Sparge time

[stephen424]

How long does it take for you to vorlauf a half gallon and then run off 6 gallons of wort? I have bad effiency and have upped my grain by about 25 % to make up the difference.

 

[Peregris]

The vorlaufing isn't long. I actually vorlauf at almost full runoff speed. But I think that you should vorlauf more than just a half gallon - I usually do a gallon at least. You want the wort to run relatively clear and then slowly pour the vorlauf back on the grain bed to not stir things up too much.

As for sparging, I usually batch sparge twice and it takes me about 40 min.

I try to run it as slow as my patience allows.

 

[Zen_Brew]

+1 to a larger vorlauf volume. I use a couple 1/2 gallon pitchers that I alternate. I'm dumping one back in while the second is filling. It probably takes about a minute or so to fill each one. I normally will fill each one 2 to 3 times. The whole thing might take me 10 minutes. In addition to clearing the wort it also begins the rinsing process on the grains to some extent. I drain my batch sparge the same way.

 

[Randar]

In my 13-15 gallon batches I have generally Vorlaufed about 1-2 gallons. I never do anything more than TWEAK my outgoing flow once I get it set and have a good filterbed going. I go straight from Vorlauf to fly sparge as I gently return the run-off to the top of the mashtun...

Takes me 5-10 minutes to run off 2 gallons or so, return to the top of the mashtun and start introducing the sparge water.