Sabco False Bottom & Siphon
 

Does anyone use this set up? How does it work for you and do you like it? I am going to order their siphon($$$) and false bottom for my all grain set up I am building. Actually 2 of each. Hope I here from someone befor I order or I'll just go for it. Thanx for any info.

It's just so expensive. Do you need a false bottom in both the boil kettle and the mash tun? Is there any functionality in the boil kettle that can't be done through a bazooka screen?

I'm asking the question because I'm trying to figure this stuff out myself...

What is a Bazooka Screen? I wanted 1 in my kettle for the sole purpose of filtering my wort when I move to primary, and to speedily clean my boil kettle when I'm done with the brew. I want to figure out another way if possible. What is a bazooka screen?

Sabco sipon and flase bottom
 

Yes, the Sabco siphon and false bottom are expensive but like any expensive brew equipment it works absolutly perfect!!! with the siphon it leaves maybe a 1/2 cup of fluid and the false bottom keeps the siphon below all the debris. The false bottom is necessary in the mash tun for obvious reasons and the false bottom in the boil kettle keeps the whole hops and other augmentations in the boil kettle when you transfer your wort to your fermenter. As in all purchases you get what you pay for. I have had several wort chillers but until I bought a Therminator I did'nt understand how they could be so expensive, until I owned one!! The bazooka screens work well but are a little harder to clean (in my opinion) The Sabco system is very easy with the tri clamps cleaning up is really a breeze. Please understand it's all a matter of opinion there are many, many ways to produce great beer.:mug:

IMHO, Sabco makes some brilliant products, but they are consistently overpriced. You can make your own or find a reasonable alternative for much less.

Cheers thanx guys, I would DIY Yuri but stainless is a pain to work with as you know, and I don't have the means to cut it very well. SO--- I will order the Sabco setup and turn my back when I pay the bill. I will DIY almost all other parts of my AG system so I can splurg a little on the important things. Thanks for the info. I am a welder and innovater by hobby.

As to whether stainless is a pain to work with, it depends on your materials, your tools, and your perspective. No one seems to want to take my advice on this, but www.onlinemetals.com has reasonably priced perforated stainless that is easy to cut with tin snips and bends rather willingly. You could make a false bottom out of it in a few minutes - and for the cost of some simple hardware store plumbing fittings and a few more minutes of your time, you could even make it kinda fancy like the Sabco get-up.

As for the rest of the fabrication, I totally understand the trepidation when working with stainless. Good luck and happy brewing!

I have that site bookmarked, Yuri, and I'm *thinking* about making a false bottom - but I need to get the keg cut open so I can see what the bottom looks like myself. Some of the false bottoms have more of a pie-pan shape to them, and I'm not sure how I would get the sheet to bend like that without anything, really, for machinery. Guess I'd have to build some kind of jig in the right shape and hammer it out.

I like the bazooka screen, it's very much like the stainless braid I use in my lauter tun and that works like a charm. I just wish it felt a little more substantial, and I'm a little worried that the thrashing around it will get in the boil might lead to its coming loose.

I suppose I could always fall back on the big 'ol $4 hop bag, but that just seems like such an inelegant solution!

I have a Sabco screen and siphon in my boil kettle and it does work great when using whole hops but if those are unavailable or I just can't find them then hop pellet debris has been known to slip past the screen and cause a few problems for my wort chiller. I decided that a $4 length of braided stainless with a stainless clamp on the siphon along with the screen was my cheapest solutionwhen dealing with hop pellets. I like the idea of making your own, I just wish I would've even thought to look online for perforated stainless, thanks for the link Yuri.

Here's a dumb question, any reason that a copper manifold, like the ones that people make for their mash tuns, wouldn't work? Just a simple square of tubular copper with some thin slits cut out, that connects to the ball value.