does false bottom size matter

[narl79]

I have an all grain setup and ive been using a bazzoka screen in my mash tun. When I got my set up from my lhbs the false bottom that came with it did not cover the whole bottom of my tun. They said it would be fine but I went with the tube instead. On reading palmers book a false bottom seems the best way to go for efficiency but im concerned about the grain getting under the f bottom. Do you guys think it will be ok to use or just keep screen.

 

[WaltG]

Go to Jaybird. I've personally been in the shop and his false bottoms are the best.

http://www.norcalbrewingsolutions.com/

 

[oskhelly]

This is my false bottom. It doesn't go to the edge of the keg and it works fine. Don't worry, the weight of the grains keep it from lifting off the bottom and letting grains under the edge.

 

[Brewsit]

I use one of those economy false bottoms, similar to the previous picture, but probably covers even less area. I consistently achieve 80%-85% efficiency. Just be careful not to whack it off the bottom of the tun when you stir up the grain, and make sure it's securely placed on the bottom when you mash in and you will do fine. That's the only time I ever had a problem, when I accidentally lifted it off the bottom with the mash paddle. They work great, might have a kernel or two sneak in every so often, but never get stuck really.

 

[Rivenin]

i would get the biggest you can... if you have something very gelatin like (wheat and rye, etc) you have less of a chance of a stuck sparge... with that being said, i have a 9" in my keggle and never had any issues (i have one in my BK as well for whole hops, only clogs with pellets)

 

[narl79]

good deal im going to go ahead and try it thanks guys

 

[Setesh]

To the OP, yes, the size does matter. If you are going to fly sparge you want a full coverage false bottom. The smaller your false bottom compared to the size of the vessel the more likely channeling is to occur. If you are going to batch sparge then the coverage will effect how fast you can sparge. Your goal should be to cover as much of the bottom as possible. Sometimes you have to balance cost against that goal though.

 

[narl79]

Well the one I have is about 1" away from being flush so its not a full cover but I figured it would be better than a screen tube. The pics here are pretty much what im dealing with I qas just worried about hrain getting underneath

 

[RonPopeil]

it's what i use. i think the false bottom can play a hand in your dead space but that's not really an issue. once you get used to your system and figuring out your water volumes it's better to have consistent numbers than efficient ones.