NZBrad
Member
Hi,
Hopefully this is the right place to post this.. if not let me know and I will delete and re post in appropriate section.
Does anyone have first hand experience with the pros and cons of using a bag vs a malt pipe in an electric recirculating 1V setup?
I've built a budget 1V electric recirculating system. I started with simple BIAB but I like tinkering so this is where I have ended up.
The vessel is an old 50l keggle, with an upper and lower wort return.
It has an automatic arduino based temperature controller (Ardbir), which also controls the pump and is programmable for step mashes if I ever want to do them, although I haven't seen the need yet.
Currently the setup uses a biab style bag and I do full volume mashes, I don't use a false bottom and haven't had any issues with a burnt bag from contact with the element.
I have produced some good beers using this setup.
And am toying with the idea of replacing the bag with a malt pipe, but really aren't sure if it's worth it or not. I have a 30l pot which is a snug fit into my keg, so could modify that to suit.
The advantages I can see with the malt pipe would be:
-Gives the ability to sparge by supporting the malt pipe above the vessel, just like a grainfather.
-Never have to worry about tearing holes in the bag
-clearer wort, although currently my beers are pretty clear out of the keg.
-easier cleaning with a hose (debatable)
Disadvantages:
-the odds are that wort flow issues will be encountered
-If the wort ceases to flow then there is a high chance of running the element dry, the above two problems will mean I will probably need to rig up an overflow return.
-Further complications with having to account for deadspace in calculations if I decide to sparge.
Any input would be much appreciated,
Cheers
Hopefully this is the right place to post this.. if not let me know and I will delete and re post in appropriate section.
Does anyone have first hand experience with the pros and cons of using a bag vs a malt pipe in an electric recirculating 1V setup?
I've built a budget 1V electric recirculating system. I started with simple BIAB but I like tinkering so this is where I have ended up.
The vessel is an old 50l keggle, with an upper and lower wort return.
It has an automatic arduino based temperature controller (Ardbir), which also controls the pump and is programmable for step mashes if I ever want to do them, although I haven't seen the need yet.
Currently the setup uses a biab style bag and I do full volume mashes, I don't use a false bottom and haven't had any issues with a burnt bag from contact with the element.
I have produced some good beers using this setup.
And am toying with the idea of replacing the bag with a malt pipe, but really aren't sure if it's worth it or not. I have a 30l pot which is a snug fit into my keg, so could modify that to suit.
The advantages I can see with the malt pipe would be:
-Gives the ability to sparge by supporting the malt pipe above the vessel, just like a grainfather.
-Never have to worry about tearing holes in the bag
-clearer wort, although currently my beers are pretty clear out of the keg.
-easier cleaning with a hose (debatable)
Disadvantages:
-the odds are that wort flow issues will be encountered
-If the wort ceases to flow then there is a high chance of running the element dry, the above two problems will mean I will probably need to rig up an overflow return.
-Further complications with having to account for deadspace in calculations if I decide to sparge.
Any input would be much appreciated,
Cheers
