Show Me Your Bottom.

[Kai]

Mine's as basic as I could get



Mesh is now jammed into the threaded pipe, not sitting over it.

 

[tangent]

is that termimesh Kai?

 

[Borret]

I made mine.... from scratch.

It works quite well and was the right price..

I won't tell you how many holes I drilled through that stainless but it was somewhere between 1847 and 1849... Ahh the pain

Brent

 

[warrenlw63]

but it was somewhere between 1847 and 1849... Ahh the pain

... of broken drillbits. :lol:

Warren -

 

[Borret]

I only used 2...

 

[Justin]

Guess I'll stick this on in this thread.

Here's a few sheets of perforated stainless on ebay, 2mm holes and lots of them. I have read before that you're idealy after somewhere in the order of 30% the area as open (which of course doesn't mean other ratios wont work). Anyway, it may be handy for someone who is nearby to pick it up but make your own assessment of the suitability as I have no idea I've only ever used bazooka type set ups.

Ebay: Perforated stainless sheet 25 sheets available.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Stainless-Steel-Per...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[devo]

wow....you could make a really big false bottom with that. (mind ticking over on potential brewrey expansion)

 

[Darren]

Hey Tangent,
Termimesh was too fine for me. I have used numerous different "bottoms" over the years. Termimesh was the worst!~!
If you are having many stuck sparges I suspect it has more to do with the a drainage problem rather than the construction of your bottom.

cheers

Darren

 

[jimmyjack]

I'm hoping to get some inspiration from you blokes (and ladies) and solve this sparge dilemma.

I suspect it has more to do with the a drainage problem rather than the construction of your bottom.

I agree with Darren. I just installed my new false bottom and have been experementing with water flow. When I firt installed it I had slow drainage and left 1.5 litres behind. I then cut and placed some pvc tubing in the elbow from underneath. It flows very quick and leaves nothing behind. I have yet to try a mash with it.

Cheers, JJ

 

[tangent]

I then cut and placed some pvc tubing in the elbow from underneath.

Ummmm, pics? I just can't picture it. Is it another underneath draining tun?

What do you suggest Darren? There was some interesting stuff in Radical Brewing but I didn't catch on. Small pressure differences something something.....
Anyone got a copy and can translate for me?

 

[Darren]

I then cut and placed some pvc tubing in the elbow from underneath.

Ummmm, pics? I just can't picture it. Is it another underneath draining tun?

What do you suggest Darren? There was some interesting stuff in Radical Brewing but I didn't catch on. Small pressure differences something something.....
Anyone got a copy and can translate for me?

Tangent,

Any air leak in your set-up will cause problems. If you have half an hour one saturday I am happy to come and have a look at it for you.

cheers

Darren

 

[tangent]

Deal!
You guys rock :super:

 

[DJR]

My braid manifold - a compression fitting leading into some bent 1/2" copper pipe with a t-piece that the stainless braid fits over, with a couple of SS clamps holding it on. Works great, because the braid sits on the bottom (the ball valve thread sits about 4cm off the bottom of the pail) there's hardly any deadspace.

View attachment 10068

 

[TasChris]

Hey Tangent,
i reckon that the suction that is caused by the wort draining out of the mash tun could also be causing the section of flexible pipe to close until the run out comes to a complete halt or slows down. Once the run out comes to a halt there may be a surge of wort until the suction closes the pipe again.
This is what started to happen to me till I replaced the flexible hose with SS pipe.

 

[domonsura]

I use a full bottom I made from 1.2 mm perf stainless sheet in the bottom of my 50l tun. I decided that pickup tubes were a PITA, so I went straight through the bottom of the tun instead, so anything that comes out of the outlet has to fit through one of those little holes.

The tun is insulated with 13mm neoprene sheet ($$ouch$$, but it was worth it), I've only put one mash through it since the mods, but with only .2 deg loss I couldn't decide whether I was losing temp or couldn't trust the thermometer . Didn't really measure how much grain went in, so couldn't tell you the efficiency yet, but I reckon it was somewhere ~80% maybe a bit more.
I tell ya, one of the things I noticed straight away was easier runoff, easier stirriing (with nothing critical to catch on) & how much easier the cleanup was without little bits to take apart and rinse. Literally tip it up into a wheelbarrow, till you can reach the handle, then pull it out taking all the spent grain with it at once. Whip the ball valve off and give all a quick rinse All the shiney fittings in the world are no good at all unless they make less work.

 

[tangent]

TasChris, i think you could really be onto something there. It would explain why I'm either getting flow or nothing.

Demonsura, nice work. I love shiny s/s.

 

[Justin]

Termimesh was too fine for me. I have used numerous different "bottoms" over the years. Termimesh was the worst!~!

Darren

I suspect there must be a range of termimesh options then Darren because mine has been faultless. I didn't buy mine as termimesh (found it in throw out at work) but by reading discriptions on this site it sounded like termimesh was a reasonable description. Perhaps stainless mesh is a better description.

FWIW we don't have termites in Tassie.

Cheers, Justin

 

[jimmyjack]

Ummmm, pics? I just can't picture it. Is it another underneath draining tun?

Here is what I have been expermenting with to get better suction and more drainage. All i did was cut some pvc that seems to be the exact fit for the elbow to extend the suction. It is simple but effective. If you are after a more permanent soloution you can use the existing thread on the underneath to attach a compression nut or you get the picture.

 

[warrenlw63]

JJ

I still reckon with that PVC hose it's going to jump around and lift a bit on you on you if you hit it with your mash paddle. Particularly when it softens in the hot mash liquor. h34r:

It's not too hard to flare up some pipe and make a hard connection that won't move not matter how hard you hit it. Easy to remove for cleaning too.

Warren -

 

[bugwan]

I use a circular stainless braid in a rectangular esky (talk about round pegs in square holes :huh: ) but it works a treat. Will post a photo or two when I get home...