ANVIL FOUNDRY ALL-GRAIN BREWING SYSTEM

[BigChas]

link to feedback on my discussion with the Anvil people: ANVIL FOUNDRY ALL-GRAIN BREWING SYSTEM

I opted for the 6.5 gal system as, like you, the majority of my brews are only 10 liters. I figure that when I want to do a 20 liter batch, I will use the Anvil as my mash/lauter tun and pump/drain it into my 8.5 gal kettle to boil on my propane burner. This at least eliminates the heating and pouring of the water into the mash tun and the recirculation of the batch sparge should improve efficiency.

Thanks for the reply. The more I think about which unit to buy, the more I lean towards the smaller 6.5 gal system.

 

[WesBrew]

For any using the 10.5 system, have you pushed the grain bill beyond the 16lb recommended limit? I typically don't do big beers but was thinking maybe the foundry could also be used as an electric mash tun for when I want to do double batches which are typically 4.8-5.4% beers. that is probably 18-21lbs. maybe with a bag? could use my 15g pot to boil and even put a non-controlled heat element in the pot and stay full electric.

 

[Schlenkerla]

I got my hands on one. Here is my unboxing and initial review on it.

Thanks!!!!

 

[Schlenkerla]

Your best defense against trub/hops into the fermenter is cold temps and a rest period before transferring. Basically chill the wort down, let it sit for 15 min and draw from the upper range of the rotated spigot. The colder the wort the more that will settle out. I am going to try to go without hop bags initially, at least with pellets, and see how well it goes.

Bassman2003,

You have mentioned or referred to LOB/LODO/HSA a few times here. Have you used a mash cap in prior brewing practices. I do. I use 20mm polypropylene float balls. It works great for heat retention as well as a mash cap. What's the gap size from mash tube OD to the Foundry ID? I'm curious as to how large this space is wall to wall.

BTW - I suppose you can still use the mash tube with BIAB as a large hop sock. I'd prolly drop a large SS fitting in it weigh down the bag. Also a 5 gallon paint strainer works on my current BK.

I tend to rest my chilled kettle ~30 minutes and not whirlpool so I don't break up big protein chunks. Therefore less smaller stuff going to the fermenter. One could oxygenate here too and drop to your anvil fermentor with a starter in it already.

FWIW - I have two Anvil Fermentors and love them. I'm in the market for a new SS MLT. I've been even expanding thoughts of going to the RISM/HERMS with a new HLT+BK. My BK is a turkey fryer kettle that I haven't over modified so I can go back to using it for the occasional turkey.

This seams to punch every need I have for upgrades. I like the LOB Methodology for malt favors. I was wondering as to how much you were into it and if you see this fitting in with that. The mash capping capability seems to be the last thing that has me hesitatent.

I'd like to hear your thoughts. - Thanks.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Has anyone given any thoughts to use the malt pipe as a hop spyder

Yes, most definitely.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Users in the Anvil Foundry Brewing System users group on facebook reported a mash/lauter efficiency 72% to 74% most often. There were a few lower and a couple reporting higher. I did my first brew on my 6.5G Anvil today and ended up with a 80.9% mash/lauter efficiency. I was getting 85% to 86% with my BIAB rig, so this is more than an acceptable level for the other advantages.

For mash efficiency....

Water Treatment is key and looking at your grain choices.

Checking your mash pH will no doubt help. You can also use a small amount of acidulated malt to help target 5.2 or use a little lactic acid. (See the image attached.)

I don't own one of these yet but I understand you can easily and manually step mash with a temp adjustment and the recirculating pump. I would do a side boiled HLT addition to ramp the 100-150F delta or just skip the 100F dough in.

I posted common steps mashes and an article where I pulled this.

A Step Mash for clarity and body.
100 F for 20 minutes
134 F for 20 minutes
145 F for 30 minutes
155 F for 20 minutes
168 F for 10 minutes

A Step Mash for maximum phenolic expression.
100 F for 20 minutes
113 F for 35 minutes
134 F for 10 minutes
150 F for 30 minutes
168 F for 10 minutes

A simple step mash for maximum extraction of sugar
100 F for 20 minutes
150 F for 45 minutes
168 F for 10 minutes

Step mash for dry beer - dry stout & dry lager like ales
145 F for 30 minutes
152 F for 50 minutes
158 F for 30 minutes
168 F for 10 minutes

http://counterbrew.blogspot.com/2016/10/a-beer-geek-guide-to-step-mashing-even.html?m=1

 

[Schlenkerla]

Do you have a heat up time to boil? I put 4 gallons of water to just test the time to get to a boil and after two and a half hours it had only gotten to 203. It was on 120v. Is that on par with an all in one like this?

Are you using an extension cord with this? I'm wondering if a underrated cord or long one might be detrimental. I'm no electrician.

FWIW - I once had a Brinkman Electric smoker that didn't heat up well using an extension cord. Brinkman Customer Service told me that. After testing that out and didn't improve they sent me a new heating element.

 

[Schlenkerla]

My time from mash out temps of 168 F to boil was 23 minutes using 100% power on the 6.5G Anvil.

Edit: Note that it took 4 minutes to rise from 154 to 168 for the mash out.

Edit 2: Cover was on during the rise to boil but I was also checking it often.

Awesome. Thanks for sharing that. Do you ever adjust the power?

 

[Schlenkerla]

Can you put a bag inside the basket so a more fine grind can be applied to the grist in order to achieve greater yield?

I would want to grain condition first with wetting 10 lbs of grain with ~2oz sprayed on water then crush the grain. You crush for slightly larger barley chunks, more intact hulls, and minimal flour like powder. It puffs the kernel helps bust it into more bigger pieces. By more I mean less pass thru with without getting cracked. You can see the difference as the hulls look better. Not much less powder. This better for having less trub, less chances of grain compaction with those smaller particles plugging up any false bottom.

As I mentioned earlier checking pH and mash in the beta and alpha amylase ranges.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

As I mentioned earlier checking pH and mash in the beta and alpha amylase ranges.

I believe these ideal enzyme pH ranges were originally established at mash temperatures. Caution must be applied if one presumes that they directly correlate to pH's measured at room temperatures.

But fortunately for us (who have been making this mistake for decades) Bamforth noticed that enzymes work effectively (meaning here sufficiently well) over broad ranges of pH, whereas they work efficiently and effectively only over narrow ranges of temperature. So temperature is effectively far more important to enzymes than is mash pH.

 

[Schlenkerla]

So I repeated the test run with the lid on while it heated up. In about 1 hr 15 mins it had a really good boil going even though the display temperature read 205. After removing the lid within minutes the really good boil turned into a very very weak boil. Basically just some bubbles coming up from the bottom. I put my thermometer in the water to see what it said and it said 209. I couldn’t get it to go any higher. I would like to use this on 120 and not mess with changing over to 240.

I don't own a Foundry yet... This should really help. Looks like after 13 years I might be going to this.

I use 20mm float balls in my MLT and BK. It comes to a boil faster and I boil 7.5 gallons stove top (electric range) in less than 30 minutes. I ramp the boil at 9 or 10 setting. My strike water reaches temp in ~30 minutes 68F to 165F. Stove top at the max setting of 10.

I can hold 210F on my stove top at #3 out of 10 on the big burner. This is using only one layer of balls. Adding more just makes it even better.

See the heat loss savings table in link below.

1000 of these 20mm balls cost me $75. May seem expensive for balls. They are pharma-grade polypropylene. Good to 230F. They work really well. It saves on my brew day watching wort boil. As you know watching it slows it down. - LoL

You can stir, check temps, pull samples, check pH or starch conversion test. or whatever since the balls move away and then regroup. See the yard stick and spoon.

https://eccllc.us/features/

Get a set of balls!!!!! [emoji16]

 

[Schlenkerla]

I believe these ideal enzyme pH ranges were originally established at mash temperatures. Caution must be applied if one presumes that they directly correlate to pH's measured at room temperatures.

But fortunately for us (who have been making this mistake for decades) Bamforth noticed that enzymes work effectively (meaning here sufficiently well) over broad ranges of pH, whereas they work efficiently and effectively only over narrow ranges of temperature. So temperature is effectively far more important to enzymes than is mash pH.

Agreed. It's one more way to ensure you get on a path to better efficiency.

I just recently started focusing on pH again. I started checking pH in 2006 and got back to doing so in 2019. The exception was with sour mashing. Then I always checked.

I needed to re thinking my brewing practices when I ventured into LOB. Be more methodical and meticulous with the procedure.

 

[Oginme]

For mash efficiency....

Water Treatment is key and looking at your grain choices.

Checking your mash pH will no doubt help. You can also use a small amount of acidulated malt to help target 5.2 or use a little lactic acid. (See the image attached.)

I don't own one of these yet but I understand you can easily and manually step mash with a temp adjustment and the recirculating pump. I would do a side boiled HLT addition to ramp the 100-150F delta or just skip the 100F dough in.

I posted common steps mashes and an article where I pulled this.

A Step Mash for clarity and body.
100 F for 20 minutes
134 F for 20 minutes
145 F for 30 minutes
155 F for 20 minutes
168 F for 10 minutes

A Step Mash for maximum phenolic expression.
100 F for 20 minutes
113 F for 35 minutes
134 F for 10 minutes
150 F for 30 minutes
168 F for 10 minutes

A simple step mash for maximum extraction of sugar
100 F for 20 minutes
150 F for 45 minutes
168 F for 10 minutes

Step mash for dry beer - dry stout & dry lager like ales
145 F for 30 minutes
152 F for 50 minutes
158 F for 30 minutes
168 F for 10 minutes

http://counterbrew.blogspot.com/2016/10/a-beer-geek-guide-to-step-mashing-even.html?m=1

View attachment 644349

I have full control over my water profile and mash pH, thank you. The main difference is the design of the device versus my full volume BIAB and the ability to extract as much as I previously did with my BIAB set up. Dropping a little in mash/lauter efficiency is not a bad thing, only different. Since it has held consistent over the three brews I have been able to make on the device, I am pleased with the performance and reproducible results.

 

[Oginme]

Awesome. Thanks for sharing that. Do you ever adjust the power?

On my first two brews using 120v power, I kept it at 100% for the boil. The boil is adequate though not spectacular. The last brew at 240v, I knocked the power down to 90% at the beginning of the boil to avoid any issue with boil over. I really did not need to do it and will perform my next brew at 100% for the boil to get an idea of boil off rate difference between the two power levels.

 

[Imhoppy]

This sounds like a pretty good system for the price. I didn't see any pictures of the heating elements. The video had a brief shot at the internals, but couldn't make out any details. Can someone show these? An electrical schematic of the system would also be of interest to see how it's all configured. Thanks in advance.

 

[Schlenkerla]

On my first two brews using 120v power, I kept it at 100% for the boil. The boil is adequate though not spectacular. The last brew at 240v, I knocked the power down to 90% at the beginning of the boil to avoid any issue with boil over. I really did not need to do it and will perform my next brew at 100% for the boil to get an idea of boil off rate difference between the two power levels.

Thank you!

Sounds like I'll be good with it at 120vac as I try to only lose 6% at boil off. That's if I get good extraction, loosing only 10% to grain absorption.

I've been really trying to do better with water management. The chemistry and not to boil more than necessary. The days of boiling off a gallon and a half of wort are over for me. I've been pretty close to starting the boil at 5.75 and ending with 5.25. That's regardless of the grain bill. The float balls I mention above truly help lower heat requirements and less water loss. Which means wort scorching is keep to a minimum. Helps with keeping SRM numbers down and fresh malt flavors intact.

It's not necessary to make good beer. Just another thing to obsess about with brewing.

 

[Schlenkerla]

This sounds like a pretty good system for the price. I didn't see any pictures of the heating elements. The video had a brief shot at the internals, but couldn't make out any details. Can someone show these? An electrical schematic of the system would also be of interest to see how it's all configured. Thanks in advance.

I saw this online.

10.5 gal with three heating elements.

This link has several more pictures.

https://m.imgur.com/gallery/Oy5GKD8

 

[Schlenkerla]

...

 

[Imhoppy]

I saw this online.

10.5 gal with three heating elements.

This link has several more pictures.

https://m.imgur.com/gallery/Oy5GKD8View attachment 644411

Great! Very interesting design and layout for the three separate elements. However, they do not seem to be replaceable from what I can tell from the photos. I think that is a good way to not have the wort be in direct contact with the typical brewing heating element. Also, they may have some sort of ceramic-type insulating material on the actual element so as to direct the heat input upwards into the liquid side instead of into the lower portion. Thanks for posting.

 

[Oginme]

Great! Very interesting design and layout for the three separate elements. However, they do not seem to be replaceable from what I can tell from the photos. I think that is a good way to not have the wort be in direct contact with the typical brewing heating element. Also, they may have some sort of ceramic-type insulating material on the actual element so as to direct the heat input upwards into the liquid side instead of into the lower portion. Thanks for posting.

The heating elements are welded to the bottom plate of the kettle section. They are low watt density elements so they don't create high intensity sections of high heat or hot spots in order to prevent scorching on the bottom of the kettle. In three brews so far, I have not had any issue with baked on proteins or sugars on the bottom. The dark material left at the bottom has been easily wiped off with a soft cloth.

 

[Bassman2003]

Bassman2003,

You have mentioned or referred to LOB/LODO/HSA a few times here. Have you used a mash cap in prior brewing practices. I do. I use 20mm polypropylene float balls. It works great for heat retention as well as a mash cap. What's the gap size from mash tube OD to the Foundry ID? I'm curious as to how large this space is wall to wall.

BTW - I suppose you can still use the mash tube with BIAB as a large hop sock. I'd prolly drop a large SS fitting in it weigh down the bag. Also a 5 gallon paint strainer works on my current BK.

I tend to rest my chilled kettle ~30 minutes and not whirlpool so I don't break up big protein chunks. Therefore less smaller stuff going to the fermenter. One could oxygenate here too and drop to your anvil fermentor with a starter in it already.

FWIW - I have two Anvil Fermentors and love them. I'm in the market for a new SS MLT. I've been even expanding thoughts of going to the RISM/HERMS with a new HLT+BK. My BK is a turkey fryer kettle that I haven't over modified so I can go back to using it for the occasional turkey.

This seams to punch every need I have for upgrades. I like the LOB Methodology for malt favors. I was wondering as to how much you were into it and if you see this fitting in with that. The mash capping capability seems to be the last thing that has me hesitatent.

I'd like to hear your thoughts. - Thanks.

Hello,

Yes, I am pursuing LODO brewing with the Foundry. I like it so far. I found a mash cap set on amazon which happens to work perfectly with the mash basket and also for the boil. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QFQFT3B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I drilled holes and added hose barbs and they are working well. I use the recirc kit but just leave out the screen and run the work through my mash cap with a piece of SS tubing Bobby M bent up for me. I plan on making a video of my setup and process once I get it a little more refined. Only two brews so far.

I used a bag for the first brews but for the next one I am going to mash only using the basket and use the bag as a filter when I run the wort from the mash over to the holding pot. The bag worked fine but for my uses, I do not think I need it inside the mash, just at the end to keep larger particle out.

The gap between the mash basket and the boil kettle is around an inch, maybe a little bit more. It is a bit of exposed area but your balls might take care of that. I might look into those down the road.

I have been brewing for 16 years and have had a lot of systems. This thing is pretty cool and is very straight forward. I have modified its role in my setup as I have an HLT for boiling water and the 2nd pot to drain the mash into. So it is not a true stand alone for me, but it can be for sure. I know I am making the brewing process more complicated than the foundry needs to be but I wanted to give LODO a true shot and my previous setup just had too many hurdles. Once I get it all down I am going to try non-LODO for a real comparison. If it is not worth the effort I will go back to easy street.

My next beer will be a hefe with a dough in at 111F. I am interested in how the unit acts in terms of any wort scorching in the ramp from 111f to 145F. In the past with a BIAB setup this would scorch the wort but that was with an exposed heating element. BTW, I am using rice hulls for every brew just to make sure of the flow through the mash.

Regards.

 

[WesBrew]

Hello,

I used a bag for the first brews ...
I have been brewing for 16 years and have had a lot of systems. This thing is pretty cool and is very straight forward. I have modified its role in my setup as I have an HLT for boiling water and the 2nd pot to drain the mash into. So it is not a true stand alone for me, but it can be for sure. I know I am making the brewing process more complicated than the foundry needs to be but I wanted to give LODO a true shot and my previous setup just had too many hurdles.
Regards.

I had a question a few posts above. you might not know but does there appear to be any extra capacity for grain (using a bag, or not) if the foundry were to be used as a mash tun occasionally.

 

[William2887]

Are you using an extension cord with this? I'm wondering if a underrated cord or long one might be detrimental. I'm no electrician.

FWIW - I once had a Brinkman Electric smoker that didn't heat up well using an extension cord. Brinkman Customer Service told me that. After testing that out and didn't improve they sent me a new heating element.

I wasn’t using an extension. It was plugged directly into an exterior outlet.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Hello,

Yes, I am pursuing LODO brewing with the Foundry. I like it so far. I found a mash cap set on amazon which happens to work perfectly with the mash basket and also for the boil. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QFQFT3B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I drilled holes and added hose barbs and they are working well. I use the recirc kit but just leave out the screen and run the work through my mash cap with a piece of SS tubing Bobby M bent up for me. I plan on making a video of my setup and process once I get it a little more refined. Only two brews so far.

I used a bag for the first brews but for the next one I am going to mash only using the basket and use the bag as a filter when I run the wort from the mash over to the holding pot. The bag worked fine but for my uses, I do not think I need it inside the mash, just at the end to keep larger particle out.

The gap between the mash basket and the boil kettle is around an inch, maybe a little bit more. It is a bit of exposed area but your balls might take care of that. I might look into those down the road.

I have been brewing for 16 years and have had a lot of systems. This thing is pretty cool and is very straight forward. I have modified its role in my setup as I have an HLT for boiling water and the 2nd pot to drain the mash into. So it is not a true stand alone for me, but it can be for sure. I know I am making the brewing process more complicated than the foundry needs to be but I wanted to give LODO a true shot and my previous setup just had too many hurdles. Once I get it all down I am going to try non-LODO for a real comparison. If it is not worth the effort I will go back to easy street.

My next beer will be a hefe with a dough in at 111F. I am interested in how the unit acts in terms of any wort scorching in the ramp from 111f to 145F. In the past with a BIAB setup this would scorch the wort but that was with an exposed heating element. BTW, I am using rice hulls for every brew just to make sure of the flow through the mash.

Regards.

Thanks for the reply.

I was thinking about how to use this with LoDo today while driving to work.

1- Boiling to remove dissolved oxygen then chilling to strike temp. Needing the SS Chiller.
2- Underletting hot liquor to a mash tun with grain verses lowering it into the mash tun.
3- Sparging or going No-Sparge. Hmm?

Buy two.... LoL

One with the pump kit and one by itself and two pump kits.

Use one for the HLT/BK.
Use the other for the MLT.

1) Heat strike water to boil. HLT/BK
2) Condition Grain, Crack, Add to Malt Pipe and then lower into MLT.
3A) Gas Purge at the HLT/BK to MLT connection
- Or-
3B) Sulfite at the HLK/BK
4) Chill to Strike Temps then underlet HLT/BK to MLT.
5) Mash per schedule.
6) Boil in HLT if you need a big step for 100-115F jump to 145F. Otherwise prep sparge water in HLT/BK.
7) Mash out and sparge HLT/BK to MLT.
8) Recirc subsurface till crystal clear in sight glass at MLT Pump.
9) Drain MLT to HLT/BK
10) Start boil and drip malt tube over HLT/BK.

Using the second malt tube as your hop spider.

You wind up with an extra coil though. If you wanted to be crazy, use that coil as a RIMS/HERM set-up. Leave the other set up for water connections.

 

[Schlenkerla]

See this website warning...

https://www.homebrewsupply.com/10-5-gallon-anvil-foundry-w-pump.html

Hexavalent Chromium Warning - Proposition 65.

Does anybody know why they have this on this product?

 

[k-os]

See this website warning...

https://www.homebrewsupply.com/10-5-gallon-anvil-foundry-w-pump.html

Hexavalent Chromium Warning - Proposition 65.

Does anybody know why they have this on this product?

I'm pretty sure hexavalent chromium is used for production of almost all stainless steels.

 

[Schlenkerla]

I'm pretty sure hexavalent chromium is used for production of almost all stainless steels.

Thanks. I looked at OSHS website. It mainly commented on production of SS.

So it's a boilerplate warning... Hmm. What's the point of warnings if they're all over the place on trivial issues? One never takes them serious when it matters.

My guess is if I looked hard enough my Anvil Fermentors have that same warning.

 

[Oginme]

See this website warning...

https://www.homebrewsupply.com/10-5-gallon-anvil-foundry-w-pump.html

Hexavalent Chromium Warning - Proposition 65.

Does anybody know why they have this on this product?

Welcome to the world of unintended consequences. Prop 65 in California has turned into a 'protect yourself from frivolous lawsuits by labeling anything that may happen." And in CA, those lawsuits have happened over the most innocuous of things that people and companies are reduced to putting disclaimers on everything, even if the chances of that material coming into contact with you are >1% that of winning the lottery, let alone being in enough concentration to cause any harm.

Another case of good intentions being subverted by the usual suspects: lawyers and anti-business fringe groups.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Anybody using their Anvil Foundry this weekend? Post some brewing pics if you do....

 

[Schlenkerla]

I prefer an immersion chiller...greatly. Bluetooth...not sure I need that. Might come in handy, but far from a show stopper and not something I'd pay extra for. I like that it can do 120 or 240....I would start at 120 and then could easily switch when I can get my brewspace wired for 240. I can't see myself needing to switch back and forth.

Different feature set, but this feature set more closely matches my personal needs.

I think of it the same way as buying a smart TV. I don't really need it or want to pay extra for something I will be standing in front of anyhow.

As technology changes and your stuck with not having compatible system. Who's going to want to update the Bluetooth on the system when your iPhone 17 or Galaxy S19 refuses to connect. Even worse a the hacker who's found a back door on your network from an unsecured Bluetooth.

Now if they put an antitheft chip in it like Milwaukee Drills. I'm ok with that. I can find my All-In-One System at the swap meet and gladly reclaim it from said thief.

 

[Bassman2003]

I had a question a few posts above. you might not know but does there appear to be any extra capacity for grain (using a bag, or not) if the foundry were to be used as a mash tun occasionally.

I do not understand your question. The grain basket is used for mashing and it has a certain size limit, I think 16 lbs.

 

[Bassman2003]

Anybody using their Anvil Foundry this weekend? Post some brewing pics if you do....

I did and tried a hefeweizen with a 111F dough-in. Not pretty! Way too much sediment falls out of the basket. I just used the basket only but I do not think a bag would have helped. This happened to me when I used to do BIAB as well. The result was some scorching on the bottom of the Foundry during the mash. So it DOES scorch if there is too much "stuff" sitting on the bottom.

It was a pain but it did not ruin the batch as I run the mash wort to another kettle giving me a chance to clean out the boil kettle before boiling. So unless I can find some sort of suction pump, Wheat beers are on hold.

 

[Schlenkerla]

I do not understand your question. The grain basket is used for mashing and it has a certain size limit, I think 16 lbs.

I think he needs to watch the video. [emoji2960]

At one time I saw these as only a hot liquor tank. No HERMS, just a vessel to heat water to strike temps. I found coffee urns at resturant supply places with this notion. The problem was the volume and max temperature. 100 cups being the minimum acceptable

With the Anvil Foundry, if you have company over for thanksgiving you can brew up a big batch of coffee for your guests.

Come to think of it at a capacity of 16lbs, you could make some pretty damn strong coffee. You could sell it to the local tweakers as speed in a shot glass. [emoji16]

 

[Schlenkerla]

I did and tried a hefeweizen with a 111F dough-in. Not pretty! Way too much sediment falls out of the basket. I just used the basket only but I do not think a bag would have helped. This happened to be when I used to do BIAB as well. The result was some scorching on the bottom of the Foundry during the mash. So it DOES scorch if there is too much "stuff" sitting on the bottom.

It was a pain but it did not ruin the batch as I run the mash wort to another kettle giving me a chance to clean out the boil kettle before boiling. So unless I can find some sort of suction pump, Wheat beers are on hold.

That's too bad to hear. Doesn't the recirculating process catch the flour like grain sediment?

Do you condition your grain per LOB recommendations? This puffs up the barley/wheat kernel so it cracks into bigger pieces with less powder.

I still want one to get away from a plastic mash tun. I'm waffling from buying this and a traditional HLT & MLT with HERMS. I could also do a RIMS but this punches that ticket with temp control.

 

[Bassman2003]

Well, it is complicated. The pump will suck up the sediment but it only has access to the small area around the spigot. Knowing this, I made a little adaptation of a carboy brush but the legs of the mash basket make it difficult to use. What I wound up doing yesterday was lifting the mash basket up with the pulley that came with my BIAB bag and then agitating the sediment off the bottom of the BK to allow the pump to access it. There has to be a more elegant approach. The side pieces welded on the mash basket for supporting the basket while it drains really get in the way as well.

Basically, when you put wheat in at the lower temps it falls through and sits on the bottom. Sediment on the bottom=scorching. I don't know if this would happen as much at say 145F. I might try but I have always done hefes with an acid rest, so I don't know how much I would miss the low rest. Maybe it is not that big of a deal?

I did not grain condition but might in the future. But, I will be deceasing my mill gap to increase efficiency. So those two world might collide!

If anybody has any suggestions to solve this issue they would be appreciated. The pumps flow was pretty restricted as well, even with four handfulls of rice hulls. I had to stir the entire mash to get flow which leads to more sediment in a vicious circle...

 

[Schlenkerla]

Well, it is complicated. The pump will suck up the sediment but it only has access to the small area around the spigot. Knowing this, I made a little adaptation of a carboy brush but the legs of the mash basket make it difficult to use. What I wound up doing yesterday was lifting the mash basket up with the pulley that came with my BIAB bag and then agitating the sediment off the bottom of the BK to allow the pump to access it. There has to be a more elegant approach. The side pieces welded on the mash basket for supporting the basket while it drains really get in the way as well.

Basically, when you put wheat in at the lower temps it falls through and sits on the bottom. Sediment on the bottom=scorching. I don't know if this would happen as much at say 145F. I might try but I have always done hefes with an acid rest, so I don't know how much I would miss the low rest. Maybe it is not that big of a deal?

I did not grain condition but might in the future. But, I will be deceasing my mill gap to increase efficiency. So those two world might collide!

If anybody has any suggestions to solve this issue they would be appreciated. The pumps flow was pretty restricted as well, even with four handfulls of rice hulls. I had to stir the entire mash to get flow which leads to more sediment in a vicious circle...

What ratio did you dough in at for your mash?

 

[WesBrew]

Ok sounds like over 16lbs turns into major pita.
Was asking in case I wanted to brew a occasional 10 gallon batch and boil it in my 15 gallon pot. So using the foundry as a mash tun for a 10 gallon brew is likely only feasable for really light beers.

I wondered if you could Biab or if the basket didn’t come all the way up on the kettle maybe drape a bag over the top for extra capacity. Looks like no-go

 

[ba-brewer]

Ok sounds like over 16lbs turns into major pita.
Was asking in case I wanted to brew a occasional 10 gallon batch and boil it in my 15 gallon pot. So using the foundry as a mash tun for a 10 gallon brew is likely only feasable for really light beers.

I wondered if you could Biab or if the basket didn’t come all the way up on the kettle maybe drape a bag over the top for extra capacity. Looks like no-go

Pull the basket and add more grain, Blichman and Palmer did something like that on one of the brew strong show with the brew-easy, they called it a poly-gyle.

 

[Bassman2003]

What ratio did you dough in at for your mash?

I did no sparge at around 3ish qt/lb. I have been thinking about an idea regarding sucking the sediment into the pump:

The heating elements are under the ~9" diameter disc in the middle of the BK. The spigot is just a threaded NPT part on the inside of the BK. What if you replaced the inside part of the spigot with some cross or circular pattern so it would draw from all parts of the heating circle? This could be changed (in my case) back to the original spigot before the boil. Who cares if the sediment is lying on the sides, the only area that matters is over the heat. The big questions are - will this affect heating and what is the best design to remove all of the sediment?

 

[VVbrewery]

I know the Foundry hasn't been out for that long but has anyone had any problems with it? I really like the idea of these but the one thing that bothers me is if something breaks it's scrap unless you can get parts. Since they're made in China I doubt there are any available. At least if something breaks on my current system I know I can fix it.