Bottom drain mash tun & HLT

[jceg316]

I'm building an HLT out of a plastic bucket and heating element and would like to make it bottom draining, is it as simple as drilling a hole in the bottom and attaching right angled piping and a tap or is there more to it than that?

I was also thinking of doing the same to my mash tun, is it as simple as mentioned o is there something I'm missing? My false bottom fits snugly into my MT so it will be help in place. I can leave the current tap in place or get something to block up the hole.

[lord groan]

Yup it is that simple, almost!
You'll need a stand of some sort to rest the hlt or mt on so the bottom drain doesnt get squashed. BEWARE:Watch out that you don't empty the hlt and leave the heating element on - it's a quick way to burn it out or worse.
You can probably plug the hole from the old tap using a flanged 1/2" or 3/4" BSP plug and silicon washer on the inside with a matching backnut on the outside.
Plug: http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p71840
Backnut: http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p90735
good luck

[Fil]

If the plan is to minimise deadspace a bottom drain may not be the best solution,

adding hardware to the base will need feet/legs or a stand to sit the bucket on. and a very efficient and simple method to minimise deadspace is to employ the siphon effect with an internal dip tube with its mouth hovering a mm or so over the bucket base, with tube connected to the external valve and a last minute tip to pool the liquor at the foot of your internal dip tube you vcan drain all but the last few ml from the bucket.

hovering a mm or so over the base wont restrict the flow as with a 1/2" bsp pipe fitting for example with a 22mm od thats going to provide over(11xpi) 35mm sq of exit area for a good flow.



here im using the same f/f 90 degree bend as used on the side return on the drain valve back pointing downward,

when used for the boil with a hop spider..

Wot deadspace ??:)

[jceg316]

Lord Groan, thanks for those links. My biggest issue with homebrew DIY is that I never know the names of parts or if that part does exist! It comes from a long history of avoiding to fix things. My setup now is electric so I am very careful to avoid leaving the element on. I've had a few near misses previously...

Fil, thanks for sending those pics. Is that drained tun due to the right angled pipe or have your poured it away? I was thinking of doing that as an option and might do for the HLT, but would be a bit harder for the mash tun. I use an old coffee table to support the mash tun so it's no problem to drill a hole in the bottom for the tap.

Thanks for your help.

[Fil]

its the natural drain result, aided with a slight tip forward to pool the last runnings around the bottom of valve arrangement. With a hose attached to the valve dropping below the pot base the siphon effect will suck all the liquor out unless you dont tip forward and let a bubble of air in to break the siphon.

[jceg316]

How do you stop bits of hops, protein, random grains etc coming out the tap and into the fementor? Or even blocking the tap?

[Fil]

Since u ask just my take on things and a system im still tweeking....

hops are contained in my take on the hop spider a grain bag suspended over/in the boil by a bodged up 10mm copper tube frame, and recirculating the boil through the bag ensures a constant flow over the hops for good utilisation, without it the bag just floated on the boil surface.. The return tube enters below the boiling liquid level so is heated to full temp and has no/little effective temp loss due to the external plumbing
thats the side entry visible in the pics above.. (rightclick on the pic above and open in new tab if the whole pot is not in view)

the fine hot break material as well as all the cold break material generated in the cfc on the way to the fermentor drop out as trub during primary.. Wiser brewers than I have advised me not to fear break material in the FV some of it can provide food or nutrients for the yeast, i asked before embarking down this route....



a garth style mesh filter envelope can easily be used with this type of drain too substitute the F/F elbow for a F/M or street elbow and a couple of washers and a locknut will sandwich the mesh. Ive got one ready to use if i want to, not bothered yet tho, 2 x ss mesh pan splatter guards with handles removed and the edge from one removed clipped together with a split length of ldpe beerline

the street elbow if bought from the same supplier should have the same depth as the F/F version (i used bes.co.uk ? .com?)

[jceg316]

that's quite a setup you have there, what is your batch size?

What you say makes sense in regards to hot breaks, and as I ferment in my garage where it can get very cold this can sort of cold crash it which should clear the beer up a bit more. Until very recently I brewed with a hop filter and threw hops flowers in whole. Due to laziness I couldn't be bothered to clean the filter every brew which is pretty tricky to clean, so I took it out and not I put hops in muslin bags. Whilst it saves 5 mins cleaning time I'm not sure how well utilised the hops are as they seem to just be sitting there on top of the boil. Also it's another cost to each brew to keep using muslin bags.