Polyester (PET) braid in a mash tun

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FlyGuy

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I came across an interesting product (http://www.mcmaster.com/#2837k14/=4w17ts) an PET expandable mesh that is heat resistant. It is inexpensive, easy to cut and work with, is expandable, and has a very nice braid pattern that won't easily damage. It is not food-grade, however, since its intended application is wire sleeving. However, PET is basically stable and inert, and the product literature says it is manufactured without the use of chemical additives.

I am considering using this to cover a slotted pipe in my mash tun to replace my old braid. It would basically provide the best of a manifold and a SS braid (e.g., rigidity and superior grainbed filtering).

Does anyone have any opinion about using this in a mash tun, or possibly even a boil kettle?
 
There have been lots of posts about putting bradi over a pipe is not a good idea. If you're using a braid, use JUST the braid or use a spring coil if you're worried about it collapsing.
 
There have been lots of posts about putting bradi over a pipe is not a good idea. If you're using a braid, use JUST the braid or use a spring coil if you're worried about it collapsing.

Hmmm... I hadn't seen all those posts. I would be curious to know what the issues could be. A quick search doesn't reveal much.

And this is plastic braid -- it absolutely WILL collapse without reinforcement. A spring won't work because it won't be rigid. I am quite familiar with SS braids, which are fine, but they do wear out and I am exploring other options.
 
It looks a lot like the faux stainless stuff people sometimes mistakenly and disastrously install in their mash tuns and curse during the first stuck runoff.

If you have it in your hand, it is not the same. And of course, it is used in a different way.

Just to reiterate -- I want to use it over rigid tubing for filtration.
 
By all means Fly, give it a try. Just MO, I fail to see how a polyester braid could be an improvement over SS. If you have had trouble w/ a SS braid, perhaps try a larger / heavier one. I'm currently using one from a washing machine supply hose. It is a fair bit sturdier than the sink supply I first used. The water heater supply braids are yet even bigger, and seem very sturdy. I have never seen a need to put anything inside a braid, just my experience.
 
OK, let me explain a bit here. I am a big advocate of SS braids for batch sparging, and I am not knocking them. But I have decided one won't suit my purpose for my new build.

I want to implement a steam-heating and mash recirculation system (to avoid stirring), and I need a round manifold for my 10 gal Rubbermaid MLT to create more even lautering. My steam manifold is also round, so I want the collection zone to be close the manifold to distribute the heat evenly.

The slotted copper manifold works great, so I will do that, but I also don't want to give up the filtering capabilities of the braid.

I can certainly use a stainless braid, but this stuff is SO easy to work with (just cut to length with scissors and slip over -- it adjusts to whatever size I need), the mesh appears to be better quality (more even than a SS braid), it is very inexpensive, and it looks easier to attach than the SS braid.

Basically, I am leaning towards using it because it seems like an all-around better solution. But perhaps there are some disadvantages that I am not considering, hence my post to you guys to see if anyone can think of them.
 
How about using your slotted tubing and make wide wraps with a fairly thick stainless steel wire. Then slide a much larger ss braid over it. Use the braid off of a water heater supply line. More $$$ but it will have bigger braid openings.

This will serve two purposes: provide a spacing around the slotted tube to keep the braid from hugging it too tight and give a wider opening in the mesh to allow the steam to escape easier.
 
I can certainly use a stainless braid, but this stuff is SO easy to work with (just cut to length with scissors and slip over -- it adjusts to whatever size I need), the mesh appears to be better quality (more even than a SS braid), it is very inexpensive, and it looks easier to attach than the SS braid.

So you can use stainless, but think the PET is better quality than the stainless. Not sure I agree with you on that. I understand your case for using the PET, but I dont understand your case for NOT using the stainless. Physically they look the same , so I dont quite understand how one is easier to attach than the other. Just saying, all things being equal stainless vs PET...I would use stainless.
 
If you recall I built a braid based manifold on my keg MLT at one point and the key to braid over tubing is a spiral of wire in between them. The interior pipe/tube acts as a physical brace and dip tube. The braid provides a ton of open area for draining. The wire wrap keep the braid from touching the tube and closing off the open area. It worked extremely well.
 
Many of the flexible sink & toilet water supply lines carried by Home Depot use the plastic braid instead of stainless steel. If you have a store nearby you could get one without paying the shipping charge.
 
The temperature of the steam might be an issue.
No, I don't think so. The steam coming out at my manifold is less than 250 F. If you read the specs on the PET braid, it is rated higher than that.

So you can use stainless, but think the PET is better quality than the stainless. Not sure I agree with you on that. I understand your case for using the PET, but I dont understand your case for NOT using the stainless. Physically they look the same , so I dont quite understand how one is easier to attach than the other. Just saying, all things being equal stainless vs PET...I would use stainless.
I am not really asking which is better - stainless or PET braids. I can see that for myself because I have both in hand (see here for the comparison). There are some obvious advantages of the PET braid, and I am trying to brainstorm some disadvantages. So far, I think people are just generally nervous about using PET in place of the old-standard, stainless steel, which I would expect.
 
Well I would bet money that temperature has an effect on PET over stainless. If you've got some, have you heated some of it up in 180F water to see if its begins to collapse.?
 
I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't work. PET is pretty inert, and if it claims respectable temperature rating, I'd definitely go for it. I really hated working with the SS braid on my MLT and eventually replaced it with a hand-me-down (i.e. "free") KettleScreen, which I've been happy with.

But I think if I had a cut pipe with an easy-to-work-with PET screen, I'd have gone with that for sure. I mean, the inside of my Rubbermaid cooler HLT is plastic and the inside of my Igloo MLT is plastic, for goodness' sake.

If the mesh doesn't look like it'd clog up, I'd be all over it.
 
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