[Big Harry Deehl]

Has anyone ever thought about or used a floating dip tube (used mainly in serving / fermenting kegs) as a vorlouf/malt return tube in your mash tun?  What would be a reason that this wouldn't work?  I am a tinkerer (aren't we all?) and have a direct fired keggle mash tun that I am wanting to upgrade.  I have a stainless FB which drains to a wort pump and up over the side of the keggle via a 3/8 silicone hose and back into the mash (under the water line and directed parallel to the surface with a SS elbow).  This works fine but I was thinking about installing a bulkhead with a floating dip tube going inside the "lidded" tun for the wort return.  This would allow for both 5 or 10 gallon batches with the same setup.  What will be the drawbacks from this sort of setup?  Anybody tried this?  Advice?

[BrewBama]

Blichmann uses a floating return in their Auto Sparge system



I use the SS Brewtech recirculating manifold

[Big Harry Deehl]

Ok.  I knew someone had to try it. 

In the photo it looks like the end of the floating tube might be sticking out of the wort??  Obviously that would be less than optimal.....

How do you keep your manifold from sinking through your grain bed?

[BrewBama]

It lays on top of the grain bed but under the liquid level. It may sink into the bed 1/2” or so (I don’t know) but it doesn’t go to the bottom or anything.

[ynotbrusum]

I use the manifold and it suspends above or barely into the grain bed and below the liquid surface simply by the length of the tubing.

[Big Harry Deehl]

I use the manifold and it suspends above or barely into the grain bed and below the liquid surface simply by the length of the tubing.

I see.  I know it sounds silly when you are in this hobby for as long as many of us have been (@24 years for me), but what I was trying to avoid was having two separate hoses for different size batches.  I have historically been doing 10 gallon batches but just in the last couple of years have added the direct heating to my tun and am wishing more often to cut back to 5 gallons.  I had been thinking about how I can recirc both heights of grainbeds with a single setup in the tun..  I haven't really though seriously about adding a mash cap to my rig, but is that how you are suspending the manifold to adjust to varying grainbeds or do you use varying lengths of tubing?

[ynotbrusum]

I don’t vary it and use it exclusively on 10 gallon batches.  For 5 gal batches, I use my Anvil Foundry and use a Locline halo submerged at a depth beneath the liquid level:

https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/mashrecirculation.htm

Cheers!

[waltsmalt]

I don’t have a picture handy, but I bought a float for the 1/2” silicone hose that normally just laid on top of the grain bed. It’s worked just fine and I’m really happy where my efficiency is at.  I really like the idea of the sparg arm shown above, it’s just what I’m using seems to work and it’s pretty simple.