Lauter Tun vs False Bottom

Lauter Tun vs False Bottom. Which do you prefer? This is for a partial mash so I guess you could choose C, grain bag.

jcarson83 said:

Lauter Tun vs False Bottom.

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What exactly do you mean?

He means manifold vs. false bottom.

Manifold = less efficient and dependent on grainbed depth to create even flow and higher efficiency. If it's designed right and has 4 or 5 pipes correctly spaced (see Palmer's www.howtobrew.com) it can be plenty efficienty. It's cheaper, made from copper or cpvc and is the easy solution for square, rectangular, or other non circular shaped mash/lauter tuns. Don't bother soldering it together.. it's supposed to leak, that's why you drill holes or cut slots in it.

False bottom = easy solution for a round cooler. Maybe a good choice for someone whose starting with partial mashes and will likely have a fairly shallow grainbed depth since they're not using much grains. Depth does still matter though, too shallow and you won't get much filtering and will be stuck with cloudy runnings (bad). If you're not a do it yourselfer then this is the easy but expensive store bought solution. Remember, the drain pipe should be located under the middle of the false bottom to promote even flow. If I recall correctly I think false bottoms are more prone to stuck sparges than manifolds.. but I've rarely had stuck sparges and they're easily fixed by a bit of stirring or blowing into the drain hose.

So, what do I have? A copper manifold and it works great but there's definitely nothing wrong with a false bottom.

edit: bags are for steeping. I wouldn't call it a partial mash if it's done in a bag or colander (no offense to you colander users). And I don't want to start a debate about steeping vs. PM... yeah, I know it's technically a PM if you hold a mash temp and expect starch conversion from your grains.

If you are batch sparging just use a stainless steel braid. It's about as easy as it gets. Look at the way this guy does it..> http://cruisenews.net/brewing/infusion/page1.php

Blender said:

If you are batch sparging just use a stainless steel braid. It's about as easy as it gets. Look at the way this guy does it..> http://cruisenews.net/brewing/infusion/page1.php

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Yeah, I'm a *******. I meant manifold.

I like that stainless steel braid idea. I was leaning away from it because I thought it was somthing you had to buy from the home brewer store. Would it be better to use a longer braid?

By the way, that website help a lot. I'm doing my first PM this weekend and that makes it look a lot easier.

jcarson83 said:

Yeah, I'm a *******. I meant manifold.

I like that stainless steel braid idea. I was leaning away from it because I thought it was somthing you had to buy from the home brewer store. Would it be better to use a longer braid?

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His system is really simple and his braid is the right size. A longer braid will not make any difference but if you go that route make sure the braid is actually stainless steel and not nylon or plastic that looks like stainless.

wow, that looks like a real easy way to get into doing partial mashes. Blender, have you used that system? It works as well as some of the other systems I've seen people here build?

the_bird said:

wow, that looks like a real easy way to get into doing partial mashes. Blender, have you used that system? It works as well as some of the other systems I've seen people here build?

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I have a larger rectangular cooler and use a braid. It works very well. The round coolers are expensive for their size and the rectangular ones are a better buy with the option of doing all grain brewing. The thing I have found most important is the quality of the grain crush. I had poor results with Morebeer and better results with the local shop.

Cool, thanks. That sounds like the way that I'll go, not for the coming batch, but for the one following. Gotta make a trip to Home Despot this weekend anyway, I'll go look for some braid.

Hmmm... my 2 cents...

Well I have to disagree about what was said about the bag or colander. Not that I have used them, but that I dont see much difference. The false bottom I use is nothing but a bit flatter colander. You would have to get the right colander though. Some would be pretty useless. And a steep bag..... really can't see anything wrong with them... some use them in AG and many just opt for them in PMs because of the amount of grain being used.

Why wouldn't some sort of a screen on the spout to the cooler work just as well if you batch sparging? I mean thats essentially whats going on with the SS braid anyway. As long as an adequate amount of water can pass through the screen closer to the spigot then there will be no negative pressure in the rest of the braid.

jcarson83 said:

Why wouldn't some sort of a screen on the spout to the cooler work just as well if you batch sparging? I mean thats essentially whats going on with the SS braid anyway. As long as an adequate amount of water can pass through the screen closer to the spigot then there will be no negative pressure in the rest of the braid.

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Actually the grain bed does a lot of the filtering once you run clear on the wort. You know the husks and all.

anyone using pex tubing for their manifolds yet? I know mist new construction uses this for water supply and it even comes in pretty colors (red, white, blue) I am thinking about the switch to AG using a manifold and a gigantor square cooler, but the kettle and burner cost along with having to cook outside is keeping me at bay just for now.

Lost said:

edit: bags are for steeping. I wouldn't call it a partial mash if it's done in a bag or colander (no offense to you colander users). And I don't want to start a debate about steeping vs. PM... yeah, I know it's technically a PM if you hold a mash temp and expect starch conversion from your grains.

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No offense taken, but that simply isn't true about the colander. My first AG system was a 7 gallon bucket (my old primary fermenter) with a plastic colander. I cut the lip off with a utility knife and stuffed it down to the bottom of the bucket, just above the spigot. Instant false bottom .Then I threw an old blanket around it to hold temp. It worked great until I raised enough scratch for a cooler. Once I got a cooler, I couldn't find a colander the right size, so I used a SS braid.

jcarson83 said:

Why wouldn't some sort of a screen on the spout to the cooler work just as well if you batch sparging? I mean thats essentially whats going on with the SS braid anyway. As long as an adequate amount of water can pass through the screen closer to the spigot then there will be no negative pressure in the rest of the braid.

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The stainless braid has more surface area so it is less likely to get clogged. If you just put a screen over the end of the spout you will probably get a stuck sparge at some time.

In 12 years I have used everything, false bottom, copper and stainless braid. The braid and the copper work the best but the braid has the advantage of being stainless. False bottoms do give you stuck sparges more often then manifolds.

I've made a manifold out of sch.40 PVC with roughly a million holes drilled in it. Anyone else used this? Can PVC stand up to the heat? I didn't glue the joints so that it can come apart for cleaning. Gonna do a test run with water tomorrow to try it and my cobbled up brewkettle out. Going for mt first AG on Tuesday. Drinking my last extract now. Forty dollars vs, twenty two dollars per batch.......hope this works!

sudsmonkey said:

I've made a manifold out of sch.40 PVC with roughly a million holes drilled in it. Anyone else used this? Can PVC stand up to the heat? I didn't glue the joints so that it can come apart for cleaning. Gonna do a test run with water tomorrow to try it and my cobbled up brewkettle out. Going for mt first AG on Tuesday. Drinking my last extract now. Forty dollars vs, twenty two dollars per batch.......hope this works!

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There have actually been a couple threads about this and the answer from the resident experts (myself not included) is "no". If you plan to use plastic then use CPVC, it's rated to withstand mash temps. PVC may leach unwanted chemicals and/or off flavors into your beer. I use copper without any problems.

Hi

Going to the link provided, http://cruisenews.net/brewing/infusion/page1.php this seems very simple. What makes this a Partial mash vs an All grain?
I've been Exract w Grains for a year and a half and want to make the leap. Looking for the best (and not necessarily the cheapest) way to make the move

Cheers
J

That link is all grain. Partial mash is where you follow the all grain process on a smaller amount of grains and then malt extract is later added to make the total gravity for the batch.

Ok.. that makes sense. But the guy doesn't seem to have a ton of extra equipment compared to some of the other set-ups I've seen.

Is that effecient enough?

jaymack said:

Ok.. that makes sense. But the guy doesn't seem to have a ton of extra equipment compared to some of the other set-ups I've seen.

Is that effecient enough?

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That's a very similar setup to mine (and a lot of peoples'), and I hit 79% on my last batch. :rockin:

You don't need a fancy three-tier system, you don't even really need to fly sparge (although you can get a little bit more efficient if you do).

Check out my equipment from the link below. You'll see how lo-tec it can be.
I hit 80% last time.

Would this suffice for a mash/lauter tunn?

http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442208635&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396672293&bmUID=1169239640999

I just finished my second AG with MoreBeer crushed grain. Hit my OG the second time,but not the first. I figured it was my fault the first time. Going to purchase my own crusher to identify the real problem.

Just finished my second AG session with MoreBeer crushed grain. Missed my OG the first time, but right on today. I figured the first batch was my problem not the crusher. Who knows.

jaymack said:

Would this suffice for a mash/lauter tunn?

http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442208635&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396672293&bmUID=1169239640999

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I tried to find that exact cooler for myself. Called all 7 Crappy Tire stores in Calgary and none had them in stock (even though their website said that 3 would). I guess coolers are a bit out of season in Canada right now!

If you find one, I would be curious to know.

Checked out Home Depot, Lowes and even two auto parts stores, but can't find what you guys are calling a stainless steel braid. From the picture in the website (http://cruisenews.net/brewing/infusion/page1.php) it looks like something used to reinforce fuel lines or the hoses in a car, but I can't tell for certain. I'm curious to know where you would find one. If you know...let me know.

Go to the plumbing department, that is where the stainless braid is located. Use a piece of water line connector. You have to cut the plastic tube out and adapt it.

Checked out Home Depot, Lowes and even two auto part stores, but can't seem to find what you guys are calling a stainless steel braid. From the pictures on the website it looks like it would used to reinforce fuel lines or the hoses in a car, but I'm not really sure. I'm just curious to know where anyone bought it. If you know...let me know.

Thanks.

Drunk Munk said:

Checked out Home Depot, Lowes and even two auto part stores, but can't seem to find what you guys are calling a stainless steel braid. From the pictures on the website it looks like it would used to reinforce fuel lines or the hoses in a car, but I'm not really sure. I'm just curious to know where anyone bought it. If you know...let me know.

Thanks.

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DM, what your looking for is in the plumbing section (Lowes, HD). Ask for the plumbing "supply lines". These are the hoses used to connect the water supply coming out of your bathroom wall to the sink, or commode. There will be varying lengths and some will be white (don't want) and some will be stainless steel (want).

The catch is that you are going to buy an 8 or 10 inch length of hose that has connectors on both ends. You're going to cut off both ends, and yank out the plastic hose that is wrapped withing the stainless steel braid. Twist off one end and connect the other to the nipple in your LT.

You are basically "bastardising" a very common piece of plumbing supply.