Recirculation takes forever

I have a 5 gallon mash tun/HLT combo. I recently switched out the stainless steel coil that came with the mash tun for a false bottom, as I'd read that it's a more efficient method for lautering when fly sparging. Since I did that, I've had a really hard time getting to the clear wort during recirculation. There's a lot of particulate matter, and although it goes down with subsequent rounds of recirculation, it never really goes away. It doesn't look like grain husk, so I'm not worried about getting tannins in my beer, but has anyone else had this problem when switching to a false bottom? Do I need to change the settings on the grain mill at my brew shop?

Is your grain getting crushed into a powder or something?

iijakii said:

Is your grain getting crushed into a powder or something?

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Nope. And the stuff that gets into my pot is pretty large.

There aren't any gaps along the side, are there?

How's your false bottom fitting in your kettle? nice and tight? Maybe post a pic of your empty kettle with the false bottom in it?

iijakii said:

There aren't any gaps along the side, are there?

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You mean between the false bottom and the side of the cooler? Not that I can see.

Check to see if you can push it all the way to one side and if there's a small gap across from it. You might need to line the FB with tubing.

i switched to a stainless mesh because of false bottom issues.

iijakii said:

Check to see if you can push it all the way to one side and if there's a small gap across from it. You might need to line the FB with tubing.

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You know, there might be just enough space there to cause the problems I'm having. Not being mechanically inclined (I'm lost in a hardware store), what kind of tubing should I use, and how should I attach it?

JesseL said:

You know, there might be just enough space there to cause the problems I'm having. Not being mechanically inclined (I'm lost in a hardware store), what kind of tubing should I use, and how should I attach it?

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That depends on how big of a gap you have.

Mine was pretty small, and actually came out to be perfect-size for the regular 1/2" silicone tubing we brewers use. I cut it down the middle on one side and slipped it over the edge.



I've also seen plenty of people run it under the FB though. Honestly that's probably the easier and maybe better way to do it.

Well that looks like something I can manage. Thanks!