Mash tun manifold or SS braid?

[Rhuarc]

Hmm, ok, I guess I was thinking this could even be used on a manifold for fly sparging to reduce the chances of areas in the manifold getting a low flow rate.

 

[JuanMoore]

If you batch sparge... waste of time. If you fly sparge, the manifold will do what you're suggesting but will be more robust over the long term.

This.

 

[JuanMoore]

Hmm, ok, I guess I was thinking this could even be used on a manifold for fly sparging to reduce the chances of areas in the manifold getting a low flow rate.

It would, and some people have designed their manifolds that way. Another popular method is drawing from the center of the manifold.

 

[NewDecadeBrewery]

True, 75% is fine, but why on earth would you take all that extra time and hassle to fly sparge with a braid when you can get the same if not better efficiency in a fraction of the time by batch sparging with the same braid?

Because it is my hobby and I wanted to try different things. I was quite proud of my "sparge arm" which I came up with that consisted of a 2 qt plastic pitcher with holes drilled in the bottom with which I would shower my grains by hand and quite uniformly I thought. I never thought this was much hassle. I was in my garage, it was certainly my day off, I was most certainly listening to some good tunes, no-one was bothering me, and I was brewing. I am sure I was enjoying the s*&t out of it.

For the record I checked my notes and have gotten up to 83% efficiency with the way I fly sparge. Bobby M could be right portions of my grains may have been oversparged and portions undersparged, but I did not detect any off flavors or excessive tannins, etc. One way around this (using braid) would be to connect the looped (or otherwise configured) braid to a pipe in the center of the tun that leads to the drain. Problem solved, no?

I just wanted to chime in because a poster had mentioned that braid would be unusable (actually he said "worthless") to him if he wanted to fly sparge and I disagree. I don't think a brewer has to necessarily not use braid if he intends to fly sparge.

 

[1KD1]

In the grand scheme, yes 75% efficiency is perfectly acceptable and there are the folks who also say that slightly lower efficiency is better for wort quality due to stable pH, etc. However, when you achieve 75% in a channel-prone sparge, you're actually likely oversparging the areas closest to the channels. In other words, 75% batch sparge on your system should be better quality wort.

If that's not clear, think of it this way. Water that is making a B-line from the top to the narrow collection area may be stripping 100% of the sugar in that isolated column while the dead areas are holding on to 60% of the sugar. All said and done, your average is 75% but it's not the most favorable situation.

What if I just installed a large ball valve, didn't use any type of strainer (on the inside of the tun) , but used a large strainer to catch the grain coming out of the ball valve before it makes it to kettle? I understand that catching ten pounds of grain might be a PITA but would that be the "most efficient"? (since you could get every last drop of wort)

 

[Monster Mash]

I have been fly sparging for 10 years and I have used false bottoms, copper manifolds and SS braids.

They all gave me the same efficiency (80%+) but I like the SS braid the best because it is easy to clean. Most of the people in my club fly sparge with stainless braid and have no efficiency issues.

 

[cperry7467]

What if I just installed a large ball valve, didn't use any type of strainer (on the inside of the tun) , but used a large strainer to catch the grain coming out of the ball valve before it makes it to kettle? I understand that catching ten pounds of grain might be a PITA but would that be the "most efficient"? (since you could get every last drop of wort)

It's not a matter of getting all the wort out, it's about washing your grains evenly to rinse out as much sugar from the grains as possible... So imagine a layer of sparge water on top of the grain, then all the grain mixed with water, then your drain. Open your drain and your sparge water (which is used to helped wash your grains) is going to start draining on the side of the cooler where the drain is because water will flow in the path of least resistance. On the other side of your cooler you'll have grain sitting there with very little water flow moving past it and not getting washed. If you drain all the water out that you can, there will still be water/sugar in the grains that didn't get washed. That's why it's important to have drain points scattered around the bottom of your mash tun, so the water has multiple paths it can take to exit the mash tun. So instead of the 1 exit out, it's got 10 or 20 and your sparge water will take different paths through the grain to get out of the mash tun. So your water is washing more grain, resulting in more sugar and greater efficiency.

 

[1KD1]

Ok. I think I'm getting a better grasp on the process of "washing" the grain to get the good stuff out.

Thanks to everyone for the help and explanations.

Tomorrow we will work on how to calculate efficiency! LoL

 

[NewDecadeBrewery]

 

[Taliesin]

View attachment 51832

That is hardcore! :rockin:

Is that your setup, or that of someone you know?

 

[NewDecadeBrewery]

That's me.

 

[Taliesin]

That's me.

Then that, sir, is an epic braid. It is no mere 6" (or less) of braid like I was referring to. lol. If I had a setup like that, then I wouldn't be concerned about channeling either. lol

 

[marquette048]

I am putting together a mash run for my first attempt at AG brewing. I am using a rectangle cooler. I have the parts to do either a SS braided hose or a copper manifold for draining the mash tun. I have 1" SS braid (several feet available) or 1/2" copper with all necessary fittings.

First questions is: which option is better or more efficient?

Second, if using copper manifold, I have seen them set up with slots cut in top of manifold and also with cuts in bottom of manifold. If I were to build a manifold, where would the slots be most efficient? Top or bottom of manifold?

Sorry if this has been covered but I kept finding different info in my searches.

Sweeet....1 inch braid. Where did you pick that up?

 

[1KD1]

Sweeet....1 inch braid. Where did you pick that up?

I have a friend that works in R&D of trucking industry.... Always keep a diverse group of friends, it helps with odd projects!