Braided mash manifold versus a false bottom

I just wanted to hear people's thoughts regarding whether to use a braided mash manifold or false bottom to extract the wort from your laudering? I can see benefits to both, but would love to hear people's actual experiencing using both to determine which one I should buy now that I am considering geting into all-grain brewing.

My Lauter Tun is a ten gallon Rubbermaid cooler. I first set it up with a 12 inch domed false bottom. I used it a few times, but was not please with the fact that eventually I got grain into my boil kettle through the false bottom. I thought that some of this was due to my false bottom not sitting tightly against the cooler floor, allowing grain to pass between the cooler floor and the false bottom.

So, I purchased a hot water supply line from HD, and salvaged the stainless sheath from that. I fashioned a loop out of this using a 5/8 brass fitting with compression fittings. This allows the braid to loop around, and allows for it to fasten into my bulkhead fitting. (I used John Palmer's book for exact details). I loved how this was working for me. No more grain in my boil kettle.

Then about a year ago, I refashioned my MLT to accept a Bayou Classic 11 gallon pot that I fit inside my Rubbermaid cooler (ala Ben's Build for New Mash Tun here). I decided to give the false bottom a try again with the new mash tun (I figured that the plastic warped causing the gap, and the stainless steel would provide a better fit). I used the false bottom for a couple of batches, and did not like the way it worked. I soon went back to my stainless braid.

I know some people have great success with the false bottom, but my experience is that the braid works much better. Also, I have done nothing but batch sparge, if this makes a difference.)

I hope that this helps.

Mark

I have both a converted cooler with a SS braid taken from a hot water supply line and a 10 gallon Boilermaker with a false bottom. I've never had problems with either. However, although I've never measured it precisely, the false bottom has less dead space than my manifold. I batch sparge for what it's worth.

I have a converted cooler with a slotted copper pipe manifold, and it works great. I also have a 20 gallon Boilermaker with a false bottom for larger batches and it works great as well. If you're going to exclusively batch sparge I say go with the SS braid. If you're going to fly sparge, go with either the slotted pipe or false bottom. These are better for fly sparging because they setup better to avoid channeling during your sparge. For the price you can't beat a SS braid. The only drawback is that it can get smashed and bent, such that the mesh holes let more grain in or don't work as well as a new braid. Then again, it's cheap and easy to just replace the SS braid. I would have went with a SS braid for my cooler, but I already had all the copper pipe and tools to make the copper manifold. Look at denny conn's setup for batch sparging(can't remember the website). You'll see that he uses a SS braid in his cooler.

I use the SS braided hose and I have not had any problems with it. Although after a while of use (20 batches) the hose starts to deform and crush in on its self. It still works fine but you just have to be careful not to damage it too bad.. That's about it.

Would there be any benefit to use a SS braided hose underneath the false bottom in order to get better extraction? Or is that just a waste of money. The reason I ask is that I am looking to get a 10 gallon round insulated cooler, but the one with the best deal has a false bottom.

You didn't mention manifolds but for mashing in a cooler I prefer a copper manifold over a braid or false bottom. It's much more durable than the braid, it doesn't rise up or get beaten by the mash paddle, and it will likely last forever. Plus, in my experience it filters better than my SS pot with a false bottom. Honestly, I like the manifold better than the false bottom on almost all occasions except when I brew wheat beers without rice hulls or big beers that need more capacity than the ten gallon cooler provides...

The manifolds are pretty easy to make if you have a dremel to cut the slits and a torch to solder the fittings. Plus, it's cheaper than a false bottom.

Would you say that it is better to just use a straight SS braided hose or build a manifold to curve it around the outside of the cooler?

galacticbrewing12 said:

Would you say that it is better to just use a straight SS braided hose or build a manifold to curve it around the outside of the cooler?

Click to expand...

It doesn't matter. If you're not using a false bottom, I assume you'd be batch sparging. Since batch sparging doesn't rely on diffusion, it doesn't matter if it's a braid or a manifold. You just need a way to separate the wort and grain without leaving much behind in the MLT.

I have been using a false bottom in a round cooler for about 6 years, and I like it but I wouldn't have any qualms about using a braid either if I was batch sparging.