False Bottom or Screen?

Will do! Thanks

501irishred said:

Nice! What fitting(s) did you use for the T?

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I just found a threaded 3/8 copper T into a coupler that connected to a 1/2 in valve. I want a copper cross fitting so I can take another braid down the middle.

I just hope it works and I don't get a stuck sparge.

histo320 said:

I just found a threaded 3/8 copper T into a coupler that connected to a 1/2 in valve. I want a copper cross fitting so I can take another braid down the middle.

I just hope it works and I don't get a stuck sparge.

Click to expand...

Nice work! You should be just fine with what you have, but the more the merrier if you can find the cross.

Here's my 5 gallon tun I just finished. Inaugural brew will be next week. Probably not the best design, especially for the dollar, but what the hell.

I wanted to go with the ring after reading Palmer's section in How to Brew about what types of manifold will work best with continuous sparging.

histo320 said:

I just found a threaded 3/8 copper T into a coupler that connected to a 1/2 in valve. I want a copper cross fitting so I can take another braid down the middle.

I just hope it works and I don't get a stuck sparge.

Click to expand...

Just my opinion, and you can design and build to your hearts content, but there will not be much difference b/w an elaborate configuration and a simple 6-8" straight length of braid...the wort wants to follow the easiest path out of the tun, therefore most of the wort enters the braid very close to the bulkhead irregardless of configuration IMHO and experience. cheers!

When people reference Palmer and covering the bottom of the MT, that is relative to manifolds, fly sparging and a slow draining of the tun to avoid channeling...for a braid and batch sparging, not so critical.

I have a braid around the outside of my cylindrical cooler (see earlier post). Would it hurt to take a grain bag/paint strainer bag, and wrap it around the braid? My thinking is that if I accidentely crush my grain too much it will inhibit getting a stuck sparge.

I am currently crushing with a Corona mill but I am planning on conditioning my grain.

It's likely to add to the potential IMO. As well, if you happened to get a stuck sparge it would be nearly impossible to free it.

I made my own mashtun from a 15.5 gal keg. I cut about a ten inch circle with a grinder and jigsaw. It was easy. The 10" diameter gave room for the tools to work inside the keg rim. When the cutout piece fell in, I noticed that it fit perfectly on the bottom of the keg and created a false bottom. Twenty minutes drilling small holes and a stainless steel scrubber to fill the tap hole and seal around the tube attached to the ball valve and I was in business. The dome shape creates a plenum and the scrubber is just the right size for a grain filter. It works great, the wort runs clear and the cost was about 75 cents for the scrubber. It works better than an $80 false bottom that I borrowed.

Got pictures? I'm trying to follow the SS scrubber you used....

I use a false bottom wrapped in a nylon grain bag. I was getting a lot of loose grains in my runnings and this helped tremendously.

Here are a couple of photos of the false bottom made from the cutout of the keg top. The copper tube is just bent into a J shape and curves down to about 1/2" from the keg bottom.

501irishred said:

Got pictures? I'm trying to follow the SS scrubber you used....

Click to expand...

Instead of a steel braid, is is possible to use a High Temp Reinforced braid? (See below) My thought is to just drill holes in the bottom then connect to valve. I have been reading and hearing some negatives about using hose clamps (contain led and rust) and steel braids (contain lead).

I know you can use Pyrex tubing and drills holes on the bottom but was thinking that tubing designed specifically for brewing would probably be best.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/3-8-reinforced-braided-silicone-silbrade-hose-per-foot.html

OK WHAT? Please post solid information on braids containing led or lead...yea some clamps rust up, as the bolts i believe are zinc coated rather than stainless, but lead? Got any facts? ...go ahead and try holes in tubing if you are so inclined, I think someone tried slots in vinyl tubing unsuccesfully FWIW!

Rather than reinvent the wheel, a stainless braid will work quite well IMHO!

I am currently using a Steel Braid for a faucet supply. To my knowledge it does not contain lead but the steel braids for Water Heaters (which I have heard of people using) say on the label it contains small levels of lead.

I am not overly worried just restating what I have found on other threads.

I know the slot method doesn't work but I have heard people having success with drilling small holes.

I just bought a stainless 3/4 inch water heater hose yesterday and it had a big label that said "lead free".

I think that refers to the hose itself, not the steel. Could be wrong though. I am curious as to how you expect that a vinyl braided hose will work in a mash tun? If you're worried about the hose clamps you can look into all-stainless clamps. I'm pretty sure I got mine from Home Depot, but there are numerous homebrew supply dealers that carry them in different sizes. No rust, no lead.