'Legs' for Splatter Guard False Bottom

[Binkie Huckaback]

I have a plastic Peco boiler I use for BIAB and a pretty sturdy stainless splatter guard false bottom which usually wedges inside the boiler. However, a few times it's come adrift and hops have blocked the tap. Does anyone know of anything made of stainless steel I can use as 'legs' to rest the splatter guard on? Whatever it is needs to be at least 80mm high to keep the guard off the element and thermowell. I had a look in the cookware section at Ikea today, but didn't see anything I could repurpose without cutting it.

I don't really want to cut holes in it (though I guess if I could find some massive washers with small holes I might be prepared to do that). While I'm not tight fisted, I don't really want to spend too much money as I'm considering going back to a Grainfather or upgrading to a larger BIAB set up in stainless, so this is really a work around until I get back on my feet with kit.

[themadhippy]

stainless nuts ,bolts and penny washers?

[JonB]

I was just thinking that's probably the most sensible way forward.

One nut & washer each side of the splatter guard, screw through both bolts, like the below (fasteners shown in blue).

As long as you're using at least a 100mm setscrew/bolt you can adjust the heights this way until it sits right.

nuts & washers.png (4.42 KiB) Viewed 2318 times

[Binkie Huckaback]

Thanks guys. Just a thought though; what would be best for making the holes with? I know you have to be careful with stainless steel as using the wrong tool can cause rust.

[JonB]

Hi Binkie, that's not strictly true. HSS Cobalt bits should be fine (available at B&Q, etc.). Bimetallic contact (stainless in contact with non-stainless) is only really an issue with prolongued contact. It's consequently more important that you use Stainless washers/nuts/bolts unless the drill bit leaves a small amount of material behind.

Give it a good clean after drilling and it should be fine (deburring the holes after drilling should also clear out any non-stainless deposits). You can Passivate the hole using Starsan or similar acid cleaner like chemsan (spray and leave) which then restores the "stainless" layer of the material, or just leave it in a dry environment exposed to the air for a week or so and it should naturally passivate itself.

Google "passivating with Starsan" if you're really concerned about rust.

[Binkie Huckaback]

Thanks JonB