Electric keg system; port in bottom

I'm building a new brewing system using kegs, and am planning on using electric elements in the HLT and kettle, and RIMS for the mash. Is there any good reason not to simply weld the drain port in the bottom center of the kegs? My last system was propane-fired, and the low drain ports presented potential scorch problems without good circulation in the mash. However, with an electric system, am I missing something regarding port placement? I was going to use diptubes, but realized that welding 1/2" couplings in the very bottom with QD fittings would give me the best cleaning options. It's essentially a poor man's conical setup.

Stop me before I weld the other two up?

its ideal, would love to get rid of my dip tubes. Only consideration is how you chill and handle hops. Do you filter hops at all, do you use a plate or counterflow? Do you whirlpool. Those are the things to consider in a bottom drain BK

Kegs already have a bottom port if you turn it upside down. No need to weld.

I welded a bottom drain in my electric keggle but put it off to the side because I intend to whirlpool and leave the trub in the center. It will have to be tipped a bit when draining to get all of the liquid out but I designed that arrangement into the stand as well.

milldoggy said:

Kegs already have a bottom port if you turn it upside down. No need to weld.

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I thought about that, but it seemed cheaper to weld in a coupler than adapt the keg port to a plumbed fitting.

paulages said:

I thought about that, but it seemed cheaper to weld in a coupler than adapt the keg port to a plumbed fitting.

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I believe an 1 1/2 triclover fits over the lip.

bucfanmike said:

its ideal, would love to get rid of my dip tubes. Only consideration is how you chill and handle hops. Do you filter hops at all, do you use a plate or counterflow? Do you whirlpool. Those are the things to consider in a bottom drain BK

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I'm building an entirely new system here, so I haven't got there yet. The plan was simply use a false bottom in the kettle to strain hops, but that doesn't help with trub. I think I'll be investing in a plate chiller. Is there a simple inline filter that might aerate as well?

paulages said:

I'm building an entirely new system here, so I haven't got there yet. The plan was simply use a false bottom in the kettle to strain hops, but that doesn't help with trub. I think I'll be investing in a plate chiller. Is there a simple inline filter that might aerate as well?

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The brewers hardware filter will do hops, not sure about trub. I really do not worry about trub.

milldoggy said:

I believe an 1 1/2 triclover fits over the lip.

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Definitely a nice solution, and clean. At $20 an outlet (I'd need a tri clover to NPT adaptor, gasket, and clamp, right? I've never used tri clover), I think I'll just stick to welding the couplings in, but I'll look at the inside of the top opening and think about it some more. I suppose I could use the one I just welded for the HLT, which wouldn't require as clean an exit. That sure would make cleaning the mash tun easier.. just remove the triclover, stick a bucket beneath, and flush... Ok, I think I'm sold.

milldoggy said:

The brewers hardware filter will do hops, not sure about trub. I really do not worry about trub.

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Yeah, I don't mind trub for yeast food, but when I make a really hoppy IPA a lot of hob detritus ends up in the primary.

Ok, might be a 2 in, double check. I do not use my keggle this way.

http://www.brewershardware.com/2-Tri-Clover-Fittings/

It is 2". I bought a 2"-1" adapter to give even more of a funnel, then used a 1" to 1/2" NPT adapter. In order for the tri clamp to attach to the keg, the lip has to be shaved off the side of the gasket that faces the keg. I haven't leak tested it yet, but the gasket expanded nicely and I'm fairly certain it'll seal fine. I'll post pictures tomorrow... great solution, but spendy. I'm sticking with welded in couplings for the HLT and kettle. For the mash I want better sanitation (in case the welds aren't shielded well enough from behind), but the other two will be boiled often anyway.

This would work great for a Sanke fermenter with a corny lid on top.. I plan on making one soon.

paulages said:

Yeah, I don't mind trub for yeast food, but when I make a really hoppy IPA a lot of hob detritus ends up in the primary.

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The only reason i asked about filtering is I hear that plate and counterflow chillers are subject to clogging. If you are dumping straight out of the bottom of you keggle that may end up being an issue without some sort of filtering

I use 2"x1/2"NPT triclamp adapters in both my BK and HLT. They work extremely well. As far as hop filtering goes I use a 9" false bottom in my BK. It catches the hops, and as long as you return the wort tangentially the hops will settle and actually form a fairly effective trub filter as well. I chill with a CFC that I recirculate back into the BK and have never had a clogging issue. I'm not sure about using a plate chiller, however the owner of my brew-store used to use a plate chiller and recirc without any sort of filter. As far as I know he didn't have any major issues, but he did have to do the oven bake every once in a while.