Mash Tun Question

[Iceman6409]

Hi all. Need some thoughts. I use an oblong Igloo cooler to do my mashing with a ss braided toilet hose. For the most part this works very well......for the first 2 or 3 times I mash with a new hose. And then it gets very difficult to draw any wort out no matter what I do. For the life of my I cannot figure out why. I have cleaned out the spigot religiously and eyeballed it to make sure there are no blockages of any kind. It appears the spigot is definitely not the problem. However I would prefer not to spend money on a new hose every 2-3 batches. I have seen lots of different contraptions including copper tubing and CPVC manifolds. I would love to hear your opinions on what works best for you. Albeit I am definitely not a handy man. I would also be open to using a toilet hose as well as it is incredibly easy to use and install if I can figure out what is going wrong. So let me know your thoughts. Thank you all in advance.

 

[mwill07]

Hi all. Need some thoughts. I use an oblong Igloo cooler to do my mashing with a ss braided toilet hose. For the most part this works very well......for the first 2 or 3 times I mash with a new hose. And then it gets very difficult to draw any wort out no matter what I do. For the life of my I cannot figure out why. I have cleaned out the spigot religiously and eyeballed it to make sure there are no blockages of any kind. It appears the spigot is definitely not the problem. However I would prefer not to spend money on a new hose every 2-3 batches. I have seen lots of different contraptions including copper tubing and CPVC manifolds. I would love to hear your opinions on what works best for you. Albeit I am definitely not a handy man. I would also be open to using a toilet hose as well as it is incredibly easy to use and install if I can figure out what is going wrong. So let me know your thoughts. Thank you all in advance.

post some pics. You've obviously got some sort of blockage somewhere.

My SS braid has been working fine for a long time, no reason yours wont either.

 

[Iceman6409]

Admittedly there is a small kink or two but that shouldn't matter, It is liquid flowing through a ss braid. Pictures might help. Get some when I get home.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

You just have a stuck sparge like everyone gets

What beer were you making? Was there wheat'/rye in it?
What mash thickness do you use?

 

[Iceman6409]

I was making a Purple Haze clone. Only 9.5 lbs grain. 1.5 ratio so there was about 3.75 gallons water. Yes there was 4 lbs American wheat. However I tend to get stuck sparges more frequently lately no matter grains I am using. Thoughts?

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Are you using a pump or recirculating?

I found when i mash and then at the end use my pump to recirc for a while it sets the grain bed, but almost too well..i get stuck a lot more doing that.

Any time your using wheat you should use rice hulls, it might not hurt to keep a 5# bag of it around ...its very cheap and if you get a stuck sparge you can throw a few hand fulls in and stir it all up to help you sparge properly.

 

[Iceman6409]

Here is a picture of what I have. Also should I be using rice hulls in all recipes? If so how much is recommended?

 

[wilserbrewer]

Are you sure that is stainless steel? Sometimes they are actually plastic but appear like stainless.

A water heater stainless braid is very robust for only like 10-12 dollars at Home Depot.


Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

 

[Iceman6409]

I am positive it is ss

 

[wilserbrewer]

Are you sure that is stainless steel? Sometimes they are actually a polymer plastic but appear like stainless. A real stainless will have very fine wires, and should not deform like that.

A water heater stainless braid is very robust for only like 10-12 dollars at Home Depot.


Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

 

[brewmadness]

That looks fairly beat up. I've heard of people coiling a stiff piece of copper wire and inserting that inside of the braided hose to keep if from collapsing. I'd suggest giving that a try. Or build one of the manifolds out of copper of cpvc. There are tons of threads in here on building those.

 

[JonM]

This^^.

I used a roughly 3/4 inch water heater hose braid and that thing held up like a champ for dozens of batches. The only time it deformed even slightly was when I accidentally stabbed it (hard) with the mash paddle.

EDIT: Whoops, I was too slow. My This ^^ refers to Wilserbrew's comment re the water heater hose.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I find that it helps to stir in the direction lengthwise to the braid, that poor braid looks like you beat it like a red headed step child
j/k


Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

 

[mwill07]

yeah, I don't see any reason why it shouldn't still work.

One thing I'm going to do that you might consider is to insert a scrap piece of copper tubing with slots or holes along it's length, just to provide some rigidity and stability to the mesh. The mesh will still act as the filtering medium. In this case, the tube need not be attached to the spigot so installation can be simple.

 

[brewkinger]

Get yourself a piece of copper wire and coil it around a Bic Pen (or screwdriver shaft / similar diameter) and then get it inside a NEW stainless braid.

Your existing braid looks like it has seen it's last days.

It gets beat up when you hit it with the mash paddle (which it looks like you have done once or twice)

The copper pipe idea sounds good, but the limited number of slots that you cut can actually impede the flow (ask me how I know)

Simple fix though (you could build a manifold as mentioned)

 

[Kee]

Mashing at lower temperatures can make the wort stickier.

 

[fixitoscar]

or you could pick up a bazooka screen. works great doesn't get beat up.
Try draining slower to avoid stuck sparges.

 

[flippedcracker]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Watts-3-...Water-Heater-Connector-LF-BK-LBF-18/202267229

That's pretty much the one I use. Way more robust than the thin toilet/sink hoses. Of course, if you hit it with a paddle, it still might not hold up. But mine has been working great. They have different lengths too.

 

[jflongo]

I have mentioned to many people to add a T on the inside as well, and put the hose in a big circle. You reduce the change of it getting stuck, have two sides.

 

[rlmiller10]

I find that it helps to stir in the direction lengthwise to the braid, that poor braid looks like you beat it like a red headed step child
j/k


Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

Man I hate that expression. I was a red headed step child. Never beaten though.

 

[brewkinger]

Man I hate that expression. I was a red headed step child. Never beaten though.

Yeah but the alternative is offensive to PETA:
Beaten like a baby white seal


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[flippedcracker]

Yeah but the alternative is offensive to PETA:
Beaten like a baby white seal


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

My favorite one-liner ever: Baby seal walks into a club.

 

[peterj]

That same thing started happening to me. I have a braided SS hose that got a little beat up and stretched like yours looks. After a few mashes I started getting stuck sparges every time I brewed. You just need to straighten it out and push it back together into a decent looking tube again. Get all those kinks and flat places out of it. Since I did that, it's been working just fine. You just need to be careful when you stir not to beat it like a baby seal (is that the one we decided on?)!

 

[rlmiller10]

Yeah but the alternative is offensive to PETA:
Beaten like a baby white seal


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

That's not offensive. That is funny