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MotorizedMashMixing
ByDonaldA.Put
RepublishedfromBrewingTechniques'November/December1994.
Tiredofhandmixingyourmashes?Ahomebuiltmotorizedmashmixer
canfreeupyourtimeforotherpreparationsandimprovethe
consistencyofyourmashingroutines.
Mechanicalmixingofthemashhasbeenapartoflargescalebrewing
protocolsforsometime.Nomatterwhatmashingsystemorscheduleis
usedstraightinfusion,temperaturecontrolled,ordecoctionthegrains
andwatermustbethoroughlymixed.Althoughnumeroustechniqueshave
beenusedtoensureagoodmix(suchaspremixersforthegristand
water),mostofthemtranslatepoorlytohomebrewingbatchsizes.
Onetechnique,however,fitsverywellwithintheconstraintsofthehome
brewingsetup:amotorizedmashmixer.Suchadevicecanbeused
continuouslyduringmashingorintermittentlyduringtemperatureboosts,
therebyfreeingupthebrewer'stimeforotheraspectsofthebrewing
processwhileincreasingtheefficiencyofthemix.
Theideaofscalingalargescalemixerdowntothehomebrewinglevel
cametomeasIwasstandinginfrontofmytun,tryingtoaddadecoction
backtotherestmashslowlyandcarefully,whilestirringwithmyhand
heldpaddle.Thisisnotaneasytaskwhenyouarebrewinga10galbatch
alone,anditbecomesevenmoretediousasthebatchsizeincreases.A
motorizedmashmixer,however,makeseasyworkofcompleteand
consistentmashmixing.

PADDLEDESIGN
WhatIattemptedtodowiththissetupwastoprovideafoldingactionthat
eliminatestemperaturegradientswithoutintroducinghotsideaeration
(HSA).Becausethepaddleiswellbelowthesurfaceofthemash,*the
onlydisturbanceoftheair/mashinterfacecomesfromtheentrypointof
thestainlesssteelshaftonwhichthepaddleismounted.
Theidealmovementofthemashseemstobeofatoroidalnature,anice
toptobottomorbottomtotopmix.Althoughaslightamountof
whirlpoolactionisdesirable,itcanbecomeaproblemifthemashjust
swirlsaroundthetunwithoutactuallyhomogenizing.Also,ifthemash
spinstoofast,itcancreateavortexthatcanincreasetheaerationofthe
mashwithpossibleHSAproblemsappearinginthefinishedbeer.
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FABRICATION
Fabricationofthemixerisrelatively
straightforward,butitdoesrequireabitof
mechanicalability.Themountingbracketforthe
motorpaddleassembliesismadeof1/8in.X1
in.X1in.angleiron(Figure1),andeven
thoughIweldedminetogether,itcouldjustas
easilybeboltedtogether.Becausetheangleiron
nevercontactsthemash(itshouldbepaintedto
preventcorrosion),leachingironintoyourmash
willnotbeaproblem.Ifyouhaveaccessto
stainlesssteelforthebracket,byallmeansuse
it,butitisnotanecessity.Youcouldevenusea
sturdywoodenbasetosupportthemotorand
paddle.
IpurchasedmymotorfromAmericanScience
andSurplus(Skokie,Illinoisitem#23378in
catalog81)itisacontinuousdutyGEMinagear
(GeneralElectricCo.)thatdelivers30in./lbof
torqueat153rpm.Iuseda11/2in.(pitch
diameter1.35in.)pulleyonthemotoranda6
in.(pitchdiameter5.85in.)pulleyonthepaddle
assembly.Theeffectiverotationalspeedofthe
paddlewiththisarrangementis35rpm,andthe
mechanicaladvantageofthelargerpulleyincreasesthetorqueto90in./lb.
Awaterproofswitchmountedonthemotor'sbodygiveseasyaccessfor
startingandstoppingtheswitchispluggedintoagroundfaultinterrupter
(GFI)sockettoensuresafety.Oneextrasafetyfeaturenotshowninthe
schematicsistheadditionofapulleyshroudtopreventaccidental
contactwiththebeltandspinningpulleys.
Theflangetypepillowblocksare
mountedflangetoflangeonthetop
andbottomoftheangleiron
support,effectivelysandwichingthe
supportbetweenthem(Figure2).
Theyhavephosphorbronze
bushingsandwicktypelubrication,
whichpreventsanyofthelubricant
fromfindingitswaydowntheshaft
andintothemash.Thisarrangement
givestheshaftpaddlemorethan
enoughstability.Youcoulduse
sealedballbearingshere,butit
wouldreallybeoverkillfortheload
andrpmrequirements.
Thepillowblocks,pulleys,andVbeltcanbepurchasedfromany
industrialsupplyorwellstockedhardwarestore.AlthoughIchosetousea
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Vbeltdriveformyprototype,any
typeofpowertransmissioncanbe
used(direct,timing/blowerbelt,or
chain,forexample).Theimportant
thingistokeeptherpmslow,within
thepublishedfiguresIhaveseen
thatrangefrom5to50,witha
concentrationaround30.
Thepaddleconfigurationwasthe
hardestpartofthefabricationtodeal
with.Toroidalmovementdemanded
somethingotherthanthenormal
fanbladeoragitatorgeometry
(Figure3),althoughthesemight
provideabasisfromwhichtobuild
becausetheycanbeeasilybentto
trydifferentbladeangles.Ifound
somespecializeddrumandpail
mixers,buttheyweretoosmallin
diameterandtooexpensive.Because
Iwastryingtokeepthecostofthe
materialstoaminimum,Idecidedto
makemyownpaddleoutofsome
20gaugestainlesscountertopsthata
friendhadrecentlyremovedwhile
remodelinghiskitchen.
Thepaddleisshapedtosweepvery
close(1/8in.)tothebottomofthe
tun(topreventscorchingduring
temperatureboosts)whilepulling
themashdownatthecenterand
pushingitoutatthebottomandup
alongthesides.Irealizethatthe
illustrationlegendsthatdescribethe
bendsinthepaddlearenotthemost
scientificmethod,buttheyare
neverthelessthemosteasily
understood.Imaginethatthepaddle
isfreedfromthepageandisfloating
onahorizontalplane,printsideup,inmidair.Theblackareasofthe
paddlewouldbebentdowntowardtheflooratapproximatelya45angle
themediumgrayareaswouldbebentuptowardtheceilingatthesame
angle.Remember,thisassumesacounterclockwiserotation.Ifyour
motorsetupranclockwise,youwouldhavetoreversethebends.This
shaperesultsinanice,slowmixofthemash.ThepaddleshapethatIuse,
however,isnottheonlyonethatwillwork,andIencourage
experimentationinthisaspectofthedesign.

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ThelargestgrainbillIhaveusedwiththis
paddleconfigurationis25lb,anditseems
tobethelimitforthetoroidalmovement
withoutraisingthepaddle.Mypaddleis
designedtoclearthethermometerprobe.
Asaresult,Iamlimitedtoraisingthe
paddleonlyabout1in.Becauseofthis,I
addedasmall,twobladedhelperpaddle
(Figures4and5)thatismountedona
stainlesssteelsplitcollar,whichallowsit
tobepositionedanywhereontheshaftand
belowthesurfaceofthemash,toassistthe
normalpaddlewhenlargergrainbillsare
used(thoughIrarelybrewanything
strongerthanaBelgianDubbelorTrippel,
and25lbisthemaximumIneedforthese
styles).
The"helper"paddleisveryeasily
fabricatedfromthesamethickness
stainlesssteelasthemainpaddle.Two
groovesarecutintothesideofthecollarat
a45anglewithahacksawandtheblades
areattachedusingsilversolder.Each
paddlebladeis2in.wideby5in.long.
Aftertheyaresolderedinplace,theyare
bentoffthehorizontalintoasomewhat
relaxedVwitha140angle.Thepaddleis
thenmountedtotheshaftwiththeopening
oftheVpointedtowardthebottomofthe
tunitisalsooffsetfromvertical
alignmentwiththemainpaddleby90,
thusthetrailingedgeoftheauxiliary
paddleforcesthegrainintotheleading
edgeofthemainpaddle.Thetwobladed
paddleworkssowellthatIthoughtabout
makingthreeofthemandusingthemin
placeofthemainpaddle.Youcouldaddor
subtractthenecessarynumberofpaddles
toaccommodatedifferentgrainbillsizes.
Theshaftthatsupportsthepaddleisanold3/4in.downtubefroma
Sankeykegthatwasnolongerusablebecauseofafewsmallpinholes
alongitslength.Thiskindoftubingisavailablefromthelargerindustrial
supplyhouses,butanytubingorsolidmashresistantmaterialcouldbe
usedaslongasitprovidesthenecessarysupport.Icutaslotintheendof
thetubingthatthepaddlefitsinto.Tomakethetubingmoresolidwhen
thepaddleisboltedintoit,Icutapieceof5/8in.hardwooddowelingin
halflengthwiseandinstalleditintotheendofthetubing.Thispreventsthe
tubingfromdistortingwhenthepaddlemountingboltsaretightened.If
youuseasolidshaft,thiswouldnotbeaconsideration.
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Thecompletemixerassembly(Figure6)ismountedtothekegwithone
1/4in.bolt,whichpassesthroughtheangleironbracketandthekeg
handle,andone1/4in.Jbolt(actuallyaUboltcuttoresemblea"J"),
whichclampsontotheotherhandle.TheJboltgivessomesidetoside
adjustability.Ittakesonlyafewminutestomount/dismountthemotorized
mixer.

THEMIXERINACTION
Inpractice,themixerworksverywell,sowellthatIneverplantoreturn
totheold"handjive"methodofstirring.Duringtheproteinrest,themash
movesveryslowlyaroundthecircumferenceofthetunwhilecomingup
thesidesanddownthecenter.Ifyoukeepyoureyeonaspecificpieceof
grain,youcanseeitmakeitswayfromtheedgeofthetuntothemiddlein
lesstimethanittakestotravelaboutonethirdofthecircumference.As
themashthinsout,thewhirlpoolmovementbecomesmorepronounced,
butitstilltakesonlyaboutonehalftothreequartersofthetun
circumferenceforapieceofgraintocirculate.
Themixerworkswellwithanymashthickness,butIhavefoundthata
normalwatertogristratio(1.251.33qt/lb)allowsforfreermovement.
Withregardtoanincreaseintanninextractionasaresultofmotorized
mixing,whichtheoreticallymaycausesomehuskdamage,Ihavenoticed
noperceivabledifferenceinthebeersbrewedwithanintermittentora
continuouspaddlescheduleversusthosebrewedusinghandmixing.As
longasthepHiswithintheproperlimits,andthegrainhasbeenmilled
correctly,Iwouldexpectnoextratanninextractionorspargingproblems
resultingfromhuskdamageIhavenothadtheseproblemswithmy
system.
Advantages:Withoutadoubt,aconstant,mechanicalmixingaction,
whichintroducesnoairintothemash,willcreateamoreuniform
temperatureandgristmixinthemashthanyoucanpossiblyhopeto
obtainusingahandheldpaddle.Advantagesincludethefollowing:
Easeofuse:Thisbecomesmoreimportantasthebatchsizeincreases.If
youhavenevertriedtomix25+lbofgrainwithahandpaddlewhile
raisingthetemperaturebetweenvariousrests,Icanassureyouthatitis
boring,tiresome,andtedious.Thebottomlineinmyexperienceisthatit
freesupmytime,whichIdevotetogettingotherthingsreadythatIwill
needfurtheralongintheprocess.
EliminationorreductionofHSA:AlthoughIhavenoaccesstolab
equipmentforthistypeofanalysis,Idoknowthatthemotorizedpaddle
disturbsthemashairinterfacelessthanmyhandstirringdid.
Eliminationoftemperaturegradients:NomatterhowcarefulIam,hand
mixingcannotcreatetheuniformityinamashthatamotorizedmixercan.
Slightincreaseinextraction:InthetestbatchesthatIhavedonesofar,I
havenoticedaslightincreaseinextractionrates,butIwouldneedtohave
alargersamplesizetostatethisunequivocally.
Repeatability:Itsetsupmashuniformityconditionsthatcanbe
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standardizedfrombatchtobatch.
Disadvantages:Asinlife,therearenopanaceasinbrewing.
Disadvantagesofthissystemincludethefollowing:
Itisonemorethingtofabricate.
Althoughitwillmakethebrewingprocesseasier,itwon'tnecessarily
makeyourbeeranybetterthanwhatyouarecurrentlyproducing.
Thepaddlewouldhavetobescaleddownforusewithasmallerbatch
sizegrainbill(5galorless).Thisscaledownwouldbenecessaryto
preventthetopofthepaddlefrombreakingtheair/mashinterfaceand
possiblycreatingHSAproblems.

HERE'STOINNOVATION
Althoughthissystemisnotforeveryone,thosewhopursueitwillbe
rewarded,notnecessarilywithbetterbeer,butbyhavingonelessaspectof
thebrewingprocessthatneedstobe"handson."Allinall,themixercost
meabout8hofmytimeand$50.Tome,itisaworthyadditiontomy
homebrewery.Aswithanydesign,improvementscanbemade,andI
encourageyoutousethisinformationtobuildupon.
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