itsmymilkyway
Active Member
I am debating between a 3 tier system or a full volume mash 2 tier system. What do you guys think about full volume mashing?
2 tier vs 3 tier
- Thread starter itsmymilkyway
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It's a tradeoff between minimalized equipment requirements vs extract efficiency.
A good recipe building program can account for the efficiency part and allow consistent results at a modest cost per batch premium.
As for the 2 vs 3 tier, I'm not a fan of heights, in many regards
Cheers!
A good recipe building program can account for the efficiency part and allow consistent results at a modest cost per batch premium.
As for the 2 vs 3 tier, I'm not a fan of heights, in many regards
Cheers!
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Been very happy with two-tier for many years. Elevated HLT for gravity feed to MLT. Pump for re-circulating mash, transfer to kettle and whirlpool.
AkTom
Well-Known Member
I have a3 tier. I started on it, I like it. It is a nuisance to add water to the top. I don’t have a pump so I’ll continue to lift buckets of water. Id like to pump it up to my hlt.
I do 3 tier or 1 tier biab
I think you mean two vessel. Otherwise footprint really doesn’t improve with 2 tier vs 3 tier.
Might not work for you if you use RO water, but my tap water is great and I got a food grade garden hose like the ones they use for hooking up RVs. No more hoisting buckets of water for me.
My system exactly. I have boil and mash tier about 3’ off the ground so I can gravity drain into fermentor but mostly I just pump it into there. I added a second pump so I can double batch...one pump recircing the mash while other pump runs the whirlpool. This let me add a rotometer to the mash pump to watch flow rates both during recirc and lauter. The rotometer is no good on the brew kettle as not rated for boiling and clogs easily with pellet hops.
Hmmm I do think you mean two vessel vs three vessel. I’m interested in 2 vessel also but have no experience with it.
I’m thinking there must be some small efficiency hit vs a sparge based system since the wort absorbed by the grain bed will be full strength pre boil gravity wot. The positive would be smaller footprint...a little smaller...and faster brew day by cutting lautering time. I’m thinking I would save 45 min of lautering time...cutting from 60 min to 15 min.
I’d want mash tun equal or larger than boil kettle. On my three vessel system I have 15.5 gal mash tun and 22 gal bk. I max out at about 1.065 for full half barrel batch and that’s with a very thick mash...about 1.1 qt/lb. Going to 2 vessel I’d prob look for 25 gallon mash tun which would be considerable investment and would eat into the footprint savings a bit.
Finally on the savings on lauter time that only matters if you can get the kettle to a boil quickly. I boil on NG so getting from 170 mash out to boiling could easily take 30 min. With slow fly sparge I’m heating bk while sparring so am at or very close to boil when sparge is done.
What rotameter do you use? Would you buy it again, or do you think there is a better option out there?
AkTom
Well-Known Member
Duh... I have one. My well water is good. I’ll be using it next brew day.
Thanks
I think it is this one off eBay
https://www.ebay.com/i/1-2-Female-T...3%26rvr_ts%3Db778c4fa1630aa4814b6cc69fffc8717
Only complaint is it took about 5 weeks to get to me from China.
I have a 2 NG burner, 2 pump, 3 tier
sculpture. I built the 3 tier before I bought pumps. HERMS in the HLT, that I haven’t used in a long time. When I get back to Brewing soon I will use it. I have always fly sparged and really liked it. I pump my strike from my BK to my 120qt Extreme cooler MT. Works great for me.
That said, if I were starting from scratch it would be a 2 tier. 3 is just too tall.
sculpture. I built the 3 tier before I bought pumps. HERMS in the HLT, that I haven’t used in a long time. When I get back to Brewing soon I will use it. I have always fly sparged and really liked it. I pump my strike from my BK to my 120qt Extreme cooler MT. Works great for me.
That said, if I were starting from scratch it would be a 2 tier. 3 is just too tall.
Yes, sorry! I was thinking 2 tier vs 1 tier.
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