Is My Shiny False Bottom Rubbish?

[Fil]

for the edge seal you can use silicone tube but instead of splitting it and capping the edge with it you can sit the tube in a tight circle around the pots bases perimeter and sitting the fb on top of this. the fb will sea, against the tube which will deform a tad with the grain mass to then seal agaist the pot wall and base you will need to mod your legs, or loose em completely and use a couple of shorter tube lengths to support the FB's centre.

I cant believe you dont have enough open space for a good drain as my ol coldbox tun fb had less than 1mm holes in a widely spaced ( > 1 inch between holes ) grid and drained a treat.

The trick with my old coldbox tun was to open the drain valve gently and slowly. opening the drain valve quickly to fully open can cause a sudden drop of pressure under the FB which can suck down on the grain bed. and if sucked down the mash could stick

[Fil]

Also with both my old coldbox tun and my current thermopot tun I can vourlaff or jug back the whole tun volume and some more and still not achieve the clarity of liquor that some folk post pics of in here. btw I do also tend to batch sparge

[Jocky]

I have a regular old bought domed bottom with no serious problems, and I crush quite fine. I just have to recirculate a pint or so.

[JabbA]

The thing is the FB is quite a bit smaller in diameter than the MT, I couldn't ensure a length tube of would stay under the rim. The run off from the MT is great, untill my inline filter gets blocked!

I was convinced that the grain was getting under the FB, it doesn't sit perfectly flush, but the silicone hasn't helped.

I got a Bulldog mill for Christmas and whole load of uncrushed malts delivered last week. Looking forward to conditioning and crushing my own to see if I can get a crush that'd work!

Cheers,
Jamie

[orlando]

I can vourlaff or jug back the whole tun volume and some more and still not achieve the clarity of liquor that some folk post pics of in here. btw I do also tend to batch sparge

That's the problem. TBH you can still end up with very clear beer at the end, just takes a bit more effort.

[orlando]

The run off from the MT is great, untill my inline filter gets blocked!

I had this problem with mine, solved by removing the fine mesh from the colander like tube. Try it, should fix it, assuming yours has this.

[JabbA]

Aye, it does have a perforated tube but if I remove it it wouldn't be an inline filter anymore It's just before the solar pump to catch the odd bit of grain that gets through during HERMsing. I run off into a jug and let the grain bed settle before fitting the pump and filter but the false bottom is letting grain through continually.

Cheers,
Jamie

[Jocky]

I can vourlaff or jug back the whole tun volume and some more and still not achieve the clarity of liquor that some folk post pics of in here. btw I do also tend to batch sparge

That's the problem. TBH you can still end up with very clear beer at the end, just takes a bit more effort.

I've only ever had crystal clear run off when recirculating with a pump.

I batch sparge now though - you won't get crystal clear run off and you will get some very small pieces of grain come through to the boil, but that's fine - with irish moss/protofloc in the boil you will end up with sparkling wort.

Personally I jug back enough (carefully!) to see a change from the initial turbid wort with lots of flour in it to a moderate level of clarity. Basically when it's not opaque and there's no large chunks of husk/grain floating about then you should be good to go.

[orlando]

Aye, it does have a perforated tube but if I remove it it wouldn't be an inline filter anymore It's just before the solar pump to catch the odd bit of grain that gets through during HERMsing. I run off into a jug and let the grain bed settle before fitting the pump and filter but the false bottom is letting grain through continually.

Cheers,
Jamie

From your reply it suggests you don't have a fine mesh covering the perforated tube then? If that's the case the next step is to look at the FB, what is it?

[Fil]

I can vourlaff or jug back the whole tun volume and some more and still not achieve the clarity of liquor that some folk post pics of in here. btw I do also tend to batch sparge

That's the problem. TBH you can still end up with very clear beer at the end, just takes a bit more effort.

I will take your word for that,
I once counted over 20 2l jug backs (circa 1.5l full per jug) pouring back thru a nylon sieve over a perforated foil cap on the grain bed and a 4kg grain bill!! after that I was content to drain when the liquor was translucent and bit free..

Like jocky only when pump recirculating the mash have my runnings been crystal clear,

[orlando]

I can vourlaff or jug back the whole tun volume and some more and still not achieve the clarity of liquor that some folk post pics of in here. btw I do also tend to batch sparge

That's the problem. TBH you can still end up with very clear beer at the end, just takes a bit more effort.

I will take your word for that,
I once counted over 20 2l jug backs (circa 1.5l full per jug) pouring back thru a nylon sieve over a perforated foil cap on the grain bed and a 4kg grain bill!! after that I was content to drain when the liquor was translucent and bit free..

Like jocky only when pump recirculating the mash have my runnings been crystal clear,

Beer at the end is clear i.e. what you drink, wort can still be cloudy. I always recirc and end up with crystal clear wort into the boiler but am not entirely convinced it's that important.

[Fil]

Aye most beers finish clear n bright However last pint out of a keg is always perfectly crystal clear, its a proud yet disappointing moment as the glass is held to the light and perfect clarity shines through.
Initial hubris is quickly followed by the calculation that backs up the likely hood that this is the kegs last gasp, and this is the last full glass of that particular keg.. cest la vie

[JabbA]

From your reply it suggests you don't have a fine mesh covering the perforated tube then? If that's the case the next step is to look at the FB, what is it?

Ahh, sorry Orlando, I miss read your post. No, the Y-filter I got from BES doesn't have any mesh, just the perforated tube.

I got my domed false bottom from Angel:

http://www.angelhomebrew.co.uk/en/acces ... ottom.html

In my tun it sits further inbound than the pic above.

Cheers,
Jamie

[JabbA]

I tell a lie, it's the one from BrewBuilder:



Cheers,
Jamie

[orlando]

From your reply it suggests you don't have a fine mesh covering the perforated tube then? If that's the case the next step is to look at the FB, what is it?

Ahh, sorry Orlando, I miss read your post. No, the Y-filter I got from BES doesn't have any mesh, just the perforated tube.

I got my domed false bottom from Angel:

http://www.angelhomebrew.co.uk/en/acces ... ottom.html

In my tun it sits further inbound than the pic above.

Cheers,
Jamie

Looks like the grain is getting in under the edge, picture suggests a ripple in the mesh that could allow finer grain through. I would get some soft silicon tube and slit down the middle then thread it onto the rim. This should provide a better seal. You would have to experiment with the tubing you source to make sure it doesn't expand or contract with temperature. If it does cut slightly short and the heat of the mash will close it up.