70 quart Coleman Extreme Mash Tun w/ CPVC Manifold

[kapbrew13]

Just wanted to let everyone know that the long slits held up great. No warping, really great flow rate too. I don't see a need to make any additional cuts. Super easy to clean and it never came out of the bulkhead. Cheers!

Thanks for the update.

 

[GrogNerd]

Just wanted to let everyone know that the long slits held up great. No warping, really great flow rate too. I don't see a need to make any additional cuts. Super easy to clean and it never came out of the bulkhead. Cheers!

 

[ayupbrewing]

What kind of volume of water/wort do you get left behind? I did a test run of my new cooler mash tun yesterday and was getting about 2qts left. I have a CPVC version of the maniflold but with holes. The connection to the outlet does not dip right down into that "well" area very much, it is positioned right at the top of the "well" area, would it drain more if it did dip down a little? I was thinking it wouldnt help much and that my restriction is likely more to do with the positioning of the holes and that if I rotated the pipes so the holes were a little more horizontal that might help, what do you think?

Thanks
Ayup

 

[h4mmy86]

I wouldn't worry. Keep in mind that the liquid is going to be absorbed into grain so it'll be very different than just draining water out.

 

[ayupbrewing]

How so? And should this volume be accounted for as dead space in beer smith?

 

[orion7144]

How so? And should this volume be accounted for as dead space in beer smith?

I get maybe a quart after draining with grain (not bad for a 15g batch). I never tried without since I remembered a video with the same cooler. What he meant (I think) is that the grain absorbs ~1.25qt per pound and once you vorlouf and then drain the grain bed sets up. This kinda forces the wort out.

 

[ayupbrewing]

Ok so what I think your saying is that the grain bed will take up that "dead" space and thus more wort/ water will go through the manifold...so this is just simple liquid displacement principle then. I guess that makes sense! Thanks both.

 

[orion7144]

Yea that is a better description then mine lol.

 

[GreenDragon]

Way overdue update: Worked great, wort came out VERY clear after just a few moments of vorlaufing. Previously I used a 10 gallon igloo cooler with a mesh screen and even with extensive vorlaufing I always ended up with tons of floaters in the wort.

 

[neo71665]

Sorry if this was already mentioned, I skipped a few pages.

For those worried about knocking the fittings loose but don't want to glue everything you can use a stainless steel screw at each fitting. I used a number punch set to label each joint so it fits back together easily.

 

[Beernik]

I either have this same cooler or one very similar.

I just switched from a CPVC manifold to a tube screen. The manifold had cross cuts in it that I did quick and dirty with a circular saw.

I always wondered why people had to vorlof more than a minute because I never had any husk material come through the manifold. But it had drainage issues. I always felt like I wasn't completely draining the mash tun. I was sure I should have been able to get at least one more quart out.

So I switched to the tube screen. It drains a lot better. I feel like I'm getting every last drop of wort possible out of it. But crap, I have to vorlof for 5 - 10 minutes because so much husk material gets through.

 

[orion7144]

I either have this same cooler or one very similar.

I just switched from a CPVC manifold to a tube screen. The manifold had cross cuts in it that I did quick and dirty with a circular saw.

I always wondered why people had to vorlof more than a minute because I never had any husk material come through the manifold. But it had drainage issues. I always felt like I wasn't completely draining the mash tun. I was sure I should have been able to get at least one more quart out.

So I switched to the tube screen. It drains a lot better. I feel like I'm getting every last drop of wort possible out of it. But crap, I have to vorlof for 5 - 10 minutes because so much husk material gets through.

I do not vorlof that much, usually just a couple quarts and I have found that if after I drain to the boil tank, I let the tun valve open to my gallon container while I start the boil, I can usually get a couple more quarts out (very slowly) and the grain bed is quite dry.

 

[BonzoAPD]

Nothing special really, but I'm proud of it
Dremel made fast work of that manifold.
Can't wait to start brewing some big heavy beers in this bad boy!

Huge upgrade from my old 5 gallon cylindrical tun!

Do you have a parts list for this?

 

[MasterOfNone]

I'm igniting a pretty old post, but did you make more slots on the center two pipes than the outside pipes?

This is the best design I've seen for this cooler, but I'm worried that there would be a theoretical ease of flow down the outside pipes versus the inside ones. Thus it makes sense to have the inside pipes have greater access to liquid.

Is there a more logical, evidence-based argument or counter-argument for this idea????

 

[HausBrauerei_Harvey]

Can someone here tell me how long it takes them to drain the full 70Qt mash tun with such a manifold? I have a 50Qt right night with a stainles braid, and since I upgraded to 12 gallon batches it takes me well over an hour to drain the tun after the mash.

If these manifolds work much faster I'll be making one when I upgrade to the 70qt cooler this weekend!

Thanks!

 

[skepace]

How's this working out for everyone? I assume I can use a smaller cooler as I don't need a 70qt!

 

[MasterOfNone]

Works great for me. Used it a few times with delicious results. Personally I'm glad I went with the 70 qt. it's big enough to make a 10 gallon batch and 5 fit just fine too.

 

[skepace]

Think something like this would work? It was free. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1428847574.830735.jpg

 

[GrogNerd]

Think something like this would work? It was free. View attachment 270574

Probably not big beers or large batches, but heck, yes, it will work

I use something similar to mash my small batch small beers, except mine doesn't have a drain spout, so I mash-in-a-bag in it

 

[skepace]

Even if it is 59 quarts? I only brew 5 gal batches but I do brew a big Christmas beer and a double IPA.

Thanks for the help. So very close to all grain!:rockin::rockin:

 

[GrogNerd]

Wtf

 

[GrogNerd]

Even if it is 59 quarts? I only brew 5 gal batches but I do brew a big Christmas beer and a double IPA.

Thanks for the help. So very close to all grain!:rockin::rockin:

(when I originally posted the previous comment, it looked double posted. then, when I went to comment out the 2nd post, it was the only one there. my apologies)

sorry, it looked smaller than that. the smaller one I have is 16 qts and the one in your picture didn't look much bigger

59 quarts is plenty. you should be able to fit 35 lbs and more into it

but remember; just because it says it is 59 quarts, doesn't mean that's how much it holds. according to my measurements, my 70 quart is 12½ x 24½ x 10½ inside, which = 3,215.625 cubic inches, which ≈ 55.68 quarts

 

[skepace]

Well I guess it will work just fine till I find another one that is larger and just as cheap.

Heading to Lowes to day to get the CPVC. I will start a new thread about my build.


Thanks for all of the help!

 

[GrogNerd]

Well I guess it will work just fine till I find another one that is larger and just as cheap.

Heading to Lowes to day to get the CPVC. I will start a new thread about my build.


Thanks for all of the help!

did some quick estimates and you should be good for a 15 gallon batch at 1.060 or a 5 gallon batch at 1.180 (37 lbs of grain for either)

plenty big enough and can't beat the price

 

[skepace]

did some quick estimates and you should be good for a 15 gallon batch at 1.060 or a 5 gallon batch at 1.180 (37 lbs of grain for either)

plenty big enough and can't beat the price

Awesome. Thank you very much!