strainer with ss braid for mash tun

I am building a HERMs that will also allow direct firing of the mash tun. Because I am direct firing for step mashes, I want to keep the grain off of the bottom of the tun. I haven't found any off-the-shelf false bottoms that fit my 60 quart stock pot perfectly, so I was thinking of the following solution:

Use a stainless steel braid washer hose connected to finely screen the wort, and use one of these stainless still strainers Sam's Club - Stainless Steel Round Steamer Rack (which cost almost nothing) to keep the bulk of the wort off of the hose and away from the bottom of the pot. Some grain will obviously fall through the wide holes on this strainer, but I wouldn't think that it would be enough to create scorching problems.

Any thoughts on this?

I wonder about the strength of that rack. IMHO I would be more inclined to get a cheap pizza pan and use that instead.

Yeah, anything that can keep the grain off the bottom of the pot, but will not cause any flow problems. My only concern with the pizza pan is that I have heard that some people get stuck mashes with their homemade false bottoms. I don't want anything that is going to restrict the flow of wort at all, just something to keep the bulk of the grain off the bottom of the pot.

Another question: Since I am recirculating, do I even need to worry about raising the grain bed ? Could I just use the SS braided hose by itself, without having to worry about scorching?

I'm no expert (probably ask POL about this) but I would think you would increase the risk of the braid colapsing if you didn't keep the weight off of it. I don't have any experience with braids but I know that once you get the pump primed it can suck pretty well.

With the pizza pan, I use a similar setup and was concerned about the holes getting clogged so I wrapped it with some "wire form" contour aluminum. With mine, the aluminum mesh does the filtering and the false bottom holds up the grain bed. Works like a charm.

I Think you may run into problems using the SS braided hose while recirculating. IMO it will clog when you add the hops and maybe even before that point. You might check out some restaurant supply places for something that might work. I was in one a few days ago and they had some round mesh/screen things that I thought could be used in this way. I'm not sure what they were made out of, but probably aluminum. You'll want a relatively fast recirculation rate for stepping the steps. I would also recommend a ring type burner for the mash tun. These provide better heat distribution and also better flame control. Other than that, I think if it were me I would look into fabricating a full false bottom from a perforated SS sheet.

Ok, it sounds like I should just fabricate one then. The prices for 3/32" perforated 18 gauge stainless sheets are pretty high, so I am thinking of just buying a polarware false bottom that is larger than my pot circumference and cutting it to size. For stainless perforated sheet I am already paying $60 - $100 at the online suppliers for a sheet that would fit a 60 quart pot.

That should work and the Polarware FB's have substantial feet for support. It shouldn't be too difficult to cut it down to size and do it with reasonable precision. Wish I had a 60 qt MT. Where did you get yours?

Catt22 said:

That should work and the Polarware FB's have substantial feet for support. It shouldn't be too difficult to cut it down to size and do it with reasonable precision. Wish I had a 60 qt MT. Where did you get yours?

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I just bought two aluminum heavy duty 60 quart pots and one 80 quart pot from sam's club, following a link in a recent post on this forum (Sam's Club - Aluminum Stock Pot - Available in Various Sizes). The 60 quarts were only $45, and the 80 quart was only $65. Those are the best prices I have found anywhere

The best deal on a nice stainless steel 60 quart pot is at SuperSteel Stock Pot, 60 Quart, Loop Handles, Includes Cover: Kitchen Supply Direct, Inc.. This is a pot with a 5mm bottom and 1.2mm sides for $118.

Thanks Stout! I think I'll check them out.

Have you contacted Jaybird (hbt username)? He sold a bunch of custom false bottoms to a lot of people here.