Hello all. I've been using a Zapap Lauter Tun as described in The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, but recently I put together an MLT from a Coleman drink cooler. I have one question regarding the CPVC manifold. Is it better to make small slits using a dremel or is it better to drill small holes using a drill bit? I'd be worried about stuck sparges with the slits, but they seem to work for so many people. What are your suggestions?
Manifold Question
- Thread starter MacGruber
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Suthrncomfrt1884
Well-Known Member
Slits. You'll actually get more stuck sparges with holes in my opinion.
DrawTap88
Well-Known Member
They both work. It just depends on how much time you want to spend drilling or cutting slits. More is better when it comes to drilling holes.
I am in the process of building my manifold (copper tubing), but I assume the slits would be the same width and depth. How wide and what % of the pipe should be cut. I was planning on hack saw width, but that takes too long. Tried the dremel, but lost the flex extension, so I might get one of those, or an angle grinder with cut off discs. But he discs may be too wide (2mm). Also, planning on cutting half way or slightly less, through the tube. Is that too much or too little. Sorry for all the questions, but I need to be guided in one way so I don't screw it up too badly.
Suthrncomfrt1884
Well-Known Member
I know there's probably a science to cutting manifolds, as with everything else in brewing. But, when I cut mind, I just sortof winged it. I used a dremel and cut slits about every 1/2" just eyeballing it. I went a little less than half way through the copper. I hit 80% efficiency consistently, so I must have done something right...
In How To Brew, John Palmer recommends 1/2" pipe, slits down, pipes spaced 2 to 4 inches apart. For the full details check out: http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixD-3.html
Mischief_Brewing
Well-Known Member
Batch or fly sparging?
For batch, it doesn't matter much the location etc of the cuts. You'll just drain it all, then fill, stir, let it sit a bit, then drain again.
With fly sparging, there's a little bit more involved. You have to worry about getting equal drainage from all sides of the cooler (I know, it's round so technically it only has one side, but humor me here). There's info on here (and elsewhere) to minimize channeling and less than complete extraction of the sugars.
Another tip to prevent stuck sparges that I adopted is to use a grain bag/paint strainer bag in the MLT. I've never had a stuck sparge and I don't even vorlauf anymore.
For batch, it doesn't matter much the location etc of the cuts. You'll just drain it all, then fill, stir, let it sit a bit, then drain again.
With fly sparging, there's a little bit more involved. You have to worry about getting equal drainage from all sides of the cooler (I know, it's round so technically it only has one side, but humor me here). There's info on here (and elsewhere) to minimize channeling and less than complete extraction of the sugars.
Another tip to prevent stuck sparges that I adopted is to use a grain bag/paint strainer bag in the MLT. I've never had a stuck sparge and I don't even vorlauf anymore.
mikejamesnelson
Well-Known Member
skip the cpvc and do a copper one, you will have to rebuild it less, after a few good scrubbings, the cpvc gets all nasty.
And remember if you're going to do batch sparging instead of fly, just skip the manifold and do the washer hose route.
Brew-boy
Well-Known Member
I have my CPVC manifold for 2 years and has not been rebuilt, no need to ever.
I used the CPVC manifold and it worked great. I actually built a small one because I mash in a 5 gallon drink cooler. I thought about the washer hose route, but I've heard too many stories of stuck runoffs because the weight of the grains crushed the braid.
LaCrosseBrewer
Member
If by washer hose you mean the stainless steel mesh you pull off a flexible hose, I've never had a problem with it doing 5 gallon batches. I'll be switching to a keggle MLT soon, and am hoping to use a similar setup there with 10 gallon batches. We'll see if the extra grain and the smaller footprint of the keggle (vs a cooler) creates a problem...
