Expressions Of Interest In Ss Falsebottom Material

[Tony]

Hi all

I .....as you have probably read ..... have been searching for a piece of MT false botton holy grail. The perfect material that is close to what the comercial lot use. something that will providea perfect runoff and sparging speed without having to throttle back outlets to stop compaction.

my false bottom is shit! It is too small and has a huge open percentage area whick leads to a stuck sparge in 30 seconds if i dont throttle it back with the outlet ball valve. Having to do this craps me up the tree.

After reading up on mash ton design in the thousands of pages of brewing science and practices PDF's i have i have found this info:

The true base of the tun is covered by a `false bottom' or deck. This
consists of interlocking slotted (or drilled in some small tuns) metal plates of gun-metal
or stainless steel or of stainless steel wedge wire (Figs 6.8, 6.9) mounted on short legs
about 57.6 cm (23 in.) above the true base. The plates interlock in a unique pattern and
can be lifted for cleaning or repairs. The slots give a free area of about 1012% of the
false bottom, while wedge wire gives the same or a higher value (up to 22%). The slots
are typically 0.71.0mm (0.0280.039 in.) wide at the top and widen out below to
facilitate cleaning and reduce the chances of fragments of grist wedging in the spaces.

and

While some plates may have drilled
circular perforations, most have slots typically 3040mm (about 1.21.6 in.) long and
0.60.7mm (0.0240.028 in.) wide. As with mash tun plates, these slots widen out below.
There may be 25003000 slots/m2 of plate area. Single milled plates may have a free area
of 68%, double milled plates up to 12% and wedge wire `plates' of 18% and even up to
25%. The plates provide little resistance to the flow of wort, relative to the resistance
provided by the bed of grain, and run off rates are the same with plates of 12 or 18% free
area

I have tracked down 304 stainless plate, 0.75mm thick with 1mm holes and a 2mm pitch with 24% open area. This is a lot more than they are talking about should be used but i think this will work fine in the home brewery, especially with a HERMS like mine. the phils ones sold elsewhere have an open area of about 35 to 40%

I only want a 500mm x 500mm section but all i can buy it in is a 1 meter x 1 meter section minimum.

It will cost me about 250$ delivered

I am putting out expressions of interst for anyone interested in buying an equal share in this sheet.

It will be devided into 4..... each costing $62.50. if you pay postage i will cut it and post it.

now this is not a definate happening thing yet as i still have a couple of leads to shase up but if i get stuck with more than i want i am just wondering if anyone out ther is interested in some as well.

I am in the hunter vally so pick up in this area would not be a problem

let me know and we will see if its viable.

cheers

tony

 

[Franko]

sounds good Tony Ill be up for one
Franko

 

[Tony]

ok mate

price is not a definate either but it will be close to that

if i get enough orders i might go into buisness

cheers

 

[Coodgee]

I am keen for a bit of this stuff

 

[Barramundi]

keep one thing in mind gents 304 stainless is not food grade ....

 

[Tony]

Ahhhhh i was just about to do a search for this.

I wont be getting the big sheet.........

Cost and time are a problem. Also i got hold of some with larger holes for a play.

I will make a false bottom with what i have and post my results.

It will work better than the little mesh one i have.

cheers

 

[DJR]

keep one thing in mind gents 304 stainless is not food grade ....

You sure?

http://www.azom.com/details.asp?ArticleID=965

Typical applications include:
Food processing equipment, particularly in beer brewing, milk processing & wine making.
Kitchen benches, sinks, troughs, equipment and appliances
Heat Exchangers
Woven or welded screens for mining, quarrying & water filtration

 

[Crazy]

keep one thing in mind gents 304 stainless is not food grade ....

Just as a point of interest the new bright beer cellars going in at XXXX are all piped in 304 I have been told.

Cheers Derrick

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

When I worked in the Upper Hunter, and I got friendly with the guys building stainless stuff for the mines, they recommended 304 for bench tops and kitchen stuff......


Tony...PM me....would like a round sheet to cover a......!!!!!!!....

 

[browndog]

Tony,
Have you looked into stainless steel mesh? I have some at home here that I reckon would be perfect for a false bottom as long as you could find a way to hold it flat so to speak. The wire is about 1mm DIA. and the holes are about the same.

cheers

Browndog

 

[glenos]

There is a place here in Hobart that sells perfprated steel sheets, lots of different holes sizes and pitches. Think their name is perforated and expanded metal.

I bought a sheet(1800x1200) of mild steel 1mm hole and 2mm pitch for about $170.

RE steel grades, there is no food grade stainless steel, the numbers actually relate to the chemistry of the steel (alloy levels). 304 - 316 are generally accepted as suitable for use in food preparation areas, but as 304 is cheaper and easier to work with it will be used more often.

See ASSDA for more info on stainless steels.

 

[ArnieW]

my false bottom is shit! It is too small and has a huge open percentage area whick leads to a stuck sparge in 30 seconds if i dont throttle it back with the outlet ball valve. Having to do this craps me up the tree.

Hi Tony,

this doesn't sound right to me. If you are going for a HERMS, you don't want to starve the inlet of the pump. Throttling happens on the outlet, not by restricting flow into it.

My false bottom is wire mesh with an open area of 54% from memory - the largest open area I could find. I do throttle it on the outlet side, and it is simpy done with a ball valve. Why is it you find this a pain?

I haven't had a stuck sparge for ages - and this includes 66% wheat in some recipes.

I would think that the figures you've reseached probably relate to gravity systems, not HERMS systems. 10-20% is probably fine for most gravity feeds, but they would still need to be throttled back for difficult grain beds to prevent compaction.

cheers, Arnie