I have the 10 gallon Polarware kettle and false bottom. It was one of my first major purchases and I have no regrets. Polarware equipment is well built and rock solid. With reasonable care it should last a lifetime. The false bottom sits about an inch and a half above the bottom of the kettle and there's about one gallon of dead space below it. When I first started brewing I used this kettle as both a mash tun and a boil kettle. Now it is primarily used as a direct fired mash tun. Works very well for me and worth the cost.