All grain question

[alb]

I've been doing BIAB successfully, using a grain bag. But to move on to traditional all-grain (Why? I don't know. Because why not, I guess) I have a 10-gallon cooler mash tun with a ball valve and a false bottom. Would there be any advantage to using a grain bag in addition to the false bottom? Would it set up to filter the wort better, or would the main thing be ease of cleaning? Would there be any disadvantages to using both together?

[BlackDuck]

I use a 10 gallon cooler too. The round ones that you can get at Home Depot or Lowes. I do not use a grain bag with this setup. The flase bottom will work just fine for you.

To help filter the wort a little better, just recircualte some of it before transferring it to the kettle. I fill a gallon container at roughly 1/2 gallon a time until I can't see any grain particles in it. This will help set the grain bed, once that is done, the husks from the grain will work as your filter as you run the sparge over top.

For cleaining, since everything will be boiled after it's in the mash tun, I just empty the grain out and rinse it out real good with hot water. This seems to do a good job at getting all the sticky sugars out of it.

[FedoraDave]

I wouldn't recommend using a bag as well as a false bottom. I don't have any cites, but it seems to me that it would actually inhibit wort circulation through the grains.

BlackDuck gives good advice on vorlauf, which is the recirculation of the early part of the runnings. I use a quart saucepan to collect the runnings and recirculate (pouring back in slowly, and around the edges, to minimize disturbing the grains). I do this three or four times with the first runnings and both sparges, and it definitely makes a difference.

My tun doesn't have a false bottom; it has a manifold made from C-PVC pipe, but the principle is the same. As far as cleaning, the spent grains mostly dump out in a great big wad, and then I rinse and wash with OxyClean Free. Pretty simple.

[FrozenInTime]

I also use a 10 gallon rubbermaid tun. I made a bazooka for it, no bag needed. Easy to clean, I dump mine out in the chicken run, u could dump your grains into a bucket, then I just hold it upside down and nail the insides good with water from the garden hose. After that just follow normal cleaning procedures. And the aforementioned vorlauf is how I do it, works great.

[Whamolagan]

i would be leery of using a bag. i would think that you could end up with dough balls. The false bottom and the grain will suffice for your vorlauf. If you don't recirculate you can bring tannins into your finished product. I use a ten gallon round cooler with a bazooka screen. I have a one gallon SS pitcher that I recirculate my lauter. I also use a food grade hose that is clear, it really help to get the lauter clear