41 replies to this topic

[Kremer]

I used this new manifold for the first time this past weekend, it flowed like nothing before, as fast as the trial run with the tun filled with water only:The tee at the outlet is not sweated in, it is free to rotate around to make installation and removal of the manifold simple, the manifold just slips on the bulkhead fitting then rotates down flat in the cooler and wedges in place.It beat the crap out of the old 24" stainless braid, that while easier to build, was damage prone from stirring, and was so fine that back burping with the air compressor were the norm every session.I could deal with burping the braid manifold, but I never felt like I could really stir the mash, I always had to be careful not to crush or twist it up with the spoon. With the the new copper manifold I was able to confidently stir it as thorough as I wanted to with not a second thought about hurting anything.

[Stout_fan]

... I always had to be careful not to crush or twist it up with the spoon.

My SS spring fixed that problem. Works great.

[Kremer]

My SS spring fixed that problem. Works great.

I actually did that, but with a piece of coiled up copper, still had problems.

[Stout_fan]

I actually did that, but with a piece of coiled up copper, still had problems.

A big difference in spring rate between an SS spring and copper wire.ie: restorative force, and the ratio of pressure applied to restorative/ deformation. The Reynolds number IIRC. But it's been a while.Anyway, sorry to hear it didn't work out. The new manifold is killer though. Good job!

[Kremer]

A big difference in spring rate between an SS spring and copper wire.

Yes, but in this application it's just to hold the braid open from the inside. A more coil-dense stainless one might have worked better than my homeade copper one. But either way this new one is the shiz.

[stangbat]

I got the idea for a manifold like this from Blktre a couple of years ago. They do work great, that is for sure. The only slow lauter and sparge I've had with it was an oatmeal stout, and that was in no way the manifold's fault.I made a couple of slight modifications to mine so that all corners are wedged against the cooler. It holds tight and doesn't move at all when stirring with the mash paddle.As a side note, I found that cutting the slots wasn't too bad, but there were all kinds of copper slivers attached and dangling inside the tubes after cutting. I spent more time with a screwdriver getting the copper stuff out than it took to measure and assemble the thing.The above pic is the one for my 60 qt ice cube. I made one for my 48 qt cube but I've never used it since I've only made 10g batches since the manifold upgrade.

Edited by stangbat, 27 March 2009 - 07:04 AM.

[rockon]

Those manifolds look good. My stainless braid is getting pretty beat up. I'd like to increase the flow rate too, and it sounds like something like this might do the trick.

[Kremer]

I also referenced Blktre's pictures when I built this one.

[Brian72]

Just got back from Lowes, you guys inspired me to upgrade from the ss braid to a manifold. Last weeks lautering sucked with the ss braid, took forever.... I used CPVC for mine. I got everything cut and I'll glue it together later.

[Kremer]

Just got back from Lowes, you guys inspired me to upgrade from the ss braid to a manifold

https://www.brews-br...tyle_emoticons/default/headbang.gif

[Lagerdemain]

My only concern is that any such manifold which isn't soldered together could be knocked apart by vigorous stirring. I'm pretty energetic when it comes to stirring the mash, and I could easily see that happening.

[pods8]

Just got back from Lowes, you guys inspired me to upgrade from the ss braid to a manifold. Last weeks lautering sucked with the ss braid, took forever.... I used CPVC for mine. I got everything cut and I'll glue it together later.

Acuatlly its nice if you leave some parts unglued to be able to get access inside if needed for cleaning.

My only concern is that any such manifold which isn't soldered together could be knocked apart by vigorous stirring. I'm pretty energetic when it comes to stirring the mash, and I could easily see that happening.

The way its designed it gets wedged between the side walls with the pipe caps. I have a similar CPVC one and it works good. No issues with stirring once it had that pipe cap design.

[JReigle]

My only concern is that any such manifold which isn't soldered together could be knocked apart by vigorous stirring. I'm pretty energetic when it comes to stirring the mash, and I could easily see that happening.

A concern I would have about not soldering it would be that the joints wouldn't be sealed. As such, it's possible that the siphon would break as the level of the liquid reached the top of the manifold rather than the highest part of the slits in the bottom of the manifold, due to the joints letting air in. Granted, we're only talking a 1/2-3/4" or so of wort, but I like to get it all.

[stangbat]

My only concern is that any such manifold which isn't soldered together could be knocked apart by vigorous stirring. I'm pretty energetic when it comes to stirring the mash, and I could easily see that happening.

If you look at mine, there is no way it is moving. I can turn the cooler upside down and shake it and it doesn't budge. I've also stirred as Blktre doughed in on his and it was never a problem. It isn't this shiny anymore.

A concern I would have about not soldering it would be that the joints wouldn't be sealed. As such, it's possible that the siphon would break as the level of the liquid reached the top of the manifold rather than the highest part of the slits in the bottom of the manifold, due to the joints letting air in. Granted, we're only talking a 1/2-3/4" or so of wort, but I like to get it all.

It isn't an issue. You don't pull a siphon when you lauter and sparge. It is just flow out of the manifold. And in any case, it is no different than using a stainless braid if you are concerned about a siphon.

Edited by stangbat, 27 March 2009 - 02:30 PM.

[CaptRon]

What about for us round cooler guys? I was thinkin of just a circular one made of a bunch of 45's with small peices of 1/2".

[JReigle]

If you look at mine, there is no way it is moving. I can turn the cooler upside down and shake it and it doesn't budge. I've also stirred as Blktre doughed in on his and it was never a problem.It isn't an issue. You don't pull a siphon when you lauter and sparge. It is just flow out of the manifold. And in any case, it is no different than using a stainless braid if you are concerned about a siphon.

Well, I do certainly think there is a siphon going on. For instance, with a braid, I use a diptube to get lower and extract more wort. This succeeds in draining the cooler much lower than the outlet, due to the siphon that is occurring. If I cut a small slit in the top of that dip tube above its lowest point, it will fail to drain below that air gap due to the broken siphon that occurs when air is let in. I can't see how a similar situation would not exist for a manifold, provided air was entering in the joints.If the non-soldered copper parts are holding tight enough to not let air in, then it sounds good to me. This could very well be the case, I haven't used a manifold.

[Brian72]

What about for us round cooler guys? I was thinkin of just a circular one made of a bunch of 45's with small peices of 1/2".

I used to have a smaller manifold similar to the copper ones above that I made of CPVC to fit in a bucket for the first couple AG batches I did before buying a larger cooler. I think it could be done for a round cooler as well....

[CaptRon]

I used to have a smaller manifold similar to the copper ones above that I made of CPVC to fit in a bucket for the first couple AG batches I did before buying a larger cooler. I think it could be done for a round cooler as well....

I might have to work something up as I don't know if I'm that high on the Phill's false bottom