Sparge plate?

[erichsmith]

Been using a piece of aluminum foil with holes poked in it to sparge with. Today I ended up with a 13" square of 16ga perforated stainless steel sheet with 3/32 holes in it. Same as all the false bottoms everyone has. I cut a 12" dia circle out of it and I'm thinking of placing this over my grain to sparge with. Seems like it will work but figured I'd toss it out there for discussion.

 

[acidrain]

Fly sparge I assume?
I'm a batch sparger, so I may be off base here, but if you keep an inch or so of water over your grain bed, I don't see the need for a plate. Seams like kind of a waste to use a nice FB for that. What are you using for a drain filter now?
I could see using a spaarge arm though.

 

[johngaltsmotor]

It's similar to what I use. I got 2 pieces of stainless perf plate, turned one into my false bottom, the other to cover the top of the grain.
You'll still need to be careful how you pour in the vorlauf but it helps a lot. I've taken a quart yogurt container and put holes in the sides so that I pour into that to distribute outward and prevent disrupting the grain under the plate.

I took a piece of plastic tubing and slit it to wrap around the perimeter, otherwise the sharp edges will scratch your cooler and make it harder to clean and provide nooks for bacterial growth.

 

[erichsmith]

Fly sparge I assume?
I'm a batch sparger, so I may be off base here, but if you keep an inch or so of water over your grain bed, I don't see the need for a plate. Seams like kind of a waste to use a nice FB for that. What are you using for a drain filter now?
I could see using a spaarge arm though.

I still worry about disturbing the grain. I own a metal fabrication shop and this was drop off a job so I have nothing in it. I use a stainless supply line for a drain filter. Ive thought about making a sparge arm but I'm too tight to buy the parts and haven't had a job come in with enough drop to make one yet. Ive got less than $100 in my system.

 

[zachattack]

Fly sparge I assume?
I'm a batch sparger, so I may be off base here, but if you keep an inch or so of water over your grain bed, I don't see the need for a plate. Seams like kind of a waste to use a nice FB for that. What are you using for a drain filter now?
I could see using a spaarge arm though.

I fly sparge and just use the silicone tube from my HLT. No sparge arm, no plate, nothing like that. I just sparge slowly, and the grain bed does not get disturbed. Last weekend I brewed a stout, and the 1-2" of water above the grain bed stayed very clear. I get around 80% efficiency for most grain bills but it does drop a good bit for hi grav beers.

The plate looks cool, especially since you got it for free. But IMO the plate or a sparge arm is certainly not necessary at the homebrew scale. But neither is half the crap we do

 

[erichsmith]

Used the plate on 2 batches today. Worked perfect & got 80% efficiency on both batches.

 

[tele_powder]

I use the plastic lid from an old fermenting bucket with a bunch of holes drilled in it. Works great. If you spare slow enough there is no need but every now and again my pump valve gets away from me...

 

[erichsmith]

I've used it 5 times now and hit 80% BHE on all 5 batches. I'm loving this thing.

 

[Denny]

I've used it 5 times now and hit 80% BHE on all 5 batches. I'm loving this thing.

I didn't see the answer to this earlier...are you fly sparging?

 

[erichsmith]

I use the fly sparge. I've never done the batch method. For years I've used aluminum foil with holes poked in it and never obtained more than 70-75% I was able to make this for free. After calling my supplier I can make them for right at $20 including labor and materials.

 

[Denny]

I use the fly sparge. I've never done the batch method. For years I've used aluminum foil with holes poked in it and never obtained more than 70-75% I was able to make this for free. After calling my supplier I can make them for right at $20 including labor and materials.

Thanks. Since in batch sparging you WANT to disturb the grain bed, I just wanted to be sure I was understanding correctly.

 

[lhommedieu]

I agree that if you fly sparge slowly and maintain a consistent level of water above the grain bed, you may not need to use a plate or arm: the mass of two inches or so of water above the grain bed creates a fairly uniform pressure bed above the grain.

However, part of the joy of brewing for me is that not all of the decisions that I make may seem rational to other people. I think that rationality is often overrated. You fall in love with the process that works for you and you brew the way that you love because you enjoy it.