I am getting all the items together that I need to convert to all grain. Today I picked up a 10 gallon igloo cooler, I scored it from my sister because she is moving to Arkansas. (it has the Lowes logo on it grrrr) I am trying to figure out which way to go for my false bottom. Should I go the stainless route? Or is the Phil's Phalse Bottom workable? What about the ball valve and fittings? I know stainless is the best way to go but my wallet is on a diet, so is Brass a good alternate way to go? I want to do it the right way but also at the lowest cost with out compromising operation. I know this is sounding like I want my cake and eat it, too. However I understand that quality tools make the job sweeter and that comes with a price.
Any suggestions from the group would be great!
I'm assuming that this is a cylindrical cooler, yeah? Most "Lowes" coolers are cylindrical, I think.
Personally, I think that cylindrical coolers work best with fly sparging and rectangular coolers work best with batch sparging. I also think that cylindrical coolers work best with a false bottom and rectangular coolers work best with a manifold. I think that SS braids are just horrible and should be avoided, because I've had too many stuck sparges with them. I don't have a lot of science to back this up, just my own personal experiences.
But you're on a budget, so you don't want "ideal." You want "best bang for your buck."
Okay. I'd go with a brass 1/2" ball valve and other brass fittings. I'd make an exagonal (six-sided) or octagonal (eight-sided) manifold out of 1/2" CPVC tubing and fittings. Like this:
But instead of using a rigid piece of CPVC to connect it to the valve assembly, I'd use a piece of 1/2" silicon hose. It's less likely to get knocked off.
It's important to use CPVC instead of PVC since PVC is not designed for hot water. I think it's only designed for waste water, to be honest, but don't quote me on that.
Anyway...I'd take a drill and a pretty small drill bit (1/16" or 3/32") and drill a whole mess of holes in the tubing (but not the fittings). Make two rows of holes in the lower half of each piece of tubing, about 15° away from where the tubing would touch the bottom of the cooler. Make a row of holes on each side of that line.
I'd try fly sparging first to see if that works well for you. And then try batch sparging if you're not happy with fly sparging.