Mashtun recommendations

General Homebrew Discussion
1

Hey all

I would like to buy a nice mashtun. Been doing tour cooler thing but wanting to get a purposely made one. Recommendations?

Thx

Z

2

Is there something about the cooler mashtun you dislike or want to improve upon, or are you just seeking something new and shiny?

3

I use a 10-gallon Igloo beverage cooler with a Coldbreak false bottom, Blichmann Auto-sparge, and home-made 240V RIMS and I can’t think of anything I’d rather have.  Not shiny, but does everything I need.

4

Not getting the efficiency plus new and shiny! :grinning:

5

Are you stuck on the idea of a 3 vessel system? I’ve gotten really good efficiency from my BIAB setup. A 10 gallon kettle and homemade voile bag (Brewbags look nice too). Last batch I got about 88% efficiency, and cleanup is a breeze.

6

I get 85% in my cooler.  How much more do you need?

7

Yep,my cooler gets 85-90%…no,problem.  New and shinny-that’s different and I get it, so depends what your goal is.

8

I am very happy with my SS Brewtech MT.  It has an angled bottom so there is virtually no dead space. I don’t even lose 1° mashing for one hour.  Shiny!

9

Thanks all. Will keep looking into this.

10

I brew in a cooler, following the instructions of your web, and I’ve never been able to get more than 70% (2 runoffs). Last sunday I brewed a hefeweizen and I got just 60%. I’d like to be around 80%.

11

I also brew in a cooler. Until I added a bag filter I didn’t hit the 80(s).

12

Definitely bumped my efficiency up a tad, too.

13

I would think that the best answer has a lot to do with what type of system you want to end up with.  Are you doing a recirculating setup ( RIMS or HERMS ) or infusion only, batch/fly/no sparge, and are you looking to do any of the low o2 stuff?  Do you use pumps or is it all manual lifting?

Granted, you can make pretty much anything work in whatever method you want but if you are laying out the cash it might be worth considering the end goal system ( as opposed to the current or intermediate system).

14

I’m with ya and it’s been something I have never been able to figure out. I did get a brew bag which gave me a slight bump because I can mill my grains finer. I have been averaging close to 75% brewhouse of late but every few batches I will get an inexplicable dip.

I haven’t switched from my 10 gallon round cooler because it seems to be the exception to get poor efficiency which points to me.

15

I get a very consistant 78% on my cooler, with no sparge. usually 82-85 when I sparge calculating equal runoff. I understand wanting new shiny brewing stuff, but if efficiency is your  problem, it aint the cooler.

16

It’s not the mashtun.  Start by crushing finer.

17

This is a double cause and effect.

A coarsely-ground grist is typically more permeable and wort can drain out of it more quickly. Slowing the runoff improves efficiency. Therefore, crushing the grist finer should decrease the permeability of the grist and that also slows the runoff. That should improve efficiency by itself.

The second effect of crushing finer is that more of the grain mass is exposed to the water and its easier for the starch and sugar to exit into the wort.

Crush your grain as finely as your system will allow without plugging to provide improved system efficiency.

18

And the corollary is to have a good lauter system.  With the braid I use, I can crush as fine as my mill will go.  Between that, an increased liquor/grist ratio and water adjustment I saw a large jump in efficiency.  And I can use a very fast runoff rate.

19

If you’re batch- or no-sparging, it’s easy to check your predicted efficiency: Batchsparge « SeanTerrill.com

If you aren’t getting close to the predicted efficiency (which will be >80% for any average-gravity beer), it means either time, temperature, pH, or crush is out of range. Barring something obvious like excessive dough balls.

20

I’ve been using a pump fort the last two batches and I haven’t got any improvement in the efficiency. As I told before, last Sunday I brewed a hefeweizen and I milled the wheat malt apart from the barley malt, milling the wheat much finer then the barley, almost flour. I also put lot of rice husks. I stirred longer than usual. I got a very clear wort (because the rice husks and the pump)…  At least I didn’t suffer any stuck!!! Next time I’ll try milling finer also barley malt.
Looking for information in this forum Denny says you get the gap of your mil as tight as possible. Mine is quite similar to yours, so I’m able to do the same. Do I have to use rice husks even in a just barley malt grist? Thanks a lot for your advices.