[mripa]

I know you were shooting for Denny, but IMHO, the answer is, no, it doesn't matter.

Denny is a busy man I'm sure 
I haven't been stirring, but thought maybe that was part of my efficiency problem.
Thanks

[HoosierBrew]

The double crush definitely helps.  How did you do on your volumes this time?  Did you hit your target volume pretty closely?

[mripa]

Came close - I was about .25 gallons on the + side.
Still learning the water adjustments.  I think my evaporation rate was off a bit.

[denny]

I know you were shooting for Denny, but IMHO, the answer is, no, it doesn't matter.

And Denny agrees.

[mripa]

How necessary is it to be exact on 2nd runnings water volume?
I drained all from first runnings and on 2nd running I stopped at my pre-boil amount.
I measured about .25 gallons of unused 2nd runnings.
 

[dmtaylor]

If you want the best efficiency, collect and boil every single drop.  Otherwise your efficiency will definitely take a hit.

[jeffy]

One would think after all these years that I'd figure all the volumes out, but the last two batches I ended up collecting way too much wort and had to extend the boil by over an hour.  'Hit my numbers in the end but it took a lot longer.

[denny]

One would think after all these years that I'd figure all the volumes out, but the last two batches I ended up collecting way too much wort and had to extend the boil by over an hour.  'Hit my numbers in the end but it took a lot longer.

I have the same affliction.

[ynotbrusum]

One would think after all these years that I'd figure all the volumes out, but the last two batches I ended up collecting way too much wort and had to extend the boil by over an hour.  'Hit my numbers in the end but it took a lot longer.

I have the same affliction.

I have a new grain mill and have been using a larger boil kettle, so I have been adjusting things one at a time - volumes have been big to allow for greater boil off, but external temperature and humidity have been giving me differences that I didn't expect.  Sometimes much longer boils or just a little different beer than intended.  Still dialing in....

[nicosan1]

So about to brew my Black IPA on Sunday, these tips will help out. I'm debating using a ratio of 1.5 or 1.75 qt/pd for initial mash-in. Will mash for 75 to be safe in my 10 gallon round rubbermaid mash tun. Will stir only at beginning and once 20 minutes before I mash out when I have to add my Midnight Wheat.  I also was wondering if perhaps I should slow my vorlauf to a trickle to increase efficiency?  I thought I did it slow in past but that meant getting wort out in 10-15 minutes, perhaps extend to 45 minutes. 

Guy at my LHBS told me one trick could be to collect first runnings, raise to 168 in kettle, recirculate those, then batch sparge one final time with sparge water to get final volume up to 6.7 gallons to get efficiency up better.  Does that sound like a useful exercise as well?

Lastly, using Denny's favorite as my yeast as a new experience.

[denny]

Guy at my LHBS told me one trick could be to collect first runnings, raise to 168 in kettle, recirculate those, then batch sparge one final time with sparge water to get final volume up to 6.7 gallons to get efficiency up better.  Does that sound like a useful exercise as well?

I don't see why you'd want to do that.  Just run off your mash and batch sparge with enough 185F water to hit your boil volume.  No point in needlessly complicating things!

[nicosan1]

As always Denny, I defer to your advice. Here's to hoping that I get a nice black wort that will make a black ale that will meet the approval of my girlfriend's palate for Black Ale's.

1. 1.5/1.75 qt/pd for mash in
2. add grains to water and stir at beginning and close mash cooler
3. 75 minutes to mash, add Midnight Wheat in final 20 min or so
4. Slowly vorlauf and extract wort
5. calculate your volume with dowl and figure out how much sparge water to add to make difference
6. add 185 degree sparge water, stir, let sit for 20 min
7. vorlauf sparge water.
8. Fin

[denny]

As always Denny, I defer to your advice. Here's to hoping that I get a nice black wort that will make a black ale that will meet the approval of my girlfriend's palate for Black Ale's.

1. 1.5/1.75 qt/pd for mash in
2. add grains to water and stir at beginning and close mash cooler
3. 75 minutes to mash, add Midnight Wheat in final 20 min or so
4. Slowly vorlauf and extract wort
5. calculate your volume with dowl and figure out how much sparge water to add to make difference
6. add 185 degree sparge water, stir, let sit for 20 min
7. vorlauf sparge water.
8. Fin

Sounds good to me!

[Jimmy K]

Guy at my LHBS told me one trick could be to collect first runnings, raise to 168 in kettle, recirculate those, then batch sparge one final time with sparge water to get final volume up to 6.7 gallons to get efficiency up better.  Does that sound like a useful exercise as well?

Maybe this would help, but it really sounds overly complicated. I always come up with ideas like this on the spot - but then my wife rolls her eyes and suggests something half as complicated and twice as effective.

[nicosan1]

So I brewed and I think I figured out the problem. I still had an efficiency problem, though not quite as bad, did have double crush and it improved but not by a ton.

I use a 10 gallon round rubbermaid mash ton, and I am brewing 5-gallon batches so I am getting about 7.3 gallons of wort for boil. I did use 1.75 qt/pd for my mash in, but was still getting temperature drops from mash in at 153 drop to about 147 by the end. I have a fair about amount of deadspace above my mash because I have a big cooler. Could that be a big part of my efficiency problem?

How can I better insulate my cooler to stop this significant drop in temp?  Towels on bottom of tun and at the top?  Towel around the ball valve? How can I fill up some of that deadspace inside?  Foil inside my mash tun?

I am open to any and all ideas, particularly from those with experience with round mash coolers.