Am I expecting too much from a braid?

[z987k]

No - I'm not saying "damaged", I'm saying "crushed" or "flattened" to the point that it will not provide a channel for clear wort.

If you pinch it flat with your fingers, does it spring back to round? In my mental experiment, the weight of the compacting grain bed flattens it out. When there is water in the mash (like during the protein rest noted above) there's no weight on the braid and it can naturally spring open.

Although for many stainless steel braids - like the one I originally used - flat is its natural state:

But like I said, I'm not claiming to be correct, this is just what I believe. The proof in the pudding is in the eating, as they say, so if it works for you, enjoy.

-Joe

I'd be willing to bet that SS braid of your is not SS. It looks a lot like the SS lookalike fiber braids that they put on hoses. The ends of your braid really give it away, it looks frayed. SS does not do that. SS also does not collapse under no weight.
I bought a hose like that once by mistake and it filtered like **** because the grainbed crushed it. I would bet a spring inside would help a lot.
However a real SS braid does not crush under the weight on the grains as if it did, it would stay somewhat deformed, just like if you bend a pipe, it does not spring back.

 

[Coastarine]

I'd be willing to bet that SS braid of your is not SS. It looks a lot like the SS lookalike fiber braids that they put on hoses. The ends of your braid really give it away, it looks frayed. SS does not do that. SS also does not collapse under no weight.
I bought a hose like that once by mistake and it filtered like **** because the grainbed crushed it. I would bet a spring inside would help a lot.
However a real SS braid does not crush under the weight on the grains as if it did, it would stay somewhat deformed, just like if you bend a pipe, it does not spring back.

You think mcmaster carr is lying about product 1478T3?

The wall thickness is only 0.010". It is made of very fine wires, but that doesn't mean that it isn't SS.

 

[nostalgia]

The ends of your braid really give it away, it looks frayed. SS does not do that. SS also does not collapse under no weight.

SS braid does do that. SS also can collapse under no weight, depending on the weave. The weave I originally used (in the photos) was made of a much finer stainless wire than the ones that usually sheathe plumbing hoses.

The heavy water heater hose sheath that I switched to later is made of a much heavier gauge wire in a looser weave. The ends still frayed in the same manner (and I had the puncture wounds to prove it) but it did keep its shape a lot better.

I still don't trust it under the weight of the compacted mash. And as I've said several times, that's just my opinion. The spring does more than just keep it from getting squished and it makes me happy. So it was worth the $4 for me.

-Joe