Sparging with a false bottom and sillicone tubing to siphon?

[Dutch_Brewer]

If I use a false bottom in my kettle such as this

And run the wort through sillicone tubing out of the kettle (containing the mash) and siphon it into another kettle, is this good practise?

 

[myndflyte]

So if I understand correctly, your mash tun has a outlet that you are hooking silicone tubing up to and running it to another kettle? Or are you actually siphoning it, in the actual definition, where you are moving a liquid out the top of the mash tun to a kettle? If it is the former, then yeah, that's totally fine. You're probably making more cleanup work than is needed because you could just put the kettle underneath the mash tun and just drain it to the kettle without the tubing.

 

[Dutch_Brewer]

I mean actually siphoning it over the top to siphon it into the kettle. Would that be Oké to do with a silicone tube?

 

[myndflyte]

I mean actually siphoning it over the top to siphon it into the kettle. Would that be Oké to do with a silicone tube?

That defeats the whole purpose of a false bottom. The water is meant to flow through the grain bed.

 

[kh54s10]

Do you have a valve that the false bottom is connected to? If so it would be far easier to just open that valve and drain the tun that way.

If you don't have a valve I would install one to simplify the process greatly.

But, siphoning should not be a problem.

 

[kh54s10]

That defeats the whole purpose of a false bottom. The water is meant to flow through the grain bed.

I would imagine that the OP is siphoning from below the false bottom somehow.

I can't visualize how though. This is the first time I have ever heard of anyone siphoning out of a mash tun.

 

[N3Bruce]

You will get more wort out of your mash tun with that false bottom if you use a piece of tubing to set up a siphon, since the inlet for the false bottom is lower than the drain valve typically found on the Rubbermaid type round coolers. Silicone works well, since it doesn't soften too much from hot liquids. Cleanup isn't a big deal, just flush the tubing and soak in Star-San before putting it away. If you don't have a drain valve on you mash tun it could work, but you will need to make sure the tubing is secure on the barb and is long enough to set up a siphon.

The only reason I can see using it with the brew kettle would be as a strainer to keep trub and sediment out of the wort. I use a copper dip tube on my drain valve to get to the wort below the level of the drain valve. For a gas fired rig, it might be a good way to strain out loose leaf hops or other large debris. Thought about trying it with electric, but it's just easier to use a hand strainer.

 

[Dutch_Brewer]

I'm indeed planning on siphoning from the outlet of the false bottom (so from below the false bottom) over the top of the pan through silicone tubing. But maybe I'm. Better of drilling a whole in the pot with a valve and hook that up to the outlet of the false bottom.

 

[thekraken]

Sounds like you're just trying to avoid adding a spigot to the mash tun? It's a sound idea and should work, try it out and see.

The issue is getting the siphon started since the tube will be above the top of the liquid level. Should be easy enough with a strong pair of lungs, just be careful you don't burn your self. I think I've seen a SS autosiphon in the past, maybe you could use one of those some how.

 

[Dutch_Brewer]

Sounds like you're just trying to avoid adding a spigot to the mash tun? It's a sound idea and should work, try it out and see.

The issue is getting the siphon started since the tube will be above the top of the liquid level. Should be easy enough with a strong pair of lungs, just be careful you don't burn your self. I think I've seen a SS autosiphon in the past, maybe you could use one of those some how.

I'm indeed trying to avoid drilling in my pot. Thank's I will just try it out!

 

[Brewtallica]

Why don't you buy a BIAB mesh bag then lift the grain out of the wort?

 

[Bobby_M]

It will work but you will want to regulate the flow by putting a pinch valve on the drain tube as far below the pot as you can so you can maintain a solid column of water in that tube. I'm assuming you're going to fly sparge. I wouldn't want to have to restart that siphon in a batch sparge situation.

 

[killian]

Save your self the headache and drill the hole

 

[Dutch_Brewer]

Why don't you buy a BIAB mesh bag then lift the grain out of the wort?

Thank's I've been reading into BIAB and purchased a bag this seems like the way to go!