Tilting the Mash Tun

[beertoole]

I have been all grain brewing for about a month now and I have a Mash Tun question:
I am using a Igloo 10 gallon to mash with a stainless steel false bottom and ball valve. Once I let my grains mash for their temp for X amount of time I know it is good to sparge with the wort as well as sparge lightly with strike water to build up the grain bed.....However, once I get close to the end of my sparge water there is a lot of wort that is left at the base of the mash tun that is a rich brown/tan/ect color (This is because there is about 3/4 of an inch of space from the base of the mash tun to the ball value attachment).

It is ok to tilt and get every drop of water out of my Mash Tun?

And - should I buy a mesh filter to go inside my mash tun to better filter out all the husks? Does that effect anything that I should make strides to prevent?
Thanks for the help!
-=Beertoole=-

 

[509inc]

Tilt that Tun and get the wort out of there. You wouldn't want those sugars to be left behind.

 

[rycov]

i don't see why tilting would do any harm. as to the husks. yeah, you don't want them in there, when they boil you get tannins from them. a few specks won't do much though, it would probably take a good bit. how much of the husks are you getting in the wort?

 

[o4_srt]

I have been all grain brewing for about a month now and I have a Mash Tun question:
I am using a Igloo 10 gallon to mash with a stainless steel false bottom and ball valve. Once I let my grains mash for their temp for X amount of time I know it is good to sparge with the wort as well as sparge lightly with strike water to build up the grain bed.....However, once I get close to the end of my sparge water there is a lot of wort that is left at the base of the mash tun that is a rich brown/tan/ect color (This is because there is about 3/4 of an inch of space from the base of the mash tun to the ball value attachment).

It is ok to tilt and get every drop of water out of my Mash Tun?

And - should I buy a mesh filter to go inside my mash tun to better filter out all the husks? Does that effect anything that I should make strides to prevent?
Thanks for the help!
-=Beertoole=-

You definitely want some type of filter. A mesh filter will work, or you could use a copper or cpvc manifold with slots cut in it via hacksaw. Alternately, you could use a large fine mesh bag. Although, I'm not sure you will find one big enough for a 10 gallon mash tun.

The process of sparging with strike water (I'm assuming you meant you drain some of the mash and pour it back into the mash tun) is a German technique called vorlauf. It is meant to "set" the grain bed so that it filters the sediment and husks, and only allows clear mash into your brew kettle.

As for tilting, I don't just because I am lazy. I account for the water lost in the mash tun during my water use calculations.

 

[goofiefoot]

I tilt my Igloo Cube tun as far as it will go - usually have about another 1-3 quarts in there after it's stopped draining. I have never had a problem getting excess husks in the wort, and I use a cPVC manifold with hacksawed cuts. Tilt away!

 

[beertoole]

Killer guys - I was just double checking and you made me feel more confident about my technique. I am getting, what i would consider, a significant amount of husks. Of course, now that I am looking for them I think i see millions of them! But that pvcp pipe sounds super easy to config.
Freaking love this site. Thanks again
-=Beertoole=-

 

[JakeFegely]

I just built a slotted copper manifold for my 10 gal cooler. I wanted to get the manifold flat on the bottom of the cooler, which is a challenge because the valve is about 3/4" above the bottom. I ended up taking a 90 degree elbow and cutting one end to fit over a piece of pipe (a section of the manifold). I drilled a hole in the pipe and then soldered the modified elbow to the pipe section. The manifold sits dead flat on the bottom. When I tested with water on sunday, it sucked all but about 3 or 4 ounces from the cooler. I'll try with a mash in about 10 days, but hopefully it should pull almost all the wort.

 

[showcow]

if you do get too many husks, just get a strainer spoon for ~5 bucks from wal mart or whatever. you won't need to filter your entire wort, just spoon out what you can. the little bit that's left over after that won't hurt a bit. I tilt as well - use a 10 gallon coleman square cooler with a bazooka screen.

 

[wolverinebrewer]

Another tilter here. Actually a "proper" as I prop up the end of the cooler about 3". Even with a channel drain sitting below the floor of the tun, I prop it up to get all of the liquid.

But that pvcp pipe sounds super easy to config.

Yep. It's very easy and inexpensive. 5' sections are about $3 and various connectors about $.25. I built a cpvc rectangular manifold for less than $6 and it's very easy to cut slots with a hack saw.

 

[weirdboy]

Yeah I stick a couple of shoes under one end of mine usually.

 

[BendBrewer]

I used to tilt. Then I installed a copper manifold and I have no need. It sucks the MLT dry. Well worth the 8 bucks and 40 minutes of cutting slits.

 

[kanzimonson]

Another solution would be to just use more sparge water. A lot of people prepare more sparge water than they know they'll need, just so they can be sure they always hit their target preboil volume. I deliberately aim to have about 2 quarts of extra liquid in my tun when I'm done. Sometimes I need it for dissolving stuff later in the brew process, or making starters, etc.

I bet if you did this your efficiency would barely change, if any.

 

[weirdboy]

I used to tilt. Then I installed a copper manifold and I have no need. It sucks the MLT dry. Well worth the 8 bucks and 40 minutes of cutting slits.

I am sure you are happy with your new manifold, but I don't see an inherent advantage in using one versus propping one end a bit higher. At least, not 8 bucks and 40 minutes of cutting slits worth.

 

[TBrosBrewing]

Its a necessity if you do large partigyles, I get an additional 1.5 gal or so out of my 150qt cooler.

 

[Baldy_Beer_Brewery]

If you want to retain the false bottom, add an elbow to your mash tun pointed down. This should create a siphon.