Good to be back plus SS basket question.

[Tommydee]

I’ve been away from the forum due to a very crazy year. Completed my first full year electric,and am quite happy with my basement setup and resulting beer. Thanks to Texas wine, wilser brewer, brundog, Bobbym, and the English guy from Houston (name?)for all the advice over the years.

I’m running a bayou kettle 16 gallon used, with a 2nd hand panel, and a steam slayer. All hardware tweaks via Brewhardware. Living 25 minutes from Bobby’s shop is a crazy good situation.

questions- I did some searching, and not many recent updates on the SS basket vs bag debate, and I’m curious on consensus here now that we’ve had a full year of dueling all in one systems with slightly different basket configs. I’ll either buy more wilser bags or go custom SS, so this is not A question about all in one systems, but instead if we’ve learned anything about baskets in general from reality of those systems.
FWIW, I declare innovation of 2019- to be the steam slayer, thanks to Bobby and brundog for that!

 

[odie]

there really isn't much of a difference. 2 similar ways to achieve the same results.

if your kettle is plain or only a spigot then bag is probably the way to go.

if your kettle has stuff inside like a heating element, then you would either us a fine mesh basket stopping just above the element or a raised screen platform of some type to keep the bag slightly off the element.

In my case I have an element and thermometer probe in the bottom. But I don't use a mesh basket. but instead put my bag inside a standard steamer basket. Basically making it a mesh basket.

But in your case, I would recommend just adding a Wilser bag, no basket needed since you have that screen protecting it from the element.

 

[Valve1138]

It’s easy to squeeze a bag.