Malt Pipe Bottom Screen Mesh Size

[Brewelder]

Hi All,

I posted a thread on here a while back Re: Malt Pipe for a Klarstein Boiler, unfortunately despite all the help i received i still haven’t been able to source one.

Anyway, i did manage to source a food safe plastic bucket which i originally intended to drill loads of holes in. However, i have the skills and can get the mesh, so I’ve decided to cut away most of the bottom of the bucket leaving only sufficient to act as a support and keep some strength in the bucket. Then i will add some mesh as in the bottom screen of a malt pipe.

Not having actually seen a malt pipe, can anyone tell me what size holes are in the bottom screen? A rough guesstimate will do. I don’t want to go too big so the grain falls through, but not too small either incase i get a stuck mash.

I’ve got 2 options, either mesh or perforated flat plate, stainless steel of course And will decide what to buy based on the feedback. My preference is perforated stainless plate as i will add more strength and is readily available and various sizes.

As always, any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Brewelder]

Someone out there must have an idea What size holes are in a malt pipe bottom screen surely?

 

[Empty bottle]

Someone out there must have an idea What size holes are in a malt pipe bottom screen surely?

I use a 20ltr plastic food bucket with lots of 6mm holes drilled in the base of the bucket and have fitted 3 legs on the bucket base to keep it 8cm up from the heater plate on the urn. I put a mesh bag inside the bucket which covers the full inside of the bucket to act as a filter for the grain bed. I also fitted a pump onto the outlet valve on the urn with a hose going up to the lid of the urn fitted to a spray nozzle to circulate the wort and sprays evenly over the grain bed. Very cheap to do and works very well. Obviously not as pretty looking as nice stainless steel beds n pipes etc but does the exact same thing.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

@Brewelder
Me again, I'm away from my brew kit for a few days but I'd say the the holes in the bottom of my malt pipe are about 2mm diameter and probably 2 per square centimeter.
I will check this.
Brew in the bag systems with a mesh malt pipe have about 60 mesh on them and supported in a frame as we discussed before.

Of note the bottom plate in the malt pipe is about 1.5mm thick SSteel. Some are now contoured theres a term for it but not sure what it is but this stiffens them up even more. I think they roll the indentation onto it.

I'd go with the perforated plate and make sure that it is going to be well supported, you don't want your bottom to fall out after all.
Even if the holes are a bit too big you can always put some mesh on afterwards.
But I don't have problems with bits of grain falling thru.

I'll be able to measure it and send photos in 72 hours.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Change of plans at home now.
Measurements

 

[borischarlton]

When we used to make false bottoms for three vessel breweries the stats were
2mm holes
30% open coverage.

 

[Brewelder]

Thanks very much everyone, some great advice there and now i have a way forward.

@Empty bottle. I’m trying to get away from the bags altogethe, hence the mesh or perforated plate. But appreciate your advice. I also have a pump which a bought to use as recirculation, but haven’t got round to setting it all up yet. Hopefully this weekend i might be in a position for a dummy run as i have all the equipment, just not the time to assemble it all.

@RoomWithABrew. Brilliant information and this looks like the way forward for me. I’ve already sourced some 1mm perforated stainless plate with 2mm holes. 1mm is strong enough especially as i am also leaving some of the plastic bucket bottom intact to add further support. Stainless is quite stiff compared to other metals so 1mm is adequate for my needs. Also the plastic bucket has a wider rim at the top which doesn’t fit onside the Klarstein Mash kettle so it holds the bottom of the bucket a very handy 60mm from the bottom of the kettle so no change of scorching. (More luck than design from me by the way)

@borischarlton. 2mm holes it is mate and thanks.

 

[Begbie]

I'd be interested to know how your brew day goes - I have a 25L Klarstein Maischfest with the grain basket. I've always used a bag inside the basket to limit the gains passing through and giving me the clearest wort possible, while ensuring the recirc pump isn't clogged up. However, if the general consensus is that the grain basket alone is OK, it would be one less thing to clean.

@RoomWithABrew - I noted that you don't have problems with your grain basket. Do you recirc with a pump too? No issues?

 

[Brewelder]

I'd be interested to know how your brew day goes - I have a 25L Klarstein Maischfest with the grain basket. I've always used a bag inside the basket to limit the gains passing through and giving me the clearest wort possible, while ensuring the recirc pump isn't clogged up. However, if the general consensus is that the grain basket alone is OK, it would be one less thing to clean.

@RoomWithABrew - I noted that you don't have problems with your grain basket. Do you recirc with a pump too? No issues?

I haven’t actually got a brewday planned as yet as i have 2 extract kits on the go which will fill my 2 Corey’s. At the minute I’m just setting up the equipment and getting ready, but as soon as i get it started i will post the results.