Twisted Braid In Mash Tun Or Not?

[geoff_tewierik]

Hi all,

Just fiddling around with the stainless braid for my mash tun at the moment. I have a 2m length of 1/2" braid and can use virtually the whole length in the tun like so:

Note I would need to cutoff about 200mm of the length to match it up with the barbed fitting.

Is it worthwhile doing it that way, or am I better off with just one loop?

Cheers,

GT

 

[ausdb]

Just fiddling around with the stainless braid for my mash tun at the moment. I have a 2m length of 1/2" braid and can use virtually the whole length in the tun like so:

Is it worthwhile doing it that way, or am I better off with just one loop?
GT

I can't see why it would not work but with your tee fitting so high up in your MLT then you will have quite a lot of deadspace as your tun will stop draining as soon as the liquid level drops down to the tee.

 

[maltedhopalong]

I would say coil the braid, not so much twist it. Three cords twisted together essentially block out a quarter of the surface area of the cords. Laid out next to each other, they block out none (they won't be tight enough next to each other to block out the underside of the cord.

See pic for details. Red is wasted surface area.

Edit: realise i didn't answer your direct question, can't really offer much advice as I'm not really sure, just the orientation of your braid seemed to stand out.

 

[Tony M]

Assdb brings up a good point and the same applies to the braid. As soon as it is exposed to the air, that's all it will suck. As suggested by fr33, coil it flat on the bottom and replace your barbed tails with a bit of copper pipe that you can bend down to the floor of the tun then pick up the braid from there.

 

[LethalCorpse]

I can't see why it would not work but with your tee fitting so high up in your MLT then you will have quite a lot of deadspace as your tun will stop draining as soon as the liquid level drops down to the tee.

That can be solved with a few inches of the original inner tube inside the braid on either side of the tee.

 

[Jye]

GT, I use the same setup and it works great.

 

[hughman666]

just get a false bottom, ~$40 and you get pretty much everything out of your tun. i do admire a lot of the innovation in homebrewer land (and i've just replied something similar in the lagering topic) but sometimes it's better just to go and buy the proper tools for the job.

you could spend a lot of time and batches trying to dodge a $40 bill, but in my experience it was well worth it.

 

[geoff_tewierik]

GT, I use the same setup and it works great.

Thanks Jye, I knew I'd seen someone else on here who'd done it, though I was thinking of Chad.

 

[shonky]

just get a false bottom, ~$40 - sometimes it's better just to go and buy the proper tools for the job.

you could spend a lot of time and batches trying to dodge a $40 bill, but in my experience it was well worth it.

Hi hughman.

What makes you say this?

What advantages does a false bottom have over the stainless braid approach? Just wonder what makes you think that a false bottom is a 'proper' tools for the job and, by implication, the braid an improper one.

Cheers

 

[Hutch]

just get a false bottom, ~$40 and you get pretty much everything out of your tun. i do admire a lot of the innovation in homebrewer land (and i've just replied something similar in the lagering topic) but sometimes it's better just to go and buy the proper tools for the job.

you could spend a lot of time and batches trying to dodge a $40 bill, but in my experience it was well worth it.

I'd have to disagree with you Hughman. I started with a stainless false-bottom in a round esky, and found there was far too many grain particles getting under the screen due to small gaps (esky floor is not perfectly flat).

I've since moved to a braided hose, and would not look back. Cheaper in the first place, gets very fast runnoff, and requires minimal recirculation to get clear runnings.

A FB might be more suited to a stainless mash tun with a perfectly flat base.
Hutch.

 

[AndrewQLD]

I'd have to disagree with you Hughman. I started with a stainless false-bottom in a round esky, and found there was far too many grain particles getting under the screen due to small gaps (esky floor is not perfectly flat).

I've since moved to a braided hose, and would not look back. Cheaper in the first place, gets very fast runnoff, and requires minimal recirculation to get clear runnings.

A FB might be more suited to a stainless mash tun with a perfectly flat base.
Hutch.

+1

I experienced the same as Hutch, the braided hose was much more effective at filtering the mash than my old FB.


Andrew

 

[Fatgodzilla]

Change in direction, but a quick search says none of our major advertisers sells twisted braid. A google search appears to lead to a conclusion that auto places like Supercheap sell it. Am I right ?

What price is a good price for the braid - like $10m or $20m or what ?

And someone like me with no idea what it is, what should we ask for - what diameter, has it a trade name .. any clues will do.

 

[geoff_tewierik]

FWIW I went braid over false bottom due to the information in How to Brew by John Palmer.

Change in direction, but a quick search says none of our major advertisers sells twisted braid. A google search appears to lead to a conclusion that auto places like Supercheap sell it. Am I right ?

Not worth selling as it's so readily available in hardware stores like Bunnings

What price is a good price for the braid - like $10m or $20m or what ?

I paid $30 plus some cents for 2M of 1/2" baraided line, turns out the braid is actually 14.5mm diameter, the 1/2" just refers to the fittings.

And someone like me with no idea what it is, what should we ask for - what diameter, has it a trade name .. any clues will do.

I'd go 1/2" over 3/8" inch, Hooker hoses are the trade name - Boston is one manufacturing name, plumbing section of Bunnings or any plumbing supply can help you out.