Using mash tun pre-heat water for spare?

[hogwash]

Hi,

Part of my process is that I boil a couple gallons of water to warm up my mash tun before I dump in the grains and get the mash going. Is there any reason to not use the boiled "warm up" water as sparge water?

Thanks!

 

[jafo28]

You could. What I always did, rather than boiling separate water for warm up, was to take about a gallon of my mash water and add that to the cooler for warm up. Even in winter up here in the N.E. my mash temp would hold within a degree or two. I think boiling the separate water may just be an unnecessary step.

 

[BreezyBrew]

Why not use it as mash water? That's what I do. I know from my bk to my mash tun I'll lose about 4 degrees. I'll lose another 2 while I wait 15 min for it to preheat. Then another 10 at mash in. I if I mash at 150 I start at 166° in the bk.

 

[hogwash]

Thanks for the input. That may be the route I go next time.

 

[djt17]

I also use the mash water heated 7 deg above strike temp. By the time it gets to strike temp the tun is pre-heated. Couldn't be easier.

 

[jcom87]

Why not use it as mash water? That's what I do. I know from my bk to my mash tun I'll lose about 4 degrees. I'll lose another 2 while I wait 15 min for it to preheat. Then another 10 at mash in. I if I mash at 150 I start at 166° in the bk.

Thanks for the input! I am yet to do my first AG batch and I was curious what kind of temp loss I would be dealing with in the process. What are you using for your MLT? Mine is a 10 gallon Rubbermaid round water cooler.

 

[BreezyBrew]

Thanks for the input! I am yet to do my first AG batch and I was curious what kind of temp loss I would be dealing with in the process. What are you using for your MLT? Mine is a 10 gallon Rubbermaid round water cooler.

I typically mash at 1.5 qt/gal which is a lil thinner than the average rule of thumb. This is to keep the temp more stable. I use a 10 gallon cooler from Lowes with a false bottom. I typically see 8 to 10 degree loss when I mash in. I'd suggest doing a test run. It's also much easier to cool the temp down than heat it up, so I'd suggest having some room temp RO water on hand. A couple of cups goes a long way.