Morebeer false bottom/1/2" valve

Like most folks I started off my all grain brewing using this guide:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/cheap-easy-10-gallon-rubbermaid-mlt-conversion-23008/

However, instead of the braid I purchased a false bottom:

http://morebeer.com/view_product/15571//Stainless_Steel_False_Bottom_12"_Diameter

And it worked fantastic. I only batch sparged but it was working really well. No real stuck sparges to speak of.

I decided to build a two tier and leave the mash tun and boil kettle at the same height, which introduced an issue. For our pumps to work successfully, a 1/2" ID is recommended.

Changing out the valve was simple enough, but unfortunately the false bottom supplied has a 3/8 barb (Which if you look close enough, is actually about 1/4 ID) The part is located here:

http://morebeer.com/view_product/6043//Stainless_-_1_2"_mpt_X_3_8"_Barb_Elbow

For some reason, they don't commonly make a 1/2" to 1/2" variant of it, and i needed 1/2" threads to 5/8" barb to maintain a 1/2" so I went back to the drawing board.

I had ordered an extra compression fitting and 5/8" OD stainless dip tube from Bobby_M, but it didn't fit. I considered cutting it, but the angle it's bent at makes it perfect for a keggle, not so much for this particular project.

I also tried different variations of street elbows, regular elbows, but they all raised the elbow too high on the false bottom, leading to a kinked silicone hose, which sucked.

I gave up a bit, and bought a kettle screen. My issues with this thing was really my own fault mostly. I use a stainless steel clay mixer to mix my mash up really well, and ultimately I'd have a few and the mesh would get caught in the mixer and twist close. I don't know if any of you have had the pleasure of trying to dump out 20+ pounds of grain and mash water to fix this issue, but it's really not fun. Also, I did this about 3 times before it actually split at the seam. My other issue is that it left over 1/2 gallon of mash wort behind, and I'm trying to tighten up my brewhouse efficiencies.





So, I took a piece of 1/2 copper I had left laying around after building my recirculation for my BK, and noticed that it fit perfectly in Bobby_M's compression dip tube. A quick run to the hardware store, I bought an elbow, and done! Really took my too long to figure it out. Plus it's copper, which I'm not a fan of, so I may ask Bobby to custom make me a dip tube after my bank account recovers from my last purchase from him. (Your products rock dude!)

This leaves a small gap in the original hole in the middle of the false bottom, which I covered with a silicon washer. The suction of the mash will hold it down. I'm going to see if I can find a copper washer and sweat it on some how later, but for now, it works.



Hope this helps anyone stuck in my position!

I am curious what it is about using copper that you are not a fan.

You have definitely have been around the block with regards to brewing,so I'd value your input.

Marquez said:

I am curious what it is about using copper that you are not a fan.

You have definitely have been around the block with regards to brewing,so I'd value your input.

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There's nothing wrong with it. I'd just rather use stainless. I still have a copper chiller and a copper return for my whirlpool in the BK, but they eventually be replaces with stainless when I can get a deal on the parts.

I ran into the same issue. Are you still using the copper? When I was moving various parts around trying to find a solutions it seemed a street elbow would work. The silicone tube bent a little (but no kink) when I dry fit everything. I was missing parts and ended up getting a variable bulkhead (2nd pic) to replace the standard in the first picture. Still waiting for the nipple and type B cam to finish the connections.

The male cam fitting replaces the hose barb and the type B cam has female cam connection and the male thread on the other end will have silicone tube stretched over them. Fingers crossed that the false bottom will be removable without needing to break down more than the cam connection.

I just built a 15 gallon mash tun.

I want to say I experimented with something like that, and everything was too tight a fit to work, and it also made getting the false bottom out a pita. But honestly i dont remember. Good luck though.

I actually played around a little more with this today and am pretty happy with how things fit thus far. I still am missing a short nipple to thread the street elbow onto, through the false bottom hole and secured with a washer. In the pics bellow a short piece of silicone tube was used in place of the nipple.

That looks good. I tried with the old bulkhead which didn't work. The new one is much smaller. Interesting place to put a cam lock tho

Here are some more pics. Only a slight problem is the small difference in height from the cooler opening to the street elbow. This causes a little pulling on the back end of the false bottom. With slight pressure the silicone tube is plenty flexible to accommodate. With the weight of grain on top of this I don't think it will be an issue. To make it better I would have substituted Cam lock B for the Big C that Bobby_M is manufacturing. PITA to get the silicone over the threads and it shreds the silicone slightly. You can see bellow that the false bottom is very easy to remove once cams are unlocked. With the standard bulkhead/barb this was not possible without taking the entire valve off. Let me know what you think.

phoenixs4r said:

That looks good. I tried with the old bulkhead which didn't work. The new one is much smaller. Interesting place to put a cam lock tho

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Agree this wouldn't work with the old bulkhead. In a thread I can not locate any longer Bobby had suggested using cam locks as quick disconnects for this purpose. At the time I thought that was too much metal on the inside of the cooler but after removing the key rings and giving it a try, it doesn't seem that bulky anymore.

Bobby, if you see this consider selling as a kit on your site. With your ingenuity I bett you can improve on this design slightly and sell as a one-stop package. Still not sure if the nipple (1&1/8") will be the right size to thread the street elbow and have the right amount of length to act as a dip tube but not touch bottom either.

Megalomani,

I'm glad I came across this thread. I recently purchased 2 pumps and was about to pull the trigger on the more beer false bottom, not even considering the 3/8" barb. The false bottom will replace my SS mesh braid. I really really like this set-up and want to recreate it exactly, unless you have any thoughts on things you would do differently.
I already have an extra Camlock A and will order a Camlock Big C from bobby as you mention. My question is do I need to order a different locknut for the under the false bottom?

Correct me if i'm wrong here... you have a 1/2" nipple threaded through the false bottom and into the street elbow then a locknut threaded onto the other side of the nipple holding everything place.

So to reiterate, is the locknut that comes with the morebeer false bottom 1/2" or do I need to order a separate 1/2" SS locknut.

Thanks,

Corey

Hope I am not hijacking the thread phoenix, but it is topic related so.. (let me know and I will go elsewhere).

Corey, The nipple is 1/2" NPT but it is 1 & 1/8" in length. It hasn't arrived yet so I am not sure if this will be too long. The locknut that comes with the false bottom should be 1/2" NPT. So you shouldn't need another locknut unless one is needed on the other side too to keep the nipple from touching botton.

Does anyone know how to tighten a nipple to a fitting? I hand tightened but can't get any torque or grip to really get a tight threading. Same thing with the variable length bulkhead. Would an internal pipe wrench do this? Any recommendations?

Thanks for the reply.

If you don't mind could you keep me posted on that locknut size. Either let me know when that nipple comes in if it works, or if you get a chance to test it on another 1/2" threaded piece you may have lying around the brewery. I plan to place an order with Bobby on Wednesday and if I need to add a 1/2" locknut to the order its only another couple of bucks. From the pictures it looks like a 1/2" but its really hard to tell.

As for tightening a nipple I just use pliers. Insert one end into the pipe the other on the thread for grip and then screw tighten the other piece, whatever it may be.

megalomani said:

Hope I am not hijacking the thread phoenix, but it is topic related so.. (let me know and I will go elsewhere).

Corey, The nipple is 1/2" NPT but it is 1 & 1/8" in length. It hasn't arrived yet so I am not sure if this will be too long. The locknut that comes with the false bottom should be 1/2" NPT. So you shouldn't need another locknut unless one is needed on the other side too to keep the nipple from touching botton.

Does anyone know how to tighten a nipple to a fitting? I hand tightened but can't get any torque or grip to really get a tight threading. Same thing with the variable length bulkhead. Would an internal pipe wrench do this? Any recommendations?

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My FB came with two 1/2" nuts, not sure if they changed it in the last two years.

I never recommend torquing anything down unless its a fitment issue (like a street elbow pointing the wrong way) just wrap it in Teflon and tighten it by hand and check for leaks. Usually there isn't any.

phoenixs4r said:

My FB came with two 1/2" nuts, not sure if they changed it in the last two years.

I never recommend torquing anything down unless its a fitment issue (like a street elbow pointing the wrong way) just wrap it in Teflon and tighten it by hand and check for leaks. Usually there isn't any.

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Excellent, i'm sure they haven't changed the size of the lock nut since then. Thank you for the follow-up response. I'll save the 2 bucks for some other brewing project. :rockin:

I am thinking about reinforcing the short run silicone tube with left over stainless steel braid just to ensure I don't get a kinked hose. Your story sounds like a nightmare.

Thanks for the post.

Corey

Just wanted to update that the short nipple came last Friday and it worked fine. I put both locknuts on the same side of the nipple, first threading the first locknut grove side up as far as I could go, placed through the hole in the false bottom with the first locknut on the top of the falsebottom (with the grove still up, shorter part of the nipple down). Then thread on the second locknut and thread the street elbo onto the top of the nipple. Worked great. 20 gallons of beer this past weekend.

Thanks for the update. I ended up following through with this as well. I'm thinking about adding a 3/4" stainless braid to slip over and support the silicone tube to make sure that it won't compress with the weight of the grain. I'm loving the ease of the Camlock and think it will make cleanup really easy.
Thanks for the ideas.
Corey

Looks good! The braid is probably not necessary but it would look cool and may give you some peace of mind. The silicone I have is pretty thick and doesn't compress much in short segments. The braid may make removal a little harder if you loose flexibility there.

phoenixs4r said:

I just built a 15 gallon mash tun.

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Now I wish I had gone 15 gallon. My 1st 10 gallon batch and I had to split my mash between two coolers (still have an old 5 gallon cooler laying around). OG was 1.066 and had 28 pounds of grain. To maintain proper water:grist ratio had to split it up. I see an ice cube conversion project in my future.

megalomani said:

Now I wish I had gone 15 gallon. My 1st 10 gallon batch and I had to split my mash between two coolers (still have an old 5 gallon cooler laying around). OG was 1.066 and had 28 pounds of grain. To maintain proper water:grist ratio had to split it up. I see an ice cube conversion project in my future.

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Ya I did the cube cooler one. Only problem is it doesn't fit on my stand now, hahahaha.