Apulver
Member
Hello All
So I'm finally moving to full 6 gallon boils (extract only for now). I have had a plan on how to set up my boil kettle based upon gifts I got from Christmas, but I'm having some serious second-thoughts.
Here's what I've got:
(1) 10 Gallon SS Boil Kettle (15 inches diameter x 12 inches high)
(2) False bottom that sits 2.5 inches from bottom of kettle
(3) I'm planning on installing a thermometer and ball valve. The ball valve will be entirely underneath the false bottom, as there is no hole for a dip tube and the FB is 2.5 inches above the bottom of the pot.
(4) For chilling the wort, I will be using an immersion chiller (either 3/8 inch x 50 feet or 1/2 inch by 50 feet)
Initially my theory was that the false bottom would be easy way to filter out whole-leaf hops (I never use pellets) and the hot/cold break without worrying about clogs. I could just tip the kettle to get the remaining liquid when I drained to the fermenter.
Here's my dilemma: when I fill the kettle to 6 gallons (the goal wort volume after boil) there is only 4.5 inches of liquid. Now, never having done a full boil before, this seems to be problematic for a few reasons:
(1) This leaves very little room for hops to move, meaning there might be a serious hit to hop utilization
(2) I have only 4.5 inches of height to use my IC with (because that is the only room upwards from the false bottom), meaning things will be REALLY tight, even if 3/8 diameter copper tubing is used... and I'd much prefer the 1/2 inch diameter.
(3) With there being so much room above the false bottom, there might be a concern of cold-break below the false bottom (???)... I really have no idea about this one, but thought I'd throw it out there.
Am I overreacting here? Is the false bottom killing me here because of it's height? Should I ditch the false bottom and get a hop stopper / hop taco?
Money is tight, and I want to make sure I get this one right...
You guys have any thoughts?
So I'm finally moving to full 6 gallon boils (extract only for now). I have had a plan on how to set up my boil kettle based upon gifts I got from Christmas, but I'm having some serious second-thoughts.
Here's what I've got:
(1) 10 Gallon SS Boil Kettle (15 inches diameter x 12 inches high)
(2) False bottom that sits 2.5 inches from bottom of kettle
(3) I'm planning on installing a thermometer and ball valve. The ball valve will be entirely underneath the false bottom, as there is no hole for a dip tube and the FB is 2.5 inches above the bottom of the pot.
(4) For chilling the wort, I will be using an immersion chiller (either 3/8 inch x 50 feet or 1/2 inch by 50 feet)
Initially my theory was that the false bottom would be easy way to filter out whole-leaf hops (I never use pellets) and the hot/cold break without worrying about clogs. I could just tip the kettle to get the remaining liquid when I drained to the fermenter.
Here's my dilemma: when I fill the kettle to 6 gallons (the goal wort volume after boil) there is only 4.5 inches of liquid. Now, never having done a full boil before, this seems to be problematic for a few reasons:
(1) This leaves very little room for hops to move, meaning there might be a serious hit to hop utilization
(2) I have only 4.5 inches of height to use my IC with (because that is the only room upwards from the false bottom), meaning things will be REALLY tight, even if 3/8 diameter copper tubing is used... and I'd much prefer the 1/2 inch diameter.
(3) With there being so much room above the false bottom, there might be a concern of cold-break below the false bottom (???)... I really have no idea about this one, but thought I'd throw it out there.
Am I overreacting here? Is the false bottom killing me here because of it's height? Should I ditch the false bottom and get a hop stopper / hop taco?
Money is tight, and I want to make sure I get this one right...
You guys have any thoughts?