Stuck Sparge Question

[barhoc11]

While brewing today I got a stuck sparge which I luckily got around by blowing into the valve each time it became stuck and also by making some channels in the grain bed with my paddle. My pre boil gravity was high and my volume was a little low so I was able to top off with some water to hit my desired pre boil gravity and volume.

I brewed a batch (Deception Cream Stout) using the same grain crush settings on Tuesday and I did not have this issue. Today I am making a Kolsch and the only difference to my brewing procedure was that instead of sparging twice, I put all of my sparge water in at once and did a single sparge (trying to save some time).

I know there could be various reasons for a stuck sparge but could the fact that I tried to do a single sparge cause my issue?

The grain crush is a little finer than I have used in the past so maybe it is a combination of finer crush and the single sparge?

Any help is appreciated, I would like to avoid this in the future if possible so I want to get it figured out.

THANKS!

 

[Butter]

My vote would be on the crush.

 

[JJL]

First thing you should do is check your efficiency, just to see if your crush is giving you the efficiency you want. The reason you didn't have as much trouble when you single batch sparged is because you thinned the mash by adding more water. And you probably raised the mash temp higher with the single sparge than with the double sparge, which also makes lautering smoother. Personally, I use a single batch sparge and get consistent 70%-75% efficiency out of my mash, which is all I'm shooting for. If you want to get higher efficiency, or you just prefer to double sparge, you could always consider adding rice or oat hulls to your mash.

 

[Bsquared]

A few questions here,
1) What kind of manafold are you using? Copper tube, Stainless braid, or a false bottom?
2) Are you using a pump?
3) how fast do you open your valve when draining the mash tun?

Some times a stuck sparge can occur when the valve is opened too quickly creating a small vacuum that collapses the grain bed. If you are using a pump this can amplify the problem.

One other thing that can cause problems are dough balls, clumps of grain and crushed grain flower that don't fully dissolve in the mash. To avoid dough balls always fill your mash tun from the bottom and stir stir stir...These are a couple of things that come to my mind regarding NON-pumpkin ale stuck sparges. pumpkin in the mash is just a mess.:cross:

 

[barhoc11]

A few questions here,
1) What kind of manafold are you using? Copper tube, Stainless braid, or a false bottom?
2) Are you using a pump?
3) how fast do you open your valve when draining the mash tun?

Some times a stuck sparge can occur when the valve is opened too quickly creating a small vacuum that collapses the grain bed. If you are using a pump this can amplify the problem.

One other thing that can cause problems are dough balls, clumps of grain and crushed grain flower that don't fully dissolve in the mash. To avoid dough balls always fill your mash tun from the bottom and stir stir stir...These are a couple of things that come to my mind regarding NON-pumpkin ale stuck sparges. pumpkin in the mash is just a mess.:cross:

1) Stainless braid
2) No Pump, just the barb welded onto my 9 gallon kettle
3) I open it very slowly at first when vorleuf'ing then a little more once my runnings are clear

My efficiency was high for this batch and I actually had to dillute the wort a little before my boil. I was expecting it to be lower than normal because the 1 sparge method is supposed to lower efficiency. It is just odd because I used the same barley crusher for both of my batches I did this week and didn't have issue with the stout. Could the lighter grain bill cause this?

I have a grain mill on its way so I will be able to adjust my crush in the future but if someone can confirm... a single sparge would not cause this? I think the answer is no but maybe I am missing something

 

[El_Exorcisto]

If you are batch sparging, you really don't care about a stuck sparge. Just mix it up and run it off again, vorlauf if you care. Channeling your wort is typically a bad idea, since water bypasses grain on it's way out the spout. Stuck sparging is an issue with the fly spargers since they need to keep a good filter bed and hope to do the whole "rinse from the top down" thing.