Reflectix Insulation

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molson

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I currently mash in an coleman 70 quart xtreme cooler and am having trouble with temperature drop with small grain bills due to head space. I was wondering if I cut a piece of reflectix Insulation and float it on top of the mash would that contaminate the wort? Should I figure out a way to position it in the cooler so it doesn't touch the mash?
 
I definitely would not use insulation hovering over your beer. I'd be very concerned with getting pieces into your mash and possibly leaking some chemicals into the wort. Maybe you could plug a aquarium heater and toss it in there. Or maybe some clean pillows and strap them to the lid so they are hovering above the wort and killing the headspace. I don't have any better ideas lol


- ISM NRP
 
Yeah that's definitely not something you want to do. It's a plastic product or something on the inside, it's not made for food contact. And due to the edges, it's not at all waterproof. It might even sink into the mash. Yuck...

You could do the reverse, instead of lowering the headspace, you could add something dense to the mash to bring the mash up to the height you desire. Think, "Balloon" in the mash, but not obviously. Some sort of sealed big item that displaces a lot of volume in the mash. Not sure what exactly but I bet there'd be something you could use for this that wouldn't shed heat like headspace air.
 
I use this product on the outside of my vessels and it makes a significant difference.

Perhaps you could 'wrap' the reflctrix in tin foil if your are concerned. Or, check with the manufacturer regarding the specific materials used?

I also have read that folks have wrapped their coolers in sleeping bags and such to good result.
 
Yeah that's definitely not something you want to do. It's a plastic product or something on the inside, it's not made for food contact. And due to the edges, it's not at all waterproof. It might even sink into the mash. Yuck...

You could do the reverse, instead of lowering the headspace, you could add something dense to the mash to bring the mash up to the height you desire. Think, "Balloon" in the mash, but not obviously. Some sort of sealed big item that displaces a lot of volume in the mash. Not sure what exactly but I bet there'd be something you could use for this that wouldn't shed heat like headspace air.

That is a good idea. How about glass jugs filled with 152° to 154° water.
 
By the way, there's no way reflectrix will sink in the mash.

Yea I don't see how it would ever sink, my main concern was chemicals leaching into the mash. I guess I could wrap it in aluminum foil, but would that leach chemicals into the mash also?
 
I am no expert... But, I seriously doubt it (you might check John Palmer's book). But, at mash temps I would hesitate to use it considering some folks boil wort routinely in aluminum.


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Good point I didn't even think about that. I think I'll give that a shot. Hopefully this won't be a problem for long, I'm tired of chasing and maintaining temp in a cooler so I'm looking at getting a RIMS system.
 
You could probably seal Reflectix or any other insulation (styrofoam) inside a thick gauge, food grade plastic bag. A heat seal would be perfect.
 
Preheating the cooler may work better than trying to displace or insulate the top of the mash. A few quarts of near boiling water would probably do it. Just make sure to adjust your strike water temp so you don't over shoot.


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I do currently preheat the tun. What I do now is heat my strike water to about 200 then pour it into the tun and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Then I stir it until I get it down to my mash in temperature. This works good for most brews but ones with low grain bills I loose a lot of heat during the hour mash.
 
Usually around 6 - 8 degrees over the course of an hour mash.
 
If I was in your situation I'd try preheating with a couple gallons of boiling water, drain that, then put in strike water about 10* higher than mash temp and dough in. Give it one good stir then leave it till halfway and give another. The insulation on those coolers is good, the problem is the mass of air, over shooting strike water will heat the air and grain and leave you near mash temp. You may have to test out how much overshoot it takes to keep you near your mash temp. Beersmith may be able to help figure that out.
 
Heat mash water to 171F and add to grain that is 65 or soF (room temperature) and you will mash at 154 F after stirring in any balls. cover with foil or aluminum tray and you will be golden.
 
i've seen anther thread on here where a guy took a piece of styrofoam insulation and wrapped it in aluminum foil then wrapped again using aluminum tape and let's it float on the mash
 
This is a good reason for a rims or herms upgrade ;)... That or a beverage cooler... I bought a 10 gallon igloo beverage cooler new on amazon for under $40 shipped... it was a large upgrade from my rectangle colemen.... then I went herms and then finally rims which works best for me.
 
Is the lid of that style of cooler insulated? When I was using the old Rubbermaid coolers in my setup I bought a few cans of spray insulation, drilled a few holes in the top of the lid and filled it up. Helped quite a bit
 
A little late to this party... But I would think I single sheet of aluminum foil placed/floated on top of the mash would provide enough of a break between the cooler head space in the tun to hold the heat in the mash. I bet it would cut down your heat loss to a couple of degrees, with a pre-heated tun.
 
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