I am looking for comments or concerns.
I just rebuilt my mash-tun with an all SS false bottom from BMW. Awesome, high-quality little piece of equipment. I had been using a "braided manifold" with about a 90% success rate for the past 2 years, but the other 10% of the time made for a very difficult brewday. If I wasn't extremely careful while stirring the mash, the braids would crimp, twist, crush, pull closed, etc. I hated when a mechanical failure made brewday stressful.
So I really liked the concept of using the heavy stainless false bottom for fly sparging, because it eliminates the possibility of a braid failing. But the reviews are mixed; and I do not know why. So I had some thoughts and would appreciate some input.
Why do people report stuck sparges so often with the false bottom? I believe it is a combination of too fine a crush, and too much pressure on the mash by a too-far-open ball valve. Hopefully, my experience with the braided manifold is enough to eliminate those two concerns.
Honestly, I do not understand how the false bottom can be more prone to a stuck mash than a braid. Be it a F.B. or a braid, isn't it really just being used to create a means for the wort to seperate/strain from the mash as it is being rinsed? In other words, it is not really filtering, it is seperating. The filtering is done by the grain bed, not the mechanism you use to seperate the liquid from the solids. This is why I really don't understand people saying that they can't get the wort clear since switching to a false bottom. I mean, these devices seperate, they don't filter. Right?
I may feel differently when I use it next weekend, but in the meantime, I would like to hear about some experiences.
Thanks,
Joe
I just rebuilt my mash-tun with an all SS false bottom from BMW. Awesome, high-quality little piece of equipment. I had been using a "braided manifold" with about a 90% success rate for the past 2 years, but the other 10% of the time made for a very difficult brewday. If I wasn't extremely careful while stirring the mash, the braids would crimp, twist, crush, pull closed, etc. I hated when a mechanical failure made brewday stressful.
So I really liked the concept of using the heavy stainless false bottom for fly sparging, because it eliminates the possibility of a braid failing. But the reviews are mixed; and I do not know why. So I had some thoughts and would appreciate some input.
Why do people report stuck sparges so often with the false bottom? I believe it is a combination of too fine a crush, and too much pressure on the mash by a too-far-open ball valve. Hopefully, my experience with the braided manifold is enough to eliminate those two concerns.
Honestly, I do not understand how the false bottom can be more prone to a stuck mash than a braid. Be it a F.B. or a braid, isn't it really just being used to create a means for the wort to seperate/strain from the mash as it is being rinsed? In other words, it is not really filtering, it is seperating. The filtering is done by the grain bed, not the mechanism you use to seperate the liquid from the solids. This is why I really don't understand people saying that they can't get the wort clear since switching to a false bottom. I mean, these devices seperate, they don't filter. Right?
I may feel differently when I use it next weekend, but in the meantime, I would like to hear about some experiences.
Thanks,
Joe
