False bottom, manifold, s/s tube... What about s/s ball bearings?

[Bobby_M]

I'm all for trying new things but my honest reaction to this is that it's probably the worst "false bottom" idea I've heard of. I know, bah humbug. I cringe every time I have to take my false bottom out of the tun to hose the grain off of it. That's one piece of stainless. If I had to juggle 10 pounds of ball bearings after every brew day, which will inevitably fall and roll all over the place, I'd probably drink the Budweiser cans that my wife insists on keeping in the fridge rather than brew. I guess I'm feeling especially cynical today.

 

[kennett_brew]

I'm all for trying new things but my honest reaction to this is that it's probably the worst "false bottom" idea I've heard of. I know, bah humbug. I cringe every time I have to take my false bottom out of the tun to hose the grain off of it. That's one piece of stainless. If I had to juggle 10 pounds of ball bearings after every brew day, which will inevitably fall and roll all over the place, I'd probably drink the Budweiser cans that my wife insists on keeping in the fridge rather than brew. I guess I'm feeling especially cynical today.

 

[Kingfish]

Sounds like a fantastic idea. I really like the pebble idea. I only brew about once a month so taking 10 minutes to clean pebbles is no big deal.

 

[weaselchew]

I don't know that I'd use marbles / ball bearings where I could easily buy a single piece false bottom, but I could see valid uses for them.

My tun has a 6" round opening at the top and the bottom where the false bottom would go is 12" round, so at best, I'd have to cut a false bottom in half to fit it in. Plus I don't think the shape is a perfect circle, so I'd probably have gaps along the edges.

Pulling a nylon bag full of marbles/ball bearings out,dropping it in a bucket of water, and pouring off the grain bits is probably not really any more difficult than disassembling a manifold to clean it.

 

[CollinsBrew]

Something else to think about would be the heat loss. That much stainless in the bottom of your tun would absorb a lot of heat initially. Easily remedied by pre-heating I guess or raising the temp of your strike water. I'm working on a direct fired system and am wondering if this would make the temperature control of my mash easier are harder. I already have a false bottom so for me, it's all hypothetical.

 

[Punx Clever]

The additional thermal mass would stabilize the mash temperatures... or at least thats my SWAG as an engineer.

 

[Bobby_M]

You'd have to use 1/8" balls for it to work as any kind of filter for grist and then you'd need another screen on the outlet to keep the balls from getting into the drain. Seriously, I have to wonder if the people encouraging you to do this are sincere or trolling you.

 

[acefaser]

You'd have to use 1/8" balls for it to work as any kind of filter for grist and then you'd need another screen on the outlet to keep the balls from getting into the drain. Seriously, I have to wonder if the people encouraging you to do this are sincere or trolling you.

I would be willing to bet 3" of 3/8" marbles would do the trick. If i had some marbles I would give it a try in my next brew. Might have to see if I can find some...

 

[kennett_brew]

You'd have to use 1/8" balls for it to work as any kind of filter for grist and then you'd need another screen on the outlet to keep the balls from getting into the drain. Seriously, I have to wonder if the people encouraging you to do this are sincere or trolling you.

Thanks.. No worries I am more then aware I'll need larger diameter balls... I am thinking at least 1/2" to 3/4"...

Quick note to everyone reading...

Indeed, if my intended cooler were round, I would certainly go with the false bottom.. Given it's a rectangular cooler, false bottoms aren't an option unless one is custom built....

 

[kennett_brew]

Something else to think about would be the heat loss. That much stainless in the bottom of your tun would absorb a lot of heat initially. Easily remedied by pre-heating I guess or raising the temp of your strike water. I'm working on a direct fired system and am wondering if this would make the temperature control of my mash easier are harder. I already have a false bottom so for me, it's all hypothetical.

Interesting... I would have had to learn the hard way on the temp loss.. Agreed.. Almost need to run some water from the HLT through to preheat then drain, mash in.....

Good call! :rockin:

 

[mthompson]

You'd have to use 1/8" balls for it to work as any kind of filter for grist and then you'd need another screen on the outlet to keep the balls from getting into the drain. Seriously, I have to wonder if the people encouraging you to do this are sincere or trolling you.

If he used 1/2-3/4" river rock, it would fill in more tightly than spheres. I bet after a few vorlaufs it would be as clear as any running from a false bottom, manifold or ss screen.

 

[kennett_brew]

Ok... Game on... With 4.00 in river rock, 2 lbs of pils grain.. Time for an experiment!! See pics attached... Currently 45min left in the mash before testing clarity, etc..

 

[kennett_brew]

1st pic - Rocks from the Dollar store..
2nd pic - size - that's a quarter...
3rd pic is the rocks being sanitized.
4th pic - showing the mock MLT (jockey box I usually use for serving when tailgating.)
5th pic - grain in!!

 

[AdamCanFly]

Can't wait to see the result!

 

[AdamCanFly]

How'd it go?

 

[kennett_brew]

success!!!! Pics belooooow...

1st pic - slow but clean - barely ANY specs / particles
2nd pic - after I scooped out 90% and then dumped the rest into a strainer.
3rd pics - rocks clean!! (took maybe 5 minutes tops)
4th pic - mock MLT cleaned and drying
5th pic - wort boil...

Survey for me says.... Rock Bottom Brewery has been born..

Notes - Preheated rocks right after sanitizing them with 183 degree water.. Helped keep the temp up / not drop due to temp differential of the cold rocks. Also, slow drain was due to the VERY small opening of the tap.. I have no doubt flow will not be an issue once I have a proper opening...

 

[BBL_Brewer]

So what's the verdict? You should be done with the sparge by now.

Edit: Nevermind, you just posted.

 

[kennett_brew]

So what's the verdict? You should be done with the sparge by now.

Edit: Nevermind, you just posted.

Definitley going to use'em.. Cost wise pretty cheap... Cool'in the wort now.. Going to use it as a starter for my yeast..

 

[AdamCanFly]

Rock bottom brewing, I like it! So how much are you selling false bottom rocks for?

 

[kennett_brew]

Rock bottom brewing, I like it! So how much are you selling false bottom rocks for?

haha.. This was a small scale test.. 2 lbs of grain.... I've got 6 more packs of rocks to add to the 4 I used to help see if it will cover enough of the bottom in the 52 qt cooler... all in all.. 10 bucks total..

It was fun to see if it would work...

 

[Hume-ulus]

This is splendid. putting the rocks/ bearings in a bag would keep you from stirring them into the grain. just a thought. kudos.

 

[kennett_brew]

This is splendid. putting the rocks/ bearings in a bag would keep you from stirring them into the grain. just a thought. kudos.

Very good idea.. Worth trying!!

 

[cmj141]

ha! no worries there.. I will def be trying it... The MLT I am planning on using is the 52qt cooler... I've only seen manifolds and tubes...

Exactly! worst case I prove myself wrong... Wasn't it Edison who said he found over a 1,000 ways not to make a light bulb?

National Treasure is an awesome movie. Haha. I like the idea of the ss beads. Wouldn't be that bad of clean up if you had a sluice box lol.

 

[cmj141]

I think that the beach or river pebbles would have zero effects on the mash...they have been underwater for thousands of years, so I'd assume they are pretty neutral by now. I think it would be cool to get some from local river/beach or from your travels and use those.

As far as uniformity, as long as the outlet is covered it should be fine. Figuring out the best diameter range of stone would be trial & error though.

Idk. Rock is Rock. It's made up of many different types minerals, ores, and Dino ****. Look at lime stone which comes from shells and sea organisms. Limestone I believe Is used in the food industry in different ways for its effects on acids.

Rocks in rivers and oceans don't get neutral they keep giving water their minerals (its where water gets them)

I see rocks all the time that have bits of iron in them bc there's rust veins in the rock. Imagine mixing your mash with rusty stones...

So if you're going to use rocks I would def. talk to a geologist or mineralogist.

 

[Lucky_Chicken]

How was your mash efficiency?

 

[kennett_brew]

How was your mash efficiency?

low... close to 70%.. But being such a Frankenstein of a MLT, completely made it up on the spot by using my Jockey Box, I didn't have high expectations nor really was intending on testing the efficiency of the process. It was more conceptual / trial on the use of rocks as a false bottom..

I will say the temp didn't drop, within the 60 minutes I mashed, 2 degrees with no external wrapping of insulation, etc... I was pretty shocked at that...