[denny]

I get 85% in my cooler.  How much more do you need?

I brew in a cooler, following the instructions of your web, and I've never been able to get more than 70% (2 runoffs). Last sunday I brewed a hefeweizen and I got just 60%. I'd like to be around 80%.

It's not the mashtun.  Start by crushing finer.

[mabrungard]

It's not the mashtun.  Start by crushing finer.

This is a double cause and effect.

A coarsely-ground grist is typically more permeable and wort can drain out of it more quickly. Slowing the runoff improves efficiency. Therefore, crushing the grist finer should decrease the permeability of the grist and that also slows the runoff. That should improve efficiency by itself.

The second effect of crushing finer is that more of the grain mass is exposed to the water and its easier for the starch and sugar to exit into the wort.

Crush your grain as finely as your system will allow without plugging to provide improved system efficiency.

[denny]

It's not the mashtun.  Start by crushing finer.

This is a double cause and effect.

A coarsely-ground grist is typically more permeable and wort can drain out of it more quickly. Slowing the runoff improves efficiency. Therefore, crushing the grist finer should decrease the permeability of the grist and that also slows the runoff. That should improve efficiency by itself.

The second effect of crushing finer is that more of the grain mass is exposed to the water and its easier for the starch and sugar to exit into the wort.

Crush your grain as finely as your system will allow without plugging to provide improved system efficiency.

And the corollary is to have a good lauter system.  With the braid I use, I can crush as fine as my mill will go.  Between that, an increased liquor/grist ratio and water adjustment I saw a large jump in efficiency.  And I can use a very fast runoff rate.

[a10t2]

I brew in a cooler, following the instructions of your web, and I've never been able to get more than 70% (2 runoffs). Last sunday I brewed a hefeweizen and I got just 60%. I'd like to be around 80%.

If you're batch- or no-sparging, it's easy to check your predicted efficiency: http://seanterrill.com/batchsparge

If you aren't getting close to the predicted efficiency (which will be >80% for any average-gravity beer), it means either time, temperature, pH, or crush is out of range. Barring something obvious like excessive dough balls.

[larsmm]

I get 85% in my cooler.  How much more do you need?

I brew in a cooler, following the instructions of your web, and I've never been able to get more than 70% (2 runoffs). Last sunday I brewed a hefeweizen and I got just 60%. I'd like to be around 80%.

It's not the mashtun.  Start by crushing finer.

I’ve been using a pump fort the last two batches and I haven’t got any improvement in the efficiency. As I told before, last Sunday I brewed a hefeweizen and I milled the wheat malt apart from the barley malt, milling the wheat much finer then the barley, almost flour. I also put lot of rice husks. I stirred longer than usual. I got a very clear wort (because the rice husks and the pump)…  At least I didn’t suffer any stuck!!! Next time I’ll try milling finer also barley malt.
Looking for information in this forum Denny says you get the gap of your mil as tight as possible. Mine is quite similar to yours, so I’m able to do the same. Do I have to use rice husks even in a just barley malt grist? Thanks a lot for your advices.

[denny]

I’ve been using a pump fort the last two batches and I haven’t got any improvement in the efficiency. As I told before, last Sunday I brewed a hefeweizen and I milled the wheat malt apart from the barley malt, milling the wheat much finer then the barley, almost flour. I also put lot of rice husks. I stirred longer than usual. I got a very clear wort (because the rice husks and the pump)…  At least I didn’t suffer any stuck!!! Next time I’ll try milling finer also barley malt.
Looking for information in this forum Denny says you get the gap of your mil as tight as possible. Mine is quite similar to yours, so I’m able to do the same. Do I have to use rice husks even in a just barley malt grist? Thanks a lot for your advices.

I've never needed hulls for any mash...barley, wheat, rye...no problem.  But I attribute that to the braid I use.  Also, what's your liquor/grist ratio?  My efficiency went up when I increased the amount of mash water.

[Stevie]

I’m not sure the braid has anything to do with it. In my experience a stuck mash isn’t a clog in the filter (braid, bag, false bottom) but a clog in the grist itself. The proteins form a thick goo that the wort cannot pass through. Your filter can be the greatest in the world, but it can’t filter wort if the wort is stuck above it.

[denny]

I’m not sure the braid has anything to do with it. In my experience a stuck mash isn’t a clog in the filter (braid, bag, false bottom) but a clog in the grist itself. The proteins form a thick goo that the wort cannot pass through. Your filter can be the greatest in the world, but it can’t filter wort if the wort is stuck above it.

True, but I've never had that happen either.  No explanation...maybe it's the phase of the moon!

[Visor]

   I'm with Stevie on this one [mostly], although I don't know if I'd use the word "clog" to describe a slow draining mash. If it doesn't drain at all you probably have a clog at your filter/braid/false bottom. If it is draining, but slowly I suspect that it's some form of capillary action that retains the liquid we are trying to retrieve. If I leave my bag of spent grain suspended above a vessel without squeezing it wort will continue to drain out of the bag for several hours, how many I can't say for certain cuz I never left it until it finally quit draining. Hence, I squeeze the bag and move on to the next step. My limited experience is that rice hulls, even in small amounts, do hasten the rate at which wort drains from the mash, regardless of grist composition. Only once have I had a completely stuck mash, and that one was the result of such a dunce idea that I'm keeping the details to myself.

[larsmm]

I’ve been using a pump fort the last two batches and I haven’t got any improvement in the efficiency. As I told before, last Sunday I brewed a hefeweizen and I milled the wheat malt apart from the barley malt, milling the wheat much finer then the barley, almost flour. I also put lot of rice husks. I stirred longer than usual. I got a very clear wort (because the rice husks and the pump)…  At least I didn’t suffer any stuck!!! Next time I’ll try milling finer also barley malt.
Looking for information in this forum Denny says you get the gap of your mil as tight as possible. Mine is quite similar to yours, so I’m able to do the same. Do I have to use rice husks even in a just barley malt grist? Thanks a lot for your advices.

I've never needed hulls for any mash...barley, wheat, rye...no problem.  But I attribute that to the braid I use.  Also, what's your liquor/grist ratio?  My efficiency went up when I increased the amount of mash water.

About 1.4 qt/lb, never less than 1.25. I use a braid like yours, maybe a bit shorter.

[Wort-H.O.G.]

I get 85% in my cooler.  How much more do you need?

I brew in a cooler, following the instructions of your web, and I've never been able to get more than 70% (2 runoffs). Last sunday I brewed a hefeweizen and I got just 60%. I'd like to be around 80%.

Ways to get there....would need to know more about your process but sure you could improve.


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[charlie]

I like keggles. The concave bottom is perfect for a mash tun, and you can get a keg from the frat boys for about $40.00 because they always lose the receipt and can't turn it in for the deposit.

Cut a 12 inch hole in the top with your Dremmel Tool and add a weldless kit and ball valve low on the sidewall. I have a Blichmann analog thermometer on mine, but you can go digital if you like, and I do (I have both).

There are a bunch of false bottoms for keggles like the hat bottom. I used one of those for years, but recently got a Sabco full width hinged false bottom (I'm not sure that it helped anything).

The down side is you would have to go RIMS, or have some other way to put heat into the system to maintain temperature. I went with the RIMS.

Charlie

[klickitat jim]

Standby for keg lecture