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

[manticle]

Tipsy, anytime you leave sugars behind you reduce efficiency. 5.25 gal @ 1.050 is more sugars (for the same grain) than 5.0 gal @ 1.050. Simple beer math.

It's not just the gravity, it's the combination of gravity AND volume.

maida, That's a good question and I don't batch sparge so I can't really say. I would guess it's because if you set up the braid correctly you really shouldn't have any deadspace (at least that's my understanding of it).

As far as I understand efficiency, it's the percentage of potential sugars available that have actually been converted from the starch. Add to that what you manage to extract during the sparge and you have your efficiency. Any numbers after that depend entirely on those ratios. Leaving behind wort may affect your gravity but not your efficiency.

Regardless, I do tip my tun to get out the last part of the wort.

Why not?

 

[wilserbrewer]

OMG...of course you can tip your tun,,,but w/ a double batch sparge and bulk grain...how much can ya squeeze a rock...livin easy

 

[Scimmia]

As far as I understand efficiency, it's the percentage of potential sugars available that have actually been converted from the starch. Add to that what you manage to extract during the sparge and you have your efficiency. Any numbers after that depend entirely on those ratios. Leaving behind wort may affect your gravity but not your efficiency.

Regardless, I do tip my tun to get out the last part of the wort.

Why not?

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.

 

[StunnedMonkey]

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.

 

[JustLooking]

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.

Yeah, if you're doing multiple batch sparges, the last runnings are pretty thin and won't have a big effect on your gravity. I like to leave the dead space as extra security in case I don't reach my pre-boil volume. If I need it, I tilt, otherwise not.

 

[masonsjax]

I tip every time. I collect first running, including tip runnings, then measure what I collected. That tells me exactly how much sparge water to add. At that point I will get out exactly what I put in with zero wasted sugars, hitting my pre boil volume perfectly every time.

 

[effinpansy]

I don't tip, I have a hose barb inside my round MLT. A 4" piece of tube that is curved has a heavy brass tee (I just know I'll get lead poisoning) rests on the bottom center of the MLT to which a long braid is triple looped around (think 3 concentric circles,sorta). So I get a siphon similar to a false bottom plus dip tube, Leaves ~16-20 oz. behind versus 60+ oz. with braid connected right to the initial barb. A picture would be worth all these words, or less.

 

[melchermatt]

I tip but its all about getting my pre-boil volume. I just hate to leave anything behind. Efficiency is the last thing I'm concerned with. I'll take a measurement after I have my volume just so I know where I'm starting at.

 

[OLDBREW]

I haven't read this whole thread, but the answer is you can. You could also put an offset in a piece of soft copper tubing to get the braid on the bottom of the cooler so you wouldn't need to tilt the cooler.

As far as higher efficiency goes.. What is left behind in dead space after the last sparge, is the diluted portion of wort of the last runnings gravity.

I treat dead space as an add on to the recipe batches water needed. If you lose 2 qts in the mash/lauter tun, then 2 qts extra is needed so the diluted portion of the last sparge is left behind.

When building a recipe.. what is left behind in the hops absorbtion, boiler dead space, racking from one/two fermenters, bottling bucket, is added to the batch size, so if you lose a gallon on the back end, you need to formulate your recipe for 6 gals instead of 5 gals.

 

[Denny]

When mashing in a rectangular cooler with a steel braid and batch sparging. Some liquid is gonna be below the outlet and not come out when you drain the runings. So why can't you just tip the cooler a bit to drain it better? Wouldn't this essentially eliminate the dead space and result in a higher efficiency?

There's no reason you can't tip it. I've started doing it just to see how much I was leaving behind. Usually it's no more than a cup or 2, but sometimes it's been as much as a qt.

 

[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.