Ss Mesh Biab

[matr]

So I threw up a picture of a SS mesh bag I have made in another thread and had some interest.

I don't know why I went for this option. Maybe so I don't have to worry about burning a voile bag on the element or maybe just to be different. I like making stuff so I thought this was a good idea. The cost didn't worry me & if it did I would have just bought a voile bag.

So the details are;

SS mesh 310 micron aperture with 210 micron SS wire. Purchased from Metal Mesh - Metal Mesh Cost was $70 inc GST for 1m x 1.25m. There should be enough to construct 2 or 1 a decent size hop basket (which I'm yet to make).

Mesh was adhered using Dow Corning 732 silicon - This is FDA approved. The only one I could find. & is good for the temp ranges. Silicon cost $9.

I first made the cylinder which was fairly simple. Then I made the base, a circle which I then made into a cone (by cutting to the centre and overlapping then adhereing). I then cut small sections along the side of the cone (about 1cm) and bent them up. This was then inserted into the cylinder to form the base. More Silicon was used. Hopefully this all makes sense!!

I cut a ring out of MDF (yes I know it's not waterproof) for the top and secured using screws & washers.

A thermowell was siliconed to the inside wall of the basket and can be seen below in the pics. The thermowell is acctualy a beerbelly fermenter thermowell.

It was quite fiddily to make but hopefully worth it in the end. I have not used it yet. I also have not done a batch using voile so can't make that comparison either. It may be a complete failure but I don't care.

Will update this thread once used.

Here are the pics.

Cheers, Mat.

 

[Acasta]

looks cool. Easier then a bag. You need a way to mount it half out of the tun for sparging. I've seen someone using steel rods, but theirs was not mesh. Anyway. Nice.

 

[Silo Ted]

Nice one.

Silicone is holding it together, that's nifty. Good to find a product that adheres to both food and temp standards. Strength might be of some concern when you have 10 kilos to lift. The idea could be to find a saucepan that will allow the basket to sit inside (it might be more the case of finding a saucepan first then making a basket to size), then drill really big holes in saucepan.

I think cleaning out the grain is going to be a bitch. That's where voile is fairly easy.

 

[husky]

looks cool. Easier then a bag. You need a way to mount it half out of the tun for sparging. I've seen someone using steel rods, but theirs was not mesh. Anyway. Nice.

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=49404

Same sort of idea, however the op's design is able to be made by most people and im guessing will remove the need completly for the voile bag.

 

[joshuahardie]

Great post.
I have a 'crab cooker' pot from boots camping, which comes with an inner pot, which has large holes in it. great for lifting out shellfish but not grain.

I think that lining my inner pot with this mesh might be the ticket.

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

<snip>

Strength might be of some concern when you have 10 kilos to lift.

<snip>

People keep saying that about voile and stitching. They are - in my experience - invariably wrong. Of course, there are none so blind as those who will not sew.

Good silicon sealant, properly applied, is amazingly strong stuff - particularly when it is applied over a large area such as OP's basket join is.

I really like this idea - partly because TB and I spoke of a similar thing a few years ago over a few hundred beers, but never got around to doing anything about it - but also because it is an option to voile for those who love stainless or have some aversion to curtains.

 

[pk.sax]

Of course, there are none so blind as those who will not sew.

Hey!!!! I didn't sew. Now, is it a requirement for brewing that we learn how to sew!?! &;&#}%#^

Back OT: that looks sweet mate, and for the cost.... Mmmm. Recirculated single pot. End of the cloudy biab worts

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Hey!!!! I didn't sew. Now, is it a requirement for brewing that we learn how to sew!?! &;&#}%#^

Back OT: that looks sweet mate, and for the cost.... Mmmm. Recirculated single pot. End of the cloudy biab worts

If you can r-circulate that thing and get clear wort, then you can re-circulate voile and get clear wort. The reason the OP has used this stuff... is that there is fundamentally no difference between it and voile. Why would you be able to do something with one and not the other?

This stuff is shiny and will give little chubbies to those who like stainless or hate plastic (except for the silicon) - and while I like it, think its cool, and kinda want one... I don't actually see any advantage to it over the voile, with the exception of removing the faint possibility of the often talked about but quite rarely seen "bag melt"

Spills and I did discuss this years ago -- but my end of the discussion involved fairly frequent use of the word "pointless"....

 

[ekul]

SS mesh 310 micron aperture with 210 micron SS wire. Purchased from Metal Mesh - Metal Mesh Cost was $70 inc GST for 1m x 1.25m. There should be enough to construct 2 or 1 a decent size hop basket (which I'm yet to make).

Hey matt, if you wash out the grain after the mash you can just use your stainless 'bag' for the hops. I've done exactly the same thing with my voille bag before to great effect. I don't bother anymore though, i find the hops help the trub settle, especially with flowers, but each to their own.

Looks pretty cool!

 

[Silo Ted]

Mat, are you giving this a run over the weekend ?

 

[matr]

Mat, are you giving this a run over the weekend ?

Nah mate prob just test the kettle this week end. Prob won't put a brew on for another few weeks as I gotta go to China for work.

Hops anyone?

Thanks for everyones comments too. I know there may not be any real advantage over voile but I did it coz I can.

Cheers, Mat

 

[Silo Ted]

Enjoy the Tsing Tsao over there :icon_vomit:

When you get back, and you want to do some tests with your basket against voile, let me know, I should have plenty of fabric laying around if you can get someone to sew it up for you. Will charge you postage only, should only be about $2.

Interested to see how this goes. Have a good trip.

 

[matr]

Finally got around to using the setup.

Just "mashed in" and it's currently sitting @ 66C.

This is the recipe;

4.10 kg Pale Malt (2 Row) US (3.9 EBC) Grain 85.42 %

0.40 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 30L (59.1 EBC) Grain 8.33 %

0.20 kg Cara-Pils/Dextrine (3.9 EBC) Grain 4.17 %

0.10 kg Wheat Malt, Bel (3.9 EBC) Grain 2.08 %

17.00 gm Bravo [14.30 %] (60 min) Hops 28.5 IBU

15.00 gm Cascade [7.50 %] (Dry Hop 14 days) Hops -

20.00 gm Cascade [7.50 %] (20 min) Hops 10.7 IBU

1 Pkgs Sierra Ale Yeast (Proculture #Pro-10) Yeast-Ale

My first BIAB & first AG.

Will let you know how it goes. Fingers crossed it works ok.

Cheers, Mat.

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

Good luck, at least you will not get white anted. (Is that even a word)
GB

 

[Zizzle]

Ah, I missed this thread earlier. I had the same idea for brewbot mk2 only with silver solder instead of silicon. Mainly because I want to run an automated stirrer and not have to worry about a bag tangling. Haven't tried soldering the mesh yet tho.

Good luck with the first brew.

 

[browndog]

I would be a bit concerned about how well the silicon will hang on to the mesh when lifting the bag out, there will be quite a bit of weight on it until most of the wort drains though. Silver solder would be the go.

cheers

Browndog

 

[matr]

I would be a bit concerned about how well the silicon will hang on to the mesh when lifting the bag out, there will be quite a bit of weight on it until most of the wort drains though. Silver solder would be the go.

cheers

Browndog

4.8kg of grain & didn't even look like being a problem. Worked very well.

The silicon is basically hanging onto itself with the mesh inbetween. Solder would be nice but Silicon is cheap and it works.

 

[browndog]

4.8kg of grain & didn't even look like being a problem. Worked very well.

The silicon is basically hanging onto itself with the mesh inbetween. Solder would be nice but Silicon is cheap and it works.

Good to hear that it is strong enough. Silicon is amazing stuff.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Excellent, make sure to let us know how your day went.

Totally aside from the pretty stainless jigger.... Good luck with your first AG brew day

 

[matr]

First AG done... B)

All went fairly well. Stress free..

Preboil SG was 1038 (adjusted) from an expected 1042

Post boil SG was 1043 from an expected 1052.

I think my low SG problems come from my volumes. (not that I measured them) Ended up with about 26L of wort when I wanted 21L. This resulted in an unexpected overflow from the cube (My only problem of the day )

Need to sort out the volume stuff and should be sweet.

Cheers, Mat.