Potential dirt cheap false bottom???

I have been bouncing the idea around in my head for awhile and I think I have convinced myself I could get away with using something like this for a wicked cheap false bottom:

Amazon.com: AirBake by WearEver Nonstick 15-3/4-Inch Perforated Pizza Pan: Home & Garden

It doesn't necessarily have to be this particular one, in fact it could be one with out holes so that I could drill it myself with a really small diameter. What do you all think? I say its worth a try for $10.

I say give it a shot.... that is assuming that the pizza pan is a good fit in your mash tun....

Yeah, there are a ton of different sizes so I can find one that fits the contour well at the bottom. I was even thinking of getting a 16" diameter and cutting it down the center and hinging it so I can remove it easily for cleaning.

Find one that fits correctly and already has holes if it's non-stick. Once you comprise that coating, it will continually flake off. You will then have little bits of toxic coating in your beer.

The lower hole count plus wider spacing with the rim without holes I bet a 10" FB would flow as well. The only thing is the lower price but is it worth the trouble? It needs to be cut and hinged to fit unless your using a pot vs a keggle. A larger one cut down to 15 3/4" to just fit with holes to the edge and hinged might work to add the most amount of drain holes. Labors is free when it's a project you like. Go to plan "B" if it fails and buy a 15 3/4" hinged FB if needed.

BrewBeemer said:

It needs to be cut and hinged to fit unless your using a pot vs a keggle.

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I've seen other brewers put notches in their keggles- That way, you can insert the screen vertically into the keggle via the notches, and not have to worry about hinging. Hope this helps!

McPintley said:

Find one that fits correctly and already has holes if it's non-stick. Once you comprise that coating, it will continually flake off. You will then have little bits of toxic coating in your beer.

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Ahhh, good advice. I didn't even notice if it said it was non-stick or not.

BrewBeemer said:

The only thing is the lower price but is it worth the trouble?

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It's always worth the trouble! I love working on my HERMS setup and don't mind putting in the extra effort if I can design something that suits my system better. I missed out on Jay's false bottoms and I hear those work several times better then the commercially available ones.

MoRoToRiUm said:

I've seen other brewers put notches in their keggles- That way, you can insert the screen vertically into the keggle via the notches, and not have to worry about hinging. Hope this helps! .

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Thanks for the suggestion, however I have already wrapped up my kegs with good insulation and then coated them with a roll-on bed liner. I would hate to have to carve their pretty faces up.

i used one of those in my 10 gal round cooler forever until i actually made a copper manifold....they work great....just wedged it in the bottom....you might have to use a wine corkscrew to get it out when you are done.

That one has teflon on it....try to get one without teflon. You would hate when that stuff starts to scrap off or break down to get into your beer.

If it's teflon coated, it's probably just plain steel sheeting underneath. Horrible idea. It would be cheaper in the long run to buy some perforated stainless sheet and cut the circle yourself.

Bobby_M said:

If it's teflon coated, it's probably just plain steel sheeting underneath. Horrible idea. It would be cheaper in the long run to buy some perforated stainless sheet and cut the circle yourself.

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Yeah, I have a feeling you are right. I have spent so much already on my HERMS, I shouldn't go cheap on a critical component.

I used these in my first system! They come in different sizes too... collapsible, SS, cheap...

Collapsible Steamer Basket 580_9

How about a grease splatter shield, too fine?

Amazon.com: Amco 13-Inch Splatter Screen: Home & Garden

sjlammer said:

How about a grease splatter shield, too fine?

Amazon.com: Amco 13-Inch Splatter Screen: Home & Garden

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That looks even better then the pizza pan! I will have to goto that manufacturer's website and make sure the material and aperture sizes are okay. Thanks!

I use the perforated pizza pan from target (pizza pan )with my 10 gal round cooler. I drilled more holes in it between the holes that were there. One problem I had was that it was just a little too big so I used the dremel to cut it down to size. Next problem was the bottom of cooler likes to swell up with the hot temps of mashing/sparging and you WILL get a stuck sparge (it swells up to the nipple used to drain with). SWMBO had the solution of putting a piece of tubing around the inside of cooler to raise it a bit and that worked like a charm. Kepp all this in mind. The second little pizza pan works great to divert sparge water when fly sparging. AND YES I KNOW ITS Aluminum totally different debate on that one folks. $13 beats $40 any day!!:rockin:

I was also thinking it was aluminum vs steel.
As far as slotting the keg top that will make the
keg weaker plus make more damage than good.
A folding FB large as you can fit inside the keg
for the maximum surface area would be best.

you can make a false bottom out of a plastic dinner plate. i used one and it worked great. just drill lots of small holes and make a larger hole in the center for your fitting to go into. you can make one like that for very cheap

Frisbee?