Recirculating Mash

[jawilson20]

I have a Brutus 10 setup, and as with the original Brutus, I continuously recirculate my mash. For those with a similar setup, is there a concern that the hose discharge hitting the same spot of the grainbed throughout the mash could lead to loss in efficiency? I have made an effort to frequently stir the mash and move the hose around.

 

[jawilson20]

No thoughts?

 

[texasbrewer73]

I did this for a while, but abandoned the hose and went with a manifold type thing for the return (similar to a sparge arm). I didn't see a huge change in efficiency, but I sure feel better about water passing through more evenly. I still stir as I think that always raises efficiency.

 

[BoostedF150]

Im stiil fairly new to brewing but have 7 brews under my belt. I recirculate with my set up and cant seem to get more than 67% efficiency.

 

[jawilson20]

I did this for a while, but abandoned the hose and went with a manifold type thing for the return (similar to a sparge arm). I didn't see a huge change in efficiency, but I sure feel better about water passing through more evenly. I still stir as I think that always raises efficiency.

Do you have any photos of this manifold?

 

[Phunhog]

I have a similar setup. I just put the hose in and recirculate slowly being careful not disturb the grain bed. It shouldn't really matter with a false bottom. The wort should be drawn through pretty evenly without any channeling.

 

[MalFet]

Yeah, I've never had a problem either. You don't want the return to be drilling a hole into the grain bed, but otherwise a false bottom will get you pretty steady mixing. With a gentle return, I get a nice, steady spin on the water above my grain bed. With that, there's no stratification going on.

 

[knuckleheadbrewing]

The original owner of my brew system said he routinely got 85-90% on it.....(RIMS system)

MLT

I'll find out for sure this weekend and try to get back with ya and let you know how it worked for me.