Do i even need a manifold?

I just picked up a Coleman Xtreme with the drain located down in a recessed channel and was wondering if i even need a manifold? I am thinking of a metal plate or mesh screen over the tunnel rather than the manifold, and I plan to batch sparge. I feel like i have just defined a false bottom. Any thoughts?

I have a section of stainless steel braid in that cooler, couldn't work any better for batch sparging. Just weight down the other end of the braid so it doesn't float (I used a close nipple, an endcap, and a SS hose clamp).

I thought, too, about getting a piece of perforated SS (flat) to lie across the channel, but the braid works so well (and only costs $7) that I'm going to stick with that. If you want to go with perforated SS, check out onlinemetals.com; they have lots of materials like that.

I think this is one of the great advantages of batch sparging. In fly sparging, one must guard against channeling--drainage paths that keep some parts of the grainbed from being sufficiently sparged.

In batch sparging, it's really not such a concern: you release the sugars into solution before you start draining the tun.

I use a cpvc manifold, which is another good cheap solution.