Well, I'll be heating my water soon. I'm tightening my belt hop wise and shooting for 13 IBU's so I'll use Perle 5.7AA (0.5oz@60). Darn Hop shortage!

5 gal batch 1.051

30.3% Pils 2-row
69.7% Am soft wheat
Rice hulls
WB-06

Trying to push the envelope with the wheat and see how traditional it really is.

Mainly, I'm worried about conversion. I figure the percentages are the upper limit with what the Pils can accommodate.

As in starch conversion? Is your wheat unmalted?

Yeppers. As far as I know.

This session has already become a hard brewday. One heatstick tripped the GFCI (thank god) and it was leaking. Then my mill refused to crush. That took about 30 sweaty minutes to sort out. In the process I scattered the entire grain bill across the garage floor and under the washer and dryer. I swept that up and put it in a bag for future desperation. Reweighed grain and brought the water back to the proper temp. Mashing around 150F. I'll sparge later this evening.

I'm fixing to go to Lowes or Home Despot to build another stick. This time with a 90* bend. I might even build a 220 volt for boiling.

.....

I thought malted wheat was traditional?

How are your heatsticks sealed on the ends? My jobbies are 100% sealed with JB Weld, I skipped the gasket sealant altogether.

I used the RTV blue sealant only. It was my first stick that crapped out. I know I built the second a little better since it was a learn as you go despite the detailed instructions.

It certainly is possible that the wheat is malted. I'm looking at a grain right now. Looks like a little shaved vagina on one side of the kernel. I'm not sure how unmalted vs malted should look except this appears dehusked.

I'm with ya on heatstick construction progression. I built my second one in about 30 minutes, of course I'm counting actual work time and not drying time.

I don;t think wheat has husks

"Looks like a little shaved vagina on one side of the kernel"

nice description...really brings the image of what you are talking about right to the front of your brain.

Allright... LOL

I just finished lautering. I maybe overshot my TG by a point or two. I've been wrong before so I'll reserve judgement till just before I pitch the yeast.

All of you heatstickers will be pleased to know I've found a way to NOT use JB weld or any other form of sealant. So far it is working good.

I went to Lowes and got my 15" 1 1/2" waste arm with a 90* bend. I knew there had to be a better way and I found it.

Slip joint nut model 916DK
Sink strainer washer model 8556OK

You will see a difference in the nut provided with the waste pipe and the one needed. It has a wider flange that covers the wort side of the element much better.

I put the washer on the backside of the element so it forms a seal with the waste arm. The slip joint nut is then tightened over the element as tight as possible but not over tight. This has formed a water-tight seal. I made sure I tested it out. I had to dry the element in the oven when I finally figured out how it would work so I could put it into action at once.

Your GFCI will trip if liquid gets in there.

Also, I snaked the ground wire up to the metal-plastic junction and sliped it between the two pipes and then tightened the nut.

I'm glad now that it leaked and forced me to redesign the approach.

So there's no seal between the face of the element and the nut?

Nope. Very nice huh? Boiling away as I write. One hour fifteen minutes so far and it hasn't tripped the GFCI.

Don't take this the wrong way but I'll wait for the long term report.

Sure. I'll let ya know if I run into problems. I'm feeling confident though. Never did feel the same about the sealant. I knew it would fail.

I guess the most permanent option is to fill the base of the tube with epoxy resin. Seems like too much of a commitment- like marriage...

"Shaved vagina"....f#cking nice, guy! Let me guess, the WB-06, is that the special "Yeast Infection" series?

The way mine is all sealed up with JB there's no way to ever disassemble it so I guess I might as well just filled it with resin. I figured when it crapped out I wasn't going to worry about salvaging much.

I was afraid of the JB. That s**t is forever. I think another advantage to the epoxy would be that it would weigh down the stick some. As it is I think I'll have to pour some sand or something into the sticks to counter-balance the cords. Any Ideas?

WApilot- I think next time I'll get the WLP-069 Platinum Amsterdam strain...

....

I just figured out my eff and it was 83.3%. I'd figured on 80%. Milling my grain as fast as I could and a long mash (5 hours) may have helped. Overall I'm very pleased with the whole session despite the few initial setbacks. MMMn. Wheat mit hefe for our week long Fiesta at the end of April! Bottle or keg?