False Bottom Ideas For 100l Techniice Esky

[Silver]

Check metal scrap yards for ss woven mesh. I picked up a 1200mm x 900mm piece for $50.
Brewing Gods on my side i reckon.

 

[JDW81]

Lovely neat manifold, how big is your esky?

I think it was 60L (sold it a while ago), but if you keep the distance between your manifold bars as X, and make the distance between the outside bars and the walls of the esky 1/2 X, you can make it fit any size. http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixD-1.html

 

[stux]

Finally got around to setting up the bung hole and building a manifold for my 100L techni-ice mash tun! Life happened over the last 18 months or so.

I used the technique for the bung-hole from this post

I couldn't get Part #2 in SS with a thread all the way through, so I just picked up a brass one from Reese.


Used a stanley knife to cut out the majority of the plastic mesh in the bung hole

then a dremel with a scroll saw bit and a barrel sander bit to finish and clean the cut. Quite happy with how it worked out



I went through Palmer's manifold building instructions, ideally you want N runs, where N is a number which gets you an inter-pipe gap of between 2 and 3", better closer to 2. You want half X on the edges, and X between the runs.

This works out to either 5 or 6 runs, with 6 being better.

The magic number for the horizontal copper bits is 45mm for a techniice 100L esky. You want 6 elbows, and 9 tees for 6 runs with the weird shape I have to accomodate the off-centre bung. I forget the exact length of the long bits of copper, think its about 540mm. I used up 4m of copper total. Where the siicon tubing joins I had to trim the Ts with an angle grinder a little bit.

I found the dremel heavy duty cutoff discs were being used up like candy cutting the slots so switched to an angle grinder with a 1mm disc (actually 1.2mm).



In the end the manifold sits slightly askew because of the tubing, but I'm okay with that, its fairly close to optimal, and doesn't need any clamping.

The end parts of the manifold are punched with a centre punch so that they won't fall apart, but I can still remove the long runs for cleaning.

I think I just did my last 60L BIAB

 

[Tahoose]

Stux any idea what the name of part number 2 is?

And just confirming that it is 1inch bsp.. Have the same esky and going to put a tap and cam lock on but but don't need it to go all the way through.

 

[stux]

Stux any idea what the name of part number 2 is?

And just confirming that it is 1inch bsp.. Have the same esky and going to put a tap and cam lock on but but don't need it to go all the way through.

From the post I linked:

1. 1/2" brass barb tail. I just use a 3" length of silicone hose to attach to my false bottom inside the tun. Use a hose clamp to secure it if you're a little too vigourous with stirring your mash
2. 1" to 1/2" brass reducing bush. You need to force the barb tail into the back end of the bush, as the thread doesn't go all the way through. Brass is soft enough that it will start it's own threading
3. 1/2" BCP adapter
4. Standard 1/2" one piece ball valve
5. 1/2" BCP to male camlock. Wanted male BCP to male camlock, but were out of stock, so added the adapter in the middle.

It is definitely 1" BSP, which is about 32mm in diameter

I literally just showed that picture to the guy at Reece and pointed

 

[Fents]

i have a spare beer belly esky false bottom (one without the bottom plate) you can have for a few beers if you like, seems you may have already sorted it tho.

 

[Tahoose]

From the post I linked:

• 1/2" brass barb tail. I just use a 3" length of silicone hose to attach to my false bottom inside the tun. Use a hose clamp to secure it if you're a little too vigourous with stirring your mash
• 1" to 1/2" brass reducing bush. You need to force the barb tail into the back end of the bush, as the thread doesn't go all the way through. Brass is soft enough that it will start it's own threading
• 1/2" BCP adapter
• Standard 1/2" one piece ball valve
• 1/2" BCP to male camlock. Wanted male BCP to male camlock, but were out of stock, so added the adapter in the middle.

It is definitely 1" BSP, which is about 32mm in diameter

I literally just showed that picture to the guy at Reece and pointed

Thanks mate, I'll only need the reducing bush through to the camlock stuff. Don't need anything manifold wise on the inside as will be looking at a more ghetto solution.

 

[Tahoose]

Stux are you planning to under-let the mash tun with this system?

 

[stux]

Not until after I get my pump sorted. For the first run I'll be using 3 tier gravity and will fill the esky with strike then dump the grains in, same as when I biab

 

[Tahoose]

Fair enough, good luck with the new system.

I have a bit's and bobs brewery atm, but hopefully (fingers crossed) I'll have a dedicated brewing space and >100ltr 3V gravity system.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

I literally just showed that picture to the guy at Reece and pointed

Thats what I do. Especially with nuts and bolts I need. Just take them in and say "20 of these thanks"

 

[Tahoose]

Well picked up a few things before work, the brass bush, another ball valve, some camlock fittings.

Need to figure out my manifold idea, but atm I think it might be a pizza trays/angle grinder/ nuts and bolts/ rubber arrangement, plus some voile.

Don't care about the grain bed so much I just want to be able to drain the mash tun reasonably quickly.

 

[Cocko]

Well picked up a few things before work, the brass bush, another ball valve, some camlock fittings.

Need to figure out my manifold idea, but atm I think it might be a pizza trays/angle grinder/ nuts and bolts/ rubber arrangement, plus some voile.

Don't care about the grain bed so much I just want to be able to drain the mash tun reasonably quickly.

Mate, if you re running your drainage out through a 1" fitting, you will be smashing it.. IMHO...


Report back.

 

[Tahoose]

Yeah apart from the bush it will be mostly 1/2" stuff because that's what fits in well the camlocks ect.

Will try to remember to update, at the moment the future system in my mind looks a little like;

HLT 100ltr pot with Stc-1000 and immersion element.
120ltr Techni-Ice Mash tun
19ltr pot with element and coil + pump (Heat Exchange HERMS add on)
Kettle 180ltr pot with Italian spiral burner, medium pressure reg.

It will be setup as a 3v gravity system with the HE below the mash tun. Flexibility to run it a couple of ways..

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

1" is heaps. You may even need to throttle it so that it doesnt suck thru the grain bed

 

[stux]

Used the mash tun with my march pump the other day. Flow rate was good, clarity was amazing compared to BIAB. Need to refine my technique a bit

Really enjoyed having a non-physical brew day!

This is what the tap configuration ended up as. Love the camlocks. Its amazing, camlocks, ball-valves and a pump. It felt like a real brewery



Easy enough to unscrew and replace with the stock bung and you'd never know I was using the esky as a mashtun!

(maybe I was a bit over-zeallous with the PTFE tape )

 

[WarmerBeer]

(maybe I was a bit over-zeallous with the PTFE tape )

Nope, not over zealous at all. Nothing worse than having to hot - fix a leak in the middle of a brew day.

 

[Tahoose]

False bottom is half way done, other brewing needs have stopped it halfway.

My metal working skills are laughable. Was a combination of a hack saw, some pliers, a hammer and a drill.

Ended up getting a stainless steel dishwasher front. Perforated stainless would have been alot easier. This will definitely look ghetto though.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Nope, not over zealous at all. Nothing worse than having to hot - fix a leak in the middle of a brew day.

isnt it amazing just how wort will leak out of everything. Plastic has a habit of getting soft and the threads loosen up.

 

[stux]

Before brewing, I left the esky filled with about 20L of water over night. There were no leaks

During brewing, and I filled it right to the brim, (i believe it actually holds circa 95L), and there were also no leaks