New to fly sparging.. some questions

[riored4v]

Did my first test batch through my new brewing setup and overall it went pretty good. It does, however, need some tweaking that I've been trying to research a bit and make the changes before the next brew day. My last batch pulled 75% effeciency and my mill was set for 1.040.

I'm trying to get above 80%, so I tightened the mill down some to 1.037.

Regarding the fly sparge, I believe my first go-round with it was too fast. I read recently that 1qt per minute is about the best to go so I'm going to try that. If there are better suggestions, please let me know. If it matters, I'm using the Blichmann auto-sparge.

With the mash, I was constantly recirculating for the 60 minutes. But I neglected to stir it all. Should I avoid doing that next time?

Also, before i starting to drain the MLT and start the sparge, I heated the mash up. So when the mash reached 168*, I started the sparge. Should I have left the mash at temp and started the sparge, or kept it how it was and heated the mash first?

Any help or opinions would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[ajf]

I used to have a 5 gallon Rubbermaid cooler as a MLT, and consistently got 75% efficiency (once I worked out how to calculate efficiency) with a fly sparge.
Then I started doing a mash out, and my efficiency immediately increased to 85%. I assumed at the time, that the increased temperature of the sparge was the cause of the increased efficiency, but I now think that it was the stirring of the mash after adding the mash out water that caused the increase.
With my setup, I need to collect 7 gallons pre-boil, and it used to take about 60 minutes to collect that amount with an OG of <= 1.055. If I wanted a higher gravity beer, say 1.075, it would take me about 90 minutes. If I exceeded that sparge rate, I would get lower efficiency.
Then I changed my 5g ( 9" internal diameter) cooler for a 10g (12" internal diameter), and found that I could almost double my sparge rate without affecting efficiency. I would suspect that this is because the cross sectional area of the 10 gallon cooler is nearly twice that of the 5g.
My mill is set to 1.045, (which some people say is going to guarantee lousy efficiency), but I still achieve 85%, in spite of the fact that I usually mash at 1 qt / lb (others say that a thick mash reduces efficiency).
Every system is different, but I would add some extra water if you mash thickness is < 1.5 qts / lb, and give your mash a good stir before starting the sparge.


[edit]
Oops. My mill is set to 0.045, not 1.045
[/edit]

-a.

 

[Bobby_M]

You don't need to stir all the time or often, but I'd definitely stir about 10 minutes before you start sparging to combat any channeling that may have formed. Also, 1.040 is really coarse.

 

[riored4v]

I was using 1.040 since that what was Monster Mill told me to try using.

I guess I'm still not sure if I should go about starting the sparge at the end of the 60, or raise the mash temp (mash out) up to 168, and THEN start the sparge. From what I'm gathering, I definitely need to slow down the sparge rate.

Also, fwiw, i'm using a direct fired keggle as my MLT.

My current mash thickness I use is usually 1.33qt/lb