Can’t seem to find a quick answer to this: what percentage of the grain bill (by weight) are you guys using to add rice hulls? I batch sparge, and a couple recent batches with slow/stuck sparges (esp. one that was 25% wheat and 25% rye that was my Worst. Sparge. Ever. ) have got me thinking that rice hulls could help out.
thanks
red
0% here. ;D
Increase your water to grain ratio in your mash. You can go up to 2:1.
I usually keep mine between 1.5 to 1.75 to 1.
I had a 5gal batch of wit with 3lbs barley 4lbs wheat along with 3lbs of flaked wheat and oats. I used a one pound bag of rice hulls. I think I’d add more next time. It didn’t get stuck, but it was very slow.
I just did an oatmeal stout this past weekend and use 1/2 lb of rice hulls. The wort was pouring like oil and never stuck once. Would it have stuck with the rice hulls? I don’t know but didn’t want to take the chance with the flaked oats.
I already run between 1.75 to 1 and 2.0 to 1.
The generally recommended amount is “a handful”.
How is your crush? Do you have a lot of intact husks?
Second, and I’ll probably catch some heat for this from Denny but if your using a braid in he bottom of your mash tun you may want to consider increasing the length and at the same time stretch it out a little to open the weave a bit. I got 2 stuck sparges back to back and this solved the problem. Even with 50% wheat it flows like a champ.
Well, pragmatically speaking, if that solved your problems, that’s the right thing to do. But I have to admit that I’ve never had a problem with a stuck runoff, and most of the time a shorter braid works better.
Maybe the weave is closed to much and he needs to open it up a little more.
+1 - even on 60% wheat.
I’ll throw in a pound when doing a batch with a lot of wheat. I don’t really know how much it helps, I’ve never tried the same recipe without the rice hulls.
I have the 12" Bazooka screen, got it from NB about 2 years ago… it certainly looks like a tighter weave/mesh than the pix on Denny’s site. I might try to stretch it… I’ve ordered a bit of rice hull and since I have a good feel for how my system drains on a 100% barley grain bill, I’ll add half a pound or so to my next batch and see if it speeds it up at all, if that helps I’ll use it on my next wheat beer.
Can you explain this too* Denny? How short are we talking about? How long should the braid be for that 70 qt cooler we were talking about in the other thread? I know I said I got it to use as a cooler and not a mash tun, but as long as I have it I might as well try it out, right? 
*And go and answer the other thing I asked you about.
FTR I have the SS mesh braid from Lowe’s in my small MT and a Bazooka screen in my big MT and don’t have a problem with either. The run off is a little slower, but not so much that it causes a problem.
I’ve heard from a lot of people who had problems with the braid floating (I don’t consider that a problem, but some do), or getting tangled if it’s too long. One person even told me that shortening the braid increased his efficiency, although I have trouble understanding why that would be. In my experiments, I’ve used braids from 3" to the length of my cooler with equal results from all of them. The only reason my current braid is the length of my cooler is that it’s the last length I tried and I was too lazy to change it. Keep in mind that all of the draining happens at the cooler outlet, so a longer braid doesn’t really provide more “space” for the wort to run through.
done!
My braid is probably about 8-9 inches long. I tied it in a knot and this keeps it from floating and I have no issues with run off.
I have 2, 12" pieces of 1/2" braid. Short didn’t work for me, but this setup never sticks.
But a longer braid does provide more surface area to gather and channel the wort to the outlet which could make a difference with compressed grain beds and gummy grains like wheat and rye.
Just a thought
That’s what I was thinking too, but it sounds like it’s not a problem for these guys.
Do you tilt the mash tun a little bit to aid in the wort flowing to the channel?