High Gravity eBIAB Recirculation Manifold

[ScrewyBrewer]

Yesterday in an effort to increase the mash efficiency of my brewing system I put this recirculation manifold together. The HG system I have has a sprinkler installed in the lid of the kettle. The wort hits the top of the grain bed and then makes its way down to the return port at the bottom of the kettle.

But what if the incoming wort went into the center of the grain bed instead and was then directed outward? I plan to water test my invention tonight and see if eighteen holes will produce the right amount of agitation in the mash.

mash-manifold1-sml.jpg (101.72 KiB) Viewed 10203 times

[berryman]

Keep us posted on how it works. Designing and building things is half the fun of brewing for me.

[Beer-lord]

Vince, I also am watching. However, I've found that no matter what BIAB system you have, nothing beats a good stir every 15 minutes.

[ScrewyBrewer]

I ran some cold water through the recirculation manifold late yesterday with the pump wide open. The streams of water seem to have just enough force to agitate the grain bed. I'll post my results next weekend when I try it out on a 10-gallon batch.

mash-manifold2-sml.jpg (138.05 KiB) Viewed 10171 times

A nice thing about this design is by giving the lid a quarter turn every so often the streams of water will point at different areas of the grain bed. Hopefully eliminating the need to lift the lid and manually stir the mash while the pump is running. It has the potential to increase mash efficiency while allowing me to become lazier

[Kealia]

It has the potential to increase mash efficiency while allowing me to become lazier

Spoken like a true homebrewer!

[BlackDuck]

That's pretty awesome. I like the "become lazier" part!!

[Beer-lord]

I've found found that if I open my Riptide valve too much, the grain can become compacted in a certain area. I doubt this could happen with your invention as it's multi-directional but I assume it does not turn or spin, correct?

[ScrewyBrewer]

I've found found that if I open my Riptide valve too much, the grain can become compacted in a certain area. I doubt this could happen with your invention as it's multi-directional but I assume it does not turn or spin, correct?

You're correct, it would have to be turned by hand now. Although adding a small stepper motor and a controller to periodically give the lid a quarter turn has crossed my mind. Ideally using the force of the recirculated wort to spin the manifold would be the way to go.