Flat Bottom HLT; Is bottom drain worth it?

[RichBenn]

I have a 9 gallon HLT that stays in place on a wire shelf. Right now, the side drain will leave some water in the bottom, of course.

Has anyone put a bottom drain into a flat bottom pot? If so, how much water is left? Any regrets?

 

[wilserbrewer]

Water is cheap lol.

Can you just put a dip tube or elbow on the bulkhead to drain close to the bottom.

For an HLT, I doubt a bottom drain is worth the effort. It's only a 9 gallon pot, just tip it to get the last quart of you need it. Jmo

 

[sillbeer]

I use a 90 degree street elbow and it is literally about 1/16" of an inch off the bottom of my kettle. With the slight downward pitch of my garage floor I get almost all the water out of my kettle.

 

[RichBenn]

Water is cheap lol.

Can you just put a dip tube or elbow on the bulkhead to drain close to the bottom.

For an HLT, I doubt a bottom drain is worth the effort. It's only a 9 gallon pot, just tip it to get the last quart of you need it. Jmo

Already have a dip tube. I have to sponge it out now; my arrangement is not easy to tip enough to get the rest out. I don't like to leave it wet inside.", so, as I said, looking for someone who's bottom draining.

 

[RichBenn]

Water is cheap lol.

Can you just put a dip tube or elbow on the bulkhead to drain close to the bottom.

For an HLT, I doubt a bottom drain is worth the effort. It's only a 9 gallon pot, just tip it to get the last quart of you need it. Jmo

Edit -double post

 

[wilserbrewer]

Even though I haven't done it, I would think a bottom drain in a flat bottom pot would still have a fitting on the bottom of the pot leaving a fair bit of water, comparable to that of a dip tube.

Unless you were to solder in a flush bottom drain, I think you'll still be left with residual in the pot.

 

[Bobby_M]

If you did surface mount a fitting on the bottom edge and then angle the pot like 1 degree towards it, it would leave a drop or two at most.

 

[lschiavo]

I'm doing a bottom drain in a flat bottom kettle. I dimpled and soldered a fitting so I'm hoping it drains fully. Mine will stay in place on a shelf too.

 

[BrunDog]

I soldered 1/2" NPT couplings to the bottom of my cheapo bayou pots. I used couplings from McMaster which provide a pretty large surface area of solder. The pot bottoms are thin and sit on a neoprene pad for thermal insulation. So between those factors and the small amount of weight from the hardware underneath, there is some give which makes the bottoms slightly conical. Because of this and no protrusion up into the inside of the pots, then water drains almost all the way. I sometimes use a paper towel after cleaning to remove the final bit of water.

 

[RichBenn]

I'm doing a bottom drain in a flat bottom kettle. I dimpled and soldered a fitting so I'm hoping it drains fully. Mine will stay in place on a shelf too.

It's what I was thinking. I have one of Bobby's dimple tools, so was thinking of using that.

I soldered 1/2" NPT couplings to the bottom of my cheapo bayou pots. I used couplings from McMaster which provide a pretty large surface area of solder. The pot bottoms are thin and sit on a neoprene pad for thermal insulation. So between those factors and the small amount of weight from the hardware underneath, there is some give which makes the bottoms slightly conical. Because of this and no protrusion up into the inside of the pots, then water drains almost all the way. I sometimes use a paper towel after cleaning to remove the final bit of water.

I forgot about the bottom hardware - had been thinking just a valve, but I suppose it's not easy to get to without bringing to the front.

I have the cheap pots too. No reason to get the high end stuff when going electric.

Thanks, guys....

 

[BrunDog]

Here is the link to where I soldered on the coupling: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=7162685&postcount=17

Good point about the valve. Mine is automated so its not an issue for me, but you could add an extension and put the valve on that.