Hello All-
I am brewing on a 10 bbl Premier Stainless PubTech brewhouse with a manifold system and a Top Line C-114 brewhouse pump.. The HLT is electric.
I am doing a lot of double brews on this thing lately and the PubTech doesn't really like production brewing... (Go figure)
I've managed to work out a system to have the HLT up to temp and the kettle cleaned out so I can get the second brew started about 30-45 minutes after the first knockout ends. This system does not have a hot/cold mixing valve on the inlet to the hydrator. Instead one gets the HLT to the correct temp (I use 168F) and it goes in straight
Here's my issue: On the second mash in, I can't get the pump to keep a prime. I turn it on, adjust the VFD to where it normally is on the day's first brew and start the grain. After about a minute, the flow rate starts gradually decreasing. I normally start about 6 gpm. A minute in, it's at 5.90, then 5.8, then 5.6.... And lower and lower it goes. I stop the pump (and grain,) give it a second, start it up again, and the same thing happens after the first minute or so. It's driving me totally bonkers.
I can see tiny bubbles in the sight glass, leading me to a working hypothesis that the newly heated water (from the previous knock out) has lots of gas breakout and this is causing the loss of prime. The kicker is that this is a *relatively* recent development. We are double brewing all the time now, but in the past I was able to occasionally double brew without this issue.
Addition info: The pump has nice new seals in it. This problem predates the changing of the seal and o-ring. I was hoping that would alleviate the issue, but alas... Also, the pump does not sound like it's cavitating or laboring at all. The only thing (that appears to be) different is that the HLT water has not had all night to sit and de-gas.
So, if you've read this far, does anyone have any ideas on how I can go about rectifying this issue? As I said, it's driving me bonkers. And it's only going to get worse as we grow (like mad!) and add on more and more double brews.
Any advice would be *greatly* appreciated!
Thanks and cheers- Mike
I am brewing on a 10 bbl Premier Stainless PubTech brewhouse with a manifold system and a Top Line C-114 brewhouse pump.. The HLT is electric.
I am doing a lot of double brews on this thing lately and the PubTech doesn't really like production brewing... (Go figure)
I've managed to work out a system to have the HLT up to temp and the kettle cleaned out so I can get the second brew started about 30-45 minutes after the first knockout ends. This system does not have a hot/cold mixing valve on the inlet to the hydrator. Instead one gets the HLT to the correct temp (I use 168F) and it goes in straight
Here's my issue: On the second mash in, I can't get the pump to keep a prime. I turn it on, adjust the VFD to where it normally is on the day's first brew and start the grain. After about a minute, the flow rate starts gradually decreasing. I normally start about 6 gpm. A minute in, it's at 5.90, then 5.8, then 5.6.... And lower and lower it goes. I stop the pump (and grain,) give it a second, start it up again, and the same thing happens after the first minute or so. It's driving me totally bonkers.
I can see tiny bubbles in the sight glass, leading me to a working hypothesis that the newly heated water (from the previous knock out) has lots of gas breakout and this is causing the loss of prime. The kicker is that this is a *relatively* recent development. We are double brewing all the time now, but in the past I was able to occasionally double brew without this issue.
Addition info: The pump has nice new seals in it. This problem predates the changing of the seal and o-ring. I was hoping that would alleviate the issue, but alas... Also, the pump does not sound like it's cavitating or laboring at all. The only thing (that appears to be) different is that the HLT water has not had all night to sit and de-gas.
So, if you've read this far, does anyone have any ideas on how I can go about rectifying this issue? As I said, it's driving me bonkers. And it's only going to get worse as we grow (like mad!) and add on more and more double brews.
Any advice would be *greatly* appreciated!
Thanks and cheers- Mike
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