Plastic false bottom in heated keg mashtun?

Hello All.

I have a plastic false bottom that I inherited from a fellow homebrewer, who never used it. It is your standard Phil's False Bottom, in the 12" size. It says it will work in 10 gallon round coolers or 15.5 kegs.

Has anyone used these in a keg mashtun set up? If so, how do they fit / work for you?

My main question is, will the plastic false bottom be affected by the heat? I plan on direct firing the mashtun bottom with your standard propane turkey cooker and am concerned that the heat being so close to it could possibly melt the false bottom.

I don't see a problem using it for single infusion mashes, but without putting heat (fire) to the mashtun, I would probably have to insulate the keg so it wouldn't lose heat over the mash period.

If everyone is of the opinion that it might be a problem, I think I will take it to my LHBS and see if he would take it in trade towards a stainless false bottom, as it is new in the package.

Thanks!

I seriously doubt the plastic can handle the heat unless you can be absolutely certain it isn't touching the bottom. Having melted a few things over the years, I'm paranoid.

Actually, I think the heat wouldn't be the main issue, although it may get too hot while you're heating the strike water.

What I would be worried about is making sure it doesn't move around AT ALL in the bottom of the keg which will let grain by and clog up the hose/valve. I had a problem with mine (not a Phil's, though) at first until I found a way to secure it to the bottom with a hose clamp on the siphon tube. Doesn't the Phil's just have a barb fitting to hook a hose to? In the coolers it fits flush against the sides, in a keg, it won't. Maybe someone else will chime in here, but I don't think that's the best FB for a keg.

Thanks for the input. I am stopping at my LHBS today, so I am gonna discuss this issue with the owner. Anybody else use these false bottoms in a keg mashtun??

I wouldn't use the plastic. I don't know what the material is (probably HDPE) but it will get at least really soft.

I'm really trying to figure out whether I'm going to go with a stainless braid in my keg MLT or false bottom. I plan to recirculate my mash so I think false bottom would be better. I'll be getting the perforated stainless from onlinemetals.com for about $30 shipped. 12" x 12".

I was thinking about going with the perforated metal from that site, as well. What gage / thickness and hole size were you gonna use, Bobby?

For now, i think i might just use my stainless braid set up from my cooler MLT...that one is already paid for!

Dimension Name Value
Thickness 0.036"
Hole Size 0.125"
Stagger 0.1875"
Open Area 40%


$22.19 for a 12x12" piece.

Thank you , sir!