Sparge arm..

Clint · Oct 4, 2019

Hello all,I'm thinking to go with my new tun manifold I might buy or make a sparge arm of sorts ..
There's a couple of options...buy a rotating type or make one...either rotating or fixed.
My tun is the blue cube igloo type. Are rotating better than fixed? If I build a fixed type should I go for a circular type or a grid type?
Thanks in advance!

kelper · Oct 4, 2019

A shower rose might work well? The kind described as 'rainfall' or similar.

peebee · Oct 4, 2019

Clint said:
… Are rotating better than fixed? …

Rotating is far more mesmerising.

But the boring answer is likely no. You are only trying to spread the application of water, and not dig holes like a jet of water would do. A perforated plate will do the job (ask all them one-pot - e.g. Grainfather - users), or some folk are using perforated baking foil. I've used nothing for years (except when I'm using a Grainfather), I just open the tap enough not to seriously flood the grain but keep 1-2cm of sparge water over the grains.

cushyno · Oct 4, 2019

My sparge arm is now redundant. I can get good enough efficiency with a 10-15 min batch sparge in the mash tun (coolbox) and save about 40 minutes of faffing about and worrying about sparge water temperature that gets too low.

Get yourself a large grain bag for the coolbox and do batch sparges, it's a winner.

marshbrewer · Oct 4, 2019

cushyno said:
My sparge arm is now redundant. I can get good enough efficiency with a 10-15 min batch sparge in the mash tun (coolbox) and save about 40 minutes of faffing about and worrying about sparge water temperature that gets too low.

Get yourself a large grain bag for the coolbox and do batch sparges, it's a winner.

What advantage does the grain bag give, @cushyno , If you don't mind me asking?

Clint · Oct 4, 2019

I did wonder especially if you keep a head of water above the grain bed then it wouldn't matter ..
I'll try the new manifold with a foil topper tomorrow.

foxy · Oct 5, 2019

+1 for the perforated aluminium foil, what I also used to do with an esky mash tun is have a piece of polystyrene cut to size to fit over the grain bed, improved the insulation no end.

Alside101 · Oct 5, 2019

I use a spray ball for recirculating in my cool box mash tun and then batch sparge but also recirculate that too

Grealish · Oct 5, 2019

jjsh said:
What advantage does the grain bag give, @cushyno , If you don't mind me asking?

I use a grain bag too. You get virtually no dead space, no stuck sparse, good filter and easy clean up. Plus it’s cheaper and easier than fitting a false bottom.

cushyno · Oct 5, 2019

jjsh said:
What advantage does the grain bag give, @cushyno , If you don't mind me asking?

I can just lift it out of the mash tun, drain wort onto first wort hops in a spare FV, then start the batch sparge off in less than a minute.
No messing with stuck sparges, sparge arm, false bottom or bazooka.

Sparge arm..

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Sparge arm..

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