New equipment and horrible efficiency

[Brewbuzzard]

Amazingly clean rig, I love it.

I have to store mine between brews, so no where near as nice.
Embarrassingly, this is the best photo I have on the phone.

View attachment 719978

I would have killed for your setup when I first started. I brewed in the kitchen with a large soup pot and then diluted to five gal in the carboy. What I have now is a 22 year old dream come true. I am a gadget head but brewing great beer is mainly due to the brewer not the equipment. Fancy equipment just makes it easier not better.
Prost

 

[DHOMD]

Update in case anyone else reads this thread in the future


I have suspicion that it was hydrodynamics of the re-circulation as suggested.

Last few brews have done much better.
I have done a 12% barley wine
10% imperial coffee chocolate oatmeal stout
and an 8% 'imperial' loquat wheat

All of them have gotten to about 90% expected efficiency (of 60%) with just adding in that diffuser that I made on the return to the mash tun.
That diffuser has been extremely effective at gently distributing the mash over the surface rather than just splashing in and stirring things up.
I have been fanatical at checking pHs and consistantly get 5.1-5.4.

I plan on making a 'normal' wheat beer this weekend and since it will only have a ~1.06 gravity, so I'm hoping as as expected efficiency.

I know there is room for more improvement,... hopefully each batch gets better.