False bottom or manifold? Probably overthinking it

I’m thinking of constructing a stainless mash tun. I am looking at this:

http://www.roundeyesupply.com/Stainless ... m?CartID=1

It says it has a 45 inch lid. I think I am reasonably assuming that I would need a 45 inch false bottom. Right? A manifold might be easier, but it seems peculiar, although I bet it would work. Has anyone with more constructions skills given this thought?

Edit: Fly sparger, BTW…

How would an 80qt stock pot have a 45" diameter? either it is bigger than 80qt, or the diameter is smaller than 45". NB megapot 20 gallon is 17" tall x 21" diameter. must be a type-o

I agree 45" seems way off, I would think your in the realm of 24" max.

Wow… Roundeye supply, huh?

45" refers to the height making the diameter about a foot, which looks right from the picture. Never seen a 20-gal stainless kettle for that cheap before, so I assume it’s really cheaply made and very thin, making scorching an issue if you’re going to direct-heat it. And if you’re heating it and fly-sparging, I don’t think you want to use a manifold since the grain will be in direct contact with the bottom - a false-bottom will make it easier to heat.

Wow that is cheap. I thbink I paid $120 for my Bayou 20gal kettle. Its single thickness too though and I boil in it without scorching. Heating mash is more prone for a scorch though, so definitely use a false bottom and heat gently. I would get the pot in and then measure the diameter before ordering a false bottom.

It might be 45 cm diameter

I’m going with misprint on the website and it is indeed 45cm in diameter.

[quote=“The Fhunt”]I’m going with misprint on the website and it is indeed 45cm in diameter.[/quote]Since they say “45 in” several times and the volume is in quarts, rather than liters, that doesn’t seem very likely. Also, if it was 45cm wide, it would only be 18 inches tall, which doesn’t match the photo.

that site uses the same pic for different pots. some of them have cm and inches for the same pot (type-o). might be a good deal though

My 20gal Bayou kettle is about as wide as it is tall, I think the diameter is 20". I looked whether they make false bottoms for something like this and they do but sheesh they are over $100. I would make my own if I were to go this route. I’m a cooler MLT person though.

My cooler is in pretty rough shape, so I was considering other options rather than simply replacing it. I don’t have any intentions of direct firing. RIMS works well for me. I thought stainless might be a decent way to go (smaller footprint, I could hard plumb some disconnects to it). I brew 10 gallon batches, so a round cooler isn’t really an option.

My 15 gallon kettle is 18.5 inches in diameter. NorCal quotes a falsebottom at this size at $150ish. So a false bottom for this kettle would likely be bigger/more. Something doesn’t feel right about paying 3 times more for the false bottom than the tun. I could build a false bottom. Something to consider.

Anyway, thanks for talking it out.

At that scale, a Denny-style stainless braid would probably be worth a try before spending the money on a false bottom or the time to build a manifold. Our club uses a long stainless braid from a washing machine hose in the 2’x2’x3’ stainless mash tun we use for our big brew events and it works great (fly sparge).

I’d stay away from the false bottom and instead go with a slotted pipe manifold. My experience is that a false bottom with get stuck very quickly if you try to direct pump the mash. Palmer has some good info on manifold design concepts. I use a manifold in a 28 gallon stainless kettle. You will need to insulate your mash tun or the RIMS won’t keep up.