Hello,
Yes, I am pursuing LODO brewing with the Foundry. I like it so far. I found a mash cap set on amazon which happens to work perfectly with the mash basket and also for the boil.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QFQFT3B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I drilled holes and added hose barbs and they are working well. I use the recirc kit but just leave out the screen and run the work through my mash cap with a piece of SS tubing Bobby M bent up for me. I plan on making a video of my setup and process once I get it a little more refined. Only two brews so far.
I used a bag for the first brews but for the next one I am going to mash only using the basket and use the bag as a filter when I run the wort from the mash over to the holding pot. The bag worked fine but for my uses, I do not think I need it inside the mash, just at the end to keep larger particle out.
The gap between the mash basket and the boil kettle is around an inch, maybe a little bit more. It is a bit of exposed area but your balls might take care of that. I might look into those down the road.
I have been brewing for 16 years and have had a lot of systems. This thing is pretty cool and is very straight forward. I have modified its role in my setup as I have an HLT for boiling water and the 2nd pot to drain the mash into. So it is not a true stand alone for me, but it can be for sure. I know I am making the brewing process more complicated than the foundry needs to be but I wanted to give LODO a true shot and my previous setup just had too many hurdles. Once I get it all down I am going to try non-LODO for a real comparison. If it is not worth the effort I will go back to easy street.
My next beer will be a hefe with a dough in at 111F. I am interested in how the unit acts in terms of any wort scorching in the ramp from 111f to 145F. In the past with a BIAB setup this would scorch the wort but that was with an exposed heating element. BTW, I am using rice hulls for every brew just to make sure of the flow through the mash.
Regards.