Manifold Layout

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MadSkeletor

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So I'm converting my rectangular cooler into a MLT. The cooler is a little different in that the bulkhead is in the middle of the long edge, not the short edge. I tried reading Palmer's stuff on manifold layout and design, but all of the science and flow rate stuff is over my head. http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixD-1.html

Here is a crude drawing for how I am planning on doing the layout.
manifolds.jpg


My MS paint skills are extraordinary. I was planning on connecting it to the bulkhead at point A, but I'm a little worried that it will effect all of the flow rate stuff, like will it cause more water to be drawing along that first pipe instead of equally across all 3? Should I instead connect it to pipe B or C? Or should I add some vertical slots in between the long pipes to break it into a grid more? If I fill up my cooler with water and drain it, is it easy to tell if you have channeling going on?

I'm having a lot of fun messing around with this stuff and can't wait to get started on my first AG batch. My wife is amazed that I'm spending all this time doing handy-man type stuff, although that probably doesn't bode well for me in the future as she'll make me try to fix more things around the house now, heh.
 
I have mine on the short edge, and use a flexible hose to reach the middle part of the manifold. I don't think I'd put it on the outside edge if I could help it.

Do you think you could put the T in the center crosspiece and reach the spigot without the outside part of the manifold getting in the way?
 
I don't think so. The channel that the bulkhead is in is not very long, so if I had to go to the center crosspiece I'd have to probably jog it above the "A" crosspiece and back down to the bulkhead. Otherwise "A" would be resting on the pipe and it wouldn't lay flat.

I can do it that way though if it won't be a problem that it has to go up a little to get over the A crosspiece.

Is your cooler similar to mine where the bulkhead rests in the middle of the long edge instead of the middle of the short edge?

What do you think about adding more vertical pipes? Is that necessary?
 
The way you have it is fine. Mines the same way and has worked great for the last 45 batches. I would remove the center line and replace with 2 vertical lines.


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I looked at the next page in the How to Brew - Appendix and thought I might through a quick drawing together to make yours work better. I am not sure if you can get X fittings, so I did a drawing both with and without them.

manifolds.jpg


Edit: I added the 2 vertical lines idea. (CRTL-F5 to update your proxy server if needed.)
 
Thanks. I'll swing by the hardware shop tonight and see if they sell X or Cross fittings, I don't remember if they do or not. I ended up buying way more CPVC pipe than I needed so I'm not worried about trying a bunch of different configurations.

I was going off of http://www.homebrew.com/articles/article09130301.shtml for supplies and I didn't realize he was also making a sparge sprinkler, and I'm just going to batch sparge.
 
If I go with the vertical lines design should I also make sure there are more vertical lines? So that the distance between pipes = x and the distance from the edge to the wall = x/2? My cooler if I remember correctly is 21 inches long. When I was doing the ladder design from the original picture I had 2 inches between pipes so 1 inch between the wall.
 
I drew up a nice layout in SolidWorks, but I think this crappy workstation has caused it to lock up when running the weldment rebuild. It's probably just going to take a few minutes for this.

Anyway, what I had in mind was 2 square areas, one on each end, and connected by a pipe in the center, running across. You can then place a fitting in that cross piece and connect it with some flexible hose to the spigot. You may want to add a crosspiece to each square, running either direction.
 
Ok, I might try that just because it looks cool. Do you guys only add the little slits then to the vertical pipes? Or to all of the pipes?
 
The 2 squares may be overkill on vertical lines. But after reading the write-up on How to Brew, I would keep the lines no more than 4 inches apart. But that is just me.

I would hate leaving any goodness behind on every brew from now on because I tried to save a few cents in the build today.
 
I would cut slots in the bottom of all the pipes except the ones between the squares and over to the drain. That area is covered by the inside edge of the squares.

The idea is to get an even sparge.
 
I may be wrong, but I thought the channeling effect is really only a concern if you are fly sparging. I tried again to draw up the design in Solidworks, but it closed on itself on redraw. It does that sometimes when I am working with tubing on this computer.
 
------- -------
| |__| |
| | | |
------- -------

This is what I have in mind 8D

**EDIT: It drew up funny after I posted. I may have to try SW again using a different method....

Only you may want to add a vertical or horizontal piece inside each end to help collect in the center of each square. Add a "T" with a barb in the short connecting pipe, and point toward the spigot. Connect with a white flexible tube. Then you could lift the manifold up a bit and flip over for easy cleaning. I did not solder mine together, and don't use clamps on the tubing and it stays together just fine.

I made mine out of copper, and it was a bit of work, but it works well.
 
Thanks, I think your drawing is what Beerguy added to his list of drawings.

Hmm, you may be right Homer, at least that's what it sounds like from the wiki https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Channeling

Oh well, I'm having fun cutting little CPVC pipes up so I might as well make it. Then I suppose if I ever want to add a sparge sprinkler I shouldn't have to worry about channeling.
 
|_| |_|
| |T| |

Something like this would work too. Use 7 - T fittings and 8 caps.

edit: Added pic to better see it. (Homercidal's Idea I think.)
manifolds2.jpg


Edit 2: OH, I see what Homercidal meant. The squares in the updated first pic. I think. But the capped end one would still be an option. And I do like his idea of a flex tube to connect to the spigot for ease of cleaning no matter what design you use.
 
manifold.jpg


I got this from SW, although if I could have done it the other way it would have been better. A bit more time and I could have used actual modeled copper or PVC pipe. Anyway, you get the gist.

It's more about even coverage with batch sparging than anything. Although, if you even think you will want to do fly sparging in the future, and don't want to build a manifold twice, consider making one that will be efficient for fly sparging now.

I'd probably add a crosspiece to each end, but the method I used to draw this up wouldn't easily allow for that to be added.

You could forego the piece across the top and bottom of each square, as suggested, and add another vertical to each each one, but you'd have to find some crosses, and caps, instead of more corners and Ts...
 
The nice thing about using 3 vertical for each side, instead of a box shape is that you *could* open the ends of each piece and flush clean if you want. I have good luck just running the hose backwards through mine and then finishing up with a quick flush the other way.

Just make sure you clean the inside good or you can get stuff stuck in there. Not a big deal for the beer, but might be a PITA while trying to drain.k

I drilled mine on a CNC mill and then scraped the big chucks out with a drill bit of the same size as the pipe, then filed with a round file, then finished each hole with a small bit in the dremel, then sanded the outside of each piece before soaking in strong starsan to clean.
 
Yeah I guess I was confused, I didn't realize all of the info on Palmer's stuff was for fly sparging. I don't really understand the science of it. So if the design for batch sparging doesn't matter does it even need a manifold? Or can you just drain from the bulkhead spigot?

I've never done any AG yet, I've just been trying to read up on everything. My understanding was you want the water to drain equally across all of the area of your MLT so that you are getting the sugars from all of the grains, not just from right above your pipe. Why doesn't that matter in batch sparging? Or is it just lessened because you are stirring everything up between the sparges?
 
I want mine designed with a lot of drain points.

Using only one point to drain means any sugars that are NOT located close to THAT drain will be filtered through more and more of the grain as they come to the drain point.
 

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