I made my manifold out of copper and it is a perfect fit. however the bulkhead fitting for the drain hits the bottom of the manifold. could i remove the peice it hits without a problem? there are no slots cut in this peice and no drain it is just a connector. i was thinking of replacing the t joints w/ elbows to elminiate the peice it hits. would it hurt efficiency? would it make lautering any harder? my other option is to shorten the entire thing. also i was looking thru palmer's book and he said to leave space on the sides i did not do this. is that a problem? i will try to post a picture later. thanks.