Preventing a stuck mash
-
- Piss Artist
- Posts: 185
- Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2008 9:22 am
- Location: Nottingham and Gods own country of Yorkshire
Preventing a stuck mash
Last time I ran my RIMS system I got a stuck mash and my inner basket filled up and emptied the outer pot. What's the best way to try an prevent this?
Sent from my SM-T813 using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-T813 using Tapatalk
Fermenting: Wilkos Cider
Drinking: Wilkos Hoppy Copper (very nice)
Drinking: Wilkos Hoppy Copper (very nice)
Re: Preventing a stuck mash
Are you using pre-crushed or crushing your own? Can you add some rice hulls?
- Kev888
- So far gone I'm on the way back again!
- Posts: 7701
- Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2010 6:22 pm
- Location: Derbyshire, UK
Re: Preventing a stuck mash
Reducing speed of recirculation can reduce compaction of the mash bed, it can also help to build to the desired speed gradually and to avoid too much depth/weight of wort building above the grain. Too fine a crush and/or too much stirring of the grain can liberate finer clogging flour, and with high percentages of stubborn grains (like wheat) rice hulls or oat husks (etc) may help, as Ben suggested.
But whatever you do there will be limits; some systems (and grains) are more free-draining than others. Systems such as the Grainfather have a central overflow so that the element and pump remain flooded even if the recirculation through the grain does clogg. The Braumeister design means that clogging can't cause the inner pipe to take up more wort.
But whatever you do there will be limits; some systems (and grains) are more free-draining than others. Systems such as the Grainfather have a central overflow so that the element and pump remain flooded even if the recirculation through the grain does clogg. The Braumeister design means that clogging can't cause the inner pipe to take up more wort.
Kev
- Jocky
- Even further under the Table
- Posts: 2738
- Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2011 6:50 pm
- Location: Epsom, Surrey, UK
Re: Preventing a stuck mash
Avoid suction on the mash tun caused by a siphon effect.
I kept getting stuck mashes, when running a length of hose from the tap on my MT bottom drain. The hose dropped down to a collection bucket or sometimes a pump that I'd use to recirc. What I hadn't realised was that the drop on the hose was causing suction on the grain bed.
The moment I changed to having the end of the hose above the bottom of the mash grain bed (meaning liquid was running out under gravity only) all my mash problems stopped.
If you need to run a pump off this then you want to run off into a lauter grant that is used as a reservoir for the pump inlet.
I kept getting stuck mashes, when running a length of hose from the tap on my MT bottom drain. The hose dropped down to a collection bucket or sometimes a pump that I'd use to recirc. What I hadn't realised was that the drop on the hose was causing suction on the grain bed.
The moment I changed to having the end of the hose above the bottom of the mash grain bed (meaning liquid was running out under gravity only) all my mash problems stopped.
If you need to run a pump off this then you want to run off into a lauter grant that is used as a reservoir for the pump inlet.
Ingredients: Water, Barley, Hops, Yeast, Seaweed, Blood, Sweat, The swim bladder of a sturgeon, My enemies tears, Scenes of mild peril, An otter's handbag and Riboflavin.
-
- Lost in an Alcoholic Haze
- Posts: 500
- Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2012 10:28 pm
- Location: North Tawton
Re: Preventing a stuck mash
Glad I came across this post, I've been having terrible trouble recirculating with my HERMS.
2 brews ago I used a lot of crystal rye so I put in some rice hulls and the circulation was much better, Sunday my brew was all pale malt and terrible circulation again, I gave it a stir and the grain bed was compacted on the false bottom, in desperation I got the bag of rice hulls out and chucked a load in, gave it a stir and circulation was fine again!
So I've concluded I need to put in 1-2% rice hulls in every brew from now on!
2 brews ago I used a lot of crystal rye so I put in some rice hulls and the circulation was much better, Sunday my brew was all pale malt and terrible circulation again, I gave it a stir and the grain bed was compacted on the false bottom, in desperation I got the bag of rice hulls out and chucked a load in, gave it a stir and circulation was fine again!
So I've concluded I need to put in 1-2% rice hulls in every brew from now on!
-
- Lost in an Alcoholic Haze
- Posts: 677
- Joined: Tue May 05, 2015 11:21 am
Re: Preventing a stuck mash
You could use a mash bag. A but like a voile bag that BIABers use, except designed to fit mash tuns. You can just lift the bag for easy agitation then
-
- Telling imaginary friend stories
- Posts: 5229
- Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2011 1:49 pm
- Location: Cowley, Oxford
Re: Preventing a stuck mash
also when starting the recirculation start slow and build up to the optimum flow rate, just the same as gravity draining the tun, if you open the valve slowly to full it works fine but if rushed straight to open gravity can pull the grains down with the liquor.
ist update for months n months..
Fermnting: not a lot..
Conditioning: nowt
Maturing: Challenger smash, and a kit lager
Drinking: dry one minikeg left in the store
Coming Soon Lots planned for the near future nowt for the immediate
Fermnting: not a lot..
Conditioning: nowt
Maturing: Challenger smash, and a kit lager
Drinking: dry one minikeg left in the store
Coming Soon Lots planned for the near future nowt for the immediate
- orlando
- So far gone I'm on the way back again!
- Posts: 7197
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2011 3:22 pm
- Location: North Norfolk: Nearest breweries All Day Brewery, Salle. Panther, Reepham. Yetman's, Holt
Re: Preventing a stuck mash
You don't mention liquour to grain ratio, this can make a difference too. Slightly looser and crucially keeping the grain bed "floating". This requires a good inch or so of sparge water above the grain. I concur with the comments on pumps starting and running slowly is probably the most important, with husks if you are using a particularly high beta glucan adjunct.
I am "The Little Red Brooster"
Fermenting:
Conditioning:
Drinking: Southwold Again,
Up Next: John Barleycorn (Barley Wine)
Planning: Winter drinking Beer
Fermenting:
Conditioning:
Drinking: Southwold Again,
Up Next: John Barleycorn (Barley Wine)
Planning: Winter drinking Beer
Re: Preventing a stuck mash
Running a chugger pump, 60L tun with perforated false bottom, 11kg grain / 30+ litres water. I've so far had it fairly well throttled back and no problems. However, it takes quite a while to pump out into the boiler. Dare I consider working up to full flow or is that idea asking for a stuck mash?
- orlando
- So far gone I'm on the way back again!
- Posts: 7197
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2011 3:22 pm
- Location: North Norfolk: Nearest breweries All Day Brewery, Salle. Panther, Reepham. Yetman's, Holt
Re: Preventing a stuck mash
It's better to run the pumps gently whether recirculating the mash or sparging. If it is a full volume mash then you could try turning up the wick and see what happens but as you do the pump will suck down the floating bed risking a stuck mash.
I am "The Little Red Brooster"
Fermenting:
Conditioning:
Drinking: Southwold Again,
Up Next: John Barleycorn (Barley Wine)
Planning: Winter drinking Beer
Fermenting:
Conditioning:
Drinking: Southwold Again,
Up Next: John Barleycorn (Barley Wine)
Planning: Winter drinking Beer