Designing a simple system to create a submerged cap in a macrobin

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wxtrendsguy

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Been thinking of designing a simple perforated plate of stainless or plastic that could be held down in place submerging the cap just below the surface. The screen would still need to be removed twice a day to allow for a punchdown as the cap will eventually be too compacted against the screen to allow for significant extraction if it was left that way for days on end...but during the time when my real job takes my day times I can at least keep the cap submerged. Anyone got an opinion or design idea.
 
Been thinking of designing a simple perforated plate of stainless or plastic that could be held down in place submerging the cap just below the surface. The screen would still need to be removed twice a day to allow for a punchdown as the cap will eventually be too compacted against the screen to allow for significant extraction if it was left that way for days on end...but during the time when my real job takes my day times I can at least keep the cap submerged. Anyone got an opinion or design idea.

When I was fermenting 6 gallon batches with grape skin packs in 7.9 gallon fermenters, I did the same thing. At that time, I used a plastic lid which had the rim removed so that it fit down into the bucket, and had 1/4" holes drilled in it. When it was pushed down into the bucket to the level of the must surface, three suction cups stuck to the side of the bucket held it down. Worked like a charm and kept the cap down all day while I was at work. Same concept on the scale you are talking about would probably work, just consider that the amount of skins and upward pressure of a real grape ferment will be much higher, and heat retention could be an issue depending upon your ambient temps.
 
Here is a good example, at about the 4:20 mark, they talk about submerged cap and show a way to do it. They use stainless steel flat stock that hooks around the outer lip of the macrobin to hold down the perforated plastic cover. The resolution is poor, but it looks like they use thick polyethylene, possibly food grade cutting board stock; the holes are fairly large maybe 1.25 inch diameter.
I remember watching these episodes in the past, but I couldn't find the original account. It's shear luck that somebody re-posted the episode, and even more amazing that I remembered the name to search.


 
Yep thats exactly where I was going in my mind...just couldn't figure out a way to keep the plate submerged. Now I get it...
 

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