Tag Archive: mash tun
Chasing 2 Degrees Loss in the Mash Tun
A few months ago, I thought I’d fly sparge in my Mash Tun. I had built a sprinkler to help in this. I’ve since decided to batch sparge, since fly sparging is more difficult and is cumbersome to do with my setup. So for a while I left the sprinkler in place and didn’t use it. I noticed after my last brew day that I lost 2°F during the hour-long saccharification rest. I decided to get the sprinkler out of the way and removed it, which left a big hole in the lid. So I decided to add some extra insulation to see if I can ensure that there is less than 1°F of temperature loss.
The hole. Seems like this would cause a lot of temperature loss over an hour.
Cover over the top.
Cover inside.
This is what I tried.
Looks like a popcorn ceiling for a cooler.
So after nearly a day, I checked on it. It seems to have stuck – I couldn’t easily pull it off, although I don’t know how well it’ll hold during an hour-long mash… we’ll see next weekend.
It expanded a little. Which is okay.
It throws off the balance of the lid a little, but not too bad. Heck, the cheap hinges will probably go someday soon anyway.
Cheers!
Building a Mash Tun
A few weeks ago (and I think I posted something quick about it here), I bought a 12 gallon cooler to be used as a mash tun. Over the past week and weekend, I started getting it together.
Ball valve with washer and … fitting.
This is sort of the way things went together. I did add some exterior caulk between the internal washer and the cooler to provide a water-tight fit (and I tried several times to not use the caulk, but there seemed to be no way to do that without ending up with a leak).
All fit and no leaks (after the fourth or fifth try).
Starting on the copper for the drain lines. This is clamped down (gently!) on one end and I drew lines on my workbench at 1/2″ intervals to speed the process of sawing the slots.
Sawing the lines.
Interior of the lines before cleaning. I found that a 1/2″ drill bit fit through the 1/2″ copper, so I ran it through a few times to remove the burrs.
The lines all in place prior to washing with vinegar and then soap and water.
Beer Update
The IPA is probably ready to be bottled, but I spent all my time doing yard work, building my mash tun, and fixing a Christmas tree stand that nearly sent a tree tumbling last year (She Who Must Be Obeyed was NOT happy about that!).
The color is lighter, probably because I added the DME near the end, but I was still looking for lighter. I’ll also want to get it clearer.