# Perforated Stainless Steel Sheeting, False Bottoms



## BrissyBrew (4/5/05)

I am lookng for a source of perforated stainless steel sheeting, I know in the US that the likes of SABCO etc make perforated stainless steel false bottoms, but I was thinking that one should be able to locate a local supplier of perforated stainless steel sheeting and cut it to size, and hinge the material if necessary.

Anybody who has made there own? or can suggest a good source ?
If it has to be purchased in bulk maybe a few people pool together.


----------



## jgriffin (4/5/05)

Considered termimesh?


----------



## Ross (4/5/05)

Security screen manufacturers have either S/S woven or perferated sheets. Solomons of Capalaba have the sheet & more than happy to sell it to you....


----------



## BrissyBrew (4/5/05)

I guess stainless steel mesh woven mesh would be okay if I made a frame to support it, they also sell performated SS sheeting, what is it like % open any experiance in using it, pictures.


----------



## Pumpy (4/5/05)

Dont worry about the SS bottom this is the answer SS Braid 

Trust me Pumpy


----------



## Vlad the Pale Aler (4/5/05)

Pumpy I thought gravel was the answer


----------



## Pumpy (4/5/05)

Vlad ,

The gravel Buster bitter was the clearest beer I havve ever made infact it was the best beer I have ever made with exception of my Vienna lager and perhaps the odd brown ale .

I only just tasted it the other weekend and have been exploring other methods of manifolds .

But I may use the gravel not so much as a an alternative for a manifold but as a filter for the wort .

Pumpy


----------



## sosman (4/5/05)

Pumpy said:


> The gravel Buster bitter was the clearest beer I havve ever made infact it was the best beer I have ever made with exception of my Vienna lager and perhaps the odd brown ale .
> [post="57514"][/post]​


Was that straight or on the rocks?


----------



## Pumpy (4/5/05)

Sos you have come back to haunt me on my revolutionary new idea which a number of well known brewers on this site have emauiled me for more information.

Keeping up with the technology 

Gravel inc.

Pumpy


----------



## Linz (4/5/05)

Was that "E-mailed" or "E-mauled"?



Just taking the opportunity of the mis-spelt ;-P


----------



## kungy (4/5/05)

BrissyBrew said:


> I am lookng for a source of perforated stainless steel sheeting, I know in the US that the likes of SABCO etc make perforated stainless steel false bottoms, but I was thinking that one should be able to locate a local supplier of perforated stainless steel sheeting and cut it to size, and hinge the material if necessary.
> 
> Anybody who has made there own? or can suggest a good source ?
> If it has to be purchased in bulk maybe a few people pool together.
> [post="57467"][/post]​



I know this does not help you, but out of interest do you go under the name of "downunderbrewer" on the northern brewer forum.

Will


----------



## Ross (4/5/05)

BrissyBrew said:


> I guess stainless steel mesh woven mesh would be okay if I made a frame to support it, they also sell performated SS sheeting, what is it like % open any experiance in using it, pictures.
> [post="57495"][/post]​



I had a mate of mine make one for me using the sheet from Solomons, but then ended up buying a complete 2nd hand AG system before I ever used it. Though according to the guy I gave it to, it works great. No pics sorry, but it's designed to appear vitually invisible on your windows, so the hole ratio is very high...

just goggled a link http://www.solomonssecurityandblinds.com.a...clearshield.htm


----------



## Borret (5/5/05)

Pumpy,

How about stainless ballbearings/shot instead of gravel. Now that would look nice. 

Borret


----------



## BrissyBrew (5/5/05)

Hi there Will yep I do go by the name downunderbrewer on northernbrewer website, I only just discovered aussiehomebrewer in the last week or so.

I have thought about the SS braid, still worried about manfold design in that instance due to an inproportionate flow rate near the outlet. As far as SS braid goes, I have thought about star shaped ones, wheel and spoked like a bicycle wheel that kind of thing. I have eve thought about one continuous spiral, remembering the engery effciency of the spiral.


----------



## Borret (5/5/05)

Actually pumpy, you missed a golden opportunity. You should have kept the swarf off your stainless mill rollers and chucked that in the bottom of your tun. 

Borret


----------



## warrenlw63 (5/5/05)

Brissybrew;

These any good?

http://www.grainandgrape.com.au/brewingsystems_info.htm

If you have to put one in the bottom of a keg. They could probably be cut and hinged. They go up to 30cm diameter.

Warren -


----------



## scott70 (5/5/05)

metal mesh in sydney make perforated sheets
http://www.metalmesh.com.au/
I emailed them for a quote for 40cm diameter disc with 2mm holes and they told me $350 delivered and be more than happy to plasma cut it. I didn't take up the offer.
"more beer" in the states will custom make you one, up to 20 inches for about $70 USD.
I ended up getting a $14 dollar 40cm stainless steel serving tray( 2mm thick) from a catering supplier which fits perfeclty in the bottom of my mash tun. I then got a metal punch and drill and put heaps of 2mm holes in it and 4 stainless steel bolts for support legs. I would have used a braid set up but the mash tun has a heating element in the bottom ( old boiler). I just heat up the water in the mash tun and then add the grains.


----------



## Borret (5/5/05)

Brizzy brew.

I'm with you on the spoked wheel idea. Have already welded up the stainless t pieces to do it for my system as I plan to have a 'wheel' of braid around the ouside set in from the edge of the tun.. Have a nice piece of hexagonal stainless bar to use for the hub too. Was going to put a vertical riser and elbow false bottom style so it can sit easy in the conical bottom of a keg.. The only killer is going to be the number of ss hose clamps that are involved. They end up pricey.

Borret


----------



## Stagger (5/5/05)

Try your local sheet metal manufacturer some times they will have off cuts.

Stagger


----------



## Pumpy (5/5/05)

Borret ,

The stainless ball bearings is actually a very good idea ,I am not joking I think that would do the trick, (where can I get some) and the swarf from cutting my grain mill rollers is another excellent method for filtering the wort,you can actually buy something similar , have you ever seen those SS pot scrubbers in Woolworths 

I reckon 20 of them in the bottom of the Tun would filter without a false bottom . cheap too !!!

Borret now you are thinking outside the square these are the simple ideas that could revolutionise home brewing and bring within the technology of the common folk ( Not that I am saying Ross is common ).

Pumpy


----------



## BrissyBrew (6/5/05)

borrot, the wheel, I want to see some pics, by your description it is exactly the idea I have in my head (but probably mark 2). (I wanna see some pics)

The only other thing I was contemplating was to make a coil that covered the entire base of the MT and the drain in the centre. I would think that if you left no gaps it would in effect form a false bottom however due to the ridges actually give you a greater surface area...


----------



## Borret (6/5/05)

BB,
I might do some sketched of my manifold ideas over the weekend if I get a chance.

I'm not a fan of the coil. You are still relying on the outer runningds getting the whole way round that spiral. It's gott show more prefernce to the middle as far a flow.. Spokes arange in the same manner may be a better option. Even the 2 or 3 loop method does not make sense to me. Yeah its got better surface area but the distance to the outlet is going to mean better flow on the part of the loops connected closer to the t piece and hence flow with show prefernece to them anyway. Hence the spoked wheel tries to eleviate the prefernetial flow by placing everything more equally from the pickup in the centre.
Someone feel free to burn me down on that but that how I see it working.

Borret


----------



## Borret (7/5/05)

Hey Pumpy,Here's your stainless balls
stainless balls

Cheers 

Borret


----------



## Wortgames (7/5/05)

warrenlw63 said:


> Brissybrew;
> 
> These any good?
> 
> ...



Warren - I've seen these in the flesh and they are quite sturdy. The beauty of a beer keg is that the bottom is tapered - so forget hingeing it, just get one that is smaller than your cutout. This would be the best and cheapest way to convert a keg IMO.


----------



## Darren (7/5/05)

Borret said:


> Hey Pumpy,Here's your stainless balls
> stainless balls
> 
> Cheers
> ...




Pumpy, Borret,
Marbles would be cheaper and lighter.
How would you empty your mash tun though? Imagine having to clean 200 or so marbles at the end of each brewday.
cheers
Darren


----------



## Borret (7/5/05)

I'm not saying I would do it, I'm just humouring pumpy.

Borret


----------



## Borret (11/5/05)

> BB,
> I might do some sketched of my manifold ideas over the weekend if I get a chance.



I did a sketch of what my manifold is going to look like (cause Brissy Brew asked and just to get feedback) So here it is. How do you reckon it will go? I have the centre piece half finished but still need to buy some more braid. I figure this arrangement shoulf give me some nice consistant flow and also be easy to remove from the drain riser to clean. Only draw back is the number of ss hoseclamps I need . I might experiment with something else for them.

Cheers Borret :blink:


----------



## Wortgames (11/5/05)

It looks beautiful Borret (love the artwork too BTW) but I'm going to be negative here and say that it looks a lot more expensive, and no more effective, than the perforated stainless discs sold by G&G - and they will be easier to clean and less prone to a deep-stir disaster.

If you can get all the parts for nicks then go for it, but I reckon if I was faced with both options at the same price, I'd go with the perf disc.


----------



## Borret (11/5/05)

Wort Games

I had taken into account the deep stir and hence the drain pipe is grub screwed in and it literally holds the hub to the base (ie you will have to spring it up to get the manifold out). 
The only disadvantage I was trying to overcome on a false bottom was the dead space you have in the conical base of a keg. Becasue this all drains down to the centre and siphons out from the lowest point then you have pretty much no dead space below the drain.
But that's just in theory at this stage.

Borret


----------



## Steve Lacey (11/5/05)

Borret said:


> Hence the spoked wheel tries to eleviate the prefernetial flow by placing everything more equally from the pickup in the centre.
> Someone feel free to burn me down on that but that how I see it working.
> 
> Borret
> [post="57737"][/post]​



I agree 100%. I had a manifold before I left Australia that was similar to your sketch, Borret. Only differences were i) It was made of drilled copper tube, not braid. ii) It only had two cross arms iii) The central vertical riser went all the way up and out of the top because I never got around to putting a bulkhead on my keg. So it was basically just cobbled together pieces of drilled copper tube and joiners. I never even soldered it, just fit them together with friction, which was _usually_ adequate. It worked well and made a great steering wheel for driving my pretend car around the back yard :super:

Here in Japan I have another jerry-rigged manifold. It is a length of stainless steel tube (again all the way up and out the top) with a 90 degree bend and short section at the mash end. To that I have attached a stainless steel scrubby pulled out into a sausage shape and then enclosed in some s/steel mesh using copper wire to enclose the mesh. It is as ugly as anything and not super efficient, but it does the job well enough considering I only get to all-grain brew once in a blue moon.

To start a siphon of 70+ deg liquid, I advise filling the tube with water rather than sucking on it :unsure: 

Edit: I should add, on the question of stirring, that because my siphon-style manifolds are not part of the tun, you don't need to put them in until you are ready to lauter. So stirring during the mash is not an issue.

Steve


----------



## warrenlw63 (11/5/05)

Steve Lacey said:


> To start a siphon of 70+ deg liquid, I advise filling the tube with water rather than sucking on it :unsure:
> [post="58550"][/post]​



C'mon Steve. You've gotta live for danger. h34r: 

Warren -


----------



## roach (11/5/05)

Borret said:


> > BB,
> > I might do some sketched of my manifold ideas over the weekend if I get a chance.
> 
> 
> ...


Borret
I like the space station manifold design :lol: 

Roach


----------



## Wortgames (11/5/05)

Space ships aside, I think the dead space issue could probably largely be overcome by turning the perf disc upside-down, so that it was concave in the bottom of the keg rather than convex above it. Even in a convex position, just adding a short downtube to the underside of the take-off could theoretically reach much closer to the bottom of the keg than the lowest intake point on your manifold.

Not sure whether there's any mileage in the 'preferential flow' theory or even how you'd go about testing for it, so I couldn't comment on that other than to say it probably wouldn't be enough justification (to me) for the expense and complication of your design. I guess with a perforated disc one could experiment with various shapes of plastic sheet laid over it to see whether there was much difference in efficiency or conversion times, but somehow I doubt there would be much to it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it will make an excellent lauter tun, I'm just not convinced it will offer much benefit over simpler and cheaper options.


----------



## RobW (11/5/05)

Don't the perforated screens have a drain tube that goes almost to the bottom of the tun to overcome the deadspace issue?


----------



## Wortgames (11/5/05)

The ones I've seen at G&G only have a 90deg brass fitting on them, so there's only as much depth as a slim nut underneath. It would probably be close enough to the bottom in a flat-bottomed pot, but you'd need about 2" or so to get right to the bottom of a keg.


----------



## RobW (11/5/05)

Can't speak for those but I'm pretty sure the plastic Phill's ones have a longer tube. Shouldn't be hard to fit something similiar to the brass elbow.


----------



## Borret (11/5/05)

How does the dead space under the FB effect the likes of Ph etc in the mash when you have that extra liquid lying around. (I don't have a clue in this area that's why I'm asking) 
As to cost I have got most bits free/cheap and working on the others. Small Items are easier to bring under the SWMBO radar than one big interstate purchase like the G&G FB.

Borret


----------



## Wortgames (11/5/05)

Ah yes, the SWMBO radar - a formidable force.

I don't know of any effects caused by the deadspace either, but I think it's worth circulating some runoff during the mash regardless, just to keep those enzymes on their toes.

Don't forget to post some nice shiny stainless pics when you can...


----------



## Borret (11/5/05)

Ah yes some pictures, will do. You may have noticed I am partial to some photography of my home crafted brewery items!  

Borret :blink:


----------



## Gulf Brewery (11/5/05)

Borret

Zymurgy did an article in the geeks section about the various manifolds designs and their efficiency. Regardless of design, the efficiency didn't vary a lot. 

A certain vertically challenged sctosman has my magazines at the moment, so if we ask nicely, he may scan the relevant bits for you. 

Cheers
Pedro


----------



## BrissyBrew (11/5/05)

I was thinking about 3 spokes, (bend a T into a Y and drill the intersection for the drain, it would cut the number of clamps down to 12.

The dead space in the bottom of the keg.
I have seen only one reference to this on the net so here goes. Take the normal bottom of your keg plus 1 rubber hammer and bang it for all your worth until you turn it inside out to leave an upside down cone ^ like so. The put run your manifold around the outside which will then be the lowest point.

You would have to think hard about efficiently, by having the keg bottom domed shaped ^ you in effect will cause chanelling to the edges of the keg, however the apex of the dome would in effect divid the keg width in half as it would cause a current to flow down the side of the down to the bottom on the keg being the keg wall. I guess you could put another ring higher on the dom but I dont know what effect that would have.

But hammering the round bottom to turn the bottom of the keg inside out is a novel solution.

any feedback about this idea would be appreciated as I have seriously thought about it.


----------



## nathan_madness (12/10/13)

I know this is bringing up a really old topic but this is a must. I got some of the Solomons ClearShield to make a false bottom for my CB pot. 

This is a warning to any one else going to use this product removing the powder coating is a real B#^%H.

I firstly used Gasket Remover which is recommended to remove powder coating worked great to remove the coating on the flat surface, but not the holes. I then sand blasted it trying to get the powder coating out of the holes to no joy. Then soaked it in PBW over night hoping that would shift it still no joy. Read up on removing powder coating some more to find that acetone will remove it, but not from 2mm holes obviously. So I ended up spending 6 hours with a 2mm drill in the Dremel and re-drilled each individual hole which worked a treat. So now I got myself a full size false bottom for my CB 100L pot 


Ross said:


> Security screen manufacturers have either S/S woven or perferated sheets. Solomons of Capalaba have the sheet & more than happy to sell it to you....


----------



## Yob (12/10/13)

nathan_madness said:


> So I ended up spending 6 hours with a 2mm drill in the Dremel and re-drilled each individual hole which worked a treat. So now I got myself a full size false bottom for my CB 100L pot


damn man, sometimes the DIY just doesnt pay off, thats a hell of an effort for a FB..

is it steel under or stainless? isnt it just going to rust now?


----------



## nathan_madness (12/10/13)

Double checked that before all the effort. It is 304 SS


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (12/10/13)

Any decent sheet metal joint will have perforated stainless sheet. A false bottom needs the 7/32" holes which I think ( from a well used memory ) is a standard size


----------



## nathan_madness (12/10/13)

Ha ha that is what I thought to I have 2 specialist S/S sheet metal shops near me and both of them said that it is as rare as rocking horse s%^t. There is a supplier called metal mesh that will supply you a sheet 2000x1000 for $500ish.


----------



## dent (12/10/13)

I dunno, couldn't you have set it on fire?


----------



## nathan_madness (12/10/13)

Heating stainless can change it's properties which can lead to rusting. I read all about it in my search for removing powder coating.


----------



## dent (12/10/13)

Possibly, but wouldn't that be true in any welding application? I guess it is moot now anyhow.


----------



## nathan_madness (12/10/13)

That is why you use a shielding gas when welding.


----------



## bradmccoy (13/4/20)

scott70 said:


> metal mesh in sydney make perforated sheets
> Home - Metal Mesh
> I emailed them for a quote for 40cm diameter disc with 2mm holes and they told me $350 delivered and be more than happy to plasma cut it. I didn't take up the offer.
> "more beer" in the states will custom make you one, up to 20 inches for about $70 USD.
> I ended up getting a $14 dollar 40cm stainless steel serving tray( 2mm thick) from a catering supplier which fits perfeclty in the bottom of my mash tun. I then got a metal punch and drill and put heaps of 2mm holes in it and 4 stainless steel bolts for support legs. I would have used a braid set up but the mash tun has a heating element in the bottom ( old boiler). I just heat up the water in the mash tun and then add the grains.


This is exactly the sort of set up I'm looking to build (element under the false bottom). Whereabouts did you get the service tray and is it working out ok?


----------



## MHB (13/4/20)

You do realise you are replying to a thread from 2005, and asking a question of a member last seen in 2006?
Might be better off doing a search on eBay or similar.
Mark


----------

