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**marcb** · 03-14-2013, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bottlebomber

That half moon filter is so badass.

Second that!

**marcb** · 03-14-2013, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HefeLibre

I did account for the false bottom. Although I've never used it in my boil kettle.
The dimensions I am currently thinking are 14.5 inches across the long section, 3.75 inches from the kettle wall and 12 inches deep. This gives me 1/2 inch off the false bottom or 2.5 inches of true bottom if I'm not using the false bottom.

There is a handle on the false bottom that you need to orient a certain way to avoid running up against the hop basket. I reduced the size a bit to deal with that hopefully.

The only other concern I have is, will the kettle lid rest nicely on with the hop basket in place, or does it not matter during the boil. I usually like to keep the lid on during when running the chiller coil but probably resting on top will be fine.

Here's a couple pics. The chiller coil is from more beer and 12 inches across.

The lid will rest on top of the filter but that's fine, he can rig you some drop downs but I don't think you'll need them. The kettle in the pic looks strangely familiar : )

**Carlscan26** · 03-14-2013, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HefeLibre

I did account for the false bottom. Although I've never used it in my boil kettle.
The dimensions I am currently thinking are 14.5 inches across the long section, 3.75 inches from the kettle wall and 12 inches deep. This gives me 1/2 inch off the false bottom or 2.5 inches of true bottom if I'm not using the false bottom.

There is a handle on the false bottom that you need to orient a certain way to avoid running up against the hop basket. I reduced the size a bit to deal with that hopefully.

The only other concern I have is, will the kettle lid rest nicely on with the hop basket in place, or does it not matter during the boil. I usually like to keep the lid on during when running the chiller coil but probably resting on top will be fine.

Here's a couple pics. The chiller coil is from more beer and 12 inches across.

Looks like you and I are running identical setups - or we will be once I add a false bottom

Looking at the MoreBeer website they show the handle in the center. I'll call them when they open to ask as this would potentially affect things for me.

From your sketchup pic it looked like 4"-4.5" was easily doable, but from those pics it looks like 3.75" would be the max with .25" of clearance?

How tall is the handle on the false bottom? I was going to suggest doing a shorter screen to clear the handle by say 1/2" to get the wider screen until I started looking at the dimensions as I'm less worried about total volume as I am surface area:

Your current design:
14.5" Wide X 12" Deep = 174 sq inches

I'm guessing at what additional width we could get by going to 4.5" deep and what the handle height is:
15.5" Wide X 10.5" Deep = 162.75 sq inches
15.5" Wide X 11" Deep = 170.5 sq inches

So that could actually be taking a step back with the shorter ones even with the additional width.

The other consideration is that I mostly do 5.5 gal batches - so much of the screen won't even be used so that clearance at the bottom is a big deal. In this kettle 1 gal uses .95" in height so 2.5" equals about 2.4 gals. Today my bags tend to float but they do eventually sink somewhat. So raisingthe height would lessen the exposeure space even more. Maybe I'm over thinking this part but I'm thinking maybe not using the false bottom at all then...or getting a domed false bottom and a pickup tube? Or just sticking to your planned height of at least 12"

Lastly, I think for the lid to fit reasonably well we would also want a 1/2" drop so 11.5" height: 14.5" Wide X 11.5" Deep = 166.75 sq inches (a 4W X 11.5D cylinder would have 144.44 sq inches of surface area).

**HefeLibre** · 03-14-2013, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carlscan26

Looks like you and I are running identical setups - or we will be once I add a false bottom

Looking at the MoreBeer website they show the handle in the center. I'll call them when they open to ask as this would potentially affect things for me.

From your sketchup pic it looked like 4"-4.5" was easily doable, but from those pics it looks like 3.75" would be the max with .25" of clearance?

How tall is the handle on the false bottom? I was going to suggest doing a shorter screen to clear the handle by say 1/2" to get the wider screen until I started looking at the dimensions as I'm less worried about total volume as I am surface area:

Your current design:
14.5" Wide X 12" Deep = 174 sq inches

I'm guessing at what additional width we could get by going to 4.5" deep and what the handle height is:
15.5" Wide X 10.5" Deep = 162.75 sq inches
15.5" Wide X 11" Deep = 170.5 sq inches

So that could actually be taking a step back with the shorter ones even with the additional width.

The other consideration is that I mostly do 5.5 gal batches - so much of the screen won't even be used so that clearance at the bottom is a big deal. In this kettle 1 gal uses .95" in height so 2.5" equals about 2.4 gals. Today my bags tend to float but they do eventually sink somewhat. So raisingthe height would lessen the exposeure space even more. Maybe I'm over thinking this part but I'm thinking maybe not using the false bottom at all then...or getting a domed false bottom and a pickup tube? Or just sticking to your planned height of at least 12"

Lastly, I think for the lid to fit reasonably well we would also want a 1/2" drop so 11.5" height: 14.5" Wide X 11.5" Deep = 166.75 sq inches (a 4W X 11.5D cylinder would have 144.44 sq inches of surface area).

There is actually a little more clearance. If you look at the ruler/straight edge in one of the pic, the coil is about inch inside from the ruler's outside edge.

Also, the handle on my false bottom is not centered like they appear on More Beer's website. It is toward the edge, and I can orient it in such a way to
keep it from obstructing a hop basket.

My FB came from More Beer but it looks like they altered the design. The "handle" is the same as the feet used to elevate it. So they are about 2 inches in height.

I've never tried using an FB to minimize hot break but need to try it.
Maybe it helps when doing large volumes of wort. Doing 10 gallon batches,
there may be other more practical ways.

Anyone, does it really help or are there other ways to filter the wort effectively keeping it out of the fermenters etc?

Or is an FB used for other purposes in the boil?

It may be more practical for me as well to disregard the FB altogether.

Having a conical, for example, seems to accomodate dropping this problem You could drop out any stuff that has settled after a few hours/days.

But I get minimizing it to begin with helps too.

**Carlscan26** · 03-14-2013, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HefeLibre

There is actually a little more clearance. If you look at the ruler/straight edge in one of the pic, the coil is about inch inside from the ruler's outside edge.

I wasn't sure given angles/perspective, etc. I'd vote for adding .5" to the basket and only having 1/2" clearance.

I was considering the FB for hot break filtering as a bonus, but primarily for whole hops - I made an IPA recently with a combination of pellets in bags and whole hops loose and they clogged my bazooka tube.

**marcb** · 03-14-2013, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carlscan26

I wasn't sure given angles/perspective, etc. I'd vote for adding .5" to the basket and only having 1/2" clearance.

I was considering the FB for hot break filtering as a bonus, but primarily for whole hops - I made an IPA recently with a combination of pellets in bags and whole hops loose and they clogged my bazooka tube.

I bought a Fb for my brew kettle for whole hops but am very pleased with how much extra crap it catches and keeps out of my fermenter.

**Carlscan26** · 03-14-2013, 07:07 PM

Just talked to MoreBeer - the picture on the site is wrong; the FB is like the one you have in your pictures. They say it's only 1.75" high though.

I bounced the idea of using a domed false bottom with a silicone tube to the valve (http://morebeer.com/products/stainless-steel-false-bottom-12-diameter.html) and the rep I was speaking with said he was actually about to switch to such a setup, that it would help with hot break, for sure provide hops filtering AND it would also let the chiller sit lower.

**Carlscan26** · 03-14-2013, 08:15 PM

Does anybody reading this thread have one of the MB 12" domed FBs? I asked about it's height but he could only guess it as 3/4".

I'll assume 1" at the peak, so we could safely add 1.5" to the basket height giving us: 13 Tall X 14.5 Wide for 188.5 sq inches which is the same as a 6X10 tube (188.4)! This assumes that we don't make it deeper, and only have a 3.75" depth.

At this point, I'd say put it back to 4" deep too

**sweetcell** · 03-14-2013, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carlscan26

Does anybody reading this thread have one of the MB 12" domed FBs? I asked about it's height but he could only guess it as 3/4". I'll assume 1" so we could add 1.5" to the height giving us: 13 Tall X 14.5 Wide for 188.5 sq inches which is the same as a 6X10 tube (188.4)! This assumes that we don't make it deeper, and only have a 3.75" depth.

mine is in the mail. i'll be receiving it next tuesday. i can tell you then.

**Carlscan26** · 03-14-2013, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marcb

The lid will rest on top of the filter but that's fine, he can rig you some drop downs but I don't think you'll need them. The kettle in the pic looks strangely familiar : )

I leave the lid on when ramping up to boiling as it significantly speeds that up. Since I brew outside I always cover the pot at flame out and during chilling, etc. so having the top seat well is of interest to me. I think with a .5" drop we should be fine, provided that the metal hangers aren't too thick as there is some play (maybe 1/8"?) with how the top fits on the pot.