OK one last reference to my visit to Tom Schmidlin’s new brewery, Postdoc Brewing. While there, looking at the Mash Tun/Boil Kettle, he pointed out the wort grant. I had heard of it, but didn’t know the purpose. He explained that it prevents the pump from sucking against the grain bed, causing a stuck sparge/drain. So the wort gravity drains out of the MT into the wort grant then the pump sucks it up from there.
So I thought of my own issues with using a pump to go from the MT to my BK. It has never worked, so I have resorted to a gravity drain into the BK, then lifting it up onto the burner stand. This is a practice I’d be happy to never do again. I’m now wondering if a wort grant is what I need. Anyone else use one? What do you use?
There is a picture of a wort grant in BLAM at Orval and I too had heard of it and wondered what exactly it did. I’m sure this is helpful. Your welcome!
Hmm, mine works just fine. Are you using a false bottom or bazooka? In our little amounts I cant imagine not being able to make it work without a grant.
It’s not always necessary, but why wait for a stuck mash. I just use one all the time now. It’s a simple rinse out when I’m done using it so it adds no extra work and it guarantees no lautering problems. It’s nothing fancy, just put a connection to the pump from an old food grade bucket you’ve got laying around or buy a cheap SS pot.
When I first built my system, one of my buddies said I’d need a grant, and I’d seen his on his system. I said I’d add one if I though I needed one. I have a keggle tun with a full SS false bottom, and mill at .032, and I have had just one stuck sparge, but not from pumping too fast, but rather from too sticky of a mash. I recirculate while I raise to mash out (direct fire), and just watch my pump speed carefully. By the time I’m transferring, I’ve got a nice clear wort, and a consistent flow. But I’d add a grant if I found I couldn’t pump without getting a stuck sparge, for sure.
One of the simplest grants I ever saw was a used SS pot from the thrift store, with an inlet and an outlet drilled near the bottom on opposite sides. Just have to watch it, because it’s easy to pump dry and then have to shut off the pump and reprime, and it’s easy to overflow the grant if you’re not watching.
I just did my first brew day using my new kettles, so I thought I’d try again to pump from the MT to the BK…and it worked just fine. So now I have no need of a wort grant. Still, it is an interesting piece of equipment.
Thanks everyone for your input. And Jim, it appears you were right again.
No, a false bottom before and now. This one (Blichmann) works WAY better. That may be it but I also I think I played around with the flow on the pump more this time. It may have been just sucking too hard.
Im sure I could get mine stuck if I kicked in the after burners on my pump. When I recirculate my mash the valve is just barely open. Its moving fasterthan if I just opened the valve on my mash tun and let it free flow out but not much more than that. Picture old cow flat rock vs race horse blasting daisies out of the ground.
