ss brew tech 20 gallon mash tun

[sledgewinston]

I have been using the Ss brewtech 20 gallon mash tun for 5 gallon batches- which i understand is leaving a lot of headspace in the tun, but for the life of me i cannot get the temperature to stay put. i even purchased the temperature controller which, as advertised, is supposed to keep your temp within a couple degrees of your target, but not meant for drastically raising it. i have brewed with it about 5 times and every time, without fail, it drops 5-8 degrees below my target even when i hit it dead on during mash in. i have even bought and cut out 4 layers of thermal insulation which i lay on top of the grain bed which hasnt changed anything. this ss brewtech mash tun is extremely insulated and meant for holding temperatures yet even in room temperature it cant hold my mash temp for 60 mins. does anyone else out there have this mashtun/have had this issue or can help me figure out a solution? it is extremely frustrating not being able to have a stable mash. i have heard that doing a 10 gallon batch with less deadspace in the tun would help, but i feel like with all the built in insulation, my termal pads and the electric temp controller that it should be able to stay where i want it to be. any input is appreciated!

 

[skraeling]

on a tun that big.. dead space is a killer. Ive heard to try laying aluminum foil on top of your grain layer to cut down on that.

dead space is evil. you probably should be using the 10g one. why did you get the 20g out of curiosity.

 

[sledgewinston]

why did you get the 20g out of curiosity.

i planned on eventually doing 10 gallon batches but didnt forsee the problems with using it for 5 gallons

 

[skraeling]

i planned on eventually doing 10 gallon batches but didnt forsee the problems with using it for 5 gallons

I figured that was the reasoning. Try the aluminum foil trick and see if that helps. All about reflecting that heat back into your mash. Kind of ghetto, but itll work.

I went from 5g to 10g back to 5g since I now keg and 5g batch 5g keg is a match made in fermentable heaven for me.

 

[dthompson79]

When I did single infusion with mine I would always overheat my strike water by a few degrees more than I normally would and let it preheat for 10 mins. stir to bring it down to my desired strike temp after and dough in after. Worked well for me. Most batches stayed within a degree of dough in temp, even in freezing weather. The aluminum will help but the others are right if you are only filling the tun 1/4 full or less the dead space will not help.

 

[steved53]

Try preheating with hot water for about half an hour before you mash in. Drain this water and mash in a few degrees hotter than your mash temperature.

You need to get the whole of the mash tun up to temperature for some time before you mash in.

 

[BarleyPopBrewer]

Try preheating with hot water for about half an hour before you mash in. Drain this water and mash in a few degrees hotter than your mash temperature.

You need to get the whole of the mash tun up to temperature for some time before you mash in.

So you need to heat 20 gallons of water, then put into your MT, then let it heat up, dump all that water and THEN start brewing!? Is it just me or does that seem like a huge inconvenience and a waste of 20 gallons of water!?

 

[skraeling]

So you need to heat 20 gallons of water, then put into your MT, then let it heat up, dump all that water and THEN start brewing!? Is it just me or does that seem like a huge inconvenience and a waste of 20 gallons of water!?

Thats why I suggested layering aluminum foil on top. makes that deadspace irrelevant. though i imagine the metal itself would draw some out regardless, but not as much as dead air space.

 

[schatzke]

So you need to heat 20 gallons of water, then put into your MT, then let it heat up, dump all that water and THEN start brewing!? Is it just me or does that seem like a huge inconvenience and a waste of 20 gallons of water!?

No need to use 20 gallons. Pour in 2 gallons of boiling water and that should preheat it quite nicely.

 

[steved53]

Does anyone use stainless steel thermos flasks?

Would anyone a quarter fill it with hot coffee without preheating it and still expect to get hot coffee out of it after an hour or so?

If you pre-heat it sufficiently, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by it's performance. Yes, it is a bit of a waste of water and heat, but there isn't much alternative.

 

[Spartan1979]

I just heat my mash water up to 5 degrees or so hotter than I want it and let it sit for 10 minutes. That's usually enough to preheat my Gott cooler and doesn't waste any water.

 

[dthompson79]

Does anyone use stainless steel thermos flasks?

Would anyone a quarter fill it with hot coffee without preheating it and still expect to get hot coffee out of it after an hour or so?

If you pre-heat it sufficiently, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by it's performance. Yes, it is a bit of a waste of water and heat, but there isn't much alternative.

perfect analogy. I don't know why everyone can't draw this parrallel

I just heat my mash water up to 5 degrees or so hotter than I want it and let it sit for 10 minutes. That's usually enough to preheat my Gott cooler and doesn't waste any water.

I always preheated mine 5-10 degrees depending on outside temperate. Mash temps always stayed within 0.5 degrees

 

[BarleyPopBrewer]

Does anyone use stainless steel thermos flasks?

Would anyone a quarter fill it with hot coffee without preheating it and still expect to get hot coffee out of it after an hour or so?

If you pre-heat it sufficiently, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by it's performance. Yes, it is a bit of a waste of water and heat, but there isn't much alternative.

Yeah I use my Yeti Rambler everyday. I've never once ever pre-heated my coffee mug. I sometimes fill it up halfway after lunch and it's still hot when I leave.

Wouldn't the alternative be not purchasing the vessel that only kinda works when a bunch of leg work is used? My kettle with false bottom works great! I can even step mash since I have a burner I use with it

 

[MidAtlanticBrew]

I have the 20 gallon version and it's overkill and too big for 90% of my 11 gallon batches which are generally 1.045 to 1.055 OG. It's literally half full. Still it holds within degree or two after preheating as previous posters suggested. I insulated around the thermometer. Might have helped a bit.

I can't imagine putting just 9 pounds of grain into this beast.

 

[GJOCONNELL]

I use the 20 gallon version and I went larger because I wanted the ability to do a Pliny the Younger clone at some point and that is a 29 lbs grain bill and I figured at some point I would start doing double batches @ 10 gallons to save on brew time.

Back to the original topic.....I heat up a couple gallons of water and toss it in to preheat (like 2 gallons of water) and get everything setup while it preheats and that does the trick for my 5 gallon batches. I also started using the MTS heat pad which should have you covered. Even without the heat pad I only lost 1 degree over 60 minutes.

 

[biggrizzly]

I also have a 20 gallon. What most people don't get is that this monster weighs 50lbs. That's 50lbs of steel, not plastic cooler. So, when you pre-heat you really need to let it sit and soak up as much heat from the pre-heat, so it doesn't suck the heat from your mash. I have played with it a lot. I also found the thermo-couple would give inconsistent readings unless I really shoved it all the way into the port and taped it with some electrical tape.
I also bought the heating pad and controller, but the jury is still out on the value of that without recirculating the wort,from below the false bottom.

 

[Crazyeyes]

Preheating that beast is definitely a must, but the best thing I did with my 20 gal SS mashtun was added a HERMS coil in my HTL and a pump to recirculate. Now I can not only maintain temperature, but step mashing is a slow possibility, with a 50' SS HERMS coil and a 5500 watt element in my HTL I can gain about 10 degrees every 15 minutes with 35lbs of grain and a 1.3 water grain ratio. I also changed out the thermometer and thermowell, to a high quality, calibratable analog dial thermometer, inside a new thermowell with thermo paste, it bugged me that between the electronic thermometer, the temp controller for the heat pad, and a thermometer floating in the mash, no of them agreed with each other because A) The temperature was stratified between the top, and bottom and the heating pad only heats the bottom. B) Putting thermo paste in the supplied thermowell with the electronic thermometer and thermocouple For improved accuracy, isn't feasible because it'd cause a big mess and nobody want to play with a thermo paste mess.

 

[BarleyPopBrewer]

Preheating that beast is definitely a must, but the best thing I did with my 20 gal SS mashtun was added a HERMS coil in my HTL and a pump to recirculate. Now I can not only maintain temperature, but step mashing is a slow possibility, with a 50' SS HERMS coil and a 5500 watt element in my HTL I can gain about 10 degrees every 15 minutes with 35lbs of grain and a 1.3 water grain ratio. I also changed out the thermometer and thermowell, to a high quality, calibratable analog dial thermometer, inside a new thermowell with thermo paste, it bugged me that between the electronic thermometer, the temp controller for the heat pad, and a thermometer floating in the mash, no of them agreed with each other because A) The temperature was stratified between the top, and bottom and the heating pad only heats the bottom. B) Putting thermo paste in the supplied thermowell with the electronic thermometer and thermocouple For improved accuracy, isn't feasible because it'd cause a big mess and nobody want to play with a thermo paste mess.

Question: Why did you spend the extra $225 on an insulated mash tun when your running a HERMS? A standard kettle would have worked just fine in your situation and would have saved a bunch of money.

 

[Crazyeyes]

I didn't originally plan on the HERMs setup until after finding the limitation of this mashtun and heating pad, I wanted more consistent mash temps, and the ability to raise mash temps and do a proper mash in and protein rest with some recipes.

 

[biggrizzly]

Ditto... many, many brew rigs have the mash tun insulated to assist the HERMS

 

[Sniderzj]

Go with a 15 gallon chapman insulates MT. Much better value and its perfect for 5 or 10 gallon batches

 

[BarleyPopBrewer]

Ditto... many, many brew rigs have the mash tun insulated to assist the HERMS

But why? The convection losses are hugely out weighed by the HERMS coil. It's literally doing nothing for a bunch more money. Plus how are people punching holes for connections through the insulation?

 

[Crazyeyes]

Go with a 15 gallon chapman insulates MT. Much better value and its perfect for 5 or 10 gallon batches

The problem is, bigger is always better. I started off thinking 5-10 gallons and ended up with a setup that can handle 20 gal. batches. I like 20 gal. batches if I'm going to make a lagers or anyother beer that's going to tie up my fermentation chamber for a few more months, also if you want to brew with friends 15-20 gals. is nice.

 

[breckenridge]

You could try doing no-sparge so that you have more mash in the tun, cut down head room that way.

 

[phendog]

I have been using the Ss brewtech 20 gallon mash tun for 5 gallon batches- which i understand is leaving a lot of headspace in the tun, but for the life of me i cannot get the temperature to stay put. i even purchased the temperature controller which, as advertised, is supposed to keep your temp within a couple degrees of your target, but not meant for drastically raising it. i have brewed with it about 5 times and every time, without fail, it drops 5-8 degrees below my target even when i hit it dead on during mash in. i have even bought and cut out 4 layers of thermal insulation which i lay on top of the grain bed which hasnt changed anything. this ss brewtech mash tun is extremely insulated and meant for holding temperatures yet even in room temperature it cant hold my mash temp for 60 mins. does anyone else out there have this mashtun/have had this issue or can help me figure out a solution? it is extremely frustrating not being able to have a stable mash. i have heard that doing a 10 gallon batch with less deadspace in the tun would help, but i feel like with all the built in insulation, my termal pads and the electric temp controller that it should be able to stay where i want it to be. any input is appreciated!

My wife bought me the Ss 20Gal Mash Tun for Christmas.
New Years day I brewed a 10gal batch of Black IPA. I would always fly sparge while using my previous 10gal water cooler system so I decided to batch sparge since I had the extra capacity.

I preheated the tun with 5gals, dumped it, and then hit my initial mash strike temp. After the batch sparge, I was nearly at the lip. Outside temp was 48degs but I lost 6degs during the entire process. I was very disappointed, but holding off judgement until outside temps begin to warm up.

I was thinking about getting the temp controller for it and was wondering if it is worth it.

 

[phendog]

But why? The convection losses are hugely out weighed by the HERMS coil. It's literally doing nothing for a bunch more money. Plus how are people punching holes for connections through the insulation?

The 20gal Ss Tuns come pre-drilled with a re-circ port. Ss also sells the correct drill bits with detailed instructions for drilling out the 10gal modes.

 

[phendog]

Preheating that beast is definitely a must, but the best thing I did with my 20 gal SS mashtun was added a HERMS coil in my HTL and a pump to recirculate. Now I can not only maintain temperature, but step mashing is a slow possibility, with a 50' SS HERMS coil and a 5500 watt element in my HTL I can gain about 10 degrees every 15 minutes with 35lbs of grain and a 1.3 water grain ratio. I also changed out the thermometer and thermowell, to a high quality, calibratable analog dial thermometer, inside a new thermowell with thermo paste, it bugged me that between the electronic thermometer, the temp controller for the heat pad, and a thermometer floating in the mash, no of them agreed with each other because A) The temperature was stratified between the top, and bottom and the heating pad only heats the bottom. B) Putting thermo paste in the supplied thermowell with the electronic thermometer and thermocouple For improved accuracy, isn't feasible because it'd cause a big mess and nobody want to play with a thermo paste mess.

I did something similar on my HLT & Mash Tun 10gal water cooler system. I would heat water 25degs hotter than my mash temp and put my old copper wort chiller into the HLT. Then I would put a pump between the valve of the Tun, send the wort through the chiller to pick up heat when needed and recirc back into the tun. If my temp climbed to high I would simply pull the coil out of the HLT until the temp was just right. If it dropped, I would simply put the coil back in. Near the end of the mash the coil would remain in the HLT as temps on both sides evened out and the constant recirc gave me the clearest wort I've ever seen. Requires constant attention but a great/cheep [sorta] HERMS system.

 

[augiedoggy]

Ditto... many, many brew rigs have the mash tun insulated to assist the HERMS

To be clear here It doesnt really "assist" in anything unless something is wrong with the design of either since a herms or rims is more than capable of maintaining or increasing mash temps... do you wear a raincoat inside on rainy days to "assist" in staying dry? For most people theres a point of diminishing returns with the whole "more is better concept" especially when it comes at a cost of more work on the brew day.

I see it like buying a fancy new car then putting it on a flat bed trailer to take it to shows... It might look pretty but when others look at it from a practical standpoint they see it as silly. (and at least the car might gain some investment value from this) Here there is no added value except depending on how you look at it, a cosmetic one which comes at a cost of a lot of additional care and work empty that mash tun after every brew if you are using it with a rim or herms to maintain or step mash temps...


These insulated tuns make sense if your looking for the insulation to maintain temps... if your using a herms or rims your kidding yourself if you think they are adding any added function for anything but bling at that point (which IMHO is fine until you try to justify it as otherwise to other here) at that point your just confusing folks doing research on what to buy and build from a practical standpoint.


I suppose if you are brewing in some sort of frozen temp conditions they both would help but the whole point of electric is to avoid all that.

 

[Crazyeyes]

To be clear here It doesnt really "assist" in anything unless something is wrong with the design of either since a herms or rims is more than capable of maintaining or increasing mash temps... Thats what its for and For most people theres a point of diminishing returns with the whole "more is better concept" especially when it comes at a cost of more work on the brew day.




I see it like buying a fancy new car then putting it on a flat bed trailer to take it to shows... It might look pretty but when others look at it from a practical standpoint they see it as silly. (and at least the car might gain some investment value from this) Here there is no added value except depending on how you look at it, a cosmetic one which comes at a cost of a lot of additional care and work empty that mash tun after every brew if you are using it with a rim or herms to maintain or step mash temps...


These insulated tuns make sense if your looking for the insulation to maintain temps... if your using a herms or rims your kidding yourself if you think they are adding any added function for anything but bling at that point (which IMHO is fine until you try to justify it as otherwise to other here) at that point your just confusing folks doing research on what to buy and build from a practical standpoint.


I suppose if you are brewing in some sort of frozen temp conditions they both would help but the whole point of electric is to avoid all that.

I think you missed the point. I purchased the 20gal. SS mashtun and accessory heater with the hopes of maintaining mash temps in my garage in the PNW, I don't live in LA or Phoenix, and I brew year round in my garage. The Ss mashtun w/ heater wouldn't maintain temp. It's a very nice mashtun, I love mine it has many more features that a standard 20 gal. pot doesn't have, like the concave bottom with center drain, and the manometer tubes on the side to monitor runoff.

Ss puts out a very nice product, and the accessories that available for it are top notch, people just need to understand that their will be temperature loss, also if additional heat is not added the temperature loss is greater than the accessory heater can maintain in colder climates. I would buy another one again, I have no regrets on spending the extra money for it's added features and "bling".

For those of us that built our own systems, and didn't purchase a prebuilt all grain system from Blichman or Morebeer, our systems are all their own individual masterpieces, that seems to evolve as they're used to solve problems and make brewing easier and more consistent. What works for me, might not be what you think would work for you, you like RIMS I like HERMS, you batch Sparge, I fly Sparge. As long as it work for the individual brewer and makes beer they think taste good, that's what counts, not someone else's opinions.

 

[augiedoggy]

I think you missed the point. I purchased the 20gal. SS mashtun and accessory heater with the hopes of maintaining mash temps in my garage in the PNW, I don't live in LA or Phoenix, and I brew year round in my garage. The Ss mashtun w/ heater wouldn't maintain temp. It's a very nice mashtun, I love mine it has many more features that a standard 20 gal. pot doesn't have, like the concave bottom with center drain, and the manometer tubes on the side to monitor runoff.

Ss puts out a very nice product, and the accessories that available for it are top notch, people just need to understand that their will be temperature loss, also if additional heat is not added the temperature loss is greater than the accessory heater can maintain in colder climates. I would buy another one again, I have no regrets on spending the extra money for it's added features and "bling".

For those of us that built our own systems, and didn't purchase a prebuilt all grain system from Blichman or Morebeer, our systems are all their own individual masterpieces, that seems to evolve as they're used to solve problems and make brewing easier and more consistent. What works for me, might not be what you think would work for you, you like RIMS I like HERMS, you batch Sparge, I fly Sparge. As long as it work for the individual brewer and makes beer they think taste good, that's what counts, not someone else's opinions.

Herms and rims is for controling mash temps... and an insulated mash tun is for controlling mash temps just like a roof and a rain jacket both keep the rain off you... how am I missing the point? I stated my opinion and now you state yours.
an insulated mash tun is an inexpensive and limited way to try to maintain mash temps... herms and rims are more than adequate to do the job.

You are stating your purchase was for other reasons besides the fact that its an insulated kettle and then point out reasons that by themselves are more cosmetic and would make no measurable difference. I already said I am talking about the main point of the product which is its ability to hold mash temps without an external temp control system like a herms or rims... just like a guy who would say they are wearing the rain jacket indoors because they like the color or because it has pockets.I would argue that to the rest of us you still look like the fool wearing a rain jacket indoors regardless of what brand or ,color or cost...
I could argue that a $50 keggle up side down with a center drain diptube has the same features and is a lot better built and less likely to dent up when trying to move or clean.

 

[Crazyeyes]

Then go find yourself a 20gal. keggle! Don't worry I already googled it, there's no such thing. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig. My mashtun works for me, and if you think that it's foolish for buying it, then I guess I'm a fool. You know your starting to pissing me off, so back off and go away, I would think this is a friendly forum and your holier than thou opinion isn't appreciated.

 

[Mhakala]

I have this SS Brewtech 20Gallon Mash tun and with my herms system I heat it with 11 gallons the night before my brew to 160 degrees. I find it only losses about 10 degrees over night. When I wake I turn the HLT to my desired temp and add my grain. This shortens my brew day by a few hours.

 

[Zooksta]

I have this SS Brewtech 20Gallon Mash tun and with my herms system I heat it with 11 gallons the night before my brew to 160 degrees. I find it only losses about 10 degrees over night. When I wake I turn the HLT to my desired temp and add my grain. This shortens my brew day by a few hours.

10 degree drop over night is impressive. I have the hot rod heat stick from brew hardware set on a timer to startup about an hour before I wake up, this way I can mash in after I grab a cup of coffee. I found that the lid that came with my 22 gallon Brewbuilt kettle fits the infussion perfectly, that way I can use the heat stick with the notch in the brewbuilt lid.