Hey all,
I was wondering what is the standard braid to get for a mash tun. The article I read reccomended a brand which I saw at lowes, but it was a huge coil and cost $20. Where should I be looking for this braid?
Thanks!
Hey all,
I was wondering what is the standard braid to get for a mash tun. The article I read reccomended a brand which I saw at lowes, but it was a huge coil and cost $20. Where should I be looking for this braid?
Thanks!
I went to my local hardware store and got a hot water heater supply hose with the SS braid outside then removed the inner hose (cut off one end and then cut through the brain only on the other and work the plastic/rubber hose out of the middle). I think it cost maybe 10 bucks at most. but when you are handing the brain after cutting be aware that those little ends are SHARP! wear leather gloves and roll the ends as soon as possible to avoid hundreds of tiny puncture wounds.
EDIT here is a link to home despot
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100038496/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
this is for a washing machine but the toilet type that denny mentions I am sure works too. He is the ‘man’ after all
I use a toilet supply hose, maybe 18" long. Cost about $7, IIRC. I just use a hatchet to chop off the ends.
I have the hot-water heater type. Been using it for 4 years. While it works well I think there will be less problems with a smaller diameter braid such as a toilet supply hose.
Make sure you get real stainless steel braid not plastic that looks like metal. You only need a length that is 10-12" long. Should be less than $10.,
Why would a smaller diameter be better? Less chance of collapsing under a thick grain-bed. And they don’t float. I don’t know how that one got ginned up.
Sweet, Now i know what to look for.
Thanks!
Edit: And yes, i’ve been reading Denny’s batch sparge article over and over. Want to do it right.
Once you try it, I bet you end up saying “Is that all there is to it?”
That was my response for sure.
Why would a smaller diameter be better? Less chance of collapsing under a thick grain-bed.
Smaller diameter is better, but you should remember that if you pull the braid lengthwise, its diameter will decrease a lot. I have 5 feet of braid coiled sinuously around the bottom of my mash tun. I used pieces of fine copper wire (stainless wire would work too) to sew the braid together at places so that it would remain in an orderly arrangement. Its worked well for almost 10 years now.
Make sure you get real stainless steel braid not plastic that looks like metal. You only need a length that is 10-12" long. Should be less than $10.,
^^^^
This!
The fist braid I purchased, from Home Depot, was the plastic that looks like metal. It worked, but very, very slow; around 45 mins to drain the mash tun for one step. I went to Lowe’s and found an actual stainless steel braid and things flow much faster now! It cut at least an hour off my brew day.
I use a 12" water heater hose that was the fattest one I could find. I think it was 1-1/2" diameter. Works really well. I had read somewhere that shorter, straight lengths of braid are better than long windy ones. Not sure if that’s true. It sounds like they’ll both work.
Pay attention also to the density of the SS braid. Some of the hoses have a much less dense braid. Try to get the heaver braided hoses. (you’ll know when you compare)
Should last a lifetime with proper care.
I also used a dryer lint filter (stainless braid) at the end of a short piece of silicone tubing, cut on a taper to lay along the bottom of the mash tun. It has never failed; while once my SS false bottom gummed up on my Rubbermaid round mash tun. So, I prefer a modified Denny-style mash tun and braid set up (but I did add a ball valve, because I already had it…). Don’t be afraid to tinker with it a bit to fit your set up.