle. I've been out of the brewing world for a few years and am just now getting back, hoping to get a better mash result with better temp controls

 

[doug293cz]

Take one of those small scrap pieces of foam, and drop it in boiling water. That should give you an idea of whether your yoga mat will hold up or not.

Brew on

 

[AF1HomeBrew]

If it doesn't work, try some Reflectix insulation. It's rated for 180 degrees.

 

[Sgwilson]

Seems to have worked pretty well! The matt didn't melt, and maintained a pretty good temperature. It dropped a few degrees, but I did a 5 gallon (13lbs grain weight) in a 15 gallon keggle, so there was a LOT of head space for temperature to escape. Otherwise seems pretty successful, my next beer is likely to be an imperial stout, so it should maintain temp even better!