I've used a 10gal round cooler with a SS braid for 2 years with no troubles. However, the braid got pretty beat up, and it was time to replace it. I figured that I would upgrade and try out a real false bottom, specifically this model from Williams Brewing:
False Bottom
I tried it out this weekend, and lautering was a nightmare. I ran off more than a 2 gallons (slowly) during vorlauf, and I kept getting big pieces of husk coming through, no matter what. I had to rig up some complicated filtering system and ended up with several grams of crushed husks in the filter bag by the time I got all my wort into the kettle.
So what am I doing wrong? The FB is designed for my size cooler and seems held down fairly well. Is there anything I can do to get this to work better, or this a fact of life with these things?
Any advice would be appreciated.
False Bottom
I tried it out this weekend, and lautering was a nightmare. I ran off more than a 2 gallons (slowly) during vorlauf, and I kept getting big pieces of husk coming through, no matter what. I had to rig up some complicated filtering system and ended up with several grams of crushed husks in the filter bag by the time I got all my wort into the kettle.
So what am I doing wrong? The FB is designed for my size cooler and seems held down fairly well. Is there anything I can do to get this to work better, or this a fact of life with these things?
Any advice would be appreciated.