Johnnycakes Brewing DIY Projects

[lapoltba]

Yeah, I was thinking that the mesh you used seemed small. I was thinking of using the standard 3/32" or 1/4" perforated stainless that is typically used for false bottoms.

No idea if this harebrained scheme would work. I may have to be the guinea pig. I'm going to have more volume than you outside the mash which should help the pumping situation, but may make mashing difficult. I'm not sure.

I would love to be able to do a 1/2bbl keggle + 1/4 BBL HLT system. It would be so compact and simple.

 

[jleiii]

Yeah, I was thinking that the mesh you used seemed small. I was thinking of using the standard 3/32" or 1/4" perforated stainless that is typically used for false bottoms.

No idea if this harebrained scheme would work. I may have to be the guinea pig. I'm going to have more volume than you outside the mash which should help the pumping situation, but may make mashing difficult. I'm not sure.

I would love to be able to do a 1/2bbl keggle + 1/4 BBL HLT system. It would be so compact and simple.

The mesh I started with was for a Hop screen basket, so I wanted a fine mesh. Then I made the mash basket, and tried this same mesh, since I had plenty. As I noted at some point in the past a slightly coarser mesh would have been better, but it worked once I uderstood the nuances of it.

Having a greater gap around the basket won't help. It's all about how well the liquid can exit the mesh as compared to the pump flow. With the basket you depend on gravity to keep the level high enough to prevent air being sucked in. In a closed system, a mash cooler with false bottom for example, you can create a negative pressure and suck the liquid through without risk of air getting sucked in.

If you can seal, or nearly seal the bottom of the basket over the outlet, then you might have much less concern for sucking out the liquid from the gap around.