How does my MLT look?

[Anthony_Lopez]

So i just finished building this beast manifold and wanted to see what people's thoughts were.

Manifold Holes

Inside of the MLT

Ball Valve

Do you think having that long arm from one end of the MLT to the other will be a big deal? I can use some flex tubing if needed and just connect on the same side as the ball valve and bulkhead... Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Soulive]

Man you guys are really serious, I like it. I think that long arm will be an issue in the future. Looks good otherwise, game on...

 

[BierMuncher]

Looks nice. Are your drill holes on the top or bottom?

 

[Anthony_Lopez]

The holes are on the bottom... I flipped it up so you guys could see my pattern. I drilled the holes with a number 55 drill bit, which is essentially a 3/64 bit. Using a small amount of machining oil made the process a hell of a lot easier. I also laid the template on each leg of the manifold using a machinists punch to put a small indent in the spot of the hole to be drilled which keeps the drill bit from "walking" on the copper. The manifold took me about 5 hours to put the pattern down, punch, and drill the holes... Hopefully this will help in avoiding stuck sparges and keep the malts out of my manifold...

I need to decide about the "leg" that connects the bulkhead to the manifold. I don't really like the connection, so I may cut down a few elbows to allow me to solder it together...

 

[Wade E]

I just made mine and wnt with a 45* elbow right into the manifold near the ball check. Just out of curiosity, why did you do the long arm?

 

[Anthony_Lopez]

I used the long arm because it was much easier to make the manifold fit centered in the MLT. I am concerned to have it there though. I will probably make a custom fitting to get rid of that long arm.

 

[Dr_Deathweed]

Wow, that tooks pretty damn good! I am +1 for shortening that arm though. If you just turn your manifold around, and mabey remove that joint and turn it around, can you still fit it and have it somewhat centered?

 

[EvilTOJ]

Another vote on getting rid of the long arm. I would do what Deathweed suggests, just flip it around and put some elbows on that sucker.

 

[wild]

Would the manifold still be centered if you turned it 180°, lose the long arm, and turn the manifold elbow 180° into the bulkhead or possibly use a 45° as Wade E mentioned?

 

[bigben]

You could get a few more Ts and T off the two middle rows in the center, then bring the 'arm' to the middle of the manifold to another T. That way, when the siphon starts happening all the wort will be drawn toward the middle of the cooler and all parts of the manifold will drain at the same speed.

Probably overkill, but it would make it more symmetrical.

 

[Anthony_Lopez]

I think the only way I can turn around that manifold is if I remove the top portion of the T connector on the manifold and weld an elbow on.

 

[FSR402]

I like it but I would not have solderd it all like that. You can't take it apart to clean it.

 

[bradsul]

I like it but I would not have solderd it all like that. You can't take it apart to clean it.

Using small holes instead of slits means it's not as much of an issue. I just run hot water through mine as soon as I get all the grains out of the tun and it cleans up just fine. You don't get the grain matter through the holes like you do with the slots.

 

[Anthony_Lopez]

Using small holes instead of slits means it's not as much of an issue. I just run hot water through mine as soon as I get all the grains out of the tun and it cleans up just fine. You don't get the grain matter through the holes like you do with the slots.

Actually, Brad is the one that gave me the idea.

It's quite easy to de-solder the pipe if it really gets gunked up.

 

[sigmund]

Your long arm shouldn't be an issue. No matter where the arm is connected, once the manifold holes start sucking air and you lose siphon, it stops draining. The onlt difference would be the little bit of extra wort that the long arm holds. Nice unit.

 

[Anthony_Lopez]

I fabricated my own elbow last night while I was waiting for a test to finish up. Also, I took the back end of the manifold off for cleaning, and I think I'm going to leave it off for ease of cleaning. It took me a good 30 minutes to get the back end off, so I wouldnt want to do that again if I got a stuck manifold...

The reason I needed that long arm in the first place is because the spigot hole for the cooler sits so low that there aren't copper or steel elbows available for that tight of a connection. The long arm allows for a gradual drop from the spigot to my manifold.

Take that as a warning for those with a 48qt rubbermaid cooler.