Morebeer's new bottom drain brew kettles

[Bobby_M]

It would run clear until you got close to the end then the bits would perk up due to the slope. The little insert pipe would keep the sediment from moving and your could run full bore without disturbing anything. The pipe is low cost and simple in my view.

I have a rotating arm in my current boil kettle and it works well but I am still looking at ways to improve the end of the drain to get more clean wort out. I know, it is a sickness...

Not to mention I think 100% clean wort into the fermenter is potentially detrimental to fermentation and final beer clarity.

 

[Bassman2003]

I don't think we as homebrewers get 100% of anything. "Clear" wort just from settling still has quite a bit of stuff in it. I don't think having some trub is a tragedy but I have had great experiences since moving to low oxygen practices which includes clear wort into the fermenter. The beer has great clarity and any yeast used after is pure. Trub in the fermenter is more about convenience which I totally get. Brewing is a hobby for all of us.

 

[Deadalus]

I use keggles for both my MT and BK and now have them outfitted with bottom drains (direct in the center). As expected I have no problems with pump priming. I use false bottoms in both obtained from NorCal. For the BK I also use NorCal's Level 3 filter under the false bottom. As I'm bringing the wort up to boil I recirculate through a whirlpool port I put in the side about 1/4 of the way up. Once I start to boil I turn this off since my pump cavitates. There is only 1 gal of deadspace below the false bottom and I don't seem to have much of a problem with heat stratification. With big hop loads, the filter and false bottom can prevent me from getting the last 3/4 of a gal or so into my fermenter but I just plan for that. I manually remove the spent hops and trub from the BK before I clean so that I don't push all that gunk through my pump.

I have a wye fitting on a water line that feeds my RO system. I can use the other side to either chill or clean. If I had a bottom drain on my keggle, I could blast leftover gunk out prior to CIP. Not as effective with the pickup tube, takes extra water to sort of dilute the mess. The drainage can go through a pump but also gravity will drain through the pickup if the level is high enough. A bottom drain would be better.

Are the holes smaller diameter in the level 3 filter vs the false bottom in the BK? It looks like with the FB and filter, there are 3 pieces. How far do the hops get and which part seems to be the stopper for high hop loads? Considering other hop filtration methods should my Hopstopper ever quit.