What's your setup and your efficiency?

[Beerd Man]

So ever since I've started all grain brewing I've been very focused on trying to get my efficiency higher. My current set up is a 10 gallon round cooler, originally with a small lint trap as the manifold (it was all a birthday present from the gf, so she did as best as she could). I was getting a very reliable 60% efficiency batch sparging with this method. For my most recent batch I've switched to a braided stainless steel line which I left coiled in the middle of the mash tun and was able to raise it to 62%. I know there are a lot of factors when it comes to efficiency, but I'm hoping I can at least get it into the 65-70%. So now I'm wondering where to go next. Every thread I searched for on this topic suggested "just have your LHBS re-grind the grains again" but I feel like I should at least be able to reach 65% without this issue (plus the lady who works at my LHBS is preggos, so I already feel bad having her grind them in the first place). As well, I've been able to do smaller batches using BIAB method and have reached 70% so I know it's not impossible with their grind...

So I'm curious, what is your current set up, and what efficiency are you getting? I think I may switch to a false bottom very soon, but I'd like to hear if there are any tips or other methods I can use to raise my efficiency. Thanks in advance!

[Ozwald]

Did you remove the lint from the trap?

Sometimes (frequently) it's not about gear as much as process. How do you conduct your mash?

[Beerd Man]

Oh shit, it could be that lint!

As for the process: After the rest I pour in about a gallon of 170*F sparge water, gently stir the mash, let out about half a gallon, recirculate it through the top, open and drain (stirring occasionally) until I only see grain on the top of the mash. I then pour 170*F water over that, about 2 gallons, drain again until I see the water line has fallen below the bed of grain, and pour in the remaining 2 or so gallons, again stirring, until I've collected by boil volume. I usually end up with a gallon or so of extra water, but I'm getting a lot better at calculating the amount needed.

Should I be letting the water drain out completely before adding sparge water? Maybe recirculating more? Increase the sparge water temperature?

[DrWill]

Oh shit, it could be that lint!

As for the process: After the rest I pour in about a gallon of 170*F sparge water, gently stir the mash, let out about half a gallon, recirculate it through the top, open and drain (stirring occasionally) until I only see grain on the top of the mash. I then pour 170*F water over that, about 2 gallons, drain again until I see the water line has fallen below the bed of grain, and pour in the remaining 2 or so gallons, again stirring, until I've collected by boil volume. I usually end up with a gallon or so of extra water, but I'm getting a lot better at calculating the amount needed.

Should I be letting the water drain out completely before adding sparge water? Maybe recirculating more? Increase the sparge water temperature?

I fly sparge, so I don't drain before the start of the sparge, but I know people who batch sparge do exactly that, and your method sounds like a bit of both, so you could probably go either way.

Frankly I wouldn't worry too much, for a small enough batch I'd just throw in a few extra pounds of malt and you should be able to hit your numbers without too much trouble. I had similar issues for a while, and I found that the biggest issue was my crush. I had been crushing to .040" and as soon as I started crushing closer to .030" I found my efficiency jump straight up.

[siwelwerd]

As for the process: After the rest I pour in about a gallon of 170*F sparge water, gently stir the mash, let out about half a gallon, recirculate it through the top, open and drain (stirring occasionally) until I only see grain on the top of the mash. I then pour 170*F water over that, about 2 gallons, drain again until I see the water line has fallen below the bed of grain, and pour in the remaining 2 or so gallons, again stirring, until I've collected by boil volume. I usually end up with a gallon or so of extra water, but I'm getting a lot better at calculating the amount needed.

Should I be letting the water drain out completely before adding sparge water? Maybe recirculating more? Increase the sparge water temperature?

Yes, no, yes (for maximal efficiency). Try adding water at more like 180. It matters not what temp the sparge water is at, but what temperature (and pH) the grains are at. When you add a batch, stir it up, let it sit, and measure the temps in a few places. You'll quickly determine how hot sparge water you should be adding based on your system.

After I mash, I recirc, and drain before I add any sparge water. Then add 2-3 gallons of sparge water, stir, recirculate, and drain completely. Repeat. This nets 85% on an average batch with the above my square igloo cooler with a copper manifold.

Also, get your own mill. Buying the grains in bulk will pay for the mill in short time. Then you can be sure noone is resetting the gap and screwing with your crush.

[Bobbie Dooley]

I made up plans for really cool CPVC sparge/lauter manifolds for round coolers. Mine is a 5 gallon cooler but I calculated it based on diameter so it can easily be scaled up to 10. My efficiency only changes based on crush, I'll find the measurements sometime and post them, my lid-mounted sparge manifold and lauter manifold took a little less than 10ft of CPVC pipe and a bunch of 45 and 90 degree turns so it's super cheap compared to copper or false bottoms.

[Ozwald]

As for the process: After the rest I pour in about a gallon of 170*F sparge water, gently stir the mash, let out about half a gallon, recirculate it through the top, open and drain (stirring occasionally) until I only see grain on the top of the mash. I then pour 170*F water over that, about 2 gallons, drain again until I see the water line has fallen below the bed of grain, and pour in the remaining 2 or so gallons, again stirring, until I've collected by boil volume. I usually end up with a gallon or so of extra water, but I'm getting a lot better at calculating the amount needed.

Should I be letting the water drain out completely before adding sparge water? Maybe recirculating more? Increase the sparge water temperature?

Yes, no, yes (for maximal efficiency). Try adding water at more like 180. It matters not what temp the sparge water is at, but what temperature (and pH) the grains are at. When you add a batch, stir it up, let it sit, and measure the temps in a few places. You'll quickly determine how hot sparge water you should be adding based on your system.

After I mash, I recirc, and drain before I add any sparge water. Then add 2-3 gallons of sparge water, stir, recirculate, and drain completely. Repeat. This nets 85% on an average batch with the above my square igloo cooler with a copper manifold.

Also, get your own mill. Buying the grains in bulk will pay for the mill in short time. Then you can be sure noone is resetting the gap and screwing with your crush.

+1

Also, are you doing a mash out? e.g. Mash @ 154, raising to 165-168, rest, then sparge
Or are you just sparging after a 150ish mash?

If the latter you're probably not even getting to mash out temps with your sparge water, let alone near the 170 threshold.

When you add that 170 sparge water, have you ever measured the output? Let's say you mashed out at 165. You add the 170 sparge water & the output is 168. Then you'll want to sparge with 172 next time. Measure again & take notes. Get that run off @ 170, not the water you add in there.

Getting your own mill is also a good idea for consistency. I'd highly recommend it unless the girl crushing the grain for you is cute. In your case, she's preggers so that part is probably moot.

Edit: Forgot to add 1 last thing. Too many people automatically blame the equipment, go out & spend hundreds of dollars trying various things that don't really do much of anything for them... but it still must be the equipment, right? Rig your process correctly & the equipment you're using pretty much doesn't matter. You can get 80-90% all day long on the weirdest, most cobbled together setup. It's all a matter of dialing you to it, not the other way around.

[Beerd Man]

Thanks for the responses everyone.

I have NOT been doing a mash out. I didn't realize the temperatures of the water were that important for efficiency. I always thought you just raised the water temperature to stop the conversion. So next time I should probably have a separate pot of water going and add it to the mash after the conversion to help raise the temps to 165-168, and then drain, and add 170+*F sparge water, monitoring the output temp to stay at 170?