[chezteth]

Greetings fellow homebrewers. I'm planning on building a new brew stand. I plan on buying 3 new kettles with ball valves. Is it possible to use a stainless braid with the kettle mash tun? Or, would it be best to get a false bottom? I'm afraid if I put a braid in it I won't get all the wort out of it if it doesn't sit in the bottom. Any suggestions?

Cheers,
Brandon

[Jeff M]

A Braid can pull as much wort out as a false bottom depending on the FB design and if it uses a pickup tube.  I use boilermakers and the pickup tube is a superb addition, but it can be rather hard to swallow the additional cost just for the added perk of not leaving 1-2G in a vessel.

What Brand will you be using?  It will determine how effective the FB available to use in it will be.

[chezteth]

I'm planning on getting a polarware 15 gallon kettle. The diameter of the kettle is 15.625". It is their economy kettle with a ball valve and bulkhead.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[mattybrass]

if you are planning on doing direct fire mashes the false bottom might be a nice thing to have since it would keep the grain off the bottom of the kettle.

[chezteth]

I won't be doing direct fire mashes so that is not a concern.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[mattybrass]

I won't be doing direct fire mashes so that is not a concern.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

a lot of people will use a machined street elbow as a pickup tube however with a false bottom you would need to have a hole custom cut to fit this.

http://www.stainlessbrewing.com/12-High-Flow-90-_p_162.html

[S. cerevisiae]

I'm planning on getting a polarware 15 gallon kettle. The diameter of the kettle is 15.625". It is their economy kettle with a ball valve and bulkhead.

While I am a huge fan of the restaurant-grade made in America BP-series Polar Ware kettles with factory welded fittings (see page #2 of this PDF: http://polarware.com/Vollrath-Files/Polar-Ware-Files/CAT_PW-Homebrew_En_NP_2013-08-22.pdf), I am not a fan of the economy line.  You can do much better for the money.  Bru-Gear offers a nice kettle at that price point.

http://www.bru-gear.com/store/p16/ProBoiler%28tm%29_15.html

[69franx]

I'm planning on getting a polarware 15 gallon kettle. The diameter of the kettle is 15.625". It is their economy kettle with a ball valve and bulkhead.

While I am a huge fan of the restaurant-grade made in America BP-series Polar Ware kettles with factory welded fittings, I am not a fan of the economy line.  You can do much better for the money.  Bru-Gear offers a nice kettle at that price point.

http://www.bru-gear.com/store/p16/ProBoiler%28tm%29_15.html

Bru-Gear has great looking products, but I have yet to see mine. The kickstarter production delivery times have been delayed 2 months, hopefully coming next month. The supporter price was nice, with ball valve, thermometer, npt-TC adaptor, steps for false bottom support and all shiny stainless. From looking at their website, price has only gone up about $50 for a 15 gallon kettle. The main concern is how long it would take to take delivery, as production has not even been completed for the project supporters

[narcout]

I'm afraid if I put a braid in it I won't get all the wort out of it if it doesn't sit in the bottom. Any suggestions?

You can probably get the braid to sit on the bottom if you incorporate a 90 degree elbow.

[chezteth]

While I am a huge fan of the restaurant-grade made in America BP-series Polar Ware kettles with factory welded fittings (see page #2 of this PDF: http://polarware.com/Vollrath-Files/Polar-Ware-Files/CAT_PW-Homebrew_En_NP_2013-08-22.pdf), I am not a fan of the economy line.  You can do much better for the money.  Bru-Gear offers a nice kettle at that price point.

http://www.bru-gear.com/store/p16/ProBoiler%28tm%29_15.html

What do you not like about their economy line?

[Jeff M]

While I am a huge fan of the restaurant-grade made in America BP-series Polar Ware kettles with factory welded fittings (see page #2 of this PDF: http://polarware.com/Vollrath-Files/Polar-Ware-Files/CAT_PW-Homebrew_En_NP_2013-08-22.pdf), I am not a fan of the economy line.  You can do much better for the money.  Bru-Gear offers a nice kettle at that price point.

http://www.bru-gear.com/store/p16/ProBoiler%28tm%29_15.html

What do you not like about their economy line?

YOu get what you pay for.  In the PW economy live i have seen a lot of thin bottomed pots that oilcan like a sonofagun.  Id prefer to not have a drum for a pot personally. 

[chezteth]

I'm afraid if I put a braid in it I won't get all the wort out of it if it doesn't sit in the bottom. Any suggestions?

You can probably get the braid to sit on the bottom if you incorporate a 90 degree elbow.

Good point. Definitely something to consider.

[chezteth]

YOu get what you pay for.  In the PW economy live i have seen a lot of thin bottomed pots that oilcan like a sonofagun.  Id prefer to not have a drum for a pot personally.

If I understand correctly...  The bottom will bow?

[Jeff M]

Correct, and it sounds like a gong when it bows back and forth. 

[chezteth]

What do you think of these kettles? Has anyone used these before? http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/brewing-equipment/brew-kettles/tall-boy-stainless-steel-brew-kettle.html

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk