DIY SS False Bottom for round cooler MT

[chaserchap]

Seems to me this would be one of the simplest ways to make a ss fb for the round cooler MT's, maybe someone has already mentioned it, though I didn't find it whilst searching, either way, anyone see any problems with this?

Parts:
12" SS Round Cake Pan (12" can be hard to find, this was the only Amazon listing I found, you could also use a 9" conceivably)
SS Elbow fitting
SS Nipple
Nuts and washers as necessary.

Steps:
0. (Optional) If you need the cake pan to be shorter, cut the sides down to what you need using your favorite cutting tool. I would suggest lining the cut edge with leftover tubing or something to keep from gouging your cooler.
1. Drill 1/2" hole in middle of cake pan.
2. Drill 3/32" holes along top and sides of cake pan. (Around 5/32" centers, or in your favorite pattern)
3. Install elbow in 1/2" hole.
4. Install in MT.
5. Brew beer.

Anyone see any problems with this? I'll probably make one soon and will post pics if/when I do.

 

[IrregularPulse]

Have fun drilling all those holes

 

[chaserchap]

Have fun drilling all those holes

lol, if you can find the cake pans for cheap....it might be worth it.

 

[noodle23]

I don't see any thing wrong with it. Maybe weight from the all the grain and water on top it but it should be ok. Is just going to take a while to drill a bunch of holes.

 

[chaserchap]

Instead of drilling all the holes, you could just punch the holes with a nail and a hammer. You'd still have to drill the 1/2" of course.

 

[noodle23]

Instead of drilling all the holes, you could just punch the holes with a nail and a hammer. You'd still have to drill the 1/2" of course.

You could do that to. Either way i could see it working. I thought about doing something similar to this using a SS flour sifter but got worried that the mesh would be to thin and weak

 

[fright101]

Would it be easier to use a stainless steel collandar? I see amazon has several that may be a little closer to what you are looking for?

 

[chaserchap]

Yeah, I thought about a splatter shield, like used for bacon, but thought it would be too flimsy too.

I thought about a colander too, only probably being you could potentially lose a lot of grain space with a colander, depending on how domed they are, plus I have a feeling the holes would be too large.

 

[crypt0]

Out of curiosity, has anyone ever tried using a

Perforated Pizza Pan ?

 

[chaserchap]

I thought about that too, but again, you'd have to make sure your holes weren't too big.

 

[Biohazard]

What about that pizza pan, then run some SS mesh to fill in the holes? Just a thought.

 

[chaserchap]

You could do something like that, maybe a combined Pizza Pan, then splatter shield on top? Then you'd have to figure out how to keep it off the bottom of the MT (easily fixed with some bolts or something) and then you'd have to make sure there weren't huge gaps between the pan and the sidewalls (split some tubing and wrap it around the edge maybe?) I know Target had a 12.75" perforated pizza pan, and if you added tubing aroudn the edges it should fitly pretty snugly into the MT.

 

[fright101]

How about a springform cake pan to support that? I think they come in varying diameters and heights?

 

[chaserchap]

That would definitely work, though you'd probably want to put some holes in that too so you don't lose too much wort (that or allow some to seep underneath). You'd probably want to cut it down to about an 1" in height

 

[poislb]

Not to be negitive but you will still have to buy the fittings like ya mentioned, and now ya gotta get a dip dube, cheaper and less hassle just to spend the extra 10 bucks and get a 12" SS false bottom already made. And all this just to hope it works, seems like a lot of work for a what if...Just my 2 cents, good luck if ya wanna giver a shot...cheers!!

 

[chaserchap]

Oh, I dunno. There's really no reason I can see why this wouldn't work, and it's probably doable for 10 bucks less than a premade. Besides, I like homebrewing for the problem solving and DIY stuff so I don't mind it

 

[poislb]

Oh, I dunno. There's really no reason I can see why this wouldn't work, and it's probably doable for 10 bucks less than a premade. Besides, I like homebrewing for the problem solving and DIY stuff so I don't mind it

Would love to see the final product if ya give it a go...Im all about DYI to an extent, keep us posted..cheers!!