Why can't you just tip the cooler a bit to drain it all out?

[eggbeater59]

People are overly obsessed with efficiency if you ask me. If I want 6 gallons of wort post boil and I've already collected my required 8 gallons of pre-boil wort at my target gravity, I see no reason to collect an extra half gallon of 1.020 wort. What's the point?

Now I'll tip a mash tun if needed to collect my target pre-boil volume, but once I have that I don't care about some sugar points left behind. Perhaps I'm missing something, but I can't say I understand what it is.

starters :rockin:
all that extra stuff is good for something, why waste?
i also tip, why wouldn't i? i stuff the blanket i use to cover the tun under it, to help. as said previously, i tip on the mash lauter to get a good drain, and then the first sparge. tipping on the secondary sparge makes dropping the grain in the bag during cleanup much easier, too

 

[thelorax121]

This is exactly what I do. I batch sparge in a 10 gall Igloo with a braid, and when the water level starts getting low to the point that there is only a small trickle coming out of the valve, I put a wedge under the back of the cooler to tip the front down, making sure that I get everything in the cooler from each running

 

[DavidSteel]

I kinda tip mine. Got a rectangle Rubbermaid cooler (regular cooler). I just put an oven-mit under one side of the cooler. I don't think it barley even does anything, but my grain doesn't move lol.

 

[manticle]

It most certainly does affect efficiency. Brewhouse efficiency is total sugars extracted divided by potential sugars extracted. If you leave sugar in the mash tun, you lower the total sugars extracted, lowering your efficiency.

I'll defer to your experience on that. Always happy to be corrected.

 

[kaiser423]

This is exactly what I do. I batch sparge in a 10 gall Igloo with a braid, and when the water level starts getting low to the point that there is only a small trickle coming out of the valve, I put a wedge under the back of the cooler to tip the front down, making sure that I get everything in the cooler from each running

Exactly. I am impatient, and when the drain speed slows down I can tilt to speed it up, speeding up the drain process and cutting 15 minutes or more off of my brew day.

 

[Orfy]

You should tip if it reduces lost wort in dead space. It does improve brewhouse efficiency.

Any unconverted starch and unclaimed sugars from the grain will reduce brewhouse efficiency.

 

[twoodward15]

Wow, don't any of you taste your spent grains? I drain my tun and while the wort is coming to a boil (usually about 15minutes) I tip my tun and let it sit. Just before the wort comes to a boil I will drain the tun. The sugars are way way way higher than you think they are. Probably about the same as the first runnings. There is still some conversion going on in the tun and it will continue to convert starch to sugar. I don't do it for efficiency. I normallydo it because I count that last half gallon as part of my preboil volume (thus inadvertantly counting on its' sugars for efficiency I guess). Next time you empty your tun, taste the stuff on the bottom to see how much sugar is left behind! You'll be surprised. I always taste the spent grain to see if I got the sugars out of it.

 

[Orfy]

Anything coming out 1010 or above is good but at 1010 it's not sweet.

 

[david_42]

I tip mine, works fine.

 

[Blackhawkbrew]

I'm a tipper. I thought I was the only one, imagine that. I've also found that if I leave my ball valve open and the hose sitting in a pan after all runnings are drained (and the MLT has been tipped) I still get about a quart or so from the MLT, so I've just been throwing it in the BK.

 

[Crazytwoknobs]

Marbles Baby, Marbles. A layer of those little flattened bottom marbles on the bottom of the tun might help, right?

 

[kappclark]

I have a ball valve bulkhead in the MLT. I attach a peice of hose to the outside hose barb and run it into the bottom of the BK. After it gets going, it creates a siphon as long as you don't take the hose out of the BK. I control the flow with the ball valve.

This is what I have been doing with high temp hose (I don't know if hot side aeration is real on a 5 gal scale, but I figure wht take the chance) ... never thought abt the siphon effect..

I still tip w/2x4 at end

 

[jaydub]

Coleman Xtreme + 2x4 = No wort left behind™.

 

[aeonderdonk]

does anyone not tip? I know I tip.

 

[Jeepnbrew]

I tip, but I just thought of another way to do this.. Maybe putting the spout on the bottom and building a 2x4 stand for it to sit on... Then you could put a false bottom and drain it out with an elbow through the bottom of the stand... Might be worth a try..

 

[kendrid]

Coleman Xtreme + 2x4 = No wort left behind™.

I am new to AG (but not brewing) and I just picked up a Coleman Xtreme last week. I did my first AG this past weekend and hit 72% with it. The recessed channel that flows into the sprigot has to help.

 

[Brandonchr]

Another tipper here even if my Coleman Extreme has a drain with sump liner allows no-tilt draining!

Same here. I love my Extreme.

 

[phatuna]

I'm a tipper, on top of that, I will typically pick up my MLT and give it a couple of good shakes and bounces to get every last drop possible out.

 

[bdnoona]

I always tip and let my beverage cooler MLT continue to trickle well into the boil. I want all that good sugar.

I do this with both of my 10 gallon and my 70 quarter Xtreme. They sometimes drain as much as a 1/2 gallon over 10-15 minutes when it appears the cooler is done draining. I want high efficiency and lots of wort.

 

[Jkane101]

does anyone not tip? I know I tip.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Whiskey]

No tipping here. I usually only have about a cup left anyways. However it would make sense if your setup has a lot of dead space.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

Why can't you just tip the cooler a bit to drain it all out?

Because then the beer would be unbalanced.

 

[DavidSteel]

Because then the beer would be unbalanced.

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhha

 

[RichBenn]

Maybe we need a poll - tippers vs. not. I'm in the (carefull) book/2x4/ whatever I can find tipper group

 

[ChshreCat]

The question is... how much do you tip? I think 20% is standard.

 

[beerloin]

The question is... how much do you tip? I think 20% is standard.

I almost tip to 90 degrees!

i guess im frugal tho...
i paid for that grain so i will get every last bit out of it!

 

[Krelja]

I was a tipper as well for a while but I kicked the habit.



Actually my new tun is a converted keggle wrapped in 2 times with reflectix and jaybird FB and a bottom drain. I guess I'm kinda cheating now

 

[Randar]

I tip. Why would you leave good wort behind?

If you tip earlier in the mash you tilt the grain bed and end up with an uneven grain bed. This will lead to filtering via the "path of least resistance" and most likely it will impact your efficiency.

Drawback to doing it at the end of the mash is that you disturb the grain bed. If you have a huge grain bag or a SS braid, doing it at that point won't hurt you, really, IMO.


And to the quote I included here... if you measure, time, and match flow rates you shouldn't have to worry about getting some 1.007 or 1.008 runnings out of the tun and these will not really impact your observed specific gravity as you should halt your sparge once this point of thin-runnings is reached anyways. Now, if you're still pulling 1.020 when you "run dry", you could tip the tun, but I think that would be more an indication of an area to improve upon for future batches than anything else.

 

[Randar]

I do this with both of my 10 gallon and my 70 quarter Xtreme. They sometimes drain as much as a 1/2 gallon over 10-15 minutes when it appears the cooler is done draining. I want high efficiency and lots of wort.

But what is the gravity of the wort runoff at that point? Below 1.010?

 

[maida7]

Randar: Look back at the first post. Were talking about batch sparging.

 

[robertvrabel]

Here is a tip for tipping:

Just place some wood (in my case 2 2x4's stacked on each other) AFTER you are done mashing and BEFORE you start to run off. You want to do it this way so the grain bed settles on a slant. If you move your cooler around while already running off, your vorlauf was pointless as you'll start to not get clear wort. Repeat the same thing for sparge.

So thats it... there is nothing wrong with tipping and I don't see why you wouldn't do it unless you are really lazy. You'll get a lot more wort from your first runnings. In my case I use a rectangular cooler, and theres gotta be at least a 1/2 gallon of wort under there that I wouldn't get out.

 

[masonsjax]

I haven't had any trouble with the runoff getting cloudy again by tipping (rendering the vorlauf pointless). I'm not shaking up or stirring the mash, and tipping only moves the grain a little bit. A couple of 2x4s is what I've been using though, and sometimes I do tip as I start runoff so it settles on a slant. That works pretty well and you don' have to do any tipping.

 

[robertvrabel]

I haven't had any trouble with the runoff getting cloudy again by tipping (rendering the vorlauf pointless). I'm not shaking up or stirring the mash, and tipping only moves the grain a little bit. A couple of 2x4s is what I've been using though, and sometimes I do tip as I start runoff so it settles on a slant. That works pretty well and you don' have to do any tipping.

Each system is different, but if your going to "tip" you might as well do it prior to vorlauf just to be safe. In my system it gets cloudly after I try to tip, so I always setup the 2x4's before I start. The grain bed shifts a little upon lifting one end and thats enough to make a visible difference to the wort coming out in my system... so I always do it before now. Just figured i'd share that tip

 

[modernlifeisANDY]

 

[jgln]

So why doesn't everybody tip the MLT for a batch sparge? Seams like this should be common practice.

I do, I found a piece of firewood just the right size and shape for that purpose too for my rectangular cooler. While I am getting my wort up to boiling I am collecting about another 24 oz or so from draining the grain better. I keep pushing the grain to the back raised end so it drains completely. I still have some I just can't get out but that is just about an ounce.

 

[shanecb]

I tip mine usually. I don't get a LOT more out but it's enough to make it worth it. It doesn't mess my grain bed up or anything.

 

[dracus]

Mine has a false bottom and picks up like hair away from bottom. I doubt in my case tipping would make any difference at all as I do use tubbing from spigot so there ends up being a shipon.

I've had beer from ultra effecient systems those guys can keep their $2 a batch savings plus an extra hour. I'll stick with my batch sparging.

Personally I think tipping in the case of a braid may actually be better evening out the flow pattern.

 

[jgln]

Mine has a false bottom and picks up like hair away from bottom. I doubt in my case tipping would make any difference at all as I do use tubbing from spigot so there ends up being a shipon.

I've had beer from ultra effecient systems those guys can keep their $2 a batch savings plus an extra hour. I'll stick with my batch sparging.

Personally I think tipping in the case of a braid may actually be better evening out the flow pattern.

What?

 

[JetSmooth]

I don't tip because society says I gotta. I tip when the mash deserves a tip. When the mash really puts forth an effort, it deserves a little something extra.
But this tipping automatically, that stuff's for the birds. As far as I'm concerned, it's just doin its job.

 

[passedpawn]

Used to, don't anymore. Efficiency is fine and I get all the wort I can use. If I ever get a pressure canner I'll tip in order to get more wort for making starters.