Braided hose or Manifold? Which is better?

[llazy_llama]

Crap, looks like I need to gather some info and update my This Vs. That sticky. Update forthcoming!

 

[Denny]

I'd be interested in hearing more from the guys who have had stuck sparges with braids.

I've don e 344 batches with the same braid. I don't do anything to hold it down. I've used all types of grists, from 8 lb. to 28 lb. of grain, and never had a stuck runoff.

 

[luvmy40]

OK here goes...
I'm fairly new, in calender terms to brewing. I have done half a dozen extract recipes and 10 AGs over the last year. My experience seems to be unique.
I started AG with a home made 48qt cooler mash tun with a self fabricated braid strainer, 18" SS supply line with end crimped(no solder or copper cap). It worked well with no stuck sparges. I did have to put the cooler on a tilt to stop leaving over a gallon behind. This is the reason that I made a cpvc manifold. I brought the dead space(?) down to 3cups in a water only trial. However, the manifold came apart while stirring in my first mash. I went back to the braid and either tilt it or account for the extra loss with my mash out.

 

[JesseRC]

OK here goes...
I'm fairly new, in calender terms to brewing. I have done half a dozen extract recipes and 10 AGs over the last year. My experience seems to be unique.
I started AG with a home made 48qt cooler mash tun with a self fabricated braid strainer, 18" SS supply line with end crimped(no solder or copper cap). It worked well with no stuck sparges. I did have to put the cooler on a tilt to stop leaving over a gallon behind. This is the reason that I made a cpvc manifold. I brought the dead space(?) down to 3cups in a water only trial. However, the manifold came apart while stirring in my first mash. I went back to the braid and either tilt it or account for the extra loss with my mash out.

If using a braid, and you want to reduce your dead space, you can try adding a small extension to the valve nipple in the cooler , say a piece of hose just a few inches long and flexible enough to bring the braid all the way down flat to the cooler bottom. This helped me reduce my dead space.

 

[Bobby_M]

That's basically what I did with the copper tubing above. Even with I had my braid in a cooler, I ran a 6" piece of soft copper down to the bottom of the cooler and clamped the braid over it.

 

[Zen_Brew]

For what it's worth, the best performance I've ever gotten out of a braid was the version I used on my keg MLT before I put a false bottom in it.

The basic idea is, attach a copper tube to the bulkhead and have it run down to the bottom of the MLT and lay flat. Put a cap on the end, but don't solder it. Drill a few holes in the copper tube just on the bottom, maybe six 1/4" holes. Remove the tube from the cooler and wrap either stainless or copper wiring around the tube spacing each coil by about an inch. Cover that with 3/4" diameter stainless braid from a water heater hookup hose.

Bobby. That is pretty much the design I am going for in an upcoming build. I have to say very ingenious using the stranded wire to keep the braid from laying against the pipe.
One question though. Why not hard connect the cap? You said you don't solder the cap on the copper pipe.

 

[rico567]

I'm going to batch sparge, using a single infusion. I'm not super-concerned about hitting an exact efficiency, although obviously I'd like it to be a good one.

Some other criteria are that there will be no:

- going to 10 gallons.
- fly sparging
- complex manifolds
-false bottoms
- Rims, Herms, or other nuclear-powered systems
- etcetera

That being the case (and, of course, I'm going to build the standard 10 gal. MLT cooler conversion), I'm just going to use the braid. It may seem too simple and cheap for some people, but that's the way I like it. I'm a KISS kinda guy, I suppose.

 

[Bobby_M]

Bobby. That is pretty much the design I am going for in an upcoming build. I have to say very ingenious using the stranded wire to keep the braid from laying against the pipe.
One question though. Why not hard connect the cap? You said you don't solder the cap on the copper pipe.

Just for being able to clean the tube once in a while. If you find the cap fits too loose, you can lay a piece of teflon tape over the end of the tube before you jam the cap on. It will further be held on by the hose clamp that you use to secure the braid on that end.

 

[DSV]

I started with the braid, it did the job, but I made a copper manifold and could not be happier. I had trouble with the braid due to hitting it with the paddle leading to problems of the braid floating up and getting smashed. A hard connected manifold requires 1 second to connect, stays put and is easy to clean. It took a few hours to make, but the lack of stress on brew days has paid off. I wouldn't consider going back to the braid for a second. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Zen_Brew]

Thanx Bobby. I knew it was gonna be a simple reason I was missing. I think I will do that method, but put one piece of CPVC coupling between the copper pipe and the brass ball valve to break up the heat sink action and help keep the copper pipe and ball valve from leeching too much heat from the cooler during mash

 

[InYerMouth]

I went with a figure 8 copper manifold and used a dremel to saw slits in the bottom side of the manifold...to make it even easier, I didnt solder anything together, just used t-connectors and elbows...works great, saved time on construction and very easy to take apart and clean...dont see the need to solder...if it fits together. I put holes in the bottom anyway. the point is to allow liquid through it anyway right?? No problems yet but then again I am still a noob...lol.

One question I do have just in case is with the rice hulls...I am getting ready to do a hefe and an oatmeal stout and know I should use them...does it matter where in the mash I add them?? on bottom, on top...or mixed in?? does it matter?

 

[Nugent]

Just had my first brewday with a SS braid - efficiency up by 10%!

Crush the same, mash time the same and same mash temp.

Converted!

 

[the_Roqk]

...One question I do have just in case is with the rice hulls...I am getting ready to do a hefe and an oatmeal stout and know I should use them...does it matter where in the mash I add them?? on bottom, on top...or mixed in?? does it matter?

Think about it. It doesn't matter when you add them you are going to stir the shiite outa your mash anyway. After stirring the mash they will be mixed up. Rice hulls work great!

 

[DanVader]

I've played around with a stainless false bottom and a couple of different copper manifolds, and a couple different braid setups, this has been my best to date. 1/2" line with a stainless bolt hose clamped to the end.
very little dead space, the line doesn't float, right before I vorlauf I run my mash paddle down both sides and make sure the braid is centered.

 

[Rubberband]

I started a similar thread in the equipment forum, it's good to see some of the answers here. There is no good sticky for this topic and the search function doesn't work very well, I find. Anyway, I have a SS braid that I use in a 5 gal. drink cooler and it seems to work very well. I have only made one AG batch and it turned out fine, in fact my OG was two points higher than predicted by beersmith. I was considering a False Bottom but I don't think I'll get one any time soon. My only complaint about a braid is that I prick my fingers on the frayed ends. I could build a manifold, and maybe some day I will, but for me braid is cheap and effective.

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

I'd be interested in hearing more from the guys who have had stuck sparges with braids. Specifically:
What type of recipe? Lots of adjuncts? Huge grain bill?
How long was your braid, and in what configuration? (straight, circular, etc.)
If straight, was the end weighted with a plug?
Was it reinforced with a piece of perforated tubing?

I have used a standard SS braid and I used to get stuck sparges or VERY slow drainage. After reading a few threads here I took out the slotted tubing I had inside of it and OH WHAT A DIFFERENCE. Thanks to all the posters that recommended removing it.

Just did a heavy Wheat AG batch and the flow was FAST. I had to seriously dial back the ball valve as I was doing some modified getto sparging. No flames please because I got 80% Eff so I am now a happy brewer, next time I'll try a standard batch sparge to see if I can beat that.