I am nearly finished with building my MLT. I asked around on here about the differences between a copper manifold and the S.S. braid method and decided to go with the copper manifold because I want the option to begin with batch sparging but to be able to move to fly sparging without having to upgrade my equipment.
I used a 48 qt. Rubbermaid cooler that we had lying around in the garage and have already soldered my manifold together. The only thing left to do is to cut the grooves in the copper with my dremel tool and to put the final fittings together and to run a final test of the flow from the ball valve as well as checking for water-tightness by filling the cooler up part way with water.
Good on ya mate! I did my manifold out of CPVC, works great and I found all the parts for free in my folk's basement . I decided against permanently fixing together the joints; makes it much easier for cleaning. I like the manifold so far and haven't had an issue with channeling or stuck sparges. Will more than likely do another when I upgrade to a larger MLT.
Definitely show finished product pics when you get'm.
Well, I finished it finally. I ran into a few problems (none of them serious) with the main issue being a slow leak behind the flat washer on the outside that is just behind the ball valve. It turns out that in my fidgeting and repeated removal and re-positioning of the main spout on the inside of the MLT I inadvertently rubbed away some of the cooler fibrous insulation in the opening. It created a small well inside the wall, just below the opening. This well was collecting water slowly and eventually the water pressure on the inside of the MLT forced the water out through my rubber o-ring seals on the outside. There was a slow and steady leak (about a drop ever 10-15 seconds) but it was enough to collect into a pool about 3 inches wide and about 9 inches long after 3 hours, which was a concern.
My solution was to remove the ball valve and copper pipe and fixtures and use plumbers putty to repair the "well" that had formed inside the wall. After I replaced the pipe and re-attached the ball valve and fittings I proceeded to add more plumbers putty on the outside around the hole. After it dried I filled up the MLT halfway (about 6 gallons of water) and watched it on and off for several hours, and thankfully the leak had been fixed.
I am having problems uploading images from my camera but as soon as I can I will be posting picks of my MLT here.
be careful with the plumbers putty I had it break down during a sparge and if you dont give it a good Boil soak it will change the taste of all your brew for the worse. also I did not solder my pipe together i crimped it slightly to make it cleanable.. you are going to end up with grain inside it you will not be able to get out. not to mention the copper burrs inside from dremeling it and not being able to sand it from the inside. I have a soldered one i have sitting on the side line because i realized this a little late lol. anyhow pics when you can cant wait to see it man.
Nearly done building my Mash Tun!!
. I decided against permanently fixing together the joints; makes it much easier for cleaning. I like the manifold so far and haven't had an issue with channeling or stuck sparges. Will more than likely do another when I upgrade to a larger MLT.
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