Fly sparge with a SS braid

[kace069]

I think most of the problem is poor sparging. I usually taste my spent grain. It is sometimes sweeter than other times.

I think my mash is going well enough. Why do my points disappear after the wort is boiled down?

I have some cheapy strips I use to check my Star san. Problem is I need someone to read the strips for me and their isn't always some one there to read them for me. The tube has about 5 colors for the ph range I can only see 3 different colors.

[bergerandfries]

I think most of the problem is poor sparging. I usually taste my spent grain. It is sometimes sweeter than other times.

I think my mash is going well enough. Why do my points disappear after the wort is boiled down?

I have some cheapy strips I use to check my Star san. Problem is I need someone to read the strips for me and their isn't always some one there to read them for me. The tube has about 5 colors for the ph range I can only see 3 different colors.

Yep, the colorphast strips were made to actually be readable, as opposed to the cheap strips that just aren't readable.

As for points disappearing after the wort is boiled, remember that temperature effects the hydrometer reading. I don't take a gravity reading without first taking the temperature, and then using my software to correct the gravity reading for temp!

[Lars]

Hold on just a minute! You said that your pre-boil gravity was fine, right? Then why are we spending so much time talking about mash-out etc? How vi-gore-ous is your boil? I find it pretty hard to believe that you only went up 6 pts during your boil AND boiled off 2 gallons. What are you using to take your readings? IF you are using a hydrometer are you doing a temp adjustment, or if you are using a refractometer does it have atc?

[bub]

sounds like we may be talking about volume measurements being screwy too.
BUB

[crazymonkey15]

I agree with Bub and Lars. If your getting what you want in the kettle then your mash is fine. Make sure you stir the kettle a little after the 2nd runnings you could be getting a sample that's not consistent for the entire volume in the kettle. How are you taking the pre-boil gravity reading?

[kace069]

Let me clear all this up.
Yes I take Hydrometer readings
Yes I take the temp
Yes I make temp adjustments to the reading via Pro mash
I measure by pre boil volume with a copper tube marked out at gallons, so some guesstimating involved.
I measure my fermenter volume in the carboy where I have marked it out by gallon increments. Some more guesstimating.

I drain the mash tun right to the bottom of the kettle with a hose, I then draw my sample from the valve on the kettle it draws directly from the center of the kettle. I figured it is getting mixed well enough, maybe not. I take my OG reading from the valve on the kettle, typically 5 minutes before flame out.

On last brewday I installed a sight glass on my HLT and marked that out into gallon increments.

Lars point about my 2 gallon boil off and not gaining anymore than 6 points being strange, I totally agree with. The last few brews have had great efficency according to Promash in the kettle but I lose something after the boil. Neithier I or my brewbuddy have a clue as to what is going on here.

One thing about my process I neglected to mention earlier, which I don't really think plays a part here but I will mention it anyways.

I have been trying to get a handle on this 2 gallon boil off situation, it is to high in my opinion. But I see others have the same rate with similar setups, converted keg kettle.
I have also had a few mysterious finishing volume brew days.

My brewday starts with 10 gallons in the HLT. All of which makes it into the MLT. During these last 3 brews I have stopped my sparge run off when I hit my predetermined pre boil volume, usually about 7.25. I have been doing this to narrow down my boil off rate and see where I can improve. So I am prolly leaving about .75 gallons of wort in the MLT.
PS I kinow there is some missing volume in those figures besides grain absorbtion, lately when I drain as much water off from the MLT during the pre heating stage I have dumped the remaing water, out prolly about .25. Preheating always seems to dislodge some old grain from the braid.

I have a keg built as an MLT with a false bottom, I may give that a whirl and fly sparge with it this weekend, not sure what I am going to do yet. I also have a square cooler waiting to become a MLT to try instead of my rectangle cooler I have been brewing with.

Maybe I will go through my usual routine this weekend with no pants. It can't hurt huh?

This last brew was the first time I have overshot promash's estimated pre boil gravity.

[crazymonkey15]

Let me clear all this up.
My brewday starts with 10 gallons in the HLT. All of which makes it into the MLT. During these last 3 brews I have stopped my sparge run off when I hit my predetermined pre boil volume, usually about 7.25. I have been doing this to narrow down my boil off rate and see where I can improve. So I am prolly leaving about .75 gallons of wort in the MLT.
PS I kinow there is some missing volume in those figures besides grain absorbtion, lately when I drain as much water off from the MLT during the pre heating stage I have dumped the remaing water, out prolly about .25. Preheating always seems to dislodge some old grain from the braid.

If you're putting more sparge water in the mash tun than you need and leaving some that will cause an efficiency problem.

Try this:
When you dough in calculate how much water will be absorbed (maybe .13 gallons/lb of grain) and make sure you top off (with boiling water) and stir before your first runoff. Try to get 1/2 of your boil volume in the first runnings. Then measure what you have in the kettle and add enough water to the mash tun to get the other half of your boil volume. That way no water containing sugars is left in the tun and you should "maximize" your efficiency.

I still think your hydrometer reading is off for either the pre-boil or post-boil. Mathematically this should be true: Pre-Boil Gravity*Pre-Boil Volume = Post Boil Gravity*Post-Boil Volume. If you're taking the reading from the bottom of your kettle it is possible that the two runnings aren't mixed completely and you're getting a thicker sample from the bottom wort. That could explain why your gravity doesn't appear to be dropping the proper amount during the boil. I guess it really depends of which gravity reading you think is off.

[bergerandfries]

Crazymonkey, great idea. That could do it.

Also, I use Ken Schwarz's spreadsheet to find what my initial and second runoff gravities (lines 27 and 30) should be. If one of them is off, then I know what part of my process got screwed up:

http://home.elp.rr.com/brewbeer/files/nbsparge.html