[Lazy Ant Brewing]

I have a S/S 10-gal brew pot and have difficulty getting consistent temperature readings during the mash--yes [/i]I do BIAB-- even when stirring the mash while taking a temp reading with a digital thermometer.

My pot does not have a tri-clad bottom.  I read in a recent forum post (but I can't remember under what topic) that  the S/S pots don't distribute the heat evenly and that most of the temperature rise is just over the top of the flame.  Which, I think gives a higher reading in the center.

I'm think of buying a circular aluminum tray to place under the kettle to help distribute the heat more fully to the S/S pot.  I presently have  a perforated aluminum pizza baking sheet that I use to help drain the wort from the BIAB bag.  If I can find another one of those, would a perforated tray be any better than a solid tray?

Thanks in advance for your advice and comments.

[Bob357]

Assuming you have something to keep the bag off of the bottom of your kettle, when you heat it up you're heating the water at the bottom and it takes some doing to get that water to mix into the mash. I heat the full volume of water and then stir the grain in well. By that time the mash is thoroughly mixed and the temp. is consistent throughout. On 90+ degree days, I don't have to reheat unless doing a mashout. On cooler days when reheating I find it takes a lot of stirring and it's really easy to overshoot the desired temp. I have learned to just mash about 2 or 3 degrees higher on the days under 90 degrees. During the colder times of the year I don't do BIAB.

[Ellismr]

I'm assuming you have a weldless thermometer.  I also use a floating candy thermometer in the center of the mash.  My experience is that you should stir the mash every 20 minutes and compare the two thermometers.  Usually about the 40 minute mark I have to goose the temp a bit and stir the mash to achieve a homogeneous temp throughout.  Takes about 5-minutes


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[a10t2]

I use a cooler, but I have to stir for, literally, 2-3 minutes to get a uniform mash temperature ±0.5°C. Usually I just stir less and settle for ±1°C. What kind of variations are you seeing?

[HoosierBrew]

I use a cooler, but I have to stir for, literally, 2-3 minutes to get a uniform mash temperature ±0.5°C. Usually I just stir less and settle for ±1°C.

Yep, same here.