Should I consider recirculating my mash?

[Yesfan]

I do BIAB brewing and have been wondering should I look into a recirculating mash? I have a stainless steel colander that I keep thinking will have some use in my brewery. I had the idea of drilling a hole in the center of my kettle's lid and attaching the colander to the lid with some SS all thread. Then cut a hole to the side of the lid handle and install a elbow/male cam lock for attaching tubing for recirculating/vorlaufing. The wort will be recirculating through the colander and back into the kettle. I think this may also come in handy for fly sparging if I ever jump to a 3 vessel setup, or am I wrong?


Will mounting a SS colander under my kettle lid have any benefit? Every time I look at the colander, I feel it has some a use I'm overlooking.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Recirculating will lead to a loss of heat, so you will need a way to add heat back to the mash.

Which will lead to a temp controller and a pump. Sure it can and has been done with great success, but it is not as simple as merely recirculating the wort. I feel simplicity is the benefit of BIAB, but we all like to tinker...

Just my opinion, I would not bother...

A small level of sophistication only requires more.

 

[Yesfan]

I already have a pump and hoses, so that part is covered. I know there will be heat loss, but how bad if the lid is on throughout the mash? I planned on having the return fitting mounted to the lid.

Another thing that had me thinking about going this route is when a recipe calls for a multi-step mash schedule.

 

[newnick]

I've recirculated my last two batches and didn't see where it made any real difference. I have a small spray head mounted under the lid with the hose being connected with quick connects. I didn't see any additional temp loss because I wrap the kettle with insulation and cover the lid with a doubled up large towel. I'm not sure if I'll continue recirculating or not'