Bottom draining mash tun question

Has anyone tried to flip a sanke keg upside down and use the original keg opening as a center drain in a mash tun? I think its a 2" tri-clover connection.

I know that this isn't the exact answer you are looking for, but I drilled and welded a 1/2" coupler on the bottom of my sanke mash tun and it works great!!! I couldn't be happier and it works great with my HERMS and has no dead space.

As long as you can figure a way to hold your false bottom in, it's a great idea. Oh, and you probably don't want to direct fire it either.

Here is the false bottom I used and works great. A little spendy though?

http://morebeer.com/view_product/17242//Hinged_False_Bottom_For_Keg

Yeah, you definitely don't want to direct fire it.

Why don't you take the spear out, cut it off, and put it back on? Then you wouldn't have to bother with the tri-clover. Just tap it with a (possibly modified) sanke coupler to drain.

Unless I'm missing something though, you would still have to cut a hole in the top (bottom) of it anyway.

I'm working on a RIMS so it won't be direct fired. I've always let the wait of the grain hold my false bottom in place, so I don't think thats an issue. I need to find a 2" tri-clover reducer. I really want to implement a tippy dump and think the tri-clover will make it easy to disassemble to tip it. Hmmm, but I wonder if it'll be messy when I undo the 2" tr-clover with spent grain in the tun.

ajwillys said:

Yeah, you definitely don't want to direct fire it.

Why don't you take the spear out, cut it off, and put it back on? Then you wouldn't have to bother with the tri-clover. Just tap it with a (possibly modified) sanke coupler to drain.

Unless I'm missing something though, you would still have to cut a hole in the top (bottom) of it anyway.

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Yeah, it would be like an other keggle with the exception of it being flipped upside down. I didn't even think about tapping it! That just might work.

pickles said:

Hmmm, but I wonder if it'll be messy when I undo the 2" tr-clover with spent grain in the tun.

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Maybe you could use a ball valve?

i made a little doodad for not an MLT but a fermentr.

I took out the spear, cut it off so it was 2-3" long (a little snorkel to leave junk on the bottom).
i plumbed some ss parts (w/ two 90deg. fittings to extend out past the edge of the keg, I have a ball valve screwed in , pointing at the floor. (I had to use a couple huge washers to seal the spearhead.)

do you HAVE to make the attachment straight?

arturo7 said:

Maybe you could use a ball valve?

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yeah that would probably work but negates the ease of having the tri-clover to disconnect it from the plumbing.

brewmonk said:

do you HAVE to make the attachment straight?

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It eventually has to turn to feed the BK. My rig is loosely based on the Sabco Brew-Magic.

I just looked at keg and am thinking maybe I should just weld a fitting in the bottom like others have done.

TRy this site out that is what he has done on his rig www.halfluck.com.au