Dumb noob question. Building a mash tun from an igloo cube cooler this weekend and the drain is not right at the bottom. Which I guess is OK seeing that others have used this cooler with success. So how do you get the wort that is below drain level out of a mash tun?
I suppose you could tip it a little forward. Though I never worried about it. You'll get all the good stuff out as you sparge anyway.
Your false bottom or manifold or bazooka-type screen will be on or near the bottom, and will form part of a siphon that will drain most of the wort. There will still be some dead space though. Always is.
You know. I forgot about the batch sparge... Sure, that will push out any leftover from the first runnings. Thanks!!
Not really. With a batch sparge you are adding water which mixes up with all the remaining wort. So your first, higher gravity runnings, will be diluted and incorporated into the sparge water.
How is diluting them into the sparge water not going to help wash them out? Or are you just saying it doesn't technically "push" them out?
The left over first runnings will essentially become second runnings with the addition of sparge water. I would suspect you will still have the same amount of left over wort no matter how many times you drain. To the OP: tip it a little to get the most out, there will be extra though.
OK. Got it. obviously this works or else no one would do it this way. A bit of a tip at the end it is!
Use water to calculate the amount of liquid that is left behind. That way you still end up with the desired amount of beer. Add a gallon and drain it back into your jug. Then you will know how much additional sparge water to use.
So its experience. Do a batch. Take notes. Temperature, Sparge and mash water amounts. etc. Create a profile and tweak as you go. Sounds like a plan.
Yep. I think what Soulrebel was suggesting, and I agree, is to just put water in your tun and drain it out and then measure what is left over then you add that into your batch size so you account for how much is lost so you still hit your desired amount into the kettle.
This is good advice. And for the OP: Don't forget to account for the water that the grain will absorb. I think I use 0.12 gallons per pound for that, IIRC.
