$2 false bottom

I decided to replace the stainless braid inside my mash tun (a 5 Gal Igloo cooler) with a false bottom. Having recently spent shameful amounts on fittings, I wanted to do it the cheap way. This is my setup, it does work pretty well.

Lowes sells bucket covers for $1.90, the diameter is 9”3/4 the exact fit for the bottom of my cooler. I drilled 1/8 holes every ½” et voila.

The plastic is <2> HDPE. I&#8217;m not sure it&#8217;s food grade. If you are looking for Food Grade, my LHBS sells 2Gal fermentation buckets with an almost identical lid. The lids are the same size and the grommet hole is perfect for the dip tube.

EDIT: Oups, I found these lids at Home Depot not Lowes.

Looks Nice

What's your little yellow hose for?

The yellow thing is a small string. I use it to pull the false bottom out for cleaning. There is a small knot on the other side of the lid.

What is old is now new again (for those of you who know/remember of the zapap lauter system )..


Looks good!

MiniBrew uses HDPE for their plastic conicals. According to their FAQ:

Easy to Clean and Sterilize All popular cleaning and/or sterilizing agents can be used on our plastic (HDPE) fermenters. They will not harm the inert plastic material. Water at 180 degrees is an excellent sterilizing agent; pour it down the sides of the fermenter. The heat will sink into the plastic and all the parts, killing bacteria. This procedure works with stainless also. The large top makes it easy to get inside and scrub dried trub with a Teflon scouring pad. The melting point of plastic is 250 degrees.

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Other sources I've found online agree:

Excellent for any food related products, FDA, NSF, and USDA approved for direct contact.

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So hey, nice job Have you tested it much?

-Joe

IrregularPulse said:

What's your little yellow hose for?

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I thought this was a thread about a false bottom...

Looks great, and way to save money.

The holes I drilled in a previous attempt were too large and were letting grain pass through. I made one batch since I built this one and I'm happy with the result. It doesn't collapse, and the run off is getting clear after a few minutes of Vorlauf.

If you are worried about food grade plastic, you can get free food grade plastic from pretty much any grocery store bakery for free. They are the buckets that frosting comes in, and the stores are glad to give them away. I also use them for fermenting 2.5 gallons batches, since they are 3g buckets.

Food grade is one thing but what leeches out of that plastic once it's heated to 180*F is another. Most plastics, even food grade, have a temperature range in which they are considered safe. Just something to think about.

I saw the string and thought you were lautering your spaghetti!

I love this idea! I'll have to keep it in mind as I gather ideas and material for making my own setup.

How is your efficiency? Do you still use this?

Beavdowg said:

Food grade is one thing but what leeches out of that plastic once it's heated to 180*F is another. Most plastics, even food grade, have a temperature range in which they are considered safe. Just something to think about.

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This.

I made a false bottom for a 5 Gal bucket tun out of a plastic plate. I just drilled a bunch of small holes in it. Put a plastic elbow on it with a notch to keep it from cutting off the flow when the grain pushed it down. Used a mini keg bung to seal the plastic hose out the side. I don't remember what I paid for the bucket, but the rest was about $4. Easily moved it to the 5 Gallon drink cooler when I discovered the heat loss in the bucket.

I have never had a stuck runoff, never. And I almost always beat the estimated OG from whatever recipe I use.

I am looking to do something similar for the 10 Gallon cooler I just ordered. All I need is a 12" plastic plate or something similar.

There's spaghetti in your mash tun.

Looks good!

And I just spent 9 bucks in CPVC fittings/tubing... I wonder how much of a weird look I will get tomorrow at home depot when I return a dozen fittings and buy a bucket lid.

Couple things about my plastic plate false bottom.

1. I don't spend a lot of time stirring, that's probably what causes them to float. A little stirring at mash in (not too far down, don't wanna hit the false bottom). And then a little more at mash out. I pretty much let the cooler do its job of keeping the heat stable, and it works.

2. I didn't drill a "bazillion" holes, and I didn't make them 1/8 inch either. The commercial stainless steel ones could pass 100 gallons per minute, and I don't know anyone that is gonna sparge that quickly. Slow down, this should take 1/2 hour to an hour depending on your batch.

I made my false bottom, when I was just starting out, and I was poor, I couldn't afford the Phils Phalse bottom that was available at the brew shop, and I don't seem to have the problems that others talk about with the false bottoms.



I found a 12" bucket lid at Lowes, and I am pretty excited to get my 10Gal round cooler, and play making some bigger beers.