20-Gallon vs. 5-Gallon Batch?

[brew_meister_smith]

My system can easily go to 18gal with only a few minor issues that I found.

1. My mash tun goes right to capacity, so I can’t really do anything with a big grain bill.

2. I don’t find a huge difference in time going from 6-12 gal, but once I hit 18 I tend to notice the extra long brew day.

3. My chiller is less effective on the 18 gal batch since the liquid level goes abve the top of the chiller. I kept wondering why I could not get the whole amount chilled propperly. Next time I do a larger batch I will try to circulate the wort a little.

[shadetree]

@monk-e-business

[quote=“Shadetree”]There are a couple of small things that are different when you brew bigger - dead space in mashtun and boil-off rate - that will make the total water used not quite as simple as 4x a 5-gal batch.

Forgive me, Shadetree… what does dead space do to the mash? [/quote]It means you’ll need less water as the dead space will only occur once in the mash rather than four times.

[monk_e_business]

@Shadetree

[quote=“monk-e-business”][quote=“Shadetree”]There are a couple of small things that are different when you brew bigger - dead space in mashtun and boil-off rate - that will make the total water used not quite as simple as 4x a 5-gal batch.

Forgive me, Shadetree… what does dead space do to the mash? [/quote]It means you’ll need less water as the dead space will only occur once in the mash rather than four times.[/quote]
And, dead space is good or bad?

[brew_meister_smith]

@monk-e-business

And, dead space is good or bad?

I would say that dead space in itself is just a matter of life, and not good or bad.

Too much dead space, and you become inefficient. If you misjudge the dead space then your final numbers could be off the mark.

In your case, Shadetree is pointing out that the dead space in your tun will not increase with the size of your batch - so its proportion to the whole volume will decrease, and your efficiency will increase. As long as you account for this, it could be a net positive.

[monk_e_business]

@Brew Meister Smith

[quote=“monk-e-business”]And, dead space is good or bad?

I would say that dead space in itself is just a matter of life, and not good or bad.

Too much dead space, and you become inefficient. If you misjudge the dead space then your final numbers could be off the mark.

In your case, Shadetree is pointing out that the dead space in your tun will not increase with the size of your batch - so its proportion to the whole volume will decrease, and your efficiency will increase. As long as you account for this, it could be a net positive.[/quote]
Thanks.