julian81

Recipes 

I'm brewing 5 gallon batches and my current setup is as follows:

10 gallon megapot for HLT w/ ball valve
10 gallon igloo cooler w/ stainless false bottom and ball valve for MLT
10 gallon Blichmann Boilermaker w/ temp gauge, sight glass, 3 piece ball valve for Kettle.

Unfortunately with this setup I'm unable to do very large 5 gallon batches, and definitely not 10 gallon batches, unless they were very very low gravity.

Biggest batch I've done was 1.098 and that was a Stone IRS clone. It was cutting it extremely close though. My MLT was filled to within 1/2" of the top after dough in. Crazy.

Long story short, I'm in the market for a bigger Mash Tun and Kettle and have been looking at Stout Tanks vs Blichmann. I love the Blichmann kettle but the allure of going with a dish bottom for whirlpooling and triclamps is pretty attractive given the price. I have not heard much from people in regards to Stout Tanks' kettles and MLT /w false bottom. The only things people seem to buy on here are the conicals.

I'm looking for feedback as to what might suit me best. Currently I'm using a hop stopper in my boilermaker and filtering out the ball valve to pump then to therminator and that works beautifully. Nice clear wort insta cooled.

Looking for feedback as to whether filtering the hot wort is going to be as efficient with a whirlpool in the stout tank, and how people like the stout tank MLTs vs the Blichmann kettles with false bottoms as MLT.

Thanks in advance!
Cheers,
Julian

wildwest450

Recipes 

I have a blichmann mash tun, and if you get one without a warped fb, their great. I can re-circ at over a gallon perminute without any problems at all. I will admit the stout tanks look cool for the money.

julian81

Recipes 

Thanks wildwest450. What do you mean by warped false bottom? Aren't all the blichmann false bottoms manufactured the same? Also, wouldn't they need to be warped to provide a pocket for which the wort can flow into?

Awesome avatar btw

RiverCityBrewer

Recipes 

Some of the false bottoms have been found to be "out of spec" and are not flat... fortunately I didn't have that issue and my boilermaker is the best mash tun I have used, hands down. The false bottom is great and I can recirc very quickly with it, and while I have not personally experienced it, from other accounts and pictures it does seem that they have pretty poor quality control over some products. If you pick one up, by from a reputable dealer that will let you return things so if you get a warped one you can exchange it.

julian81

Recipes 

Thanks RiverCityBrewer. Sounds like more people have Blichmann kettles with false bottoms than Stout Tanks MLTs. I'd love to hear from anyone who's using a Stout Tank MLT for comparison, otherwise I guess I'm sending Blichmann more money

Deuce

Recipes 

I would send blichmann more money. Think about it this way... you only have to do it once in your lifetime (unless you upgrade constantly).

__________________
Diverse Haus Brewery

wildwest450

Recipes 

Rivercity pretty much covered it. Mine was badly warped, letting grain into the dead space which is unacceptable. John basically said they are all warped to a degree because they are made in a press. Some are worse than others, it was a bit of a pain to get them to replace it. But now I love it, and would never consider changing.

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julian81

Recipes 

Gotcha, thanks both for the clarification. I'll look out for this if I go the Blichmann route.

julian81

Recipes 

Does no one on here use a Stout kettle or Mash Tun? Someone has to have bought one and have an opinion on them...

julian81

Recipes 

*bump*

No one? No one on this forum has a Stout kettle or Mash tun they care to provide feedback on?