Has anyone else tried out steam heating of your mash? I have recently added this feature to my outfit and so far I love it!
With a pressure cooker purchased from e-bay and the other parts purchased from Lowes, I have this system up and running for under $75 (propane burner which I use not included in this price).
This can easily be run from propane or electric. It goes in my picnic cooler style mash tun and allows me to maintain temperature. In experimentation (water only, no grains) I have raised my temperature as if I were doing step mashes and it raises the temperature as fast as I care to. There is no addition of hot water if a temperature is missed on the strike because the volume of steam/water required to make temperature adjustments is minimal unlike with boiling/hot water.
I chose the picnic cooler style mash tun over a heated vessel prior to building my system with the intent of adding this feature. I went this route due to concerns over caramelization (sp.) of the grains on a direct heated system and the expense of a HERMS RIMS setup. This has worked very well for me and I just wanted to share this with you and get your feedback.
Pressure cooker with steam outlet valve
Steam dispersion manifold in the mash tun
With a pressure cooker purchased from e-bay and the other parts purchased from Lowes, I have this system up and running for under $75 (propane burner which I use not included in this price).
This can easily be run from propane or electric. It goes in my picnic cooler style mash tun and allows me to maintain temperature. In experimentation (water only, no grains) I have raised my temperature as if I were doing step mashes and it raises the temperature as fast as I care to. There is no addition of hot water if a temperature is missed on the strike because the volume of steam/water required to make temperature adjustments is minimal unlike with boiling/hot water.
I chose the picnic cooler style mash tun over a heated vessel prior to building my system with the intent of adding this feature. I went this route due to concerns over caramelization (sp.) of the grains on a direct heated system and the expense of a HERMS RIMS setup. This has worked very well for me and I just wanted to share this with you and get your feedback.
Pressure cooker with steam outlet valve
Steam dispersion manifold in the mash tun