Dan_HBT
Member
Before I spend the cash I want to get your opinions on a Brutus 20-like recirculating system. As of now I have a 52qt rectangular cooler mash tun with copper manifold and a 15 gallon 5500W electric kettle with an Auber PID and RTD. I was thinking of buying a chugger pump and doing a full volume recirc from bottom of boil kettle to top of mash tun and gravity the other way. I would use something along the lines of the autosparge arm to match flow rates. My current heating element would act as a rims type setup. I was thinking this setup would be like BIAB, without the lifting and squeezing, and perhaps have better clarity (not that it makes a huge difference in the final product).
Pros:
stepped mash
improved wort clarity
ability to whirlpool for better break separation and cooling (I use an IC)
No more lifting of hot wort in buckets
Cons:
More complex than needed/must listen to pump noise (I brew in my kitchen)
lower efficiency (not too much of a factor at the gravities I typically brew ~1.055)
possibility of overflowing mashtun/uncovering element
So what do you guys thinks?
Pros:
stepped mash
improved wort clarity
ability to whirlpool for better break separation and cooling (I use an IC)
No more lifting of hot wort in buckets
Cons:
More complex than needed/must listen to pump noise (I brew in my kitchen)
lower efficiency (not too much of a factor at the gravities I typically brew ~1.055)
possibility of overflowing mashtun/uncovering element
So what do you guys thinks?