Stainless Steel False Bottom

Monsterc · 10-26-2008, 09:19 PM

First, I'm a beginner at all grain.
Is there anything better than the stainless steel false bottom?
Maybe something with a finer mesh or filter?
I can never seem to get the wort clear.

Thanks,

Chuck

Parker36 · 10-26-2008, 09:24 PM

The best filter is the grain itself. Do you run the first few cups through the grain bed again? I'm definitely not the most experienced AG brewer here, so I may be corrected later on, but getting your wort perfectly clear won't happen and its not a bad thing - all that gunk will fall out of suspension during fermentation.

eriktlupus · 10-26-2008, 09:27 PM

+1 he's right you'll never get it perfectly clear, just make sure your getting the husk material out of the wort. if you feel like your mesh is to coarse you can wrap a nylon bag around your bottom to create a finer mesh.

edit: also make sure you vorlauf( recirculate) the first qt or so of you drainings each time you drain the MT. or until you don't get chunks floating in it

Monsterc · 10-26-2008, 09:38 PM

Could I be grinding the grain up to small?
Or would that have any effect?

Parker36 · 10-26-2008, 09:40 PM

You may be grinding too small. You generally want it to be ground just enough to break open the husks. If it comes out feeling like sand, generally not good. Some "dust" is fine, the husks are excellent filters and catch most of that stuff.

eriktlupus · 10-26-2008, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monsterc

Could I be grinding the grain up to small?
Or would that have any effect?

grind as fine as you want till you get nstuck mashes then bak off your mill to the last setting. the finer crush will help your eff. but too fine will cause the husks to not allow the wort to filter thru.

Monsterc · 10-26-2008, 11:46 PM

Thanks for the fast replies and great info!

Chuck

**ajf** · 10-27-2008, 01:06 AM

If you're batch sparging, then a SS braid would be cheaper and would IMO work just as well.
If you're fly sparging, then nothing can beat a false bottom.
I have a Listermann's plastic false bottom for a 5g cooler, and a SS false bottom for 10g.
The Listermann's has slightly smaller diameter holes, and I get a clearer run off with that than with the SS one, but that is probably (as Parker36 said) because I have a greater grain bed depth to filter the grain rather than the smaller hole diameter.
The downside to the plastic one is that it is much easier to get a stuck sparge, and requires a lot of attention to detail to prevent this.
I prefer the SS one to the plastic, but to make a realistic comparison, I need a keggle so I can do 10g batches, or a 5g size SS false bottom for the smaller cooler.
If anybody wants to donate said items, I'd be happy to write up a comparison.

-a.

The Pol · 10-27-2008, 02:44 AM

If you want to see perfectly clear wort, build a HERMS, it is clrearer going into the kettle than it is going into the keg!