Braumeister - Tips & Tricks

[paulmclaren11]

Nice one will have to give it a go.

 

[stakka82]

Are you in the northern hemisphere there degarre?

 

[DeGarre]

Sure am, a balmy -9c after a week or two at -22...around 60° 47′ 12″ N, 25° 1′ 30″ E - too bad I am not a lager brewer...

But with this particular mash schedule I don't find much need to brew above 1042 gravity.

 

[Dan Pratt]

A few pictures of the seal on the top mesh and plate.

 

[dicko]

Hi Pratty 1
where did you get the rubber from?

 

[Batz]

Hi Pratty 1
where did you get the rubber from?

It looks the same as what I have, but when fitted the strainer will not fit into the malt pipe. It almost goes but it's to tight, and I have tried wetting it.
It's 7mm high and 5mm wide.

Batz

 

[Dan Pratt]

Hi Pratty 1
where did you get the rubber from?

When I bought the bm from MHB in Newcastle he supplied me with this seal. Its from Clark rubber. Measured at 7mm x 9mm sides.

 

[Crusty]

A few pictures of the seal on the top mesh and plate.

1391904738317.jpg

1391904773006.jpg

1391904812427.jpg

Are you guys still using the fine mesh on top of the grain bed before the top mesh plate?

 

[Dan Pratt]

Are you guys still using the fine mesh on top of the grain bed before the top mesh plate?

Yep, the seal holds the mesh and plate together and seals.

 

[Crusty]

yep, i thought i got a photo of the flip side.

Yep! Should of gone to spec savers.
So you have the fine mesh held to the top plate with the rubber seal?
I heard a few people had trouble fitting it like that & asumed you would just toss in the fine screen as per usual then add the top filter plate with the seal on top of that.
Makes more sense obviously to have them placed together & held in with the seal.

 

[DeGarre]

I use the rubber seal to fix the mesh and grill together. The main reason I started using the seal was not because I got grain coming up the pipe and down into the wort but because when I placed the mesh first onto the grain and water I always managed to splash it down and grain got over the mesh. Having it fixed to the grill eliminated this, and before the seal I was tying the mesh to the grill with thin metal wire.

 

[dicko]

It looks the same as what I have, but when fitted the strainer will not fit into the malt pipe. It almost goes but it's to tight, and I have tried wetting it.
It's 7mm high and 5mm wide.

Batz

Hi Jeff,

When I got mine it was a bit tight so what I did was lay the top plate on top of the mesh on a flat surface and then note and mark the overhang of the mesh screen with a black texta.
I then got some good quality scissors and cut a small strip from the outside diameter of the mesh so that it was the same size as the top plate.
I then fitted the rubber to hold the mesh against the top plate and assembled it into the malt pipe on a dry run.
The top plate, rubber, and mesh moved freely inside the malt pipe.

If it did not move then I would be looking at the centre rod not being on centre in the kettle and causing the malt pipe to bind on one side and therefor stick inside the malt pipe.

Once you have done this you need to keep the top mesh in the top position each time you brew.

I hope this helps!

 

[tateg]

Hi Jeff,

When I got mine it was a bit tight so what I did was lay the top plate on top of the mesh on a flat surface and then note and mark the overhang of the mesh screen with a black texta.
I then got some good quality scissors and cut a small strip from the outside diameter of the mesh so that it was the same size as the top plate.
I then fitted the rubber to hold the mesh against the top plate and assembled it into the malt pipe on a dry run.
The top plate, rubber, and mesh moved freely inside the malt pipe.

If it did not move then I would be looking at the centre rod not being on centre in the kettle and causing the malt pipe to bind on one side and therefor stick inside the malt pipe.

Once you have done this you need to keep the top mesh in the top position each time you brew.

I hope this helps!

Hi dicko
Does the top plate move freely in the pipe with the seal on ?
The seal I have fits in the pipe but the plate can't move
I have looked at clark rubbers web site but can't find the one you mentioned

Cheers

 

[DeGarre]

tateg, it does move first poorly then better with use, but if it stays stuck it's not a biggie.

 

[tateg]

Yeah it stayed stuck the whole time
Thought there might be a better fit

 

[tateg]

Sorry Double post

 

[dicko]

Yeah it stayed stuck the whole time
Thought there might be a better fit

If you have fitted the rubber as above and the screen still sticks it is probably because the malt pipe is not centred in the kettle.
Try the screen assembly in the malt pipe when it is NOT fitted into the kettle. It should just drop to the bottom or at least slide easily by hand.
The centre rod could be slightly off centre and this may be the cause. A large set of calipers, held on the rod and the side of the kettle will indicate wether the rod needs a slight adjustment. Be very careful bending the rod as the bottom of the kettle is very thin. I would not recommend this unless it is the obvious problem

I find by turning the malt pipe backward and forward in the kettle before fully tightening the wingnut helps to centralise the malt pipe.
The screen will always be tight if the mesh is overhanging the diameter of the screen with the rubber fitted. See my post above....
Oh, and I got my seal from Fitch the Rubberman not Clark Rubber, the dimensions are in an earlier post.

 

[tateg]

It still won't move when The malt pipe is outside the kettle that's why I wanted to know which seal u used

 

[dicko]

The details for the seal I used are in this post here

I rekon this is it here.....They have changed their website since I was looking last time.



http://www.fitchtherubberman.com.au/epages/shop.sf/en_AU/?ObjectPath=/Shops/fitchtherubberman/Products/629-orm

From these pages here

http://www.fitchtherubberman.com.au/epages/shop.sf/en_AU/?ViewAction=View&ObjectID=6455222&OrderBy=NameOrAlias

the dimensions of my rubber are

Channel width 3mm

Outside width 5.6mm

Outside height 7.5mm

Check the dimensions with them before ordering

 

[Coalminer]

Hi Jeff,

When I got mine it was a bit tight so what I did was lay the top plate on top of the mesh on a flat surface and then note and mark the overhang of the mesh screen with a black texta.
I then got some good quality scissors and cut a small strip from the outside diameter of the mesh so that it was the same size as the top plate.
I then fitted the rubber to hold the mesh against the top plate and assembled it into the malt pipe on a dry run.
The top plate, rubber, and mesh moved freely inside the malt pipe.

If it did not move then I would be looking at the centre rod not being on centre in the kettle and causing the malt pipe to bind on one side and therefor stick inside the malt pipe.

Once you have done this you need to keep the top mesh in the top position each time you brew.

I hope this helps!

+1 for this. Trimming the mesh to the size of the top plate definately works, provided you have the right profile rubber.
Really does not matter if the pipe does not slide freely but really helps if you need to remove it during the mash to mix up the grain a bit