sparkyaber
Well-Known Member
Ok, here is my setup:
10 gallon square water cooler mlt with a cpvc manifold with a boiler valve outlet.
6 gallon hlt with a boiler valve outlet.
5' of hose to a spinning sparge arm.
60 quart ss boil pot.
Turkey fryer burner.
I have struggled to get over 70 percent with the efficiency. Well 65%, 71%, 66% on my first 3 ag batches.
First one I sparged in like 10 minutes, way to fast. I also used to cold of sparge water, about 170. I also never stirred the mash except for at the very beginning when I mixed the water and the grain. This was a 90 min mash.
Second one I slowed down to about 35 minutes. I stirred the mash every 20 min. Temp was higher this time, about 175-180 in the hlt. I also stirred during the sparge. (yeah, I know now that is a no no.)
The last batch we slowed down even more, taking about an hour to sparge. I stirred the mash every 20 minutes. I also stirred the top of the grain bed twice during the sparge. the temp in the hlt was about 175. This time I checked the water above the grain bead and it was only in the 150's ( I suspect this is my biggest problem)
Could a guy lose over 20 degrees from the hlt down to the mlt? It was cold out, that is a lot of hose to run through, and also it barely trickled out of the sparge arm.
All three crushes were done at the lhbs, the first two were done at one shop, and the last one done at a different company. All three looked about the same.
No mashout on any batch. (maybe I should?)
Anything we are missing?
Does one need to know about the brew salts that I added?
Any suggestions on where to start?
I would at least like to get to 75% consistently.
10 gallon square water cooler mlt with a cpvc manifold with a boiler valve outlet.
6 gallon hlt with a boiler valve outlet.
5' of hose to a spinning sparge arm.
60 quart ss boil pot.
Turkey fryer burner.
I have struggled to get over 70 percent with the efficiency. Well 65%, 71%, 66% on my first 3 ag batches.
First one I sparged in like 10 minutes, way to fast. I also used to cold of sparge water, about 170. I also never stirred the mash except for at the very beginning when I mixed the water and the grain. This was a 90 min mash.
Second one I slowed down to about 35 minutes. I stirred the mash every 20 min. Temp was higher this time, about 175-180 in the hlt. I also stirred during the sparge. (yeah, I know now that is a no no.)
The last batch we slowed down even more, taking about an hour to sparge. I stirred the mash every 20 minutes. I also stirred the top of the grain bed twice during the sparge. the temp in the hlt was about 175. This time I checked the water above the grain bead and it was only in the 150's ( I suspect this is my biggest problem)
Could a guy lose over 20 degrees from the hlt down to the mlt? It was cold out, that is a lot of hose to run through, and also it barely trickled out of the sparge arm.
All three crushes were done at the lhbs, the first two were done at one shop, and the last one done at a different company. All three looked about the same.
No mashout on any batch. (maybe I should?)
Anything we are missing?
Does one need to know about the brew salts that I added?
Any suggestions on where to start?
I would at least like to get to 75% consistently.