[MKOB] Mash tun problems

[Ronald La Borde]

After 5 years working well, something has changed for sure.  Think, have you changed the grain bill, (Wheat?, Oats?, different milling?, mash temperature & rest time?).

> So I thought
> perhaps it was a bad 
> hose, as that is basically the only piece down there that
> can fail, 
> connecting the stainless false bottom to the bulkhead
> nozzle.

Could this tubing expand with age and break loose?  Does the valve wiggle when opened, letting grains clogg the valve?  Do you open the valve fully, but slowly?  If you open it partly, grains could clog it up, but by opening it fully this should allow flow.

Are you doing a larger or smaller brew size or grain bill volume?  Sometimes this can make a big difference.  Are  you sparging too quickly causing grain bed compaction?  Start very slow, then increase flow to desired level.

> I was doing a mash as usual and I went to
> recirculate and 
> start my laughter, and opened up the spigot, nothing
> happens

Start my laughter?  Do you mean from the very start, nothing?  This sounds very strange indeed.  Or do you mean after a short while the wort stops flowing?  This would suggest grain bed compaction caused by the above mentioned details.

I'm just guessing its grain bed compaction.  If so, you can mix in rice hulls, you can get from homebrew suppliers, mix in with the mash grains, they are reputed to lessen the chance of compaction.

Ron
Ronald J. La Borde -- Metairie, LA
New Orleans is the suburb of Metairie, LA
www.hbd.org/rlaborde


--- On Wed, 8/26/09, Russ Clayton <russclayton at bellsouth.net> wrote:

> From: Russ Clayton <russclayton at bellsouth.net>
> Subject: [MKOB] Mash tun problems
> To: mkob-announce at swampgas.com
> Date: Wednesday, August 26, 2009, 10:05 AM
> MKOBers---
> 
> I have a problem that I hope that someone can help me
> with.
> 
> I have a 5 gallon mashtun setup made from the orange Gott
> water 
> coolers.  It is a kit bought from one of the popular
> online brew stores 
> and has functioned well for me over the last 5 or so
> years.  A couple 
> months ago, I was doing a mash as usual and I went to
> recirculate and 
> start my laughter, and opened up the spigot, nothing
> happens.  I get no 
> runoff, even after stiring the mash.  So I thought
> perhaps it was a bad 
> hose, as that is basically the only piece down there that
> can fail, 
> connecting the stainless false bottom to the bulkhead
> nozzle.
> 
> Still, it doesn't work.  Let me preface this by saying
> that it drains as 
> normal when I'm cleaning it and it is just full of
> water.  But once it 
> gets loaded up with grain, it fails to drain at all. 
> This has caused me 
> problems two times now, and I want to fix it before my next
> brew.  As 
> I've had to sacrifice a lot of wort left in the grains.
> 
> If anyone has this problem and has a solution, I'd be
> grateful for a reply.
> 
> Russ
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