Drilling Bulkhead Fittings

[Spludge]

Due to my mash tun setup, I have a lot of deadspace and it drains fairly slow.

I was thinking of drilling a bunch of 1/16" holes in the bottom of the three SS fittings that connect the screens to the bulkhead. Is there any reason this would be a bad idea?

 

[poptarts]

yea, it will be a waste of drill bits and your time.

 

[SteelManCM]

Plus, you want it to drain slow. Best not to speed it up.

 

[jekeane]

The reason it wouldn't be worth it is because the fittings are open leading to the screens. As soon as the wort level hits those openings it will break suction and the holes on the bottom would do nothing. Now if you were tipping the whole thing then maybe youde see some use from bottom holes but even then I think it would be minimal because of the suction required to drain through the grain bed at that point. I think you would be looking at a trickle if it did work at all.

 

[poptarts]

On a side note, if you are getting stuck sparges or its draining slow, you can always get a bag and mash in it. I use one in my mash ton. Say goodbye to stuck sparges and cleanup is a cake walk.

 

[estricklin]

I think it would certainly help, but probably not a great deal, hey can't hurt to try right?

If you want a good false bottom system and don't want to spend a lot of cash, make one from an aluminum pizza pan or a stainless steel burner cover for an electric stove.

 

[Spludge]

Thanks for all the replies, appreciate the insight!