[denny]

Tried a CAP Saturday with the new braid ala Denny. No stuck sparge, everything went great. I really like the new setup. I got -85%- efficiency, if my calculations are correct. I need to post pics of my setup soon. I really, really like it.

Welcome to the Church!

[phillamb168]

So, I'm 2 out of 3 for great mashes with the SS braid. However, yesterday I got a stuck sparge towards the end of the mash with a grain bill of 7# pale and 2# wheat for a kolsch I was doing. I'm thinking I should use my false bottom whenever I do something that might be sticky. Or is there something I should look for?

[hopfenundmalz]

Or is there something I should look for?

Rice hulls.

You can get stuck sparges with a false bottom with high percentages of sticky stuff.  I know this.

Malt conditioning helps prevent stuck sparges, at least on my system.

[phillamb168]

Or is there something I should look for?

Rice hulls.

You can get stuck sparges with a false bottom with high percentages of sticky stuff.  I know this.

Malt conditioning helps prevent stuck sparges, at least on my system.

Totally agree that's the best way to go, however, I have found zero shops in Europe that sell the things. Which is a bit weird, because you'd think that at the very least Germany would have them. Or maybe I'm not searching for the right thing?

[hopfenundmalz]

Kai might be the best to say if those are used in Germany, my guess is that they are not.

Look on Kai's page for the malt conditioning technique.  I has helped the sparges on my system.  I have a big bag of rice hulls just in case.

[Hokerer]

So, I'm 2 out of 3 for great mashes with the SS braid. However, yesterday I got a stuck sparge towards the end of the mash with a grain bill of 7# pale and 2# wheat for a kolsch I was doing. I'm thinking I should use my false bottom whenever I do something that might be sticky. Or is there something I should look for?

If you're using a SS braid, then most likely you're also batch sparging.  With batch a stuck sparge is no biggie.  Stop the runoff, stir up the mash, vorlauf again, and then finish the runoff.

[phillamb168]

So, I'm 2 out of 3 for great mashes with the SS braid. However, yesterday I got a stuck sparge towards the end of the mash with a grain bill of 7# pale and 2# wheat for a kolsch I was doing. I'm thinking I should use my false bottom whenever I do something that might be sticky. Or is there something I should look for?

If you're using a SS braid, then most likely you're also batch sparging.  With batch a stuck sparge is no biggie.  Stop the runoff, stir up the mash, vorlauf again, and then finish the runoff.

Ah, ok, sounds good. I'll do that next time - although I do have a problem with the braid folding up onto itself, but perhaps my braid is too long. Denny, at what length do you cut your braid? Mine's about 18" and kinda coils around there.

[denny]

Ah, ok, sounds good. I'll do that next time - although I do have a problem with the braid folding up onto itself, but perhaps my braid is too long. Denny, at what length do you cut your braid? Mine's about 18" and kinda coils around there.

Mine runs the length of my cooler for no particular reason other than I had been experimenting with different lengths and that was the last one I tried so I left it.  It's "pragmatic"!  I found lengths as short as 6" work equally well.