Hinges are for Doors not False Bottoms

I came up with an ideal couple of years go. Instead of loosing open area with a hinge, I came up with a way of installing the whole bottom into a keg without much effort.
By cutting two slits 180 degrees from each other the false bottom will slip into keg with no problem. Once inside it can be turned to fit flat into the bottom. Most kegs’s run about 14 15/16 diameter but they are all not the same. That measurement will get you below the bottom weld seam.
I changed the perforated SS sheet to 5/32 x 3/32 stagger and its 1/16 thick. So it will support without legs in a standard keg. I Cut with a plasma cutter from a standard 4 x 8 sheet for kegs only. But all kegs are not the same; I have found some that are welded off in the bottom seam. Some need a little work on the belt sander.
Here are some pictures showing the process.







Dominus Vobiscum

Swagman

:rockin:

I'm not nearly as confident about the FB not requiring a center support to keep it from collapsing. Using a pump, the total force pressing down on the FB could very easily reach hundreds of pounds in the event of a stuck mash.

Ta hell with that false bottom let's see that 40 ford in the back ground !

Pat

lehr said:

Ta hell with that false bottom let's see that 40 ford in the back ground !

Pat

Click to expand...

Here you go and as for the support on the false bottom I have had few stuck mash's over the years and never had a support on the false bottom. In fact the ones I have in my system now are a lot thinner than the present one's. No problem.

Dominus Vobiscum

Swagman

Nice woodie!! What, this is about false bottoms?? Did you see what Nick Alexander's woodie collection in LA fetched?

Now that just makes too much damn sense.

Beautiful old car, by the way. I know nothing about them, but that one is purdy...

NICE !!!! I'd love to have a forty coupe.

Pat

lehr said:

NICE !!!! I'd love to have a forty coupe.

Pat

Click to expand...

Lehr; I had a pack with a lifetime friend and his wife gave me his dad's clean original 40 coupe. The same with my 48 F-1 to him. He passed away 22 years ago, I got the car but sold it for top dollar and returned the money to his wife. She flipped out at how much money I got for it way beyond her dreams. It would of passed as a 3 year old coupe that clean. I wanted it but it was just not right in my heart as she had two kids plus I had my 48. All for the best as we are closer as family than I to my own sister.
Yes the woodie is great, needs surf boards and old California plates dude.

My friend purchased a solid FB screen, took it to my friends stainless shop and sheared it in half, Tig welded a 2" wide screen half lapped to the bottom of one half plus added added 3 legs tigged to both halves. No hinge a solid contact without any grain gaps or leaks.

Wow that is a great solution to the problem. Isn't great how the simpliest and best solutions can often be the hardest to think of. Nice job!

Scut_Monkey said:

Wow that is a great solution to the problem. Isn't great how the simpliest and best solutions can often be the hardest to think of. Nice job!

Click to expand...

Not unless your an "engineer" that must over complicate a simple problem.
Saw this for 29 years working with them as an industrial electrician.
They would see a new product in a electrical supply book and insist we install it even if it has never been used before. One time at the Livermore Rad Lab we did this and had to replace over 600' of electrical gutter. LMAO on that one as we told them it was crap, they did not listen. What the hell do we know we work with materials every day that work?
Remember the "KISS" system, plus this screen is easy to remove, clean and store.
To slot a keggle for the FB is not an option I would do to my keggles.

BrewBeemer said:

Not unless your an "engineer" that must over complicate a simple problem.
Saw this for 29 years working with them as an industrial electrician.
They would see a new product in a electrical supply book and insist we install it even if it has never been used before. One time at the Livermore Rad Lab we did this and had to replace over 600' of electrical gutter. LMAO on that one as we told them it was crap, they did not listen. What the hell do we know we work with materials every day that work?
Remember the "KISS" system, plus this screen is easy to remove, clean and store.
To slot a keggle for the FB is not an option I would do to my keggles.

Click to expand...

Wait, I'm confused.....do you like the OP's idea or not?

shortyjacobs said:

Wait, I'm confused.....do you like the OP's idea or not?

Click to expand...

Yeah very confused as well.

Swagman said:

Here you go and as for the support on the false bottom I have had few stuck mash's over the years and never had a support on the false bottom. In fact the ones I have in my system now are a lot thinner than the present one's. No problem.

Dominus Vobiscum

Swagman

Click to expand...

Wow... for the first time in my life, I am coveting another man's woodie...

shortyjacobs said:

Wait, I'm confused.....do you like the OP's idea or not?

Click to expand...

Sorry got off track in my reply, just wanted to mention how engineers make things on paper that do not work in the real world installed at times.

Back to the OP; No I do not like slitting a kegs rolled lip and top just for installing a FB.
I already mentioned a simple and clean FB that fits tight as a butted shear joint can get as well tight fitting to the inside of the keg. Takes time to fine tune the FB OD to the keg with some time with a marking pen and the vertical metal working belt sander on the industrial scale.

I like mine with a hinge I ordered mine over size and ground it to fit I made a leg for one end and the other sits on the fitting for my pick up tube.
Brewbeemer put me down for that pick up when you kick the bucket
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/2201/img1392vy.jpg

lehr said:

I like mine with a hinge I ordered mine over size and ground it to fit I made a leg for one end and the other sits on the fitting for my pick up tube.
Brewbeemer put me down for that pick up when you kick the bucket
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/2201/img1392vy.jpg

Click to expand...

+1 I like my hinged false bottom also. No farting around with it. I remove the dip tubes and pull from the center and it is out in seconds. No cutting keggles to worry about.

Fact a false bottom with 3/32 hole on a 5/32 stagger has an open area of only 33 percent. Myself I don't want to loose any of that area by installing hinges, handles or unnecessary supports. Another way is no rim keg.




Just another way of turning the tap.


Dominus Vobiscum

Swagman

Meh, I don't think the area I'm losing for my hinges and supports matters. I batch sparge anyway, so I REALLY don't think it matters in my case.

Lil' Sparky said:

Meh, I don't think the area I'm losing for my hinges and supports matters. I batch sparge anyway, so I REALLY don't think it matters in my case.

Click to expand...

Dumb question, but how do you remove the dip tube or FB? Seems like the FB would stop the dip tube from spinning so you could unscrew it, and you couldn't remove the FB until the dip tube was out? /

Not a dumb question. There's a compression fitting to attach the siphon tube to the coupling. The compression fitting nut spins while the siphon tube remains in the same place.

Lil' Sparky said:

Not a dumb question. There's a compression fitting to attach the siphon tube to the coupling. The compression fitting nut spins while the siphon tube remains in the same place.

Click to expand...

Oh! Guess I have to redesign my dip tube then! I just bent a piece of copper pipe, hooked it into a compression fitting, (but not a flared compression fitting like it looks like you are using), and screwed that onto the nipple. But I can't unscrew the nut on the fitting, I have to unscrew the whole fitting, (does this make sense?), thus spinning the pipe as well.

Maybe I should look into flaring the pipe....

Thanks!

My pipe isn't flared. It just has a ferrule that clamps down on the pipe. Maybe you could try using a wrench to hold the fitting still while you unscrew the compression nut. The dip tubes in my other kettles are like yours. Just a compression fitting screwed onto a through-wall nipple, not a coupler. They unscrew the same way.

shortyjacobs said:

Oh! Guess I have to redesign my dip tube then! I just bent a piece of copper pipe, hooked it into a compression fitting, (but not a flared compression fitting like it looks like you are using), and screwed that onto the nipple. But I can't unscrew the nut on the fitting, I have to unscrew the whole fitting, (does this make sense?), thus spinning the pipe as well.

Maybe I should look into flaring the pipe....

Thanks!

Click to expand...

I don't think you have a compression fitting but more just a sweated on male adapter (maybe not but a compression fitting doesn't require the tubing to spin).

Brewbeemer, where did you mention your method of getting a 15" full FB into a 12" hole? Even so, what exact problem do you see with slotting the rolled lip? It works. My mash tun holds grain and water just like everyone elses.

Bobby_M said:

I don't think you have a compression fitting but more just a sweated on male adapter (maybe not but a compression fitting doesn't require the tubing to spin).

Click to expand...

I do, I have one of these:


(well, it's a FPT, not MPT, but whatever)....I just unscrew the FPT connection from my bulkhead nipple, instead of unscrewing the compression nut from the ferrule....I didn't know the compression fittings could take repeated screwing/unscrewing....I'll have to give that a shot now.

Ohhh. I see what you're saying. Yes, the ferrule will be solidly crimped onto the tubing now so the nut just makes a pressure fit to seal just like a flare or union fitting does.

Bobby_M said:

I don't think you have a compression fitting but more just a sweated on male adapter (maybe not but a compression fitting doesn't require the tubing to spin).

Brewbeemer, where did you mention your method of getting a 15" full FB into a 12" hole? Even so, what exact problem do you see with slotting the rolled lip? It works. My mash tun holds grain and water just like everyone elses.

Click to expand...

Bobby; on a reply about the FB sheared in half with a 2" wide half lapped strip of FB material tack welded onto the bottom side on only one half, the other half of the FB rests on the 1" strip that extends from the first FB half. The holes line up on both halves so there's 100% filtration. Three support legs welded to each
FB half between the holes. The FB half with the lap strip is 1" wider than the other half almost 9" wide. My keg tops I cut at 10" diameter so no problem installing the FB. With the 10" top this allowed more area for the fittings to weld onto for the adjustable temp probe tube as well the sparge tube to the sparging ring.
I slotted the top and handles for a friends keg, when done I decided this was not what I would do to my kegs it's personal I want a clean looking keg plus seals 100% with a lid. The kegs are still plenty strong but just not my way of solving installing a FB. Call it a chebbie Ford thing had both only one manufacture of truck now, same truck for 40 years 922K miles vs the other brand that I broke many times.

Swagman said:

Fact a false bottom with 3/32 hole on a 5/32 stagger has an open area of only 33 percent. Myself I don't want to loose any of that area by installing hinges, handles or unnecessary supports. Another way is no rim keg.

Just another way of turning the tap.


Dominus Vobiscum

Swagman

Click to expand...

Interesting. My only concern would be a lid... you'd need a pretty mongo lid to fit that beast. I'm curious... What do you use?

jpc said:

Interesting. My only concern would be a lid... you'd need a pretty mongo lid to fit that beast. I'm curious... What do you use?

Click to expand...

Two way's either pizza pan's upside down and knob or cut a circle out of plywood and wrap in foil wrap, its the cheapest.

Dominus Vobiscum

Swagman