Lauter Manifold Slot Gapping

I have my manifold pieced together but haven't cut the slits into yet. Just curious to see what anyone else did. I am leaning towards 1/2"...

I did 1/4" center to center. I get >80% efficiency but have no idea how much of that is attributable to the dense spacing of the slots in my manifold. Curious to see what spacing others used and the efficiencies they achieve.

I saw your thread and your manifold looks awesome. Unfortunately I have to use a hacksaw or a dremel for the slots and I am not very confident to get them that close without messing something up. I have seen some that look like they are 1" apart and I would eventually like to fly sparge, so I think there would be channeling on that. Just MHO .

Thank you for the kind words. I think at least one person who used my design used a hacksaw and his spacing was very tight just as mine was. Copper is surprisingly strong and you could always clamp some guide blocks to keep the saw in the proper track. I'm a huge fan of jigs in case you can't tell.

Personally I would drill holes if you can. I'm pretty sure I used a 3/64" bit. In my experience the slits from a hacksaw or dremel allow too much grain material to pass through. I think mine are spaced about 1/4" apart.

For some reason I vorlauf a quart or two out of habit, but in reality I only need about two cups before there is no more grain material visible.

I wrote an article on how to build the most eff. manifold, on Brewer's Friend, home brewing resources

While it doesnt specifically talk about the slot spacing, it does talk about the vast importance of the tube spacing. Id suspect that the MORE holes or slots you have, the more efficiently you will be sparging the grain bed (read evenly) which will reduce oversparging of some areas and undersparging of others. It will reduce the possibility of channeling. There is a lot that goes into producing the most eff. manifild design for your MLT, Id suggest a little research into spacing.

Thanks for all of the info. My manifold is almost right on the money when it comes to your recommended tube spacing Pol. I don't have access to a drill press right now, the dad unit has one so I might try that the next time I visit the farm just to see the difference. I used 1/4 with the hacksaw this weekend, will probably use it this weekend coming up. Jeff, do you have the holes all over the tube? If not, how do you have them oriented in relation to your MLT?

I did 1/2" spacing, slots facing down, my efficiency rocks when I fly sparge...

jimba009 said:

Jeff, do you have the holes all over the tube? If not, how do you have them oriented in relation to your MLT?

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My manifold is similar to the one Palmer suggests and can be disassembled. The cross pieces are removable, and I just drew a line and drilled the holes. I generally turn them so they face down.

One way to simplify cutting slots with a hacksaw is to use a Mitre Box. You can clamp the pipe in place in the mitre box and get cutting. This way you'll have nice, perpendicular cuts and if you're anal like me, you can actually measure and mark every 1/2 or 1/4 inch (or whatever spacing you choose). A small wood mitre box is cheap-under $15 (w/o a saw).

KayaBrew said:

One way to simplify cutting slots with a hacksaw is to use a Mitre Box. You can clamp the pipe in place in the mitre box and get cutting. This way you'll have nice, perpendicular cuts and if you're anal like me, you can actually measure and mark every 1/2 or 1/4 inch (or whatever spacing you choose). A small wood mitre box is cheap-under $15 (w/o a saw).

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I would suggest a fixture or jig if you can. A mitre box is an easy to do this if you have one. Coincidentally, I just tossed an old mitre box box into the trash this week. Might still be there. Isn't much use now that I have a power mitre saw.

Even with a drill press, it probably won't be pretty unless you use a fixture.

But then, it doesn't have to be pretty to do the job..

I tried using a mitre box, and how I have it oriented and the dimensions of the pipe the box was a no go. I used a vice and dremel to notch my marks and finished it off with the hacksaw. (And a krap load of filing!) Some notches where at an angle but i am not trying to win any beauty contests. I am pleased with the results, thanks for everyones input. I will probably drill one out just to do it.