15 Gallon, False Bottom - Do I really need one for Extract?

[lorne17]

Hey all,

I just upgraded my brew kettle to a 15 gallon Aluminum pot from Amazon. The thing is a tank. I'm pumped to be able to brew without boil overs or even double to a 10 gallon batch.

I am also going to tap in a spigot and using an iGrill mini thermometer. Which will be great cuz I have a waterproof temperature probe that I can set in the kettle and my phone will tell me when it's time to steep Check it out here; http://idevicesinc.com/igrill/igrillmini/

Anyways, my question is this: do I need a false bottom if I'm not Mash tuning anything? Will it help as sort of a "pre-filter" of all the crap from the boil? If so, I was thinking I just was gonna get a 17" Aluminum perforated pizza disc (like this: http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com...rce=googleps&gclid=COOKqIyk3cICFYKPMgodSH8ALA) Then add some bolts to it to elevated it.

Thoughts? Is this needed, or a good idea? The disc is ~$15 after shipping and add a couple bucks for legs and a handle.

That would put a 15 gallon pot with spigot (from Bargainfittings), lid, and false bottom at around $120.

Thanks! Oh and Merry Christmas!
Lorne

 

[Helloworld]

No, unless you are using whole cone hops without a hop bag or spider.

In case you didn't know, you need to boil water in an aluminum kettle before you brew with it to build up an oxidation layer, and don't ever sanitize it with bleach.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/faq-aluminum-pots-boil-kettles-49449/

 

[Brettomomyces]

I like having a false bottom in my boil kettle a lot, I can just throw pellet hops in there free ballin', but I use a plate chiller and need the extra filtering. It will catch some of the break material though, and you'll get less stuff into your fermenters. Absolutely necessary? Nope

 

[Bobby_M]

You find that a false bottom catches pellet hops? How does that work when the holes are 100 times larger than the hop particulates?

 

[lorne17]

Thanks for the replies all. I guess a false bottom is not needed!

As for carrying for aluminum, no ox-clean. Got it! My last one I used oxygen clean and couldn't figure out why it kept reacting. How embarrassing!

Not with my new one though!

 

[Brettomomyces]

You find that a false bottom catches pellet hops? How does that work when the holes are 100 times larger than the hop particulates?

See for yourself

They're Jaybird false bottoms, I think the only thing I didn't end up getting from you a few months back. I forget how many oz in there, but I believe it's over 10.

 

[IslandLizard]

See for yourself

They're Jaybird false bottoms, I think the only thing I didn't end up getting from you a few months back. I forget how many oz in there, but I believe it's over 10.

I'm flabbergasted how much it held back, but quite a bit must have gone through before the carpet settled. How much trub ended up in your chiller and fermentor?

 

[Brettomomyces]

I recirculated that batch for I think an hour doing a hop stand at 170F. It doesn't usually compact as much as those pictures show when I don't do an extended recirculation. It was a ***** to clean though, haha.

I recirc through the kettle itself for a fews mins to setup the false bottom right at flameout, then hook up the plate chiller inline and recirculate with the plate chiller running until the temp coming out is desired pitch temp. With my ground water as it is, this has been about 5 minutes. Then move the out hose from the plate chiller directly into my fermenter instead of back into the BK.

I can see hop and trub coming through the lines when I first open the valve, but once I start recircing it cuts out quickly and clean wort is all that comes out. I back flush afterwards and some gunk is left behind, but not a lot.

To finally answer your question though...I feel like it blocks maybe 30-50% of the trub. I ferment in Sankes mostly, but I just did a batch in carboys and that number feels close. I haven't really measured it yet, but I do still have a carboy in primary I could look at later.

 

[Jaybird]

See for yourself

They're Jaybird false bottoms, I think the only thing I didn't end up getting from you a few months back. I forget how many oz in there, but I believe it's over 10.

Yep that design ROCKS! Thanks for posting up the picts!

Cheers
Jay

 

[lorne17]

Ok to follow-up, should I get a bazooka screen for my kettle? Typically when I pour my wort into the funnel to the carboy, it gets clogged cuz there's so much hops. That's what I'm trying to avoid.

Thoughts: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ISY2DC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Is it even worth it for extract brewing?

Thanks,
Lorne