Do you actually remove the ball valve assembly after every brew?
I have a copper manifold set up in a rectangular cooler, nothing is soldered, all slip fit, so it gets tore down every brew and cleaned out.
However, the ball valve, washer and seals have only been taken out a couple of times (over about 25 brews)... because it's a pain and it has to go back together just so, with plumber tape and screwing around to check for leaks.... bla bla bla
Kinda figured everything that comes out is getting boiled anyway, so don't be too concerned?
I see not having gunk on the bottom of the false bottom, but now got me wondering about the valve assembly after reading this thread.