How to Make A Mash Tun - More Videos At www.coloradoboy.com

[@ekapada]

Since it is a dairy tank it is already insulated. I have used tanks that were uninsulated also and there is negligible heat loss due to the large thermal mass. It is all a lot simpler than you would think it as to be. Cheers, Tom

[@ekapada]

Sorry to reply so late. You are right, but essentially you don't want to transfer wort until your grain solids are 5ml per 1000ml, or, it is essentially clear. With this mash tun I was running clear almost immediately so rather than disturb the grain bed with vorlaufing I just transfer.

[@ekapada]

No heat source. Just single infusion. Malts are so highly modified this is all you need. Works great.

[@NaymzJaymz]

Very nice idea, and it obviously works well for for you. Do you ever have to raise the heat of you mash? You can only do so with water additions, right. There's no heat source underneath, right?

[@BartSimpsonLawnCare]

Where do you get your hot water supply from/what heats your water?

[@ekapada]

Simple, just heat water in your brew kettle for strike.

[@BartSimpsonLawnCare]

So when you sparge where do you run you mash into?

[@ekapada]

Cody Winters After you mash in you heat the rest of the water then transfer it to another tank that is used for sparge. I usually keep that tank up high so it doesn't need a pump to get back to the mash. The kettle is empty. There are videos on www.coloradoboy.com

[@BartSimpsonLawnCare]

Awesome, thanks for the info!

[@ekapada]

No cover, it is well insulated and doesn't need one to hold the heat. Our current one is uninsulated and does have a cover.

[@ridesingletrack]

What mash efficiency are you getting with this setup?

[@drewbeta01]

I thought that vorlaufing was used to reduce lipids, which increases stability and shelf life. Is that a real concern, or is it just another one of those theoretical things?

[@nomios1]

Maybe you could continue along with the home brew method and recirculate the mash through some sort of heat exchange like a RIMS tube or HERMS Coil thereby eliminating the need for direct heating.

[@michaeltangen]

That's really awesome - but I have to imagine that without a manway, cleaning out the grain has got to be a pain in the butt. How do you guys deal with the inconvenience of not being able to rake out the grain?

[@danielcallender5987]

How do you remove your spent grain?

[@ekapada]

Just with a shovel and lift it out. The small stuff at the end you just spray out the rest.

[@user-yq1yq2hj4h]

Just bought a milk vat for this. I'm going with the copper arm drain pipe too, do you lauter at all? I am wondering what type of pump you use for recirculating the wort? Do you mind if I email you so we can chat more while I design my tun?

[@ekapada]

You mean Vorlauf? The pipe is for lautering. Vorlauf is recirculation and with this design we didn't as the wort was clear right from the start. If you have one good sanitary pump you can use that for everything in your brewhouse. I recommend a Thomsen. You can email me through www.coloradoboymontrose.com

[@user-yq1yq2hj4h]

ekapada awesome. We have a lowara sanitary pump, it is great. So you use the pot under the outlet for catching the running off then periodically pump out? I am assuming that is to prevent the copper pipe from suctioning? I'll send you an email soon, I just want to make sure we get it right from the start! Cheers

[@ekapada]

By using a grant yes you aren't sucking down the grain bed. You should get a sanitary ball valve - tri clamp - on your pump outlet, then you run your pump slowly the whole time so that as the wort enters the grant it is pumped out. You want to go slowly so that you time your transfer to about an hour. I go one hour and 15 minutes. With your sparge you keep a water level on top of the grain about 1 inch. Stop your sparge if you can figure your liquid with the grain volume so that you can drain all the liquid out of your mash tun and it just hits your kettle full volume. That way you don't dilute it too much. Figure about 5 gallons per pound of grain if you maintain a 1 inch level of hot liq. on top of the grain. I wrote a book called Colorado Boy SOP that explains all our proceedures.

[@DTRBrewery]

I was looking at one that had insulation and a steam jacket. I understand that most of the grain that the US and England makes is highly modified. But I would like to make some beers with German malts that are under modified. Do you think that having a steam jacket would allow step mashing?

[@dbreienrk1]

How do you insulate/heat to keep a steady mash temp?

[@hrhs556x]

Does it have a cover? Did you make one?

[@ekapada]

That's what you would have to do but there is no need to raise the temp with todays modified malts, or so said my teachers at Siebel.

[@NaymzJaymz]

Your mash