First Brew on New Single Tier Build

[tdbc2011]

I had my first brew on my new brew stand today. I brewed an IPA from AHS, Viking IPA (it was on sale in honor of IPA day!).

Everything went pretty good, other than a propane tank running out of gas while I was heating the HLT. I also blew a hose off of the water-in on the wort chiller. Both of these were very minor and caused no problems. I hit 77% efficiency, which I am pretty happy with. AHS target was FG of 1.063 and I hit 1.067.

Questions
I fly sparged for about an hour. My rate was 1.5 cups per minute. Is that a good rate?

When I recirculate the mash when heat is put to the MT should it be wide open or slow?

Should I completely drain the MT before I start the fly sparging?

I have hit 75-79% efficiency on my last 3 brews and my SG has been 4 or 5 points above the target SG from AHS. Is this ok?

I have posted some pictures.

 

[swackattack]

Looks great

 

[ChandlerBang]

I had my first brew on my new brew stand today. I brewed an IPA from AHS, Viking IPA (it was on sale in honor of IPA day!).

Everything went pretty good, other than a propane tank running out of gas while I was heating the HLT. I also blew a hose off of the water-in on the wort chiller. Both of these were very minor and caused no problems. I hit 77% efficiency, which I am pretty happy with. AHS target was FG of 1.063 and I hit 1.067.

Questions
I fly sparged for about an hour. My rate was 1.5 cups per minute. Is that a good rate?

When I recirculate the mash when heat is put to the MT should it be wide open or slow?

Should I completely drain the MT before I start the fly sparging?

I have hit 75-79% efficiency on my last 3 brews and my SG has been 4 or 5 points above the target SG from AHS. Is this ok?

I have posted some pictures.

Dunno about a flow rates.
Don't drain your MT before fly sparging. Just start sparging.
SG looks good. AHS probably assumes a 70% ish percent efficiency when they write those recipes. So you're getting a bonus.
What kind of disconnects are you using? Size?

Oh, and shiny rig man that looks good!

 

[jgroesbeck]

If you don't mind me asking, did you buy the set-up, specifically the frame, or did you build it? Thanks.

JG

 

[RumRiverBrewer]

Lookin Good, nice setup

 

[Bobby_M]

Don't drain before fly sparging. Keep 2" of water above the grain at all times.

 

[Brewskii]

Don't drain before fly sparging. Keep 2" of water above the grain at all times.

What he said^^

Hot water will float on top as long as you don't have turbulent flow into the mash tun and wash the bed as you pull the first wort out from underneath it. ...keep it slow like you have it (I don't know if I'd let it take more than an hour or so but if you find it's hurting your efficiency you can back it down).

In the most efficient fly sparge, you stop the flow of sparge water a small percentage higher than the water needed to hit kettle full, taking into account The absorption rate of the grain (which will obviously go up and down with the grain bill and may vary on grind and adjunct ratios). The percentage above this theoretical value will be the safety factor that keeps you from pulling grain into the kettle while leaving you with a minimal amount of water in the grain bed.

BUT... You need to really know your system to dial that in and it's kinda moot if you don't care
About heating a little extra water and having wetter spent grain to clean out of the MT.

 

[tdbc2011]

Dunno about a flow rates.
Don't drain your MT before fly sparging. Just start sparging.
SG looks good. AHS probably assumes a 70% ish percent efficiency when they write those recipes. So you're getting a bonus.
What kind of disconnects are you using? Size?

Oh, and shiny rig man that looks good!

Ok, Thanks. I will not drain the MT before I start sparging. The disconnects are 1/2 inch from bargainconnections. They are chrome plated brass.

 

[tdbc2011]

Looks great

Thanks!

 

[tdbc2011]

If you don't mind me asking, did you buy the set-up, specifically the frame, or did you build it? Thanks.

JG

Thanks! That makes me feel good. I built it and it was my first time to weld.

 

[tdbc2011]

Don't drain before fly sparging. Keep 2" of water above the grain at all times.

Sounds good. After I drained the MT I let the sparge water cover the grain with 2" of water then opened the valve. Next time I will just start the sparge water without draining.

 

[tdbc2011]

What he said^^

Hot water will float on top as long as you don't have turbulent flow into the mash tun and wash the bed as you pull the first wort out from underneath it. ...keep it slow like you have it (I don't know if I'd let it take more than an hour or so but if you find it's hurting your efficiency you can back it down).

In the most efficient fly sparge, you stop the flow of sparge water a small percentage higher than the water needed to hit kettle full, taking into account The absorption rate of the grain (which will obviously go up and down with the grain bill and may vary on grind and adjunct ratios). The percentage above this theoretical value will be the safety factor that keeps you from pulling grain into the kettle while leaving you with a minimal amount of water in the grain bed.

BUT... You need to really know your system to dial that in and it's kinda moot if you don't care
About heating a little extra water and having wetter spent grain to clean out of the MT.

That makes sense to stop the sparge water and let the remainder drain out for better efficiency. Thanks for the tip.

 

[tdbc2011]

Lookin Good, nice setup

Thanks!

 

[jgroesbeck]

Thanks! That makes me feel good. I built it and it was my first time to weld.

Great looking rig, especially for the first time welding. Would you mind sharing your project plans?

Thanks,
JG

 

[tdbc2011]

Great looking rig, especially for the first time welding. Would you mind sharing your project plans?

Thanks,
JG

I really do not have any drawings of the stand but I used SouthernYankee's plans as a guide.

The burner crossmember is made so that I can adjust the height if I change burners.

I have 10 gallon brew pots so I used them to get the width. It is 9" wide inside and 12" outside width. The tubing is 1.5" Length is about 49' wide. My steel was in five foot (60") lengths and I cut my mitered ends (which were 12") so I that I was left with about 49" instead of 48". I wanted it to be as long as possible without wasting any steel. The height with out the "legs" is 23" and with them it is 28" high. If you notice the bottom, it is 18" for stability.

So the burner squares are 9 by 9 and the middle one is centered on the stand. This has given me plenty of room between pots.

If I could weld this, anyone can. Good luck.

I have a thread that has some more detail on the build.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/brutus-build-first-time-weld-345836/