New False Bottom

Nov 12

New False Bottom

Just as I got my system geared to exclusively use pellets, hop weirdness comes along. So, I decided to pick up a false bottom for my kettle so I can use both whole and pellet hops.

The trick here is to get the false bottom to sit above my diverter plate, and also so the diverter won't obstruct the feet. I picked this up from MoreBeer as they also made my kettle and knew what I needed better than I did. Here are some pics:

Here's the false bottom in place. As you can see it sits above the diverter. A perfect fit.

Here's a closer look at the false bottom

Here's a closer look at the diverter plate and the port.

And here's what things look like for pellets, without the false bottom

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2 comments

§ Jason said on : 06/06/08 @ 00:13

I would love to know how the diverter plate and boil screen work for you. I run a similar system in that I have a whirlpool chiller. I am completely unsatisfied with hop bags and I am looking for a real alternative. I purchased the Hop Stopper and that was a big bust. The whirlpool concentrated all of the hot break and hops around the screen and clogged it hopelessly. I even tried using a separate port to recirculate the wort. That didn't work either. It wasn't the port, it was the concentration of trub around the screen that did me in. Has this been a satisfactory solution for you? Is there anything that you would change about your chilling and hop filtering? I also love all the info about your mash temp control. As soon as I get the hop thing taken care of I am sure I will be writing you about the details of your mash temp set up.

Cheers,

and thanks,

Jason
§ Mike Flaminio® said on : 06/06/08 @ 08:53
The diverter works pretty well for pellet hops. The more patient you are, the better it works. I stir it up well, then let it sit a while, then drain. The longer you let it settle and the slower you drain the more you keep behind. Generally though , not a whole lot makes it through to the fermenter so I don't really fuss with it much.

The false bottom works great with whole hops. Actually, check my recent post about recirculating-chilling with whole hops and the false bottom. That seems an even more efficient method.

Good luck!