Finished my rectangular cooler False Bottom

[Toecutter]

So i have been wanting to do this for some time. Build a custom False Bottom for my rectangular cooler. I had contemplated having Jaybird fabricate one, but because of some slight warpage to the cooler, it really required some custom,cut and fit.

My current set up uses a 52 quart cooler, which is just about perfect for my 10 gallon batches. I use a copper manifold to pick up the wort

The objective was to limit the channeling effect, and increase efficiency.

So after a lot of searching, I found a piece of 30" x 40" 304 stainless perf on Amazon for a reasonable price.

Below are the results. I used an angle grinder, with a lot of trimming to get it to fit snug, but not too tight. the next step is to find a stainless steel handle to for ease of removal

 

[ibbones]

That's a neat idea. Looks good.

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

How much was the SS mesh piece on amazon. A jump to all grain is in the works and the idea of a false bottom to do fly sparging is a bit more appealing that just a manifold or SS braided line.

 

[dutchoven]

That looks great! Custom cutting is the way to go. How do you have it supported off the bottom?

 

[poislb]

That looks great! Custom cutting is the way to go. How do you have it supported off the bottom?

Looks like the manifold..great idea

 

[Toecutter]

That looks great! Custom cutting is the way to go. How do you have it supported off the bottom?

Actually , just finished it up yesterday. I used 10-2 1/2 inch stainless steel screws to act as legs, so it sits slightly above the top of the back side of the spigot. Underneath the false bottom is the original copper manifold.

 

[Ramitt]

Cool, I had wondered about doing something similar for the mlt I am building. Let us know how well it works.

 

[FSR402]

how about some info in the stainless sheet?

 

[steve25]

how well does your thermowell work? were did you buy it and how much? want too install one in mine. false bottom looks great

 

[a10forwar]

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_n...6414221&ie=UTF8&qid=1328477311&rnid=725808011

I found this looking around!

 

[justin221]

I am really thinking about doing this, but I was wondering if you could follow up/elaborate a little more on it's efficiency.