Syphon issue

[AidanMatthews]

Hey guys,

Need help with my esky mash tun, it has a Ss braid with syphon hose.

I find the wort runs nice and clean after vaulaffe and then stops to a trickle...

I tried a thicker hose thinking more volume of liquid movement would mean more sucking action....


In the end i lost my temper and puller it out of the esky and gave it a stretch and then a push together, a twist and untwist.....

It then flowed nicely....

So is the braid to fine ie not able to let enough liquid through and by mangling it it opened up a bit more?
Anyone have this issue?

[rotten]

I use a copper manifold, not a braid. Having said that common sense is telling me that your braid is blocking.
Cheers

[squirt in the turns]

I use an SS braid and have had a couple of stuck sparges. I now just drain/sparge very slowly (don't open the valve all the way). There's nothing wrong with draining slowly (to a point - I suppose tannin extraction can be an issue). I think it helps efficiency and gives clearer wort. I don't really mind the extra time it adds to a brew day.

Have you done another brew since you mangled the braid? Maybe that was all it needed.

The other thing that springs to mind is that you've stated the flow drops off after you vorlauf. How are you returning the first runnings to the mash tun? If you disturb the grain bed too much, it can collapse and clog the filter. I pour slowly through a strainer (a metal pan with a flat perforated base, for steaming vegetables).

[hirns]

Aggree with Squirt. I also use braid and if you try to drain too fast then it will suck all of the grain in around the braid and you will get a stuck sparge. By going the bigger diameter hose you more than likely compounded the issue by creating a bigger syphoning volume which would pull more liquid again. Go slow is the go. I use a piece of alfoil over the grain bed and perforate it with a cooking skewer and return the first runnings over that(similar to Squirt). The odd time that I do get a stuck sparge I've blown gently back down the hose. Turn off the valve and drain all wort from the hose first, before raising the hose above the mashtun and then gently blowing into the hose to blow out the braid. Remember you don't want to disurb the bed. As for bacteria in breath etc, well I figure that I'm boiling it for 60min minimum when I'm finished and this has not been an issue to date.

[AidanMatthews]

Hey guys,

havent done a brew since i mangled it.. just the brew i was in the middle of... both the 1st drain and the batch sparge went well once
it was done.

First runnings were tipped back in carefully against the back wall of the esky, furthest away from the braid..
might try the alfoil trick next time.

I think i might go back to my smaller gauge hose for the next one and see how it goes.

My efficiency has been around 70% on both accounts so i have been happy with final outcome on both occasions but the process was frustrating.

1 Ltr per 30 - 60 seconds is about the sparge speed you look for isnt it?

[warra48]

1 Ltr per 30 - 60 seconds is about the sparge speed you look for isnt it?

I use a manifold in my mashtun, and drain it at about 1 litre a minute. Even with the manifold, if I try to go much quicker, my grain bed will get stuck.

There are some posts on here where some brewers have placed a small copper tube inside the braid, to stop it collapsing. Haven't tried it myself, but from all accounts it seems to work. Also, if you scrunch the braid up, it will close the very small gaps, and slow you down or stop you completely. Thus, it does need to be stretched somewhat to keep the gaps open.

[AidanMatthews]

Thanks warra,

i think the stretching and twisting opened it up enough to do the job..

It didnt look like it was being crushed with the weight of the grain bed

i will see how the next brew goes..