How to Make a Mash Tun

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Andy
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Post by Andy » Wed Dec 07, 2005 6:43 pm

QUOTE (mr.c @ Dec 7 2005, 01:09 PM) ok pre-heat masher added 4 pints at 66 degrees with 1kg of Rice for 60 Minutes with sleeping bag over it come out at 56 degrees hmmmmm maybe im doing some think wrong here or i need a better one :unsure:
Oh, another thing MrC, with the volumes you're using for testing there is going to be
a large amount of free space in the coolbox which won't help the thermal retention.
In practice your mash volume will be much larger and so less colder air volume to
steal valuable heat.



(I made all the above up but it sounds right yes ? :D )

mr.c

Post by mr.c » Wed Dec 07, 2005 8:25 pm

QUOTE (andy @ Dec 7 2005, 03:03 PM)Mr C - see what happens when you buy stuff for a quid from car boots!  :P  :lol:
haha ok ,ok :stun i will as you said mr Brush [QUOTE] If you pour a couple of kettles of boiling water in your cool box,

allow a few moments for it to warm up,

drain,

add your strike water at 72 deg c, then add you grain you will find it stabalizes at virtualy 66 deg c.

Put the lid on, throw a blanket/fleece over the top and it will loose less than 2 deg c per 1 1/2 hrs if that.


now back to my experiments :P :P :P :P

and plz do experiment with your one andy

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Post by Andy » Wed Dec 07, 2005 8:34 pm

Mr C - use more than a couple of pints of water too. Use mash quantities.

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Post by Andy » Sun Dec 11, 2005 3:24 pm

Did a little coolbox mash tun construction this afternoon


Exterior - bored out hole with 32mm holesaw and slightly enlarged with dremmel
Image


Inside showing tap + nut - bored out hole with 25mm holesaw and enlarged slightly again
Image

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Post by Andy » Sun Dec 11, 2005 5:39 pm

Hopefully get the manifold sorted this week. I was thinking of using a stainless flexible hose as the manifold (cut the end fittings off and remove inner rubber tube). So each end of the stainless hose is clamped to the ends of a tee-piece with the other tee end going to the drum tap outlet via short length of PVC tube.

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Post by Andy » Sun Dec 11, 2005 5:59 pm

OK, some coolbox mash tun heat loss results using water only, approx 15 litres.

Time______Temp (degC)______Delta Temp decrease (degC)______Temp decrease/min
15:12______68.8____________0_______________________________0
15:38______66.4____________2.4______________________________0.092
16:16______63.2____________3.2______________________________0.084
16:43______61.1____________2.1______________________________0.078

Tun wasn't pre-heated hence the initial quick drop I guess.

With grain + mash liquor quantity then there would be less air space in the tun so I'd expect better results. I'd also pre-heat it with some boiling water.

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Post by Andy » Sun Dec 11, 2005 8:49 pm

DAAB - no insulation around the tun. I felt no warmth on the tun walls but there was noticable heat on the lid so I guess that's worth covering with a blanket or similar.

You're right about the thermal properties of grain vs water I believe so in 'real life' everything should be OK :D . How does your tun behave heat-wise ?

Oh and there was no leakage around the tap area so job's a goodun :pink

mr.c

Post by mr.c » Mon Dec 12, 2005 11:39 am

well thank you all for you input on this experiment, i to had about the some results by adding more mash water and grain :) so all looking good so far :) FULL MASH COMING
SOON :D :D

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Post by Andy » Sat Jan 14, 2006 5:43 pm

Manifold now sorted!

Image

Stainless steel braided hose connected to a 15mm copper tee using ss hose clips.

1/2" PVC tubing from leg of tee connects to hozelok connector which screws directly into the back of the W&D drum tap.

EDIT: This style of manifold hasn't worked for a few people on here, me included! Stuck mashes occurred with annoying regularity. I've now constructed a slotted copper manifold (details available on here in other threads) and it's been flawless.
Last edited by Andy on Sun Feb 25, 2007 9:33 am, edited 1 time in total.

BlightyBrewer

Post by BlightyBrewer » Sun Feb 26, 2006 1:03 pm

QUOTE (Daft as a Brush @ Dec 11 2005, 04:09 PM) Looking good. When are you starting on the manifold? If you can find a good plumbers merchants near you you will save money on the copper fittings (dont forget to buy lead free solder.)
Starting on my mash tun this weekend. Exactly the same cool box as andy, with a copper manifold (only becasue I had some spare copper bits and pieces lying around).

DAAB, I've read somewhere that there is no need to solder the manifold together, which makes it a lot easier to clean. The only problem with this I guess is the danger of knocking it with your spoon whilst stirring, and pulling it apart.

Anyone else have experience of free fitting copper manifolds?

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Post by Andy » Sun Feb 26, 2006 1:11 pm

I'd imagine that either the tube/fitting fit will be pretty tight anyway or a slight tweak to the fitting with some pliers etc would tighten up the fit....


and be gentle when stirring ! :D

BlightyBrewer

Post by BlightyBrewer » Sun Feb 26, 2006 1:16 pm

I've got a touch like a gynaecologist me...! :blink: :lol:

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Post by Andy » Mon Feb 27, 2006 2:05 pm

BB - how did the mash tun construction go ? Got any pics for us* ?








* how sad am I !! :lol: :rolleyes:

BlightyBrewer

Post by BlightyBrewer » Mon Feb 27, 2006 7:47 pm

Here it is...it's a work in progress. I am going to add a central cross-member to the manifold, as per DAAB's suggestion. Basically, it's the same cooler as andy used (Argos, £14.99) with a drum tap from the LHBS, hoselock tap fittting on rear end of drum tap, and a bit of that hose that DAAB gave me to connect the manifold to the hoselock fitting.

Image

Image

Image

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Post by Andy » Mon Feb 27, 2006 8:02 pm

Excellent BB....

Word of advice re: the Argos coolbox. I don't think the lid is filled with any insulation and it gets warm during the mash whereas the walls don't radiate any heat. So, make sure you put some insulation on the lid when mashing, I wrap the whole thing in an old sleeping bag.

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