I’m having trouble getting full starch conversion

[Ben]

Wheat tends to be fairly gummy. Do a starch test (Iodine), it's the best way to know if you have converted. If you are trying to sparge you are going to have to use rice hulls.

[Ridgeback816]

My technique:

If I’m using corn, I’ll boil that to gelatinize the starch. I typically put it in the oven to hold at about 200F for 2-3 hours. <— That’s a good process. To reiterate, only the corn needs this process.

Next I bring the temperature down to 150F by adding cold water/ice, after which I’ll add any cooked grains, barley, or enzymes. I’ll put that in the oven at 170F (the lowest my oven will go) to sit for 90-120 minutes.
I’ve also tried just letting it sit on the stove top, and raising the oven temperature to 180F (because at 170 my IR thermometer was reading 143F when I stirred the mash), but I get the same results either way. <— Too hot! You’re denaturing the gluco-amylase enzymes. Don’t hold the temperatures above 150*F.

On the theory that the enzymes should continue to work at room temperature, just more slowly, I’ve also simply let the ferment go longer, up to a month or so. It still failed the iodine test at that point, so I gave up and distilled it. <— OK. So, time helps the enzymes work, provided you haven’t denatured them already (see comment above).

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Or maybe I’m just asking for too much out of my setup. <— It’s not “the equipment” failing here. It’s your brewing skills. Some time spent on a homebrew website forum might actually help you a lot.

So, gelatinization of the corn is critical to its conversion. Always mill your corn to a moderately fine cornmeal (not flour) but well ground to a cornmeal consistency. Your technique for gelatinization sounds good (I use the oven set at 200*F for 2-3 hours too). That time allows me to get the mash water to proper “strike temperature” for the barley malts and other grains.

Then, I dough the malts in into the mash tun, and then mix in the “corn pudding” from the oven, being careful to keep the temperature of the mash mix at 148-152*F. I use hot or cold water to adjust as necessary to manage the temperatures. But I hold the temperature consistent, stirring regularly, until I get a negative iodine test. This can take an hour, two, or more. You’ve got to be patient with this. It’s your duty as a brewer. Some distillers even wrap their fermenters in insulation and “tuck it in for night”, giving the mash 4 to 8 hours to convert. The “pay off” will be discovered in your boiler when you run it.

Time … it’s not just something that passes … it’s the foundation of your future!
ss

So you're saying this conversation can take a lot longer than an hour? I'm having problems with my all grain mashes not thinning like what I see with straight cracked corn and amylase and sugar mashes. I just made my 1st using high temp amylase
24lbs cracked corn, 6lbs malted red wheat. After adding in two teaspoons of high temp amylase within seconds my mash started to thin. After adding my malted Wheat it thickened back up and still hasn't thinned out, I'm 4 hours in After adding. Do I continue to hold the 145/150 temp till I get full conversion?

Do you ever try to mash these items separately and mix them after they are both converted. I found mashing items separately aloud me to pin point whT i was doing wrong. I have found malted red wheat is one of my favorites to mash in with normally its super easy. I have not been without problems problems mashing before so don't think your alone. When I first started and I fudged up I would just pitch yellow label angel yeast to cove my sins so I didn't have to dump anything.

[Deplorable]

So you're saying this conversation can take a lot longer than an hour? I'm having problems with my all grain mashes not thinning like what I see with straight cracked corn and amylase and sugar mashes. I just made my 1st using high temp amylase
24lbs cracked corn, 6lbs malted red wheat. After adding in two teaspoons of high temp amylase within seconds my mash started to thin. After adding my malted Wheat it thickened back up and still hasn't thinned out, I'm 4 hours in After adding. Do I continue to hold the 145/150 temp till I get full conversion?

How much water is in those 30 pounds of grain? You'll struggle if the mash is too thick.
It also could be that your malt doesn't have enough diastatic power to convert the starches in the corn and itself.
Or it could be that your thermometer is off, and your mash was hotter than you thought, and you denatured the enzymes in the wheat.