FB size? 9" or 12"

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Tex083

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I am currently upgrading from a pot and lauter tun to a HERMS system.
The lauter tun has a 9" FB is this big enough for my larger pot? My pot is somewhere around 15" in diameter.
Cost is a big factor, 12" would be ideal but could I get away with the 9" or is there too much space around the FB?

Cheers
Tex
 
I think a 9" would be a good size for a 15" pot. It puts you almost spot on for John Palmer's rule of thumb. It would put you on the smaller end of what I'd like, but the 12" would put you on the bigger end.

It would allow 3" all the way around from the wall, which my 20" diameter has a 14" false bottom works out the same.
 
Thanks Kev, I now remember reading that section of how to brew. Now to get the last few parts...
Anyone want to order some stuff from Brewhardware.com? I like the look of the sight kits :)
 
I think the separation from the wall is for manifolds. For a false bottom I think bigger is better for uniformity of flow.
 
Yeah I see what you both are getting at with the FB I will have a go with the 9" and see if the mash efficiency is ok if not I will get a 12"
Anything has to be better than a hop screen and a ball valve, which is what I used last brew using the new HERMS :)
 
I used a 9" FB in a 50L CUB keg...have since changed to a 12" and found the following to be true:-
- far less chance of stuck mash in big batches 10kg plus
- 8 to 10 points increase in output
- clearer wort

my five cents worth
 
I've used both in a 50 litre cylindrical cooler and the 12" works better in terms of flow rate.
Couldn't see any difference with efficiency.
 
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