Brewzilla false bottom hack - securing the false bottom

[hoppyscotty]

typically 20ltr batches and both elements, but not sure how that is affecting it as they are thermostatically controlled so shut off when temperature is reached. The boil is more than a gentle rolling boil but not a bubbling cauldron either.

 

[Griff097]

typically 20ltr batches and both elements, but not sure how that is affecting it as they are thermostatically controlled so shut off when temperature is reached. The boil is more than a gentle rolling boil but not a bubbling cauldron either.

I know they are thermostatically controlled, but by the time the software switches them on and off I find even with a full batch, generally aiming to get 25/27 in the FV, by the time they switch off the heat that is in the element and the metal around it makes it over vigorous with a pretty much full kettle and then they lag to switch back in.
So once I achieve a vigorous boil I turn the extra 500w element off and have a rolling boil.

Possibly the thermal shock from a smaller volume in the kettle the lag times in switching and 2.5 kW on or off may be part of your problems?

Have you tried both elements on for 40 mins (which is when I achieve a boil) within a few mins either way and then switching back to the main element only?

 

[Rodcx500z]

As soon as mine hits the boil the 500w goes off and stays of for the whole 60 mins you don't need both on to keep a rolling boil

 

[sifty]

On my BZ (new in April this year) I cannot set the temperature over 100 degs, controller just reads HH and both elements are on full time. I switch off the 500W element once boiling and the 1900W one keeps a perfect rolling boil. I only switch the 500 back in momentarily after inserting the hop spider or chiller tube to get back on the boil...

 

[Rodcx500z]

Hi sifty mine is the same but i don't use a hop spider

 

[stripeyjoe]

In my 'home made' BIAB/all in one I've got an FB made from an Asda pizza tray, mainly to keep the BIAB bag away from the exposed element. I just pull this out before the boil. Can't you do that with the Brewziller or do you need the FB for filtering?

I've just bought a Brewziller FB from the KegLand AliX store, was only a few quid and thought it would be a better bet than my pizza tray that is beginning to rust! Will stick some 60mm bolts through the feet to raise it above the level of my element and tap.

 

[martin1256]

I haven’t got my Brewzilla yet, but I’m interested in reading hints and tips. Just a thought on the base plate, what about putting a layer of ceramic beads on it to hold it down and allow liquid to pass through more readily? I’m thinking of the type of ceramic beads they use in baking, therefore not a problem with temperature.

 

[Sym]

I have just used my BZ 35l once (only had it a couple of weeks) and the FB stayed in place no problem. It is actually quite difficult to take out as it is pretty tight. does it loosen over time, or have I just got a slightly better one ?

 

[Rodcx500z]

I have just used my BZ 35l once (only had it a couple of weeks) and the FB stayed in place no problem. It is actually quite difficult to take out as it is pretty tight. does it loosen over time, or have I just got a slightly better one ?

Mine is the same just doing my third brew no problems with it so far

 

[hoppyscotty]

HH means boil so that is the correct setting for boiling.

In my 'home made' BIAB/all in one I've got an FB made from an Asda pizza tray, mainly to keep the BIAB bag away from the exposed element. I just pull this out before the boil. Can't you do that with the Brewziller or do you need the FB for filtering?

I've just bought a Brewziller FB from the KegLand AliX store, was only a few quid and thought it would be a better bet than my pizza tray that is beginning to rust! Will stick some 60mm bolts through the feet to raise it above the level of my element and tap.

yes its is intended to filter as you use the pump to transfer wort to the fermenter.

Nowt wrong with a false bottom in principle. If its good enough for pro's its good enough for Homebrewers. Its just that with the Brewzilla it seems to have been a poorly thought through and executed bit of design. I don't like using hop spiders and hop bags as I don't think you get full attenuation of the hops and the FB is part of the brewzilla design so I want to get it working as intended. If it can work then all is fine with the world and if I can get it to work properly with a cheap and cheerful hack then even better.

Maybe my boil is too vigorous for it too, I'll try shutting off one element in the boil.

 

[Mash Monster]

I have just used my BZ 35l once (only had it a couple of weeks) and the FB stayed in place no problem. It is actually quite difficult to take out as it is pretty tight. does it loosen over time, or have I just got a slightly better one ?

The MK2 FB for the BZ is a much better fit than the MK1 and it comes as standard with the latest models I’ve upgraded mine and it really makes a difference I’m now waiting for the upgraded top screen to be available as my one won’t lie flat anymore

 

[Rodcx500z]

Hi Mash monster i am on my third brew and already the top screen is buckled

 

[Mash Monster]

Hi Mash monster i am on my third brew and already the top screen is buckled

Is it flat or does it have a step pressed into it ?

 

[Rodcx500z]

no i think because they are so thin it has warped with the heat, if you go on the home brew network on you tube and search for Gash you will see what i mean he is physically trying to bend his back in shape

 

[chillipickle]

Never used the top screen.

 

[hoppyscotty]

How do you compress the mash to squeeze to the last litre or so of wort if you don't use the top screen? I press down on the top screen and bend it back to shape.

 

[sifty]

Ah yes a revision of design makes sense. Mine is pretty tight in there...

I thought you weren't supposed to press/ squeeze it? I just let gravity do it's thing. Lift the malt pipe into a sanitised bucket after draining for a while, and pour the liquid from that into the boil later. Always met my numbers, usually exceed those predicted.

 

[hoppyscotty]

squeeze away. the myth is you squeeze out tannins but its a myth. speeds up the process and leaves no wort behind. But dont be tempted to do it too soon as you compress the grain bed and can cause the drainage to stick. I wait till it stops dripping then squeeze.

 

[hoppyscotty]

Well I didn't get a chance to test my hack last weekend as my mate forgot to bring the malt pipe support off his Brewzilla so I took the opportunity to test the vigorousness of the boil so turned off the 500w element once the boil had been established as previously I hadn't bothered. The boil was a little less vigorous but didn't notice the false bottom moving through the boil as I have previously. There are two things that might be going on here:

1. the more vigorous boil I tend to do seems to have been disturbing the FB and the main cause of it moving around in the boil

2: the amount of hop additions caused a restriction and caused the FB to bob around. Unfortunately there were no boil additions in the brew last weekend so couldn't establish if 2 is true...but I would imagine with a vigorous boil the hops wouldn't be settling on the FB anyway so I doubt this is what's going on.

I have also witnessed hops being sucked off the hop cone formed by the whirlpool as you transfer wort to the fermenter. The FB shape is not a close match to the brewzilla and there are variable gaps at different points around the edge of the FB where wet hops that are still in suspension in the wort can be sucked past. I guess I could turn everything off after cooling and let things settle and let hops drop out of suspension but that just extends the brewery even further.

So I think I'll give the hack a go in the next brew because it gives the opportunity to better seal the edge of the FB if you were to add a silicone or rubber tube around the wire.

 

[dcbrookes]

The only problem with putting a silicone tube around the outside of something is that the friction makes it very difficult to fit into the vessel. In my mash tun I have a SS plate false bottom, which is a bit undersized and has a split silicone tube around the edge as a gasket. I found when making this that, if the tube filled the gap between the bottom and the sides, it was very difficult to fit and remove, so I changed it for a thinner tube and used four 75mm long pieces of a larger tube over that, to act as spacers. The gap is still too small for anything to get past, but fitting and removal is now easy.