keg as mash tun ?

Hey all,

Quick perhaps easy question here, but I just gotta know.

I have a 15.5 gal keg with top cut out that I would like to use to make the switch to all grain. Ball valve already tapped into the bottom, but even as low as it is, it is a couple inches above the bottom of the keg. If I used a stainless braid as a manifold to drain it, what do I do about the 1.5 gal or so at the bottom of the keg?

Will it siphon up and out the ball valve? Should I connect a piece of pipe and a 45 before I install the manifold? Other solutions that I haven't thought of?

Thanks for helping me along the path....

You can throw an elbow joint at the end of your tube, and create a dip tibe that reaches down to the bottom of the keg. Stainless steel braids work great, but IMHO getting a full false bottom will be your best option, as it will allow you to directly fire your mash tun with less risk of scorching.

I want to know where everyone gets these 15.5 gal kegs. I want some to build a brewery capable of 10 gal batches but I don't want to spend the hundreds on a pre-cut one from a shop.

As for your issue yeah false bottom sounds good that way you can have an elbow from your valve down to the bottom where you can siphon it all out. Or just plan ahead for the 1.5 gal deadspace.

Yeah if I were you I would do a false bottom...

GunnerMan said:

I want to know where everyone gets these 15.5 gal kegs. I want some to build a brewery capable of 10 gal batches but I don't want to spend the hundreds on a pre-cut one from a shop.

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Yeah i have been looking for them as well, CL is a good place to look. I tried scrap metal yards but they say they don't take them since people would try to scrap the kegs instead of taking them back.

Also I live in Burlington VT where magic hat is but they don't own their kegs. Micro star owns them and they sell them to some guy who then sells then for a couple hundred beans.

craigslist for kegs. gotta keep watch, but I often see them at around $25-$45. like 1 or 2 every other week. Easy enough to do the work yourself and you're in for less than $100.

Deathweed, could you elaborate please? Elbow on the valve end or the other end, and what do you mean by a dip tube?

Ok, so enlighten me, false bottom. Stainless or plastic disc with loads of holes drilled in it right? Elbow coming off the high point in the center goes to ball valve right? keeps the grains off the bottom.

Same problem, I've got 3-4 inches of liquid below the level of the valve. how do I move this out to brew pot?

New to the idea of manifolds, always thought false bottom was the only answer, but <$10 in parts is pretty attractive compared to $40 for a stainless false bottom.

Can mash by adding hot water to tun, not firing burner correct? Then just drain and sparge, either fly or batch.....

Sorry if im asking basic questions, trying to get my legs under me....

Thanks!

You can direct fire with a manifold, you just have to stir a lot during temperature step ups.

You can also build a false bottom from Alum door screen and some sort of SS frame or copper frame. You can bend some copper tubing into a 15" circle as a frame. Adding some cross pieces will help support the door screen. Alternately find a cheap SS bowl and using an angle grinder to cut out the edge for a frame.

SS false bottom is nice, but I'm having trouble finding perforated SS locally. Seems a couple of metal fabricators have gone out of business due to the economy.

I used a copper manifold for several years, and as long as you stir it a fair bit you should avoid scorching. When I added a pump to recirculate the mash I did not want to stir so I changed to a false bottom.


Diptube is the tube that picks up the liquid. Your tube should come from the inside wall of the keg and then bend down (elbow) to the bottom.

have you checked out How to Brew - By John Palmer - Brewing Your First All-Grain Beer

Here's the inside of my sanke MLT. My dip tube is a bent SS tube, but my BK and HLT have copper tubing w/ a 90 degree elbow instead. They go all the way to the bottom and only leave a few ounces of liquid behind.

I've got another buddy who's got a SS braid as a filter and it works great. He's got a T on the bottom of his dip tube with the braid in a ring on the bottom connecting to both sides of the T.

You can just tilt it when you only have that little bit underneath the spigot (which we measured to be about 2.3 gallons!). If you are using it as the mash tun it wont heat up enough to be hot so you can just tilt it when you are done. Of course you wont get all of it because the grains eat up a lot of the wort but just plan for a little more water in the beginning and tilting it will get you most of it.

Awesome guys! Thanks for the prolific and timely responses. Sparky, thanks for the photos, makes it all more clear! Time to get into the shop!

Hey Sparky, did you make your own false bottom or is that store bought? Wondering how much the metal to make that would cost.

I bought it from jaybird: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f16/stainless-false-bottoms-any-size-65065/

I think he's out at the moment, but you might want to send him a PM to get an idea on the cost. You can also buy a full FB from sabco. It'll run you $90, though!! http://www.brew-magic.com/ketl_acc_falsebtm.html

And for what it's worth, you can use a smaller FB in a sanke since it's concave on the bottom. There's several different commercial versions available - some are even domed. The trick is to make sure it stays firm against the bottom so no grain gets by. Here's a pic of my old FB. I used a hose clamp on the pickup tube to keep it pressed down.

His looks exactly like mine and I boutgh mine, and paid way too much for it.

I'd recommend stepping back for a second and just asking yourself if you really want a keg for a mashtun. There are a few pros but plenty of cons to doing so. Do you already have vessels for HLT and boil kettle? If not, use the keg there and use a cooler mash tun.

Keg MLT:
Pros:
No warping.
Inert metal, easy to clean.
Can direct fire (under careful procedure, usually recirculating from under a false bottom)

Cons:
Heavy, making it harder to clean.
Difficult to insulate as well as a cooler and still maintain list of pros above.
Usually requires occasional heat to maintain temps.

Only pro I can see using a Keg MLT ( I do not) is the ability to direct fire for stepping mash easier or correcting a missed mash temp.
My cooler shows no signs of warping and is easier to clean than getting down into a keg. Not to mention lifting a heavy keg filled with grain.

Bobby makes some good points. The biggest problem w/ the keg is that it's not insulated. Particularly if it's cold out, you'll lose some heat. 10 gal batches maintain their temps better than 5 gal batches because they have more thermal mass. If you can/want to direct-fire your MLT, it's the way to go, though.

IrregularPulse said:

Only pro I can see using a Keg MLT ( I do not) is the ability to direct fire for step mash easier.

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It's also nice to be able to set the MLT down, fill it to the proper level (w/ a sight glass), and heat your strike temp in place. You can also do this if you've got a HLT w/ a sight glass that you don't have to pick up and pour into your MLT. Not moving full/heavy vessels was a big goal w/ my brewery setup. A direct-fired MLT is one way to do that.

Oh, one other pro: they look compared to ghetto cooler setups. :rockin: No reason in building a dorky looking brewery.

I can have a few 14.5" hinged false bottoms in less than a week. ( I just need to get some hinge shipped to me) I just picked up a few extra pieces and I can have them cut up and shipped in a weeks time. I will also have 3 X 13" that I can cut down to your opening size or hinge for you as well.
PM me if you want one.... or 3 LOL
Cheers
JJ

Function over form Sparky.

IMHO, the ONLY reason one could really use to justify using a metal MLT is for direct fire capability. I'm really convinced that the utility of a fully insulated cooler is hard to beat otherwise.

You're not related to BierMuncher, are you?

IrregularPulse said:

...Not to mention lifting a heavy keg filled with grain.

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I've been shop vac'ing the grain out lately and it's awesome. I basically clean in place now without lifting the keg.

Lil' Sparky said:

You're not related to BierMuncher, are you?

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You know I appreciate bling man, seriously. I spent HOURS polishing my boil kettle. It's just that there are SOME things more important than making things look cool. Very few, but some.

Bobby_M said:

I've been shop vac'ing the grain out lately and it's awesome. I basically clean in place now without lifting the keg.

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Last time I used my shop vac was so suck up some dog vomit that I then put away in a rush and forgot about for several months. I like to avoid my shop vac at all costs now Too afraid to approach it to clean it.

I agree that a keg MLT looks a lot cooler than a...well...cooler. But I plan on making my HLT out of a 10G Round Orange Cooler so I'll just look ghetto. If it bothers you that much, you could buy some thin flashing and wrap it

IrregularPulse said:

I agree that a keg MLT looks a lot cooler than a...well...cooler. But I plan on making my HLT out of a 10G Round Orange Cooler so I'll just look ghetto. If it bothers you that much, you could buy some thin flashing and wrap it

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Give that cooler a "grill", baby!! Yeah!!!

I like the shop vac idea!

hahaha I hope I look that good when I'm 85! Wait no I don't

Bobby_M said:

I've been shop vac'ing the grain out lately and it's awesome. I basically clean in place now without lifting the keg.

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+1 to this. I have never gotten so much use out of my shop vac. Now a days I am even eyeballing a dedicated SV with the 2.5 Inch ID hose.
I even use it to pre-clean the kettle.

Do they make 10g bev coolers in silver/grey plastic? If not... krylon has that spray paint for plastic.

Is it shiny? Can you polish it?

Bobby_M said:

Do they make 10g bev coolers in silver/grey plastic? If not... krylon has that spray paint for plastic.

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There's an idea

Lil' Sparky said:

Is it shiny? Can you polish it?

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you could probably do a coat of that metallic stuff over the krylon.

Here's the next DIY project. "SS" Plastic Coolers.

I guess you could gold leaf that ***** too.

Well you could always SS diamond plate a cooler! I'm thinking fo gold plating me keggles. (well for the moment.. I am comeing off a birthday druk!)