Does a thinner mash make it more difficult to keep your temperature up? During my first AG attempt, I missed my target mash temp by a degree, but that was after continuously adding hotter and hotter water to get the temp up. I ultimately ended up adding about 6 gallons of an 8 gallon total volume. I use a converted 48 qt. Igloo Ice Cube cooler which I’ve read good things about but it lost about 3 degrees every 20 mins. and that was while it was wrapped in blankets. I was wondering if my soupy mash contributed to the rapid heat loss. Thanks again!
I don’t THINK so, but I am not a physisist (hell I can even spell it!)
What I think is that more liquid has more thermal mass and so should actually slow the loss of heat.
I think it’s more likely that you actually just didn’t have a uniform temperature at the beginning and so it was lower overall than the spot you checked. I have that same cooler and I’ve never seen a mash drop more than ~2°F in an hour.
If a thinner mash is from adding more water, as opposed to using less grain, then it results in more temperature stability thanks to a larger thermal mass.
With this cooler, do you notice a lot of steam escaping at the point where the lid hinges? I noticed quite a bit which is what prompted me to wrap it in blankets.
Er?! That’s your problem. Steam carries off a lot of heat.