I have a tiny mash tun!!

[bob downe]

Hello,

I was planning on doing my first AG, a 'Big Kenny' this weekend.

I have built a mash tun (from a cheapo argos 24 Litre coolbox) and I decided to fill the cavity and lid with expanding foam which has drastically increased it's efficiency. :grin:

I have just filled it with water and due to some slight deformation in the walls and bottom, it can now only hold 15 litres of water.

My question is, will this now be big enough for a batch sparge of about 4.8Kg grain to approx. 30 litres for the boiler?

Will I need to do a few sparges due to size constraints? If so, what would be the process?

Please help, I reeeaalllly want to do my first AG this weekend. :?

Thanks

 

[rickthebrew]

Hi bob : Should just fit - @ 2.5 litres of water per kg of grain you`ll be looking at putting in 12litres of water and adding your grain to this - this could be tight so i`d start with ten litres first, if your mash is a little stiff it`ll still be fine.
You can still batch sparge - or it may be easier to fly sparge, just place some tinfoil on top of the mash after the 90mins and slowly jug hot water over with the tap open so that you are adding water at about the same rate that your wort is leaving the mash tun, as you wrote you`ll need around 30litres in the boiler to give you 23litres - this doesn`t have to all come from the sparge - I often sparge around 20 - 25 litres and have extracted all the sugars so i just top the boiler up with water ( treated with camden tablet) so that i end up with 23litres postboil :thumb:

Good luck with the brew - I`ve just bottled a BIG KENNY today

 

[bob downe]

Thanks for that, I feel more reassured now. I've made a good job of my mash tun and would hate for it to prove totally useless!! :?

You mentioned that you've just done a Big Kenny. I'm going to be storing mine in a 5 gallon plastic keg. (not bottles)

Any idea how long it will need to condition? (By that I mean drinkable. Very impatient when I know there is beer in my garage.) :lol:

Also should i clear it in the FV and then keg to conditon it, or would you advise moving to an intermediary vessel for a while before kegging?

All help appreciated. :

 

[rickthebrew]

I bottle all my brews and will leave to condition for as long as possible - :lol: A taster after a few days isn`t unheard of and in my opinon some bottled beers are great after a couple weeks conditioning, some may argue they need longer but if it tastes great get stuck in One rule i`ve heard is a weeks conditioning per 10points on the hydrometer -so a big kenny at 1047 SG should need around 4 weeks conditioning, as for kegging a short spell in a secondary FV is fine, i don`t do this as i`ve never had a problem with clearing issues and normally have another brew in my other FV :lol:

The best advice i can give is get some stocks laid down - if you have a couple hundred pints in the garage you won`t be so impatient to try your week old beer :whistle:

Tonight i`m suppin a three week bottled bitter which is lovely and a 6% ipa that is two weeks in the bottle - just testers you understand..............................

 

[bob downe]

All great advice, thanks.

I do plan on buying a couple more kegs so that I can keep some stock.

Roll on my first AG this weekend. :party:

Thanks again.

 

I brewed fo many many years with an 11ltr mash tun (5 gal brews at circa 1044 OG) had a lot of good results.

 

[bob downe]

That's good, I may get more life from my little tun after all.

Do you have any advice about sparging in a smaller tun like that? You sound like a bit of a pro!

Thanks.

 

You sound like a bit of a pro!

Old maybe, pro never.
I've just been doing it for a long time.
My Mash Tun / Sparge Tun is circular.
For sparging, I use a bit of flexible hose connected to a "fine" indoor watering can rose.
I swing it around the top of the tun in a pattern much like that produced by the "Spirograph" toy, regulating the flow so that the water level remains below grain level.

 

[bob downe]

Well, my first AG worked out quite well with my little mash tun. I do have a few questions though.

It went like this..

Total grain weight 4.829Kg

Mashed in @ 68C in 12 Litres of water.

After 90 Mins was @ 66C. Got 6 Litres of first runnings.

Added another 10 Litres @ 78C for sparge #1 - Got 8 Litres out.

Added another 10 Litres @ 78C for sparge #2 - Got 9 Litres out.

So at this point I've got 23 Litres. Because I was aiming for 28 Litres, I put some more water on to heat (with campden).

I wasn't sure whether to add this straight to the boiler to make up volume or do Sparge #3

Figuring that there may be some sugars still in the tun, I opted for another sparge. This time adding 10 more litres @50C.

The resultant run (almost clear liquid but with some sweet taste), gave me my 28 Litres in the boiler. At the end of the brew, my gravity was 1053 @20C. The recipe had predicted 1050.

So..... My questions are,

1) Should I have just added the hot water straight to the boiler and skipped sparge #3
2) Did it matter that sparge #3 was only 50C? (couldn't wait for the hot water)
3) Has doing 3 sparges actually increased the sugar obtaining efficiency as I ended up with a higher gravity than predicted?

If anybody can shed some light it would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

1) Should I have just added the hot water straight to the boiler and skipped sparge #

No, I would have done the same.

2) Did it matter that sparge #3 was only 50C? (couldn't wait for the hot water)

50C is well hot so no worries there.

3) Has doing 3 sparges actually increased the sugar obtaining efficiency as I ended up with a higher gravity than predicted?

Getting so close to a predicted gravity, especially on the + side, I'd be well pleased.

 

[bob downe]

That's great! Seems like I did most of it right then.

It did take a while but my little mash tun does have a future!! :lol:

Looking forward to my next brew.

 

[rickthebrew]

well done bob :clap: my sparge can be very simular to yours - once you get to grips with your own kit it`ll become second nature, i use a fly and batch sparge method which i just sort of fumbled together but works well and gives me around 80% efficency - not bad for a bucket and coolbox :thumb:

 

[bob downe]

Just as a follow up......

I read somewhere about speculation that multiple batch sparges may be more efficient than a single or two stage sparge.

Well, I've just calculated my brewhouse efficiency and it comes out at 82% :clap:

Which aint half bad for my first AG with a small-ish mash tun.

Probably too early to draw conclusions as I will have to run an average over several brews but perhaps it was worth the extra time it took for the three sparges?? :hmm:

 

[rickthebrew]

well done bob :thumb: if it works for you then great

bet you can`t wait for the first pint :party:

 

[bob downe]

You're not kidding!

Had a quick sup from the FV

viewtopic.php?f=36&t=9758 :rofl:

 

[Wez]

I think I'll have to brew a batch of Kenny myself :drink: