Slotted Manifold Or Braided Hose ?

[Gulpa]

Give them a rub with a long round file of a suitable diameter. Hacksaw cuts (With the correct blade) leave minium burrs to get rid of. Grinders leave lots.
What a shame you don't need a square slotted manifold as I have a surplus one to get rid of that got me an average of 87\88% eff in my old Coleman square cooler.
:icon_offtopic: If anyone needs a square manifold PM me.

TP

Thanks TP. I will try to find a big long round file.

Cheers
Andrew.

 

[RetsamHsam]

I have two lengths of braided hose in my esky, they are equidistant from the side walls and eachother.

Works for me.

 

[sanders4_]

I would go slotted copper manifold. Tried both - and the slotted copper manifold is much much better. If i had a mash tun that fitted a false bottom like the one found from beerbelly or craftbrewer I would go that.

Much more consistent than a braid.

 

[RetsamHsam]

Much more consistent than a braid.

Consistent? How do you mean?

 

[BennyBrewster]

I have used braided, copper and nylon bag in a esky based mash tun.

Braided:
Easy to setup
Moves around while stirring
Crushes/damages easily
Cut ends are sharp and jab into you all the time while cleaning.

Copper:
Strong and drains nicely
Hardest to make
Easy to clean.
If you tap is above the height of the manifold then air leaks in your copper joints will slow and stop your siphon before the wort is all drained (solder will fix this).

Bag (not biab, this is lining the mashtun!):
Drains well and no grain gets through it!
Can lift and squeeze the bag to get every last drop of wort.
Easy to clean! (carry bag over to the garden and dump the grain then put bag in the washing machine.)
No manifold required just a simple tap in the bottom of the tun.

In the end I ended up using the bag full time.

I'm now looking to make a mashtun out of a 50l keg so who know where I will go from here (I'm not paying $150+ for a SS false bottom and SS Pickup tube setup only to have it crush under my pumps suction.)

 

[TidalPete]

I'm not paying $150+ for a SS false bottom and SS Pickup tube setup only to have it crush under my pumps suction.

Huhhh? :blink: Please explain?

TP

 

[sanders4_]

by consistent i mean a few things, which bennybrewster summed up nicely.
I made my manifold like the slotted copper manifold described in 'how to brew' by John Palmer, its design rinses the grain bed more uniformly during sparging, which is important if you fly sparge - one of the reasons i moved from the braid setup.

BUT, (again as bennybrewster said above) I have also found it worked better draining off a batch sparging when the flow rate is higher. I had problems maintaining flow with the stainless steel braid - guess it got clogged - plus it was always floating around, unlike a false bottom or mainfold which stays at the bottom where it belongs.

From what i have seen of the beerbelly or craftbrewer products - you shouldn't have a problem with it crushing. here is a link to what i am talking about for a 50L keg.
http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=926

 

[geoffi]

I use a braided hose Mark II. Mark I was the narrow stuff you get from Bunnings. I had constant stuck sparge problems with it, presumably because the weight of the mash was squashing down on it. Mark II (thanks Mark!) is much thicker diameter ~1/2 inch I think. Works like a dream. You might find this stuff at plumbing suppliers.

 

[RetsamHsam]

I use a braided hose Mark II. Mark I was the narrow stuff you get from Bunnings. I had constant stuck sparge problems with it, presumably because the weight of the mash was squashing down on it. Mark II (thanks Mark!) is much thicker diameter ~1/2 inch I think. Works like a dream. You might find this stuff at plumbing suppliers.

I believe I am using the Mark I braided hose and I haven't had any problems with stuck sparges..

Maybe you are mashing more grain than I am, Most I have mashed with my setup is 11.5 Kg

 

[BennyBrewster]

Huhhh? :blink: Please explain?

TP

what would you like me to explain ?

Weldless SS false bottom setup (50l Keg)
SS False bottom $79
SS bulkhead $39
SS 1/2" S-Bend Pickup Tube with SS 1/2" tube compressions $39.95
(probably need a Hex nipple and socket fitting to make this work) $10-15
total $ 160-170

As for the false bottoms crushing, I have read more than one person comment on their false bottom bending out of shape under the grain weight when using a march pump. example

PS: Not sure if all false bottoms are created equal, but they all seem about the same price

 

[roger mellie]

what would you like me to explain ?

Weldless SS false bottom setup (50l Keg)
SS False bottom $79
SS bulkhead $39
SS 1/2" S-Bend Pickup Tube with SS 1/2" tube compressions $39.95
(probably need a Hex nipple and socket fitting to make this work) $10-15
total $ 160-170

As for the false bottoms crushing, I have read more than one person comment on their false bottom bending out of shape under the grain weight when using a march pump. example

PS: Not sure if all false bottoms are created equal, but they all seem about the same price

Hey Benny

You should be able to do it cheaper than that. But anyway - I have a perestaltic pump on my mash tun which will have more suction than a March - and did invert a SSFB. But a simple mod did the trick.



Cheers

RM

 

[KHB]

what would you like me to explain ?

Weldless SS false bottom setup (50l Keg)
SS False bottom $79
SS bulkhead $39
SS 1/2" S-Bend Pickup Tube with SS 1/2" tube compressions $39.95
(probably need a Hex nipple and socket fitting to make this work) $10-15
total $ 160-170

As for the false bottoms crushing, I have read more than one person comment on their false bottom bending out of shape under the grain weight when using a march pump. example

PS: Not sure if all false bottoms are created equal, but they all seem about the same price

My 50lt mash tun is bottom draining and i have a plastic falsie, also use a march pump and never had problems with my falsie bending.

Scotsman06

 

[BennyBrewster]

You should be able to do it cheaper than that.

Yeah you can source the plumbing cheaper no doubt, I just grabbed those prices from our sponsors website.

Now if only i could weld stainless

Ben

 

[roger mellie]

Yeah you can source the plumbing cheaper no doubt, I just grabbed those prices from our sponsors website.

Now if only i could weld stainless

Ben

SilverSolder - childs play. (Well Almost)

RM

 

[MVZOOM]

Thanks TP. I will try to find a big long round file.

Cheers
Andrew.

yeah, what he said! They are cheap at Bunnings, like $10 or so. My file is about 25cm long - I'm not sure I got it all, but it seems fine.

Cheers - Mike

PS - if you don't wanna buy one, you can borrow mine.

 

[TidalPete]

what would you like me to explain ?
As for the false bottoms crushing, I have read more than one person comment on their false bottom bending out of shape under the grain weight when using a march pump.

Benny,
I think you will find that slowing down the flow rate of your March pump will take away any qualms you may have of your false bottom collapsing but if you are worried (I'm not) about your falsie collapsing prop it up with 3 ss bolts equally spaced around the falsie near the centre then you'll be able to sit an elephant on it no worries.

TP

 

[Smashin]

sorry don't know how to post pic from my gallery, but my simple 2 ring annealed copper manifold with a few 2mm drilled holes get 84% efficiency into the fermenter. Personally i like the drop in manifold as i can have full heat to the tun with out risking caramelizing sugars.

 

[bradsbrew]

Slightly :icon_offtopic: sort of. Its time to replace my 1st manifold which is 1/4" copper which was poorly made in a rush but has worked well for 12 months. I will be making another out of slotted copper but made with a bit more thought, which brings me to size if I make it with the same smaller size I can reuse the elbows and tees but I am thinking to scale up the size to 5/8" I think is the size But I also have some 1" pipe I could use but would this be too big.

Guess my question is what size works well.

cheers Brad

 

[chappo1970]

Slightly :icon_offtopic: sort of. Its time to replace my 1st manifold which is 1/4" copper which was poorly made in a rush but has worked well for 12 months. I will be making another out of slotted copper but made with a bit more thought, which brings me to size if I make it with the same smaller size I can reuse the elbows and tees but I am thinking to scale up the size to 5/8" I think is the size But I also have some 1" pipe I could use but would this be too big.

Guess my question is what size works well.

cheers Brad

Brad,
Mine is 5/8 and works well. I reckon the 1" would be awesome but might take up too much volume in the MT? Not sure on the efficiency side of things which is better? I think I have some 5/8 pipe and elbows left their yours if ya want 'em?

Chappo

BTW I have this really flash chrome thermometer... makes me rig look real flashy

 

[Gavo]

Only problem with 1" copper pipe is the price of the Tee's and bends. Yeah I know I'm out in the sticks and over 200 k from a Bunnings, but when I set up my new tun I nearly got charged for 1" Tee's rather than 1/2". Well you could have knocked me over with a feather, they were about 3x the price. My manifold is 1/2" and can run at full pelt without getting stuck if I want it to. Pic's Here.

Got me one of them flashy 3" thermometers Chappo. Certainly make my rig look flash, I almost look like I know what Iam doing.

Cheers
Gavo.