How can I improve my mash efficiency?

my first thought is to try batch sparging a couple times. If the needle doesn't move much, then I'd focus on the crush or water. Fly sparging is not always the best. I had troubles with channeling when fly sparging with a system very similar to what you have. I always batch sparge now if I use that mash tun. I fly sparge with my other mash tuns.

 

I do not analyze my tap water on the day of brewing. I have a water report from my municipal water company and I use the information of that report in my preferred water tool: MpH calculator.

For folks who have wells you can send a sample of your well water to Ward Laboratories for testing and obtain a water report: https://producers.wardlab.com/BrewersKitOrder.php

Cheers!

 

Mash efficiency was a big help for me. I went from about 75% to 82-85%. I use 5.2 Mash Stabilizer from my HB store and that helped overnight.
I also use sparge water closer to 175F-180F.
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/5-2-mash-stabilizer.html

 

I'd also vote to look at your grain crush. My 1st-ever all grain batch had a mash efficiency of ~50%. I posted a thread in the middle of the process...pH, temperature were spot-on. My 2nd batch, I did slightly change a few process things, but not dramatically so as compared to the 1st. I did notice that there seemed to be quite a bit of grains that were holding a lot of starch...so for my 2nd batch, I ran the grains thru the mill at the LHBS twice. My efficiency 2nd batch was 72.5%.

 

You just need something like this to test for alkalinity
http://www.amazon.com/Salifert-Carbonate-Hardness-Alkalinity-100-200/dp/B001EJ3DOG .

You can then get your ph in the right area on brew day. You do not need expensive equipment for that. That kit should be good for 100 brews, testing before and after you treat/ dilute and treat your water


Some supplies vary depending on demand, rainwater etc etc. Mine is very stable and very low in any form of minerals so I never bother testing it or need to buy in/filter water, but I do have to add calcium etc depending on beer


If you are continuing to use RO water then I don't think you'll even need to get a testing kit, just build it up based on the calculators linked^^^

 

Not all RO water is the same. Don't assume store bought RO water is mineral and salt free. It can vary quite bit depending on the source. It can vary at the same source. You can buy a cheap TDS meter to check the water.

 

There you go. I was thinking of distilled

 

I had efficiency problems with my 10 gallon cooler fly sparging so I bought a 72 qt rectangular cooler and now my efficiency is .02 higher on average. I am now batch sparging but I had tried batch sparging with my old cooler to no gain. My point is with poor efficiency in a Home Depot cooler on 100+ batches I think the plastic had something to do with it. I've brewed with people with the same setup and milled identical grain bills and water to have mine 1 or 2 a very lower in the end.... A great mystery. But I'm pumped with my rectangular cooler.

 

FWIW, pH of your source water isn't relevant to your mash pH. Alkalinity and calcium and magnesium ion concentrations are.

 

How about distilled water, is it always the same and 100% stripped of salts/minerals?

 

no one's mentioned sparge rate.
but go low and slow on your sparge regardless of the method you use. obvs fly sparge, that's more important. but i'd even look at a batch sparge taking around 45 min

 

It should be more reliable than RO water. One way to find out is to buy a cheap TDS meter. They cost $10-$15.

 

When I batch sparge, I pretty much let 'er rip. I don't know of any reason to go slow with batch sparging.

 

no science behind it.
i'm just thinking of how to best pull/extract sugars from grain.
if you batch sparge in 2-3 batches? you can likely let 'er rip.
1 batch? i'd go slower.

 

At the risk of being redundant, my efficiency and hitting my OG target improved quite a bit when I switched to RO, and added minerals (per BrewCypher water treatment tab) to settle in the range of 5.4. My beer tastes better too. Adding some minerals takes only a couple more mins to measure out than a spoonful of 5.2 stabilizer. Like everything else, it just becomes part of the routine.

 

I single batch sparge. I believe the gravity of the wort from the sparge runnings that makes it to the kettle is exactly the same as the wort absorbed by the grains and in the deadspace after the sparge. Assuming the same volume of wort is drained by slow vs fast sparge, efficiency has to be the same. I am also assuming full conversion during the mash.

 

then wouldn't that logic hold true for a fly sparge as well?
never seen a brewery gun it with a fly sparge (might be to avoid grist entering the kettle)