DaaB wrote:We used to clamp their cuffs in the engineering vices on the work bench for an afternoon
The Behemoth has arrived
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oxford brewer
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SteveD
Ok, test over. The beastie lost 4c in 2Hrs 10 mins. 66c to 62c The volume of water was about 15L. Having read the mashtun thread Andy linked to, I think we can conclude that with grain it would perform ok as a mashtun.SteveD wrote:The test is underway. I half filled it with boiling water and clamped the lid on to preheat it. 10 minutes later I added cold water to take it down to 66c clamped the lid back on and set the cooker timer to 2 hrs. Initial impressions: Heat escapes where the lid meets the body. Quite hot there, and I don't think the seal is the greatest, wisps of steam were escaping after I'd clamped the lid down. If it holds heat well, I'm not bothered by that as the seal can be padded out with some silicon sealer if necessary...results posted in 1.5 hrs.SteveD wrote:Now then...The 33L S/S pot arrived today except it didn't. What the silly sods sent instead was a 22L S/S insulated pot! I don't want it...but it has given me, and therefore as a collective group of brewing bretheren, us, a chance to evaluate it's suitability as a mashtun which was something I asked them about but got no reply. I'll just fill it with water adjust to strike temp, say 72c, let the pot warm up and settle to 65c, clamp on the lid, and see how it performs over a 90-120 minute period. Result!
Then I'll dry it off very carefully and repackage it so they can come and pick it up! 22L is no use to me as my current mashtun is bigger than that.
Tapping tests suggest it might have insulation material between the walls as it doesn't sound hollow. As to wether there's a vacuum as well, I don't know. If it holds heat well I'll press them for an answer as the vacuum issue is important when I come to drill holes in it. If it all checks out I'll probably get a 50L one to up-gun my mashing capacity.
That's the beastie.
One thought on the notion that mash holds it's temperature better......It's maybe that it doesn't at all, but holds it's temperature differently. With water we see more of a drop overall, but with water, heat can move easily as there's no resistance so the sides cool, and then so does the middle as the currents even the heat out. With mash, you take the temperature in the middle, and whahey! It's hasn't dropped by more than 1c! However if you take it at the sides, or corners, you'll see much more of a drop, it's just that the heat can't transfer from the middle to the cooler sides as readily. So the sides cool faster, the middle stays stable. If we were able to measure the total heat in the mash accurately, we might find that it's the same as the total heat in the same volume of water after the same period of time elapsed.
Only an idea...difficult to test, because nobody in their right mind stirs a mash at the end of the mash period! You'd have to stir the water the same too, as just stirring will cool it and screw up the results.
At the end of a mash I take the temperature quickly in several places and average it out to give me my Endmashtemp.
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SteveD
Well, it is more expensive than a 33L stock pot, £39.95 I would guess, as a 12L one is listed at £29.95 and a 50L one at £49.95, all Buy it Now prices.DaaB wrote:So you reckon it'll do the job then Steve
How much is it and is it more expensive than a 33L stock pot...could it be that it's worth hanging on to
the 33L stockpot bidding starts off at £20.00. I wouldn't keep it becasue it's 22L in capacity making it smaller than my current 30something Litre Coolbox tun. If I was going to get one, I'd get the 50L one and therefore up my mash capacity and put old style multiple mashes within reach, say a 4-5 gallon strong brew (first wort) plus a 5 or 10 gallon normal strength brew (2nd wort) all from one mash.
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SteveD
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Orfy