Stainless mesh basket for Bayou 1044 kettle?

[Jayjay1976]

I'm looking to skip the fabric bag stage and jump right in to BIAB with a stainless mesh basket filter. Does anyone sell a ready-made one to fit a bayou classics 1044 44qt kettle? Or if I go the custom route, can someone share the total cost from utah biodiesel or arborfab?

 

[griffi]

Subd. I like many have that kettle: cheap, quite adequate for 5.5 to 6 gal batches, and has the ridge for its steamer basket, so it would be great to have a mesh basket that fits right in there. But if the cost is twice that of the kettle it starts to seem like putting dubs on a civic...

 

[BeardedBrews]

Ballpark $200 from Arbor/Utah but I'd ask for a quote. I have yet to see a post where someone said "man I wish I hadn't bought that nice mesh basket"

In terms of why someone might spend 2x the cost of the kettle on a filter: Having rigid sides makes cleanup easier or at least less messy versus a bag, having integrated feet keeps everything off the element during the mash without leaving a false bottom behind during the boil, having rigid sides and bottoms maintains a circulation zone around the outside of the basket so you don't get a stuck mash-bag while you recirculate, having rigid sides and bottom also helps create a more meaningful grist filter so that you don't disturb quite as much grain dust/trub into your boil, and having the handle on top and often a second set of "hanging hooks" means you can get by brewing somewhere that doesn't have an overhead hoist.

I've seen posts where people use the stock Bayou basket to build their own, if you wanted a budget option you could go that way.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Ballpark $200 from Arbor/Utah but I'd ask for a quote. I have yet to see a post where someone said "man I wish I hadn't bought that nice mesh basket"

In terms of why someone might spend 2x the cost of the kettle on a filter: Having rigid sides makes cleanup easier or at least less messy versus a bag, having integrated feet keeps everything off the element during the mash without leaving a false bottom behind during the boil, having rigid sides and bottoms maintains a circulation zone around the outside of the basket so you don't get a stuck mash-bag while you recirculate, having rigid sides and bottom also helps create a more meaningful grist filter so that you don't disturb quite as much grain dust/trub into your boil, and having the handle on top and often a second set of "hanging hooks" means you can get by brewing somewhere that doesn't have an overhead hoist.

I've seen posts where people use the stock Bayou basket to build their own, if you wanted a budget option you could go that way.

Excellent points. I'd like to at least consider DIY before I pull the trigger on a $200 basket though. Do you have a link?

 

[mj1angier]

I wanted a 20 gallon EBIAB and got me a SS pot that I drilled and up fitted for it. I am using the basket from my 20 gal alum. Bayou pot and lining it with mesh. Yeah I still have to clean out the bag, but like being able hoist the basket no matter how much grain is in it

 

[BeardedBrews]

Excellent points. I'd like to at least consider DIY before I pull the trigger on a $200 basket though. Do you have a link?

I owe it to everyone out there to insert a pause into this conversation.

A bag works just fine, it's small, light, cheap, durable, and effective. Cleaning is not hard, just swish it in a bucket of water and hang to dry. The trub/dust is also not a problem, it's just a little more waste in the end.

Most importantly, recirculation during your mash is not required to make good beer. Grab a sleeping bag and wrap then thing up with the lid on. Presto, no recirculation needed.



I'd consider a basket for the following reasons:

1. You want it simply because you want it. Perfectly good reason, spend the $200 right now and get it done right. I 100% guarantee that you will spend more than that in the three DIY attempts you'll make.

2. You want to go electric. A basket is absolutely the right choice here. Bags work just fine, I still use one every batch because I'm cheap, but the basket is what you want to get the "everything is automatic" mode. All the commercial units use a basket because it simply works better. Again, probably better off spending the cash to have it done right.


Arbor made this guy made one by spot welding a basket onto his Bayou collar:
https://smallspacebrewer.wordpress.com/2016/09/05/the-new-kettle/


I can't find the picture, but I've also seen people simply knock a ton of extra holes into their basket and continue using a bag clipped into it. This has the limitations that SmallSpace explained in the post above.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=233289


Finally, you could buy sheets of mesh and just put them inside the Bayou basket. Might work, never tried.

 

[cyclonebeer]

I think another thing that you should consider is what are the long term goals for your system. Is this going to be your "forever" brew rig, or do you think you would like to upgrade at some point down the road? I'm on my 3rd brew rig now and use a 20 gallon kettle. If I moved from a 44 qt system with a basket to a 20 gallon rig, that basket would do me no good. Baskets are nice, but they're kind of an investment and not necessarily transferable to future equipment. Give that some good thought before you pull the trigger on a basket. BTW, Arbor Fab does outstanding work. Look no further.

 

[mj1angier]

I can't find the picture, but I've also seen people simply knock a ton of extra holes into their basket and continue using a bag clipped into it.

So I got my EBIAB second hand and ir was set up with a 10 gal pot with a solid wall basket. After a few batches, I find any thing over 10 lbs of grain to be a pain. It can not pull enough wort thru the grain field to keep up with pump unless pump is throttled down a lot!

I had thought about getting it mesh sides at a weld shop local to me, but maybe I just cut holes in sides and use my bag!

 

[Jayjay1976]

You want to go electric. A basket is absolutely the right choice here. Bags work just fine, I still use one every batch because I'm cheap, but the basket is what you want to get the "everything is automatic" mode. All the commercial units use a basket because it simply works better.

Yeah my system is all electric, automated step mashing and boiling. Just rather put the $35 for a cloth bag toward a stainless filter basket since I'll eventually want to upgrade anyway. I'm not planning to go any larger than 5g batches since I brew in a small condo kitchen. Also I'm bottling for now but buying keezer components one by one till I'm ready to pull the trigger on a chest freezer. My strategy is to get the right stuff, little by little, and skip the upgrading phase.

 

[jonestrada]

I'm thinking about cutting the bottom of a smaller Bayou Classic and legs like this guy did in the picture.

I could also grind down the handles and replace them with bolts to attach stainless cables to for raising it out.

A cheap and easy option would be to assemble a cooler mash tun, buy a grill grate and let gravity drain into the lower kettle via a whirlpool/return line.

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[Randy64]

I have a 16 gal bayou clasic kettle with a basket from utah bio diesel . With shipping I think it was around 230 bucks. If you buy the basket you wont regret it.