Building Homebrew Equipment Read Free Page B

You can use a vegetable steamer as a false bottom or, better yet, a colander.
    You can also build a manifold, much like that described in the picnic cooler mash tun directions.
    With the Gott cooler masher, you will need to install a valve of some kind. The push-button spigot is inadequate (unless you want to hold in the button for the hour or so that a sparge might take).
Modified Keg with False Bottom
    Modified kegs, if not the most commonly used mash tun, are probably the most talked about and respected. Kegs are sturdy and inexpensive, and they work well. You can apply heat directly to them, and you can modify them with false bottoms and valves to make sparging simple. They are also easy to clean.
    The first thing you will need is a legally obtained keg. Do not think that paying the deposit for a full half-barrel, consuming the contents, and then keeping the keg is a legal means of acquiring one. It is not. Instead, you will need to talk to the distributors in your area. Sometimes they are willing to help, and sometimes they’ll barely give you the time of day. Other sources are salvage yards and scrap-metal dealers. Before you begin to modify your own keg, you will need an assortment of gear.
    Note:
You are working with stainless steel, which is tough stuff. The basic rule when working with it is, the slower, the better.

    A modified keg with false bottom makes a long-lasting mash tun.
    MATERIALS FOR MODIFYING A KEG
    ⅜ ″ copper tubing
    8” -diameter perforated stainless steel for false bottom
    1 ⅜ ″ compression nut and ferrule
    2 ⅜ ″male pipe thread (MPT) × ⅜ ″ compression adapters
    1 ½” I.D. (inside diameter) stainless-steel washer
    2 ½” I.D. (inside diameter) nylon washers
    1 ⅜ ″ ball valve with ⅜ ″ female pipe thread (FPT)
    12” square perforated stainless steel
    Permanent marking pen
    Lightweight oil
    Teflon tape
    Tools
    Hearing and eye protection. You are about to embark on the noisiest job you’ve ever started.
    Variable-speed saber saw or reciprocating saw. A two-speed unit is not good enough; the slowest setting is still too fast.
    Five bimetal saw blades (32 teeth per inch or better). You may need more. A small angle grinder would work fabulously for cutting a keg.
    Center punch (or nail and hammer)
    ⅜ ″ electric drill, variable speed preferred
    Assortment of drill bits
    Grinding wheel
Directions
    1. Without a blade in the saw, set the saber saw against the inside top of the keg. You are finding out how close you can cut to the handles, as the saw body will be the limiting factor.
    2. Mark a point where the blade will be cutting. Draw a circle around the top inside of this mark. In our case, we were able to make an opening 12” in diameter in our keg.
    3. With a center punch (or nail and hammer), mark a point ⅛ ″ from the line inside this circle.
    4. Drill a ¼” hole at that point. (It is easier if you drill a smaller hole first and then enlarge it.)
    5. Install a blade in the saw, oil it, and at a slow speed carefully cut out the top of the keg. Plan on spending at least 45 minutes on this phase.
    6. With the grinding wheel in the drill, grind off all sharp edges.
    7. Mark a point ⅜ ″ above the bottom weld line.
    8. Drill a ½″-diameter hole. (Again, start small, then enlarge the hole.)
    Note:
You are done cutting and about to start assembling your mashing vessel. This is a good time to scrub the interior of the keg. It will save time later. Also, clean all parts before final assembly. That, too, will help.
    9. Place the stainless-steel washer and then a nylon washer on the pipe-thread end (the large end) of a ⅜ ″ MPT × ⅜ ″ compression adapter.
    10. Insert this into the ½″-diameter hole. It will fit tightly, and you will have to use a wrench to finish the job. You may have to enlarge the hole slightly beyond ½″.
    11. Place the other nylon washer over the pipe threads.
    12. Wrap Teflon tape around the threads.
    13. Thread on a ⅜ ″ ball valve