Will an element scorch if covered with hop residue ?

[wilserbrewer]

I am convinced that recirculation and addition of heat to the mash in a bag-based system is a waste of energy and an unnecessary complication to a process that should be simple. I close the lid, insulate, and generally ignore the mash.

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I thought I was the only simpleton that had this opinion....

Only downside I see is a kettle wrapped in a few old blankets isn't nearly as pretty as a shiny bling kettle w/ flashing pid, and pump and hoses all about

Even more so when moving to larger 10 plus gallon batches with larger grain bills mash temp are rather steady.

 

[BeardedBrews]

Even more so when moving to larger 10 plus gallon batches with larger grain bills mash temp are rather steady.

Even if you aren't doing 10 gallons, it makes a big difference if the mash size matches the kettle. A 5 gallon batch in a 7 gallon pot is a SNUG fit, but it holds temperature much better than 5 gallons in a 15 gallon pot. I haven't investigated, but a floating lid might actually be a nice fix.

As far as bling and blinking lights, I do think it's fair to assign value to things not directly contributing to the flavor of beer. We're talking about a hobby, not a cost saving or profit driving operation. Some of the stuff I do is simply because I like it, or because I got bored with one approach and wanted to do something new. I won't tell you that my shiny pot and pumps make better beer, but they do make me happy while I'm brewing which means I brew more

 

[augiedoggy]

FWIW I have scorched using my cheap-o straight fold back element, but each time was my fault for restricting liquid flow around the element. Leaving the BIAB bag against the element and applying power creates localized hot spots, which boil, and ultimately scorch.

I am convinced that recirculation and addition of heat to the mash in a bag-based system is a waste of energy and an unnecessary complication to a process that should be simple. I close the lid, insulate, and generally ignore the mash.

At some point I may entertain a basket approach, and with the rigid frame I may revisit the recirculation and heat.

My understanding was that most people that recirculate with BIAB use either a rims or a false bottom to keep the bag away from the element for the reasons you mentioned...

I have had no scorching with my rims even with grainbills high in wheat or oats... I use a very long ulwd rims element for this reason along with longer more even contact time though as well also I do crush my grain very fine with a lot of flour. I find that due to the double layers of filteration under my grain bed and the low 1.5gpm or so flow I recirculate at I still have no issues whatsoever and clear wort so while recirculating might not be ideal for all systems it nets me a consistent 86% efficiency on my brew system and clear beer... This also appears to have the added benefit to allow me to not have to pull my poppets and diptube out when cleaning my kegs because I dont get the protien and hop residue and other solids that some complain about... I dont know which thread it was but recently I was told im not cleaning my kegs good and I should pull them apart after force cleaning them with starsan and co2 and well Ive done that with my last three kegs since reading the advice telling me to do so and Ive had absolutely nothing built up under my posts.

 

[dcbw]

I have scorched two brews in a 4G eBIAB recirc system with a 5500W foldback element running at 120V. I finally fixed it by:

1) using a camco ripple instead of a LWD foldback. Even though both are 5500W running at 120V for 1375W, better safe than sorry.

2) run the PID in manual mode rather than automatic, my system doesn't have a lot of thermal mass and the pid would be at 100% for too long dealing with fluctuations.

3) made sure my recirc worked well. If the recirc stops for any reason or is too slow, yes you'll get junk settling on the element and it can burn.

4) the pump was pulling air from the sides down underneath the element screen and creating nice pockets which when in contact with the element and the junk on it just burned it up. Make sure whatever screen/protector/bag you use has a good enough flow rate so it pulls wort through, not air from the recirc foam.

 

[augiedoggy]

Even if you aren't doing 10 gallons, it makes a big difference if the mash size matches the kettle. A 5 gallon batch in a 7 gallon pot is a SNUG fit, but it holds temperature much better than 5 gallons in a 15 gallon pot. I haven't investigated, but a floating lid might actually be a nice fix.

As far as bling and blinking lights, I do think it's fair to assign value to things not directly contributing to the flavor of beer. We're talking about a hobby, not a cost saving or profit driving operation. Some of the stuff I do is simply because I like it, or because I got bored with one approach and wanted to do something new. I won't tell you that my shiny pot and pumps make better beer, but they do make me happy while I'm brewing which means I brew more

This is an honest level headed outlook on brewing equipment IMO even though it kind of counterdicts your earlier comment about recirculating I quoted above for the same reasons right?
At least recirculating does have an actual physical effect on the brewing process, wort and its clarity whereas a shiny kettle or blinking lights do not, yet you state those have value but the other is a waste?

To be the devils advocat here I think there are a lot of new brewers that believe to make better beer they NEED things like the sanitary fittings on the hotside and heavy insulated stainless mashtuns on top of sophisticated redundant systems like herms and rims even though at that point its just seen as a toy to others who know that ones does the job of the other already. More is always better right?
Too often a guy (or gal comes here with a budget minded inquiry about something like a new pot or what he needs as far as an electrical service to brew with electric and people attempt to talk them into stepping up to a 50amp service or blichmann designer kettle even though its often much too much of a commitment and turns them off from the idea....
Whereas if it were a car forum it would be like always recommending the biggest v8 and the most expensive Mercedes to someone looking for their first car even though they can buy a chevy and afford to put a lot more miles on it than the other without getting anywhere any slower.

Everyone likes to defend their own point of view regardless of the fact that we are all looking from different directions.

 

[BeardedBrews]

This is an honest level headed outlook on brewing equipment IMO even though it kind of counterdicts your earlier comment about recirculating I quoted above for the same reasons right?

Too True! My position was poorly stated, in many ways contradictory, and at a minimum WAY off topic on this thread.

In summary: If liquid is flowing around the element, even a cheap eBay special like the one I use will not scorch. It will build up protein and grime, but that washes cleanly as long as you don't let it dry. The exception would be local hot spots on the element which would suggest you have a defective element.

I think there are a lot of new brewers that believe to make better beer they NEED things

Bingo.

My experience with BIAB using an unsupported bag is that the lifting, draining, and squeezing I do at the end tends to disrupt any filtered grain particles and dumps them back into the kettle. On top of that, there is a challenge balancing the flow into the top of the bag with the drain rate (I always seem to run it dry under the bag). Today, for me, recirculation causes more problems than it solves, so I avoid it.

Since I enjoy drinking most of the beer I make, there is low pressure to change. At some point I will either become bored or will convince myself that the difference between a 30-35 point beer and a 40 point beer is in the hardware. Then the whole journey of discovery starts again