What Are Using For A Mash Tun?

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

Hey guys, as some of you know I use the BIAB method which fine but am looking at getting a separate mash tun and doing sparge. I have seen on here that many are looking for the "orange round cooler bin style" and they are very good on all counts but pretty pricey. Do you do the chilly bin (which has great insulating properties) method or go the stainless route all the way? and if you can show us photos too,

Cheers

Daza.

[Mr Agsy]

I just converted one of those blue chilly bins, I installed a ball valve and attached a bazooka screen on the inside.. It works a treat and holds temps really well. Here's a couple of pics.. Mine holds 32 liters

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

Hey looks pretty good, did you get the kit conversion off trade me? was it an upgrade from a BIAB way? or is this the first time you have done mashing? 

[Mr Agsy]

I just bought the parts separately... I notice you can buy the ball valve and screen together on trademe..

http://www.trademe.co.nz/home-living/food-beverage/other-beverages/...

http://www.trademe.co.nz/home-living/food-beverage/other-beverages/...

I did buy a BIAB but have not really needed to use it much.. I sometimes use it as an extra filter after my boil when transferring it into my fermenter.

The chilly bin method for mashing really holds your temps nicely, If anything I lose about 1c.

TIP: If you decide to use this method I always pour some hot water into my mashtun and close it for around 20 mins so its already heated when I start my mash.

[Nathan]

Bought my 40l igloo form amazon for about 90 bucks then everything else was bolt on no mods needed till i put a temp gauge on it then it was just a simple hole drilled

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

Are the bazooka screens just as good or better than the whole filter made out of a pipe (copper?) have you seen those types? and the round ones have a false bottom that can be used which could be useful?

[Mr Agsy]

I've been told you can sometimes get a stuck sparge with the copper pipe DIY filters.. That's why I decided to go with the bazooka screen.So far Its worked really well for me with no stuck sparges as yet.. I've never used the false bottom but I believe they also work just as well if not better..

[Richard Loynes]

Hi Agsy,  how does the bazooka tube affect your efficiency?  I debating a false bottom or copper manifold as mentioned in "how to brew" by John Palmer Manifolds - How to brew

[Nathan]

Im a Bazooka screen brewer and am blown away with the efficiency I'm getting, I had a recipe  at an estimate at 78% efficiency on my app, turned out to be more like mid to high 80's and that's two brews in a row now......But I personally put it down to my suppliers new grain mill.......So in short i feel bazookas are just fine.

[Mr Agsy]

Since I'm using the bazooka screen I tend to batch sparge which makes up for not having an even flow over my grain bed..

My efficiency is currently around 75-80%

I feel the crush of my grain play a major part in my efficiency numbers, for instance I have just done my 2nd hoegaarden clone and did exactly the same technique but there was a 5% difference in my efficiency . I bought my grains for each clone from two different home brew stores so I think that why their was such a difference.. I do not currently have a grain mill and each LHBS have slightly different settings on their crush..

If you decide to go with a false bottom ,it should cover most of the bottom as it will give you an even flow over the whole of your grain bed and should give you a better efficiency.

[Cain Harland]

I had a manifold and it worked fine but when I was having efficiency issues I did a bit of reading on the topic. Someone had done experiments with dye in a fish tank and various manifolds and the conclusion seemed to be unless your making a very complex manifold thats basically a false bottom you are not going to get very even drainage and even with a false bottom unless your grain bed is tall and narrow (not a rectangular chilly) and you sparge very slow a batch sparge was more efficient than fly sparge. I don't think you would gain much (if any thing) with a simple manifold vs bazooka screen on a batch sparge. I'm  not even sure that my false bottom is any more efficient than my old manifold either. Other factors like crush and sparge rate seem to be much more important.

[Darren Andrews (Daza)]

Sweet thanks for that, hey I am so new to brewing it's only been a few months and I was wanting to know, how can you tell how much your efficiency is? Is it depend on your gravity reading?

[Cain Harland]

My first was a big rectangular chilly bin with home made high temp pvc manifold.

The chilly was getting a bit haggard

New one is the 50l pot that used to be my kettle/HLT, now with a green yoga mat glued to it for insulation with a false bottom on legs.

If I were building either again I would probably save on effort and expense and just put in a bazoooka screen and batch sparge