I have a Klarstien Mundschenk XXL, 50L capacity. It struggles with small beers or small batch size, because it's got a generous dead space at the bottom. In addition to this, with "the right" amount of water in, it often runs a fine line between no re circulation and running dry. I've also brimmed it with grain on more than one occasion. A little extra capacity would be nice. and doing a single brew hop spiders are mainly out of the wort.
My solution: 316 stainless steel 411 micron mesh basket that sits just a little closer to the bottom than the existing malt pipe (5cm off element)
I'm thinking there's efficiency gains to be had by having side access to the grain as well as bottom access? Also it's less likely to dry out the element as it has mesh sides to clogg as well as the base, so it will overflow regardless of the malt fill level and reasonable amount of water.
Yes, I'm aware I can add rice hulls to reduce a stuck mash/sparge. Yes, I am aware that I should be using the correct height overflow so excess gets returned. The Klarstien doesn't come with one of those fancy continually variable length overflows, it's got a ~60%/40% two part tube you can pick between. If you do happen to use one of the only three amounts of grain where the overflow would operate as intended, you're likely to find you end up with grain going down it. Yes, I could use a sieve or one of those grainfather mesh things to catch that.
I was thinking I could also use it for the boil to keep hops out of the pump, off the element, and out of the final beer. I find hop bags billow up during the boil. I also find hop spiders get full even with two and don't reach near the bottom, or reach the wort much if at all when I'm doing a single brew. Might even help with keeping trub/hot break/cold break out of the fermenter.
You can't buy an off the shelf basket that fits my unit, so I've asked for a quote to get one custom made. It's come out not much more than the materials to build one myself. Not that I have a roller or spot welder... ~£200 all in. More than I was anticipating and I'm no longer sure if it's worth a punt. It's essentially ending up a bit like the clawhammer supply system.
Here's my question(s): Anyone tried this? Any first hand experience? I'm worried about the sparge bypassing the majority of the grain so getting low efficiencies, does any sparge "brew in a basket"? if so, how's your efficiency? Am I missing something here? Is this a waste of money?
Also the company says they'll do a bulk discount, so if anyone else has a Klarstien Mundschenk XXL and wants a stainless mesh grain basket enough to spend a little less than £200 on one, let me know. :')
Please let me know your thoughts. I can't work out if this would make life easier and eventually be worth it, or if it's tantamount to burning £200.
My solution: 316 stainless steel 411 micron mesh basket that sits just a little closer to the bottom than the existing malt pipe (5cm off element)
I'm thinking there's efficiency gains to be had by having side access to the grain as well as bottom access? Also it's less likely to dry out the element as it has mesh sides to clogg as well as the base, so it will overflow regardless of the malt fill level and reasonable amount of water.
Yes, I'm aware I can add rice hulls to reduce a stuck mash/sparge. Yes, I am aware that I should be using the correct height overflow so excess gets returned. The Klarstien doesn't come with one of those fancy continually variable length overflows, it's got a ~60%/40% two part tube you can pick between. If you do happen to use one of the only three amounts of grain where the overflow would operate as intended, you're likely to find you end up with grain going down it. Yes, I could use a sieve or one of those grainfather mesh things to catch that.
I was thinking I could also use it for the boil to keep hops out of the pump, off the element, and out of the final beer. I find hop bags billow up during the boil. I also find hop spiders get full even with two and don't reach near the bottom, or reach the wort much if at all when I'm doing a single brew. Might even help with keeping trub/hot break/cold break out of the fermenter.
You can't buy an off the shelf basket that fits my unit, so I've asked for a quote to get one custom made. It's come out not much more than the materials to build one myself. Not that I have a roller or spot welder... ~£200 all in. More than I was anticipating and I'm no longer sure if it's worth a punt. It's essentially ending up a bit like the clawhammer supply system.
Here's my question(s): Anyone tried this? Any first hand experience? I'm worried about the sparge bypassing the majority of the grain so getting low efficiencies, does any sparge "brew in a basket"? if so, how's your efficiency? Am I missing something here? Is this a waste of money?
Also the company says they'll do a bulk discount, so if anyone else has a Klarstien Mundschenk XXL and wants a stainless mesh grain basket enough to spend a little less than £200 on one, let me know. :')
Please let me know your thoughts. I can't work out if this would make life easier and eventually be worth it, or if it's tantamount to burning £200.
