Boil screen (bazooka) or false bottom

[greenhaze]

Which do ye use, or which do you prefer or which is better ?

Slainte

 

[Yooper]

I assume you mean in the boil kettle?

For whole hops, the bazooka is great. But pellet hops will clog it like heck. So for mostly leaf/whole hops, like today, I used the bazooka and it worked wonderfully well. When I use pellets, I don't use it. Or, if I have a mix of pellets and leaf hops I bag the pellets and use the bazooka screen.

I don't have a false bottom for my boil kettle.

 

[greenhaze]

I meant for a mash tun.

Slainte

 

[Whut]

False bottom in the MT. Without it I'd imagine a bazooka would simply clog causing a stuck sparge.

 

[Rev2010]

False bottom in the MT. Without it I'd imagine a bazooka would simply clog causing a stuck sparge.

Not at all, matter of fact most people say that bazooka screens and braids works even better than a false bottom.

I use a bazooka screen, have for a long time now and never get a stuck sparge outside of one time doing a pumpkin ale without rice hulls. Not anymore though when doing pumpkins with rice hulls. I don't use any rice hulls with my wheats and never a stuck sparge. I first tried a false bottom and got an instant stuck run off. Had to dump the whole mash tun contents into a bag/kettle (basically almost like a BIAB). I found the false bottom was slightly warped and grain easily got underneath. Returned it and got the $50 refund and bought NB's $17 bazooka tube and never looked back. I highly recommend them in mash tuns.


Rev.

 

[Yooper]

Oh, for the MLT. That would be fine for batch sparging, but not for fly sparging due to the potential for channelling.

 

[billl]

Everyone has their own preferences.

If you fly sparge, hands down - false bottoms win. The perfectly spread holes provide near 100% uniform flow and maximum extraction ability.

If you batch sparge, its a tossup. False bottoms last a whole lot longer but are more expensive. You can't accidentally smash a false bottom with your mash paddle. The holes in a false bottom are bigger, so you tend to have to recirculate more. False bottoms tend to have more dead space than a braid but don't flop around like a braid does.

 

[greenhaze]

I will be batch sparging. The bazooka I bought was a six inch. It's very sturdy, I think it would take a lot to damage it. I wonder though is it too short. I am using a Home Depot 10 gallon round cooler for my mash tun.
Any thoughts on this ?
Slainte

 

[Offset_Bender]

I use a bazooka screen in my rectangular cooler and batch spare. The length should not be an issue( I tilt my cooler so my dead space is next to nothing). My only issue is that no matter how much I vorlauf I still get some grain getting past. I use a funnel with a fine screen to drain into BK. According to beersmith I am about 75 percent efficient, so it works for now.

 

[nicklepickles]

Another vote for bazooka screens. Ive used mine for about 5 or so batches now, very sturdy and reliable. Ive scrapped it a few times with my mash spoon and nothing happened at all. I usually only have to vorlauf about 2 qts or so for clear runnings. I batch sparge also fyi.

 

[hogwash]

I batch sparge with a bazooka screen and have only had one stuck sparge *knock on wood* on a weizen that I was draining too quickly. Just had to scrape the screen with my big spoon, vorlauf again and it was off to the races, only slower this time (haha). I haven't ever used rice hulls either and my efficiency is usually right around 80% sometimes a little more.

I wouldn't think that the length would matter but mine extends the diameter of my 10g round cooler tun *gigglesnicker*. As I recall, I even had to roll the end up a little bit when I installed it *gigglesnicker*.

 

[OleGoatBrewing]

I've brewed over 200 gallons with my Bazooka screen in a 10 Gal MT. I batch sparge almost all my brews so I agree with the other posters comments. I can't say how effective it would be fly sparging.

I've only had problems once (when I pumped out wort too fast), but other than that it's been the best $8 I've spent on my system.

 

[rcornell]

I use a false bottom, but bazooka screens work great for a much cheaper price. I fly sparge though

 

[Natdavis777]

I use a false bottom, but bazooka screens work great for a much cheaper price. I fly sparge though

Same here. Love my false bottom but I fly sparge as well. Shouldn't have any issues with the bazooka tube/batch sparging. I used to do that but with a braid instead on my old setup and it worked well

 

[brewbama]

I batch sparge with a bazooka tube in an Extreme cooler. I have 125 gal in 2014 with this setup without issues.

 

[Rev2010]

I batch sparge and have been using a bazooka screen since going all grain around 3 years ago and couldn't be happier. Using the same screen too from NorthernBrewer. Some people say they fall apart but mine hasn't, just be careful when stirring the mash. Tried a false bottom first and the grain got right underneath. Apparently it wasn't 100% flat. I returned it, got the bazooka screen and haven't looked back. My efficiency is great too, 81% consistently and now I'm getting higher adjusting my mash pH.

Rev.