AHS false bottom = too small (solved)

I just got this thing from AHS and guess what? The diameter is a good .75 inches too small to fit in my standard rubbermaid 10 gallon cooler. I ordered the 12 inch. I'm more than a bit annoyed now. What am I supposed to do with this thing?

I didn't get mine from AHS but it looks the same, and it's not too small, it isn't the full diameter of the cooler but it just sits on the bottom... you're not trying to use it upside down are you? Dome side goes up.

i have the same one and i actually enjoy the size of it. I have a bulkhead sticking out inside the cooler and with the size of the false bottom i can just angle it around it every brew day to clean it and such. But back to your point, i wouldn't be worried about the size, it should do its job none the less.

I have their 12" domed false bottom in my 10 gallon Gatorade (like yours) and its perfect. Not sure what might be wrong

I think I figured out what I was doing wrong. I thought it was supposed to be a flat screen elevated a few inches above the cooler bottom under which you could have a normal SS braid. No, the gizmo on the top is supposed to run into the ball valve, as the whole thing sits on the bottom of the cooler. Huh. Not as cool as I was hoping it was. I guess it'll still keep my from mashing the crap out of my SS braid as I plan to use copper, so i guess it's okay.

I use high temp thermoplastic tubing for the connection. It's flexible, so I can just pull the false bottom out easily after mashing for cleaning it and the cooler.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/3-8-id-thermoplastic-tubing.html

I think it's a 3/8" ID connection on the false bottom I have, and my ball valve is 3/8".

Frodo, great area your living at, Nevada city a must mototcycle stop visiting dads friend and family going back 1946 SoCal Muroc Dry lake speed runs.

Definitely a nice area. Expensive though, but where in California isn't?

badmajon said:

I just got this thing from AHS and guess what? The diameter is a good .75 inches too small to fit in my standard rubbermaid 10 gallon cooler. I ordered the 12 inch. I'm more than a bit annoyed now. What am I supposed to do with this thing?

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Dude...whhaaa???? Are you buying things without knowing what they are? I have this exact bottom from AHS and it is fantastic. I hit 80-85% efficency everytime. It rocks. It fits just perfect. Add a line to your ball valve, done, and you are a hero.

Frodo said:

Definitely a nice area. Expensive though, but where in California isn't?

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Rather sad I remember the late 60's thru 70's a quiet riding area up your way then up to Quincy before city people spread out into your area.
Called progress, no just too many people escaping the rat races.

trent said:

Dude...whhaaa???? Are you buying things without knowing what they are? I have this exact bottom from AHS and it is fantastic. I hit 80-85% efficency everytime. It rocks. It fits just perfect. Add a line to your ball valve, done, and you are a hero.

Click to expand...

Yeah I didn't know what it was. But I understand now. I'll be using it tomorrow for the first time.

However, I'm still kinda lost as to what kind of tubing to use to make that connection. Anyone know if lowes has something that will work? The problem is most of that stuff is not high temp rated and who knows what would happen to it after being submerged in 152 degree grist for an hour.

I was thinking about just using the steel braid, by compressing it (the opposite of stretching it out), trimming it a bit then clamping each end where it needs to go. Would there be any issues with that?

If you go with the SS braid you won't be able to get a siphon, so you will only be able to drain your MT to the level of the valve. You can get silicon tube at your LHBS most likely and some nipples, or maybe CPVC or PEX. Either way, you want a solid tube in order to minimize dead space.

Lowes/Home Depot have high temp tubing, but I don't know if it's food grade. That's why I got the Thermoplastic stuff from Northern Brewer. In regards to the high temp stuff from HD, I've seen the type I'm thinking about from Home Depot in photos of other peoples brew rigs. It has a "checkered" look with gray and white IIRC, not a single color.

badmajon said:

I was thinking about just using the steel braid, by compressing it (the opposite of stretching it out), trimming it a bit then clamping each end where it needs to go. Would there be any issues with that?

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It might negate the effect of the false bottom in collecting wort from the entire bottom of the MLT. Wort will want to take the path of least resistance. I imagine the path of least resistance if you used a braid, regardless of tightness, might be through the braid. If that's the case then you might as well have a single false braid instead of the false bottom. So expect channeling when lautering.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm not an engineer but I suspected some kind of least resistance issue might take place. I'm going to go to lowes and try to get some of the high temp stuff that was mentioned for this brew, and then buy some of the food grade stuff from northern brewer with my next grain bill.

I use a 24X14X12 coleman style cooler for my MT and have a CPVC manifold. I do not use a false bottom, but wonder if one is needed. I get decent efficiency, especially now that I crush my own grains.

So my dilemna is; do I need a false bottom? I read this thread and without any pictures, wonder what they would look like in my MT.

Can you fellow brewhead's post some pictures and provide some sage advice as to the necessity of using a false bottom with my set-up.

Gracias,

Sheldon

PS: Getting ready to brew a Pliny clone.

Sheldon,
It's kind of an either/or situation.

You won't need a false bottom with a manifold.

Same way I don't need a manifold or a false bottom while using a SS Braid.

So many ways to do the same thing in brewing.

sheeldon said:

I use a 24X14X12 coleman style cooler for my MT and have a CPVC manifold. I do not use a false bottom, but wonder if one is needed. I get decent efficiency, especially now that I crush my own grains.

So my dilemna is; do I need a false bottom? I read this thread and without any pictures, wonder what they would look like in my MT.

Click to expand...

I haven't seen any false bottoms made for rectangular/squarish coolers; that doesn't mean they don't exist though, and of course I'm sure someone could make one with some ingenuity. If you already have a manifold and get decent efficiency with it then you wouldn't need one though, right?

Thanks for the response, I feel relieved

I just wanted everyone on here to know the truth= the false bottom ROCKS. Really, I love it. No more messed up braid worries. Most importantly, the wort just POURS out really fast- then when its done, it just stops!

Oh, and I got an increase in 6.5% efficiency.