Pex pipe for mash tun manifold

[tarponteaser]

I've seen reference to Cu tubing and cpvc pipe for manifolds, but has anyone used pex pipe? The pex pipe is rated for household plumbing both hot and cold water, and the 1/2 inch pex pipe slip fits perfectly into cpvc pipe fittings.

My round 5 gal cooler is a tad small for the larger grain bills I need for all grain IIPAs, so I was planning on picking up a square cooler from wally world and making a pex manifold next time I brew a big beer ( my old rectangular cooler with the single 18" ss hose screen was not very efficient for mashing my last big beer (17 + lbs of grain).

Regards

 

[BrewForMe]

I have some pieces of pex tied into my plumbing and manifold, only because I had it kicking around. It works fine, is easy to clean, but I prefer the cpvc because it is straight. Pex comes in rolls and is almost impossible to get the curves out. In a nutshell, it will work fine.

 

[flatulentfox]

I am in the process of making one right now. I used it because my house is all pex and I already had scraps around and the crimper.

I also chose it because I am using a round cooler and the pex is easy to bend into a circle. I'll post pics when it's done.

 

[Great_Neck_Brewer]

bump

 

[Malticulous]

Here is mine. It's the third one I've made out of PEX.

 

[flatulentfox]

Here is the one I just built. I drilled lots of 1/16 holes in the bottom of the PEX. 1/2" silicon tubing fits tightly over 1/2" PEX, and connects the manifold to a 1/2" barbed connector inside the tun.

In the first test drain, it left between 1/8" and 1/4" of water in the bottom, hardly any dead space at all.

Ill let you know how it worked after my first AG batch I will be brewing in a few days!!

I don't know that PEX would be my first choice in building one if i had to source all supplies from scratch, but since I had the tools and various pieces already, it made sense. I will say, the stuff is extremely easy to work with.

 

[Orthobrewsky]

Here is the one I just built. I drilled lots of 1/16 holes in the bottom of the PEX. 1/2" silicon tubing fits tightly over 1/2" PEX, and connects the manifold to a 1/2" barbed connector inside the tun.

In the first test drain, it left between 1/8" and 1/4" of water in the bottom, hardly any dead space at all.

Ill let you know how it worked after my first AG batch I will be brewing in a few days!!

I was wondering how that went. I have just made a little manifold almost identical to that one--different connectors, but otherwise the same. I won't be brewing with it for a while because I have a young lager in freezer.

 

[poorman]

I know this is awfully old thread but I'm expermenting with pex as well. I have 12 feet of 1/2 aquapex spare and thought I may make a mash tun. How did these pex manifolds work out? I know pex floats, did you have any troubles with them floating? Did they last reasonably long?

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw there's another short related thread here https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/using-pex-tubing-for-mash-tun-manifold.143043/

I gather it works, at least in concert with an fb. Haven't read results of anyone else using it as a stand-alone lautering device other than the above, but I imagine it should work as well as slotted CPVC manifolds, as long as it stays put on the mash tun floor...

Cheers

 

[Orthobrewsky]

I know this is awfully old thread but I'm expermenting with pex as well. I have 12 feet of 1/2 aquapex spare and thought I may make a mash tun. How did these pex manifolds work out? I know pex floats, did you have any troubles with them floating? Did they last reasonably long?

I started out with one and it worked fine, though I switched to a stainless steel ring braid pretty early on. You can see a pic of it in the following thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/first-all-grain-brewing-report.270886/