2 brew kettle questions

Systems, Gear, & DIY
1

I’m working on set up my brew kettle. 2 questions.

1 when marking the site gauge, what are you using? A sharpie? Paint, something else?

  1. For the false bottom, any reason not to use SS mesh? I have vendors through work that I can get it from. Just didn’t know if there’s a good reason to stick to perf SS instead of mesh.

Thanks

2

Sharpie works well. Or if you know someone who does etching.

3

How sturdy is this mesh?

4

Various thicknesses. Don’t have the specs in front of me now, but I can check tomorrow. Mesh or perf, I can probably get a “free sample” of both.

5

I don’t think the mesh will stand the test of time. I’d opt for the perforated steel. I think there is an “ideal” hole size and spacing.

6

Why do you need mesh in the kettle at all?

7

The mesh will work… but as others have indicated… it is likely to deform over time and reduce the space between the kettle and the bottom of the grain bed… essentially collapsing over time. (time might be minutes into a batch, or 50 batches…)

I use some stainless screen in my 1 gallon setup (igloo jug… probably about 2.3 gallons in size if I recall correctly) and that works ok, but due to the design, I have a two inch long, half inch nipple on the inside of the cooler, and that helps keep the mesh from collapsing by the spigot.  (I only brew on it once or twice a year… it is kind of my pilot system for making starter wort or for experiments with yeast/hops)

For a five gallon batch, I would spring for the stiffer perforated stainless, or put in a copper ring with slits cut into it with a hacksaw.  (if you are in a shop with stainless mesh, you might have stainless, copper, or aluminum tubing that would work for this)

Good luck!

8

Good points. Figured there was a reason it wasn’t used.