Cheap & Easy 10 Gallon Rubbermaid MLT Conversion - Page 96

Montanaandy · 12-13-2009, 07:52 PM

Flyguy - Yeah the braid was not as strong as the one you are describing so I will probably get another at Lowes which is not a big deal as long as I can avoid the stuck sparges. It worked great once I took the tubing out but I don't want to have to cross my fingers each time I brew AG so I am going to get a new, stronger braid. Thanks for the tip.

Revvy - I did take out and drill the insert which worked great in a trial run with water but it clogged up for some reason when I was mashing/sparging. Ironic because I had trouble with the SS braid without the tubing the 1st time (clogging) and figured that the tubing would improve things. Thanks, Montanaandy

duffman2 · 12-23-2009, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyGuy

You don't want to use plated hose clamps. You might risk getting metallic off flavours in your beer. Even so-called stainless steel hose clamps led to problems for me (see post #62 in this thread).

My solution was to insert some high temp vinyl tubing inside the SS braid. I cut a whole bunch of holes in the tubing to allow the wort to drain through. The fit was pretty tight, and I was simply able to insert the tubing over the barb connector. It works great, and comes off easily for quick cleaning. No clamps required!

So, do you think this tubing inside of the braid idea a better alternative to just using the braid and zip ties to hold it down? Just curious is the tubing inside the braid might restrict the wort flow just a bit?

FlyGuy · 12-23-2009, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duffman2

So, do you think this tubing inside of the braid idea a better alternative to just using the braid and zip ties to hold it down? Just curious is the tubing inside the braid might restrict the wort flow just a bit?

In post #62 I retracted this suggestion because so many people were having trouble finding the correct tubing, and substituting soft tubing that was collapsing in the heat of the mash and causing stuck sparges.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyGuy

EDIT: If you use the tubing insert idea instead of hose clamps to secure your braid, you MUST use stiff, high temp, food grade tubing. This works exceptionally for myself and many other people. However, if you use rubber tubing, or soft tubing, or tubing that is not rated for high temperatures, it will collapse under its own weight inside the SS braid and cause a stuck sparge. Further, you do not need the tubing to reinforce the SS braid -- it should not collapse under the weight of the mash (if it does you either have a deceivingly similar-looking plastic braid, or the quality of your SS braid is too poor to use in an MLT).

While mine works VERY well, I no longer recommend putting tubing inside your braid, unfortunately.

Jawbox0 · 12-23-2009, 11:29 PM

I suspect that braids which work great on a 5 gallon MLT fail on the 10g with twice the weight of grain on water on it. I'd suggest creating a PVC manifold on a bigger cooler.

FlyGuy · 12-24-2009, 12:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jawbox0

I suspect that braids which work great on a 5 gallon MLT fail on the 10g with twice the weight of grain on water on it. I'd suggest creating a PVC manifold on a bigger cooler.

Nope. I have had the same braid in my cooler since I first built it. It is starting to wear down now, but it has never collapsed, even when I did 11 gal brews and the cooler was full of grain. But if one is really worried, say in a huge mash tuns of 20 gals or bigger, just get a beefier braid (e.g., water heater braided hose).

When used properly, braids can be superior to manifolds because they filter the grainbed better and have more points of collection that are better distributed. In fact, some swear by putting a braid over a manifold to improve clarity of lautering.

Gritsak · 12-29-2009, 05:12 PM

Is there much benifit from creating a circle of braided hose around the bottom of the cooler opposed to the single straight hose that is used in the OP's conversion?

Montanaandy · 12-29-2009, 05:33 PM

"But if one is really worried, say in a huge mash tuns of 20 gals or bigger, just get a beefier braid (e.g., water heater braided hose)".

Flyguy - water heater hose is 3/4" in diameter while the parts for the MLT build are 3/8" or sometimes 1/2". Is the idea to just clamp down the 3/4" SS hose onto the 3/8" on the interior part of the MLT? Thanks, Montanaandy

FlyGuy · 12-29-2009, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gritsak

Is there much benifit from creating a circle of braided hose around the bottom of the cooler opposed to the single straight hose that is used in the OP's conversion?

The circular braided hose design apparently works well if you want to fly sparge with the MLT. A false bottom or slotted manifold would also work well. If you only want to batch sparge, then the straight section of braided hose is ideal.

FlyGuy · 12-29-2009, 08:04 PM

Flyguy - water heater hose is 3/4" in diameter while the parts for the MLT build are 3/8" or sometimes 1/2". Is the idea to just clamp down the 3/4" SS hose onto the 3/8" on the interior part of the MLT? Thanks, Montanaandy[/QUOTE]

You can either buy a reducing fitting to clamp on to, or if you can compress the braid evenly, just clamp it down.

chunk · 12-29-2009, 08:49 PM

flyguy - thanks for this and other great diy projects. i built mine using 3/4" water heater hose and the braid didn't come out looking too pretty after removing the hose. is this a problem or do you think this will work? thanks.