SS false bottom for 10 gallon cooler..grain all stuck under outside and filled bottom

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discgolfin

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Any one have this problem??? It was stuck and I could not get it unstuck becaue it filled under it. I think I have to somehow push the outer edge of the bottom so it seals or fits to the cooler better??

Thoughts?
any have this problem with a new SS false bottom on a cooler?

Thanks, Jay
 
I know the problem you're talking about. I had the same problem with my FB in my keg MLT when I first used it. Fortunately, I have a SS pickup tube, and I used a hose clamp to hold the FB down. Hopefully someone else with your setup will be able to give you some pointers.
 
I think what I need to do is try to push around the edge of the falso bottom so it is tighter.. All of the wheat snuck under and than pushed up on the false bottom. It made for a very interesting day. I could not blow it out becasue it was way to much stuck under. I had to transfer into my 5 gallon with SS braid and improvise..needless to say lots of cussing was involved..LOL

I might attempt to bend it back down, Im hoping that will work and I do not need anything to hold it down.

Jay
 
I know one problem I did, and mainly because I have been used to a SS braid. I didn't nock to check for bubbles and I didn't run a bit of water to get the air out of the line.

Other than that do most people hold it down with a spoon when they add the grain after the water? Or do they weight it down with something? :confused:

Thanks for the help,,all in all it took an hour longer than I would hope...but hit 65% eff..which is not bad for all the challange I went through with a full load of wheat under my false bottom..

Jay
 
Do you have a round cooler? I have a SS FB in my round 10 Gal Rubbermaid cooler and never had this problem. I did encounter this problem when I had a 5 gal round cooler with a plastic FB that floated when I poured the water and mixed my mash up. I since put a ss fb in that one as well and i don't have that problem any more. Sorry to hear about your situation.

Richie
 
Resto3 said:
Do you have a round cooler? I have a SS FB in my round 10 Gal Rubbermaid cooler and never had this problem. I did encounter this problem when I had a 5 gal round cooler with a plastic FB that floated when I poured the water and mixed my mash up. I since put a ss fb in that one as well and i don't have that problem any more. Sorry to hear about your situation.

Richie
Do you have a round cooler? - Essential for a false bottom. For a false bottom to work correctly, it must cover the entire base of the tun.
I did encounter this problem when I had a 5 gal round cooler with a plastic FB that floated. - Both plastic and SS are heavier than water. They won't float unless there is air trapped in them somewhere. I've never had problems with the false bottom floating, but I did have problems with stuck sparges caused by an airlock in the outlet. I got around this by adding enough foundation water to get above the highest point of the outlet, and then bleeding off about 1/2 pint to purge all air from the system before adding any grain.

Hope this helps

-a.
 
I think It was an air lock. I have a 10 gallon set up as well, the SS false bottom has a small space to the edge of the cooler, but not much. The botom was really filled with grain, I think it had air that lifted it up a bit and I didn't notice it.

Jay
 
My fix has three parts, but only if you have a false bottom with a pickup tube running through it.

First, go to hardware store and buy a two pack of STAINLESS clothes washer discharge hose lint traps for $1.99

Take a trap and remove the plastic thread that seals up the bottom. Proceed to roll it in on itself like you roll up a sock, making sure the height of the roll is slightly greater than the distance between the bottom of your cooler and your false bottom.

Place this piece so that it will surround your pickup tube when the false bottom is placed on top of it.

Part two: Put a one inch layer of rice hulls around false bottom to act as another filter (optional, but worthwhile).

Part three: Hold down false bottom when adding grain, I add grain before water to help with this.
 
i'm having the same problem, i've got a converted Keg with a ss false bottom that folds up on itself to fit around the temp probes and all. if i use a light grain bill, i get a stuck mash. followed by cussing and such...i'm going to the store and buying some sort of aluminum rod that i can cut to fit to push down the sides of the false bottom from the top of what is left of the cut part of the top of the keg. This way, there is no way for the grain to slip under the sides of the ss false bottom.
 
i'm having the same problem, i've got a converted Keg with a ss false bottom that folds up on itself to fit around the temp probes and all. if i use a light grain bill, i get a stuck mash. followed by cussing and such...i'm going to the store and buying some sort of aluminum rod that i can cut to fit to push down the sides of the false bottom from the top of what is left of the cut part of the top of the keg. This way, there is no way for the grain to slip under the sides of the ss false bottom.



If you are concerned about the sides, I would not bother with trying to hold it down. Instead just pick up some tubing, slice it open and go around the edge of the false bottom with your tube to create a good seal. For the record, I use a ss false bottom in my 10gal and I have never had a problem. I have not made a seal for it and the weight of the bottom keeps it seated just fine.

Discgolfin, What false bottom do you have? I got mine from AHS and like I said, no problems with stuck mashes. I brewed a IPA last night and as usual, my runoff was clear immediatly.
 
I recently scored a nice single level, 3-burner/3-keggle system from craigslist, but haven't had the chance to use it yet, and have been curious about grains pushing beneath the FB as well. Looking at it, it appears the holes in the FB would be large enough for bit of crushed grains to get through. That brings up the issue at hand of too much stuff building up and pushing the FB up, but also for recirculation through the pump. Am I worrying about nothing? Any good preventative measures I should take before diving in with a 10-gallon batch?
 
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