sparge arm

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yardglass
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sparge arm

Post by yardglass »

gday
still researching the 1st Partial and found this bloke's setup from a previous thread.

http://www.wcc.net/~jkmccoy/brewing/brew.htm

this setup would suit my needs at the present, i have all the pots etc, and the gear/tools to make the false bottom and fit the taps.

just one thing i would want to change is the sparge idea he has in place.

i've seen pics, but has anyone built one before?

if so, please share.

cheers
yardglass
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GOOD BREWS
kurtz
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Post by kurtz »

There are many ways to sparge (in fact there is a method called no -sparge !!)
The set up you have shown appears to be a copper ring with holes in it, you can use a spinning sparge arm, I have even seen shower rossettes used!
I personally batch or dump sparge, technically this is less efficient but as I sparge to 1020 or above it does not matter.
The most important thing is to let the wort run off slowly.
When you do your boil make sure that is a rolling boil ..and beware the boil over especially in the kitchen and especially just after you add your hops.

Kurtz
yardglass
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Post by yardglass »

kurtz
the spinning type was the one i was looking for but the shower head might be a simpler option.

in my limited exp with boiling, when it gets to the roll i've had to keep stirring to avert the boil over. i now have a larger capacity pot so it should be less of a issue. :roll:

could you explain your method for batch sparging ?

how do you evenly distribute the sparge water, or is this not an issue ?

also, what is the ratio for the sparge ?
ie: lt per hr ?

thanks
yardglass
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gregb
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Post by gregb »

Yardie,

Batch sparge (the way I've understood it and done it) is basically you lauter out the first running from the grains, then tip another batch of water (same volume as mash) onto the grains give the whole thing a bit of a stir, then lauter the second runnings, if possible let it (the second batch) sit and mash for a little while. Efficiencies are not flash, you'll need to increase your grain bill, but on a hobby scale it is not a big deal. No Sparge is exacly that, and the grain bill goes up further, but refer hobby comment.

Palmers book has a section on it, but I couldn't find the stuff on his website.

In days of old they used to do three runnings - the first was Strong Ale or best beer, the second was a session or quaffing beer and then the third was small beer usually served with brekky. I can't site my source on that one, because I don't recall where I read it.

Cheers,
Greg.
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gregb
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Post by gregb »

yardglass
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Post by yardglass »

gregb,
thanks for that, top link. :D

i think i will batch sparge while i'm doing Partials, doesn't seem to be the need for the fabrication of a rotating arm just yet. nice explanation btw.

only a bit of manual labour and i'm set, going to bring a welder home from work and knock up a stand.

(cheap steel as well) :D :D

cheers
yardy
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GOOD BREWS
kurtz
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Post by kurtz »

how do you evenly distribute the sparge water, or is this not an issue ?
OK.. if you have a commercial brew house then an increase or decrease of 10% in efficiency is huge but in a craftbrew situation bugger all.
This does not mean that you should have an inefficent lauter though..the critical thing as I have noted earlier is a SLOW run off, I guess I run about a longneck a minute.
Best to make certain that your grain bed is always covered wih water though

Kurtz
db
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Post by db »

yardglass wrote:gregb,
thanks for that, top link. :D

i think i will batch sparge while i'm doing Partials, doesn't seem to be the need for the fabrication of a rotating arm just yet. nice explanation btw.

only a bit of manual labour and i'm set, going to bring a welder home from work and knock up a stand.

(cheap steel as well) :D :D

cheers
yardy
Yardy, i found a 1litre jug with a heap of 2-3mm holes drilled in the base works a treat. i pour the sparge water from another 2litre jug into the 1litre while moving it around over the grain bed.
Dogger Dan
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Post by Dogger Dan »

I just put the water on top of the grain bed using a measuring cup. I do have a thick grain bed though and like Kurtz, I never really push the limit to 1.010, I seem to be ending at 1.020 as well.

As far as knocking the head down to avoid a boil over try spraying the foam with some Distilled Water from a spray bottle.

And if I remember right, Palmer has the flow rate for an efficient sparge. Remember though there are other things like channeling where the sparge water is flowing through a preferential area. This means the rest of the grain bed is not being sparged. One of the biggest areas for channeling are down the sides of the vessel which is why your manifold should be built so it isn't real close to the sides.

Dogger
"Listening to someone who brews their own beer is like listening to a religous fanatic talk about the day he saw the light" Ross Murray, Montreal Gazette
yardglass
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Post by yardglass »

db,
another good idea,
cheers

kurtz,
i'll play around a bit and get the runoff close to that 750ml min mark.
cheers

Dogger,
the spray bottle sounds a good idea, thanks for the info on channeling etc,
i'm pretty sure i'll batch for the time being.

cheers guys
yardglass
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GOOD BREWS
grabman
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Post by grabman »

thanks for the tips guys!

I think I've now hit on why my last two grain brews had a slightly off taste, not offensive just not quite right. I think i was allowing the sparge rate to be too fast and also may have over sparged (??) thus getting the tannins etc from the mash.

After reading these postings would I be correct in now saying that when sparging you don't run the grain bed dry at the end but stop when liquid level reaches top of grain bed.


Cheers

Grab
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