False Bottom/Shelf

[GABrewboy]

I am curious, has anyone that doesn't have a round cooler ever built their own false shelf or bottom? I have one of those cube coolers and I would like to build a false shelf so I can get a little better run off, but just not sure what materials I would need so that the cooler wouldn't leak once I drilled the holes through it to place some steel piping accross the middle and added some stainless sheeting with holes in it......

 

[parasonic]

It's unnecessary to call it a false shelf...it's just a shelf. Why don't you design one based on standoffs that just rests on the cooler's bottom? It would be simple to make and would probably be very removable and maintainable...

 

[GABrewboy]

Well I would love to design one, but I am at a lose on what material to use that would be suitable and would hold the weight of the water and grains.....have any ideas?

 

[GABrewboy]

Could really use some advice on how to build this false bottom.....I would like to build something before I brew this Saturday, but if no one has any ideas, like myself.....then I will just have to wait till the light bulb goes off again......and who knows when that will be.........

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Why not just use the well-proven and easy to build copper manifold?

 

[Walker]

if you want to totally DIY and had already planned to make a drilled SS sheet for the shelf, couldn't you just use 4 short lengths of PVC (one placed in each corner of the cooler) to support the shelf, like un-attached table legs?

Talking out of my arse here, but if the whole point is to have a raised platform in the bottom, there should be 100 ways to do this, right?


-walker

 

[GABrewboy]

Well, that's what I am trying to figure out.......what the best way is to do this without the grain going to the bottom......my problem is the odd shape of the cooler and having to figure out how to cut the shape into whatever I need for the shelf.....

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Just make a template out of cardboard and trace that onto your steel plate.

 

[Walker]

Yeah, I can see getting the shelf cut to the proper shape as being an issue. I think BeeGee might be right that making a manifold might be easier than trying to custom fit a false bottom.

If you're dead-set on using a false-bottom (note: I am not an AG brewer, I'm a half-assed-mini-masher, so I don't know the benefits of one one method over the other), but can you use the inside lip of the lid of the cooler as a stencil of sorts to trace out the shape of the chamber, and then cut your shelf a little bigger than this, then and grind down as necessary to get a good fit?

edit: or use the carboard like BeeGee said... that's even better.

-walker

 

[GABrewboy]

Wonder is their any other material I could use that would hold up besides steel? I am now thinking that with steel it will be hard to cut and it would have some serious sharp edges......wouldn't?

 

[Walker]

Wonder is their any other material I could use that would hold up besides steel?

food-grade plastic? I don't know if you can find it in sheets, but if you can....

-walker

 

[GABrewboy]

Well I currently have the SS braided hose on there. I think though, because of where the drain was originally placed, my hose doesn't catch all the goodies coming down because the piece of copper sticks up in the air a little instead of straight out.......what I am saying is there is maybe a half inch to inch of liquid that never get's drained out because of where the drain plug is......so I was thinking if I built a shelf, then I could figure out a way to set my drain plug in a little more square so the braided hose sits on the bottom and not sticking up in the air.......does this make any sense?

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

If you build a false bottom (well), you shouldn't need the braided hose. The false bottom will filter the wort. You will have to fashion a diptube that goes from your drain, through the false bottom, and down to the bottom of your cooler.

It would be trivial to build a copper manifold that rests on the bottom of your cooler with an elbow to take it up to the level of your drain which would drain 99% of your wort.

 

[GABrewboy]

Okay, now I am feeling like a total moron!! What the heck is a diptube?

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Okay, now I am feeling like a total moron!! What the heck is a diptube?

How will the wort get to your drainvalve? Usually the false bottom rests below the level of the drain valve so you need a diptube to drain the wort to the valve.

 

[GABrewboy]

Wow, am I really feeling stupid now......I thought the shelves you usually buy online and so forth went above the drain so the grains wouldn't get back into the wort as it flowed......am I missing something or just drunk still........

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Here is a picture of the false bottom I am familiar with...note the diptube:

I suppose you could have a false bottom above the drain, but you'd have a lot of deadspace. Also, look at that falsebottom. Are you really prepared to create a template, cut out a piece of sheet steel, drill 1000's of tiny holes in it, deburr the edges, fit a diptube, and rig a system for suspending it above the bottom of your cooler?

You're making this a lot more complicated than it really needs to be and I don't know why, but that's up to you and I salute your dedication!

 

[GABrewboy]

Yikes, maybe I will scratch that idea then!!! So then do you think it is a problem that my ss braided hose is not flat on the bottom of the cooler?

 

[parasonic]

Talking out of my arse here, but if the whole point is to have a raised platform in the bottom, there should be 100 ways to do this, right?

Yes. I'd do whatever's most convenient, safe, and durable. Personally, I'd build the shelf out of two parallel circular cuts of 304/316 SS perforated sheet and weld on some SS bars to make a table-looking thing, but there are an infinite number of ways to go at this. Copper might be the easiest way to go for those who can't weld SS...I don't know

 

[Spoonta]

persfex will do drill holes in that and fit