hughjamton
Well-Known Member
Last week I made a post on my equipment upgrade build, it all went pretty much as planned, except I didn't have quite enough cable so couldn't connect my hlt.
I did my first brew the next day and I have a query over the behaviour of my Inkbird ITC100VH PID, with pt100 thermocouple, I did ask at the end of my last post but the post rambled on a bit, so boredom probably set in before anyone reached the end.
First of all the temperature jumps around a lot, as the temp is climbing it can rapidly change up and down by 4 or 5 degrees. even when it trying to hold the mash temp at 65 it was jumping rapidly between 64 and 70,mostly on the higher side, although checking with my spirit thermometer the mash temp was about right.
I have since set the Inkbird signal filter setting to 4 which has improved the jumping around but during a test run today, with the target temp set at 66, it was it was exceeding that and going between 67 and 71, sometimes turning the element on at 69.
I know I can adjust the settings to knock a couple of degrees off but that wouldn't help with the next problem, with the target temp set at 100c, I get a very vigorous boil at 94/95. Obviously it is 100c and I can adjust it, but that needs adjusting up, and at mash temps it needs adjusting down.
Auto tune, I did set it to auto tune at the start of the brew, but my target then was 72 to mash in.
Should I have set the auto tune when I wanted it to hold the mash temp instead?
Will it sort itself out in the end?
For those that can't sleep I've pasted my first brewday mishaps below, it should help you sleep.
Well the brew day went ok ish, most of the problems were operator error.
I was going to repeat a Czech pilsner that I had made before, using M54, but there was a cock up there, more of which later.
Up till now I've been happily BIAB, not true BIAB because I sparge, in my converted plastic FV with absolutely no problems and making (to me) surprisingly good beer.
Yesterday, was almost like I'd never brewed before.
First problem, why isn't the pump pumping? Open the tap you idiot!
Next, when I reached strike temperature I lifted the lid to mash in and thought that'll balance on it's edge between the the pot and the basket nicely, it did, trouble is I forgot, until my feet got wet, that water was being pumped out of the other side of the lid!
Turned the pump off and closed the taps.
Next, my new mash tun/boiler is 400 diameter, I'm now brew in a basket, with a circulation pump.
Because of the triple element I've fitted, the bottom of the basket needs to be 80mm off of the pot.
Brewfather suggested 25ltrs for the mash, after mashing in a good deal of the grains weren't even wet.
Luckily I had already heated some water in my hlt so put another 5ltrs in the kettle.
Lid on, pump on, not pumping! Open the bloody taps!!!
I have a query about my pid, but I'll ask it at the end because I know your riveted by my exploits.
After an hour it was time to sparge.
My original plan was to take 15ltrs out, put 15ltrs of water back in, the recirculate for 20 minutes but I'd used 5 of this, so I'd do it with 10.
So, I disconnected the inlet hose to the pump to drain 10ltrs of wort into a spare fv, I flooded the worktop with the wort in the tubing above the pump, turn the bloody tap OFF!
Anyway, recirculated for 20 minutes, drained the basket, helped it by pushing the grain down with my spoon, whilst the kettle came up to the boil.
Pretty uneventful from then on.
I normally try for 27ltrs into the fv, I could see I was going to be short of that, but on checking with my refractometer after cooling to pitching temp, I had far exceeded my target OG of 1044.
Adding 4ltrs of r/o water gave me my 27ltrs at 1044, perfect.
Now the other problems.
My grain bill is pretty simple, 3.7kg of pils, 2kg of Vienna.
I had some Vienna left over from the last brew but on weighing it was about 260grms short, I didn't want to open a new 5kg bag delivered the day before, mostly because it would be a bugger to reseal it with the vacuum sealer with only a small amount taken out.
In my stock of grains I have about 2.5kg in a bag that for some reason has no labelling on.
No problem thinks I, I have never bought anything larger than 1kg that isn't a base malt, so it's got to be Maris otter or similar, that'll do, 260g, what harm can it do?
After I filled the FV, and as I was pitching the yeast, I thought "umm, that looks a lot darker than last time"
As I was cleaning up my neighbour came home and could see I had been brewing.
"Not brewing some of that lovely porter again are you?" he says.
Porter! s#it, I went into check my invoices from GEB, oh oh, I had been making a lot of porter in the winter, and had in fact ordered a 5k bag of brown malt, and checking my brews I should have about 2.5 kg left!!
I'll let you know what pils with brown malt tastes like.
If anyone is still awake, I have a question about the Inkbird PID.
The readout wasn't smooth.
By that I mean the temperature reading, it was jumping around a lot, sometimes 4 or 5 degrees higher or lower than the 65c I was after for the mash.
I put an alcohol thermometer in the mash in various places and the temperature was about right.
I have the thermowell right next to the tap that the pump is drawing from.
I have tried three different pt100 sensors and they aren't making any difference.
I have altered the settings to take the pt100 sensors.
Is this normal? will it get better? Is there something I'm not understanding?
I did my first brew the next day and I have a query over the behaviour of my Inkbird ITC100VH PID, with pt100 thermocouple, I did ask at the end of my last post but the post rambled on a bit, so boredom probably set in before anyone reached the end.
First of all the temperature jumps around a lot, as the temp is climbing it can rapidly change up and down by 4 or 5 degrees. even when it trying to hold the mash temp at 65 it was jumping rapidly between 64 and 70,mostly on the higher side, although checking with my spirit thermometer the mash temp was about right.
I have since set the Inkbird signal filter setting to 4 which has improved the jumping around but during a test run today, with the target temp set at 66, it was it was exceeding that and going between 67 and 71, sometimes turning the element on at 69.
I know I can adjust the settings to knock a couple of degrees off but that wouldn't help with the next problem, with the target temp set at 100c, I get a very vigorous boil at 94/95. Obviously it is 100c and I can adjust it, but that needs adjusting up, and at mash temps it needs adjusting down.
Auto tune, I did set it to auto tune at the start of the brew, but my target then was 72 to mash in.
Should I have set the auto tune when I wanted it to hold the mash temp instead?
Will it sort itself out in the end?
For those that can't sleep I've pasted my first brewday mishaps below, it should help you sleep.
Well the brew day went ok ish, most of the problems were operator error.
I was going to repeat a Czech pilsner that I had made before, using M54, but there was a cock up there, more of which later.
Up till now I've been happily BIAB, not true BIAB because I sparge, in my converted plastic FV with absolutely no problems and making (to me) surprisingly good beer.
Yesterday, was almost like I'd never brewed before.
First problem, why isn't the pump pumping? Open the tap you idiot!
Next, when I reached strike temperature I lifted the lid to mash in and thought that'll balance on it's edge between the the pot and the basket nicely, it did, trouble is I forgot, until my feet got wet, that water was being pumped out of the other side of the lid!
Turned the pump off and closed the taps.
Next, my new mash tun/boiler is 400 diameter, I'm now brew in a basket, with a circulation pump.
Because of the triple element I've fitted, the bottom of the basket needs to be 80mm off of the pot.
Brewfather suggested 25ltrs for the mash, after mashing in a good deal of the grains weren't even wet.
Luckily I had already heated some water in my hlt so put another 5ltrs in the kettle.
Lid on, pump on, not pumping! Open the bloody taps!!!
I have a query about my pid, but I'll ask it at the end because I know your riveted by my exploits.
After an hour it was time to sparge.
My original plan was to take 15ltrs out, put 15ltrs of water back in, the recirculate for 20 minutes but I'd used 5 of this, so I'd do it with 10.
So, I disconnected the inlet hose to the pump to drain 10ltrs of wort into a spare fv, I flooded the worktop with the wort in the tubing above the pump, turn the bloody tap OFF!
Anyway, recirculated for 20 minutes, drained the basket, helped it by pushing the grain down with my spoon, whilst the kettle came up to the boil.
Pretty uneventful from then on.
I normally try for 27ltrs into the fv, I could see I was going to be short of that, but on checking with my refractometer after cooling to pitching temp, I had far exceeded my target OG of 1044.
Adding 4ltrs of r/o water gave me my 27ltrs at 1044, perfect.
Now the other problems.
My grain bill is pretty simple, 3.7kg of pils, 2kg of Vienna.
I had some Vienna left over from the last brew but on weighing it was about 260grms short, I didn't want to open a new 5kg bag delivered the day before, mostly because it would be a bugger to reseal it with the vacuum sealer with only a small amount taken out.
In my stock of grains I have about 2.5kg in a bag that for some reason has no labelling on.
No problem thinks I, I have never bought anything larger than 1kg that isn't a base malt, so it's got to be Maris otter or similar, that'll do, 260g, what harm can it do?
After I filled the FV, and as I was pitching the yeast, I thought "umm, that looks a lot darker than last time"
As I was cleaning up my neighbour came home and could see I had been brewing.
"Not brewing some of that lovely porter again are you?" he says.
Porter! s#it, I went into check my invoices from GEB, oh oh, I had been making a lot of porter in the winter, and had in fact ordered a 5k bag of brown malt, and checking my brews I should have about 2.5 kg left!!
I'll let you know what pils with brown malt tastes like.
If anyone is still awake, I have a question about the Inkbird PID.
The readout wasn't smooth.
By that I mean the temperature reading, it was jumping around a lot, sometimes 4 or 5 degrees higher or lower than the 65c I was after for the mash.
I put an alcohol thermometer in the mash in various places and the temperature was about right.
I have the thermowell right next to the tap that the pump is drawing from.
I have tried three different pt100 sensors and they aren't making any difference.
I have altered the settings to take the pt100 sensors.
Is this normal? will it get better? Is there something I'm not understanding?
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