I have a domed false bottom in my mash tun, and the dead space is just under 1/2 gal. I do have some extra vinyl tubing that will fit in the center hole of the false bottom. If I were to cut a piece of this so it was about 1/8" to 1/16' above the bottom of the mash tun, would that make any appreciable difference in the amount of unrecoverable wort left in the tun after mashing, or not enough to worry about? I am trying to make my equipment/process as efficient as possible.
My only concern about doing this, if it would make any noticeable difference, would be stuck runoff/sparge. I just did my first all grain brew day, and when I first opened the valve, the finer grain particles had apparently clogged the outlet hole on the false bottom, and I had to blow back through it to get any runoff started. After vorlauf, there was no issue, even after stirring when adding the sparge water. Would putting a pickup tube on make it less likely to happen again, or would I be asking for trouble?
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