Sparge water heating

[Deebee]

The saga continues at home with the pregnant wife and her sense of smell plus need for everything to be spotless.

She doesn't mind once its all in the FV as long as she doesn't need to smell it.

SO i managed to get an oatmeal stout made at the weekend but have a recipe in y head that i will have the chance to get done in the forthcoming half term.

She starts work at 0745 and leaves the house at 0730 latest. This means that i can start the heating of the mash water ( about 11 liters) once she leaves and in theory i should get this done by around 0815. a 60 minute mash, sparging of say 45 mins and a 60 minute boil means that i should be done by around 1 pm, she is home at around 3 pm.

I know that in order to speed things up i should drain straight from the mash tun into the boiler and start heating whilst i am still sparging. It shortens the taime it takes for the wort to hit the hot break and essentially makes the brew day a little shorter.

The problem is that seeing as i brew in the kitchen with very limited equipment i either have to use 2 pans on the stove to heat sparge water( ok if i am doing a smaller length) or use the bioiler, run off into the Fv then start the boil after transfering into the boiler again.

I have no chance of getting any other form for equipment at the moment.

The pans i use for heating water room 17 liters max at the moment.

If i am doing a 20 liter brew length, it means i will not have enough run off despite this. ( taking into account i like t have 24 liters in the bopiler prior to boil.)

Any tips?

If not then i either have to hope to god that i get the day done, and the stuff cleared before she comes home ( meaning that i have to be effective and have no room for stuck sparge or anthing else to go wrong) or take it over 2 days, and move the fv to the garage after the wort is boiled for 10 minutes then finish the next day.( ihave done this before but bringing to the boil took a fair amount of time.....)
Thoughts please?

[jubby]

How about heating the sparge water in your boiler while mashing, then transfer the hot water into your fv for sparging which will leave your boiler free. I would have a spare fv and fit a kettle element into it for use as an hlt, then you wouldn't be transferring hot liquor about. Shouldn't cost more than £15.

[Deebee]

How about heating the sparge water in your boiler while mashing, then transfer the hot water into your fv for sparging which will leave your boiler free. I would have a spare fv and fit a kettle element into it for use as an hlt, then you wouldn't be transferring hot liquor about. Shouldn't cost more than £15.

This would mean i would need a slightly higher temperature in the sparge water so as not to sparge at the wrong temperature correct.

Over in Noray an FV will cost way more than 15 quid i am afraid....


Dave

[jubby]

This would mean i would need a slightly higher temperature in the sparge water so as not to sparge at the wrong temperature correct.

Yes. If you can insulate it with something, that would help. If it cools too much, draw a kettle full off, boil it and mix it back into the sparge water.

Over in Noray an FV will cost way more than 15 quid i am afraid....

Sorry, I didn't know your location.

[chris_reboot]

what about doing an overnighter?
wait till she goes to bed, then kick it off!

[Cheshire-cheese]

The saga continues at home with the pregnant wife and her sense of smell plus need for everything to be spotless.
She doesn't mind once its all in the FV as long as she doesn't need to smell it...

I'm glad it's not just me that has to stealth brew. I was up just before 07:00 on Sunday (wife working an early shift) in a bid to brew a small batch of stout and clear away all evidence before she got back. I seem to recall absently agreeing to no more brews untill the house is sold. It was the perfect crime, plenty of time left to get the children dressed for lunch time.

[Deebee]

Its likely better that i just carry on as before.

in fact there are 3 alternatives really..

Lets look at the timings here.

NB wife leaves home at 0730 and is home around 1515

Alternative 1

Start 0730 ( ish) heating of mash water ( straight from the hot tap!)

0815 ( latest) start 60 minute mash, whilst mash is on heat sparge water in boiler, weigh out hops etc.

0915 recirculate 5 mins or so then soaege in 18-19 liters water

1030 (latest) sparge complete

1040 ( latest) wort in boiler ( that was already warm from heating sparge)

1140 BOPIL and hotbreak ( spent grain gets chuked into the compost, mash tunrinses out and hides in its place)

1250 Cooling

1330 Wort in FV, Fv put into position

1400 all done washed cleaned and finished ( if not then i hide it all in the garage and do the clean up next day!) Leaves me just over an hour to get dinner on......

Alternatve 2

Start 0730 ( ish) heating of mash water ( straight from the hot tap!)

0815 ( latest) start 60 minute mash, whilst mash is on heat sparge water in boiler, weigh out hops etc.

0915 recirculate 5 mins or so then soaege in 18-19 liters water

1030 (latest) sparge complete

1040 ( latest) wort in boiler ( that was already warm from heating sparge)

1140 heat wort to 80 degrees and hold for 10 minutes ( spent grain gets chuked into the compost, mash tunrinses out and hides in its place)

1250 chuck the whole lot in the FV and seal, take to garage and hide.

Next day at 0730 when she goes out, collect boiler and Fv full of cold wort, and boil from there. This way i would be dinished by around 11 am.

It'll get done... its just a matter of how.

Alternative 3

pay for night at a spa for her and brew my ass of whilst she is gone.

[ADDLED]

Alternative 4
Divorce...?

[trucker5774]

This is what I do...............Hot water from combi to to save time. Heat enough in the boiler for mash. While mashing heat more for 1st sparge. Sparge and run off into FV and save while hot water is transfered from boiler to 2nd sparge. 1st runninggs which are now in FV are tipped into boiler and the boil started. I then run the second sparge into the boiler which is now starting to boil the 1st runnings.............so the only waiting/none activity time is waiting for the mash!

[Deebee]

This is what I do...............Hot water from combi to to save time. Heat enough in the boiler for mash. While mashing heat more for 1st sparge. Sparge and run off into FV and save while hot water is transfered from boiler to 2nd sparge. 1st runninggs which are now in FV are tipped into boiler and the boil started. I then run the second sparge into the boiler which is now starting to boil the 1st runnings.............so the only waiting/none activity time is waiting for the mash!

That sounds sensible but you are batch sparging.

I fly sparge and my efficiency is not brilliant anyway.

Besides i don't know how to batch sparge....

[trucker5774]

Sorry Deebee, must have missed that bit...............so anyway welcome to your new method ......batch sparging I hit 80% to 85% regularly

[Deebee]

If you are getting poor efficiency when continuous sparging and aren't addressing it, you may as well try batch sparging anyway as it eliminates poor sparging technique and mash tun design. The reasoning behind continuous sparging is that is maximises efficiency/extraction.

If you don't know how to batch sparge, all you have to do is add your sparge water in 2 batches. The firt straight after the mash, before you run off any wort then the next after you have drained the first batch from the mash tun. The second batch which should be sufficient to make up your required preboil volume.

If you determine that your preboil volume should be 30L and you collect 14L from batch one then you need to add 16L for batch 2 to make up a total of 30L.

The idea is that both batches should be roughly equal although a couple of litres here or there wont matter. I produced a calculator to help determine the volumes of sparge water required. http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/batch_calculator.html

The thing with the last batch was that i tried to compensate for excessive lossed from the batch before and i likely sparged in too much water. This meant that i got too much water and this was naturally weaker. That being said i still lost 4 lites ( had 14.5 in the boiler and 10.5 in the fv) to boil off. I think that i watered the wort down too much.

Grain bill was 2.6 kilos, i mashed with 2.5 x grain ( 6.5 liters) then sparged in another 8 giving me a pre boil volume of 14.5.

I think this is what made me think the efficiency was down. I am pretty much selv taught though throurgh reading and attaneding one brew with some others.

My temps are all spot on though, Mash at between 66.5 and 67, very little if any heat loss.

This time i only mashed for an hour though, usually i mash for 90 minutes.

I have adjusted beersmith based on the water losses inoted last time.

It now tells me for the next brew i am planning ( a 19 liter brew) i should have 10.5 liters in the mash ( 2.5 x grain) then sparge in 19 liters in order to reach my pre boil volume.

I have never managed to work out efficiency though so will save the figures of the next brew, post them here and hope that someone can help.

With the batch sparge though....

am i right in thinking the following.

Mash water - grain bill ( so 4.2kilo grain in 10.5 l water) + first batch ( total 12.6) then the second batch of the full 12.6 liters.

That ok, but do i leave the second batch in for any time, do i need to stir the wwork in order to mix the water properly, then recuirculate as normal.

Sorry fr the dumb questions but all grain is a very rare thing here.