Upgrading Gravity BrewSculpture

[Hoppy Brewah]

I am planning to add a March pump to my B3 1000 Gravity BrewSculpture to recirculate the mash and use the Jamil chiller method. For the mash recirculation, can I clamp the hose on the kettle so it pours on top of the mash, or do I need a fancy sparge ring like this?



Has anyone made a sparge ring to recirculate the mash? If the hose flows directly into the mash tun, will that disrupt the grain filter bed?

I am also wondering about B3's analog SMART option, where the mash is heated through a copper coil in the HLT. Can you use your immersion chiller for both purposes or is it better to have a dedicated coil for the mash? What are the pros/cons of this method versus direct firing of the mash while recirculating? I imagine there are various opinions on these questions, but I'd appreciate some help in sorting it all out. I am leaning towards buying the pump, hose and QDs now and adding more equipment later. Thanks!

Eric

[NHBrewer]

Saw one of those in operation at White Birch Brewing in Hookset the other day. you could go down there and check it out or call Bill and ask him what he thinks. www.whitebirchbrewing.com

Chris

[foomench]

Has anyone made a sparge ring to recirculate the mash?

Yes.

If the hose flows directly into the mash tun, will that disrupt the grain filter bed?

Quite possibly yes. My sparge ring and the B3 thing might be overkill, but just a hose could be underkill. I have seen people use just the hose and something sitting on top the grain bed like a pizza pan with holes in it.

I am also wondering about B3's analog SMART option, where the mash is heated through a copper coil in the HLT. Can you use your immersion chiller for both purposes or is it better to have a dedicated coil for the mash?

I have a dedicate coil because:
1. My HERMS coil is rather permanently installed into the HLT.
2. For chilling I use both coils. My HLT becomes an ice-bath prechiller.
Neither of these need apply in your case, but they are something to consider.

What are the pros/cons of this method versus direct firing of the mash while recirculating?

The major con of direct firing is scorching the mash. For me, my mash tun is a cooler, so a con would be melting it, but that doesn't apply in your case.

[Hoppy Brewah]

Thanks for the responses. I think I will take baby steps and start off with the basic pump set up and then will try to retrofit my sparge ring.

[fastdogbrewing]

I made this sparge ring


I mounted it like this


Obviously it would be a bit different mount on your kettles but this is pretty easy to do and works well.

My setup uses a completely different method of cooling and heating so I can't help on a coil in the HLT. However I do use the same heat exchanger for heating mash, temp control of mash, and cooling wort.