False Bottom order

[Buri]

Hi

I am looking to get perforated SS False bottom for my mash tun. I found few suppliers but they all sell large sheets of SS. and I only need one part.

So if anybody interested we could share an order.

[Shanna]

Hi

I am looking to get perforated SS False bottom for my mash tun. I found few suppliers but they all sell large sheets of SS. and I only need one part.

So if anybody interested we could share an order.

What shape and size is your mash tun? Ikea sell round ss candle trays of varying sizes. See

http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/catalog/products/10236069/
http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/catalog/products/90236070/
http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/catalog/products/70236071/

If you have a matching sized and shaped Mashtun you could maybe fabricate your own false bottom.

1. Clean off the foam feet on the bottom of the tray.
2. Get an angle grinder with a narrow ss cutting disk and cut some slits in it. Remember Dr Idiot (yours truly recommends heavy gloves, ear defenders and protective eye wear while doing this.
3. Drill a nice tight hole in the centre for a bottom drain. E.g. threaded nipple connected to a right angled fitting that can take a compression nut and some copper piping.
4. Attach the copper pipe work using the compression fitting to the right angled fitting screwed on to the nipple that forms the bottom drain and make a nice curved bend in the copper that will fit through a pre drilled hole in the false bottom.  The intention is that once the mash tun starts to drain you should get a vacuum effect. You want your copper piping to reach the lowest point in the bottom of the Mashtun so that it drains as much as possible.

I currently have a bottom drain on my mashtum that leaves approx 3 litres of wort behind.  The wort I get out is clear but very inefficient I have a ss mesh screen sitting above a Cooper manifold.  My mash tun is round with a oval base so there is loads of dead space. All the fittings (except my ball valve) are brass.  As part of this change I will be replacing all remaining brass to ss including hex nuts, right angled fitting, compression nuts and nipple.

What I describe above is what I am planning to try and change to. I hope this helps.  If I can get s clear run if time and what I describe works I will attempt to update this thread with photos.

Shanna

[Buri]

Give it a try tomorrow

[DEMPSEY]

Word of warning I have used these to make false bottoms but once you put slits in them they are weak and need a lot of support as the heavy mash will crush them. 

[Shanna]

Word of warning I have used these to make false bottoms but once you put slits in them they are weak and need a lot of support as the heavy mash will crush them. 

What do you use to support them?

Shanna

[DEMPSEY]

Depending on the depth I used brass olives once.

[Shanna]

@Shanna, my false bottom is made from the first tray you listed above from Ikea.

Hi Tube

Do you prop yours up? If so what do you use?

Shanna

[Hop Bomb]

I had mine made by http://homebrewbuilder.co.uk/mash%20tuns.html  to fit my 80 litre thermo pot. Only arrived today. Looks the biz! Parcel motel made shipping very cheap.

[St. Fursey]

I had mine made by http://homebrewbuilder.co.uk/mash%20tuns.html  to fit my 80 litre thermo pot. Only arrived today. Looks the biz! Parcel motel made shipping very cheap.

They look the bees knees. How does it fit? Pics?

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

[Buri]

Thank you for advice. I just made an ikea false bottom.

With 1mm angel grinder disk. it look very nice and very rigid. It would not collapse under the weight of a grain unless pump would suck it in.
I might get a small pipe with it to support the middle as I have heard form few people that pumps may create too much pressure if a grain get stuck.

[DEMPSEY]

My one was fine with 6Kg's of mash but when we tried 12Kg's of mash and te fact that I had a pump sucking from underneath,it just crushed the plate.

[Hop Bomb]

I had mine made by http://homebrewbuilder.co.uk/mash%20tuns.html  to fit my 80 litre thermo pot. Only arrived today. Looks the biz! Parcel motel made shipping very cheap.

They look the bees knees. How does it fit? Pics?

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Fits like a glove!

[Shanna]

Following on from my earlier post about how to I had imagined how to fabricate a false bottom I actually got around to doing this tonight.

I already had fitted a bottom drain using a stainless steel nipple that is secured via some o-rings and a pair of hexaganol nuts (one on the inside and outside of the mash tun).

So now I took my hole saw to match the size of the nipple and also to match the stainless steel fittings and drilled two holes in the canle tray. I fitted my stainless steel fittings to the nipple through the centre hole. The 2nd part of the stainless steel fitting went through the 2nd hole to reach down to the bottom of the mash tun.

I then took my angle grinder with a stainless steel cutting blade and cut a series of thin lines in the candle tray. I used the same angle grinder to debur the slits that I cut through the tray.

Now I put my candle tray and stainless fittings together in the bottom of the mash tun.

I tested draining the mashtun with this new setup and I was left with approximately 200 mls of liquid. Previously I was leaving about 3 litres of liquid behind because I was using a copper manifold and it sat high above the bottom of the mashtun due to the curved shape of the bottom of the mashtun.

Hoping that this will work well going forward. Total cost approximately €20 (€8 for the candle tray from IKEA, €2 for the stainless cutting tray from McQuillans, two stainless steel right angled 1/2" fittings €8 from China on Ebay).

Shanna

[Ciderhead]

Sorry I'm fick, if you have a gole in the bottom of your mash tun why do you need the 2 holes in the SS tray?

[Shanna]

Sorry I'm fick, if you have a gole in the bottom of your mash tun why do you need the 2 holes in the SS tray?

No question is thick. The bottom nipple was  previously connected to a copper manifold via a right angled fitting. Now there are two right angled fittings screwed together to reach the bottom of the mash tun. The first hole is in the centre that goes over the nipple, while the second is a little bit out to allow the 2nd ss fitting reach the bottom of the tun and so drain the liquid. Did not see any other way get the liquid to drain without having to do more pipe work. This solution should be strong as the ss fitting are screwed tightly together.

Shanna