So I recently got a grain mill and have been testing various mill gaps to try and dial in the perfect crush for an increased efficiency. The last batch (recipe below) I did use a gab of about .30 and the results ecficieffiwise were excellent! The only problem was when I got to sparging. I vorloft with a pump and DIY sparge arm and I started noticed things going a-rye (get it?) Toward the end of the 15 min vorloft. The flow had slowed to a trickle despite the valve being almost all the way open. I finally reached a stuck sparge about fifteen minutes into it. I was able to revitalize the sparge a bit by blowing air up through the bottom of the mash ton via the tube. Sparging took me much longer and my lack of ability to do so resulted in less pre boil collection and a shortened boil time. I'd love to keep the efficiency I reached on the grain mill but I don't want to go through this trouble again. A link to my false bottom is listed below. My question is this: the holes in my false bottom seem somewhat large compared to others I've seen. I was wondering if I wrapped the bottom in a finer mesh bag I could avoid this problem of a stuck sparge? Can anyone see any potential draw backs to this strategy? Will this even help? Any advise would be appreciated! Thanks! FALSE BOTTOM: https://www.northernbrewer.com/prod...OKmwkdH5xSf4gEJ1O80E3Zgd6P1zdC9waAuBqEALw_wcB RECIPE: 17 # 2row 1# crystal 80 1# american chocolate 1# roasted barley 2# flaked oats Mash 1 hour @ 151° F Fly sparge @ 170° F
It's not a false bottom problem. It's your having compacted the grain bed. Your crush could also be enabling that as well. The amount of oats could be gumming things up, but I don't see anything about your ph so I'm not sure if that's a part of it. But, it's certainly going to amplify any sparge issues. Also, your chocolate malt and roasted barley probably are getting pulled to the bottom and could be getting involved in your false bottom and working together with the gumminess of the oats. But... Before you get a new wheel that won't actually solve anything. Rice hulls are your friend, and don't compact the grain bed by cranking things full blast. Restrict the flow of your pump, so the bed doesn't get all crazy with a pump that is more than likely working at way much higher speed than what you actually need for the kind of mash tun dimensions you have. If you have such a thing as speed control. Dial it back. Subtlety is an awful bit more effective than blasting away at full volume. Also, don't push air in when you can take something like a rake or whatever you use for stirring that will not break, and work on resetting the grain bed. Boofing it with air or c02 is the last resort.
I had one of those... it collapsed. I switched to a jaybird and for insurance I use a stainless steel pan scrubber around the inlet. And yeah, nothing will work if you annihilate your grain husks.
