I don't have a spigot or false bottom on my boil kettle. Does a bend in the pickup tube help decrease the amount of dead space on the bottom? I'd think you'd need to start a siphon on the other side of the spigot to get the pickup tube to draw below the line of the spigot, right?
Yeah, it decreases the deadspace. If you empty it out, it'll start a siphon anyways and suck down what it can until it gets air. I personally have mine pick up along the edge, as a whirlpool will leave most in the middle of the kettle.
I was thinking a foot of nylon hose on the other side of the spigot would get an extra quart or so of wort. Not true?
I guess Im lost at what you are asking or trying to fix? The picture you posted, will suck the wort to the bottom of the kettle just about. If you turn it to the corner, it'll suck most of the wort out that is clean. I can pump, or use gravity and empty my kettle to almost zero if I tilt it near the end to the side where my pick up tube is.
I'm not trying to fix anything. I came across this pic and thought that the bend and the arm were longer than the spigot in the pic, so I thought I'd ask. I just figured the bend wouldn't work because there isn't a greater amount of pressure on the other end of the spigot. You'd need an extra foot of hose on the spigot side hanging lower than the kettle to create a siphon, it seems.
Nah. I have a ball valve, and an angled pick up tube. I can have it on the table, and open the valve and it will drain almost to the bottom, within half an inch, which is about the size of the pick up tube. Once it sucks some air, it stops.
