Does Anyone Have Experience with cPVC Collection Manifolds?

[KingBrianI]

I'm considering buying a mash tun from www.brewd00d.com and was wondering if anyone had experience with his products or cpvc collection manifolds in general. Do they work as well as a false bottom, stainless braid or copper tubing manifold? Thanks!

 

[Jamo99]

I don't have one, but have read about others that are happy with their purchases from him. His design would work as well as any other manifold design and CPVC is rated higher than sparge temperatures. I know that he used to post on the message board at The Brew Hut forum. I'm sure a good number of people there use his product, but don't expect responses as quick as you get here.

 

[rurounikitsune]

I have a MLT and HLT from him. They work fine. I wish I would have gone with the 10 gallon size though.

EDIT: I should mention that the PVC valves can end up leaking so you might want to invest in a ball valve or something.

 

[FSR402]

The only problem I can see with the CPVC is that it "may" float.

 

[brew hoperator]

I use a cpvc manifold and it works wonders. easy to break down and clean but sturdy enough during mash.

 

[xamers]

I used CPVC for years without a problems.

The slits in the manifold should face downwards, however.

That 48 quarts one he offers looks like the one I built for under $20 about 8 years ago. It still works.

One thing to note, if you are going to fly sparge with it, the manifold (theoretically) should be pulled away from the vessel walls further to avoid channeling.

 

[Brew-boy]

I used CPVC for years also and it works well. The one thing I see from his setup is it is not a balanced system. Should you have How to Brew by J.Palmer there is a whole chapter on this. I would suggest building it yourself and you can do it cheaper or even better. I would not think it is important to have a balanced system if you are a batch sparger, but I fly so it was an important consideration for me.

 

[videoman]

Brewd00d is an outstanding vendor... I purchased the 60 quart system both HLT/MLT and have been extremely pleased. DONT MESS AROUND - BUY THE 60QT... you will want that capability someday.

The only problem with using the PVC is slight bit of leakage.... the leakage comes from the rubber seals, not the PVC piping itself... over time the rubber washers start to get deformed and will have to be replaced... I've used this system a number of times this year and have had little leakage, but can see I'm going to have to replace the rubber washers soon.... minor!

I make 10 gallon batches most of the time, so using this system, at times, I've had as much as 26 lbs of grain and the system has taken it very well....

I don't know if this is a deviation from the way it should be.... but early on I had a stuck sparge and had to tear the entire system apart, and put it back together again to get it un stuck... since then, with the collection manifold, I've put the slots in the manifold facing down.

Original photos on brewd00ds website show collection manifold with slots facing up; but downs works better for me with no hint of a stuck sparge since...

Hope this helps!

 

[bottle-o-jeff]

I'm working on one now based on one that I found at Homebrew Adventures. Finding stainless washers has proved to be nearly impossible, so I'm going to buy the bulkhead fitting from AHS (Link).

I didn't build the fly sparging part on top, so you'd need another $5 in fittings/pipe, but here is what mine cost.

10ft CPVC- $2.29
CPVC to Female NPT - $0.67
1/2" Full port brass ball valve - $5.97
1/2" Male NPT to Barb - $3.88
10 pack of 1/2" CPVC Tees - $1.60
5 1/2" CPVC 90deg Elbows - $1.00

Total: $15.41 + $15.99 for the bulkhead fitting ($31.40 overall)

If it wasn't for that bulkhead fitting, this would be a really inexpensive project. I got fed up with driving to different places only to find out that they don't carry stainless steel washers (after they told me that they did on the phone). I'm going to add the bulkhead fitting in with another order, so the marginal cost for shipping is $0.

Of course I already had a cooler.

CPVC is listed for use with potable water, and it's cheaper and easier to work with than copper. I also went with brass valves for better isolation. I don't care about leakage on the inside of the cooler, but I want to be able to really tighten things down on the outside.

Here's a link to the pictures (so far): http://www.flickr.com/photos/jragg/sets/72157605748305524/