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Cooler False Bottom

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 11:11 pm
by HopGrower
Found a piece of stainless steel in the junk pile and decided to make a false bottom for my cooler mash tun.

Cut to size and drilled 1/8"
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Attached HDPE stand-offs on the underside using stainless pan heads. I was originally going to make it entirely from HDPE but it's a BITCH to glue.
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Two grab tabs on top to make it easier to remove from the cooler.
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Finished. Easy little project, but should work ok as long as the holes aren't too big/too small.
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Re: Cooler False Bottom

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 11:38 pm
by chalmers
Good use of discarded steel! My feeling is that you'll need a lot more holes (or bigger ones) to get the wort to drain at a non-frustrating rate. Keep in mind that most of the filtering is accomplished by the grain bed, so don't be afraid of opening up the holes. 1/4"?

Re: Cooler False Bottom

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 12:20 am
by mr x
1/4 might be a bit big, I'd say 5/32" max.

Re: Cooler False Bottom

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 10:48 am
by HopGrower
But it's general consensus that I'll likely need more holes, eh?

The beauty of junk yard parts; Fucking up doesn't matter. :)

Re: Cooler False Bottom

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 11:20 am
by mr x
I'd say more holes for sure.