Mashtun Manifold: Copper or PVC?

[davidkrau]

Thanks Monstr Mash

I'm off to the hardware store.

David

 

[Lounge Lizard]

I built the tee so it goes to the bottom of the pot. There is not much liquid left if I run it all the way down but since I fly sparge I sometimes leave a lot of liquid behind if my pot is full or Im down to 1.010.

The braid works great though, I consistantly get 75% - 85% efficiency and I've never had a stuck sparge.

Thanks, I'm also going to go the stainless braid route. Does your copper angle down from the fitting in the side of the bulkhead? It's hard to tell from the picture. And I guess there are copper fittings that will screw into a Weld-B-Gone bulkhead fitting? Like I said about the picture.

How about taking yours apart and posting pictures for everyone? lol

Just kiddding.... though it would be nice since you started all of this mess...

Thanks...

 

[davidkrau]

Monster Mash

I've got 12 feet SS mesh, I removed the PVC Pipe. How did you make the Tee? Is it tied into the bulkhead so you have a gravity feedof wort or do you siphon? I think Llounge Lizard has sone of the same questions.

You've been a great help Thanks

David

 

[Lounge Lizard]

Monster Mash

I've got 12 feet SS mesh, I removed the PVC Pipe. How did you make the Tee? Is it tied into the bulkhead so you have a gravity feedof wort or do you siphon? I think Llounge Lizard has sone of the same questions.

You've been a great help Thanks

David

Copper pipe fittings come in all sorts of designs. There are tees, elbows (90 degree), and so forth. It looks like he just got a tee fitting and silver soldered three short pieces of 1/2" copper pipe into the each of the three openings. Two of them have the braid hose clamped on to them. The other goes to the fitting in the bulkhead. The latter is what I was asking about. Still not sure how that hooks up.

You can pick up a tubing/small pipe cutter pretty cheaply at a hardware store.

I don't plan on soldering the pieces into the actual tee itself. I think I will just press fit the things, and then drill a hole through each connection and insert a screw, to keep the pieces from coming apart. Easier to take apart and clean that way. They don't need to be leakproof in that area.


Oh, gravity feeding and siphoning is essentially the same thing in this case. The hose leading from the spigot in the bulkhead (unless he has a pump) would have a hose attached that drains into the boil kettle below. Gravity would get it started, then he would have it and a little siphon action going as well.

 

[davidkrau]

To Monster Mash and Lounge Lizard
I've finished ths SS braib set up for my 5 gal round Igloo. How does this sound? any suggestions for refinements 12 Feet braided SS. Is this too long? A copper tee with a barb connectedto a siphon . The other end of the bar is silver soldered into the tee. The siphon hose is connected with hose clamps to the barb Two other barbs are connected to each end of the SS braid. The other end or the barbs slide into each side of the tee. Not soldered so it can be easily disconnected for cleaning. It looks similar to the Monster Mash's picture. Thanks again for your help

 

[Indiana Red]

I'm going to go with a false-bottom....with less dead-space.

I have copper but with a semi-custom dual Bazooka screen. Chairman has a good point though. Didn't think of that angle. Especially with the round cooler configuration

 

[Lounge Lizard]

To Monster Mash and Lounge Lizard
I've finished ths SS braib set up for my 5 gal round Igloo. How does this sound? any suggestions for refinements 12 Feet braided SS. Is this too long? A copper tee with a barb connectedto a siphon . The other end of the bar is silver soldered into the tee. The siphon hose is connected with hose clamps to the barb Two other barbs are connected to each end of the SS braid. The other end or the barbs slide into each side of the tee. Not soldered so it can be easily disconnected for cleaning. It looks similar to the Monster Mash's picture. Thanks again for your help

Twelve feets sounds way long. Six feet even sounds long. A Bazooka screen is only like, what, a foot or so long? Of course Monster Mash has a different set-up. I would imagine a couple of coils around the bottom like his would be plenty.

When you say siphon, do you mean spigot or bulkhead fitting at the bottom?

Or do you mean the hose is going to reach up over the top and hang down from there?

 

[davidkrau]

To Lounge Lizard

The hose goes from the tee at the botton of the cooler and then up over the top of the cooler and the liquid is then siphoned into the boiler. The siphon would work the same as siphoning from a corboy. Palmer in his book Page 209 shows a setup where the hose goes over the top. I think it would take lot of know how to tie the tee into the bulkhead. I probably will shorten the mesh.

 

[Lost]

To Monster Mash and Lounge Lizard
I've finished ths SS braib set up for my 5 gal round Igloo. How does this sound? any suggestions for refinements 12 Feet braided SS. Is this too long? A copper tee with a barb connectedto a siphon . The other end of the bar is silver soldered into the tee. The siphon hose is connected with hose clamps to the barb Two other barbs are connected to each end of the SS braid. The other end or the barbs slide into each side of the tee. Not soldered so it can be easily disconnected for cleaning. It looks similar to the Monster Mash's picture. Thanks again for your help

12 feet seems like an awful lot to me. How do you have it arranged? Or is it just lying in the bottom of the cooler?
I trust you've seen Palmer's how to on building a mash/lauter tun? His discussion of flow potential and tun geometry is a great read.
http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixD.html

Also, if I read this right you're gonna just siphon it out of the cooler.. why? If the cooler doesn't have a drain hole built in it then get out a hole saw and cut one in the appropriate place. Then add kewlz kit and you're set. Of course, the cheaper alternative is to just push a drilled stopper into the hole, run a copper tube through it (believe it or not it really doesn't leak) and then add a bulkhead fitting to the outside and you're good to go.

 

[Lost]

Sorry, somehow I missed you last post...

Here's how you attach the copper tube to the bulkhead:
you'll need a threaded adapter (maybe $2 at most) - it'll have a compression fitting on one side and threads on the other that will screw into your 3/8" ball valve (about $6). Make sure the compression fitting actually fits your copper tube - don't go by the size listed. In my experience the sizes refer to the diameter of hard copper pipe, if you're using soft then a 3/8" compression fitting will be too big. Just take what you have with you to the hardware store and piece it together right there. You'll definately want a ball valve in there somewhere to easily regulate the flow.. remember no more (preferably far less in my experience) than 1 quart per minute.

While Palmer does say that you could siphon it out.. I think that would be a pain in the arse! You definately want a ball valve somehow mounted to the bottom of the tun.

 

[Lounge Lizard]

To Monster Mash and Lounge Lizard

I've finished ths SS braib set up for my 5 gal round Igloo. How does this sound? any suggestions for refinements 12 Feet braided SS. Is this too long?

Okay, just got back from Home Depot with copper pipe, tees, elbows, a new hole saw kit, (bought a Mapp torch the other day) etc.... the problem is I couldn't find any stainless steel braided line! I looked by the plumbing supplies. Is it somewhere else?

All I could find was various lengths of some kind of polyester braided stuff.

Where did you (or anyone else) find your 12 foot length??

 

[davidkrau]

You looked in the right dept.( plumbing) I think it's used to hook uP sinks to water supplies etc. It comes in varius lengths.

 

[Lounge Lizard]

You looked in the right dept.( plumbing) I think it's used to hook uP sinks to water supplies etc. It comes in varius lengths.

Thanks... So, you went to Home Depot? I guess I'll try another one or a hardware store tomorrow. The longest I found was three feet long and it wasn't real stainless. Different lengths were hanging on a rack.

Yours is definitely stainless and not polyester?

 

[user 574]

Thanks... So, you went to Home Depot? I guess I'll try another one or a hardware store tomorrow. The longest I found was three feet long and it wasn't real stainless. Different lengths were hanging on a rack.

Yours is definitely stainless and not polyester?

Pretty sure Ace has it too (but I use a copper manifold). At least at my Ace HW stores there not quite the morons like HD and lowes.

 

[davidkrau]

Mine is SS. I bought it at a place called Menards. It's like a HD

 

[pokey]

Home depot will definitely have it - look near the toilet repair parts. Just make sure that you buy one that is actually stainless....many of the ones that they carry are made of braided plastic material that is painted silver.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

Yeah all the home improvement box stores have it. I use it too, but I don't have a tee like Monster Mash. I just hooked up one end and crimped the other. Whatever works.

 

[Lounge Lizard]

Okay, guys... I found out that places like Home Depot have braided lines scattered all over the store. They have them by the hot water heaters, by the washing machines, and over near the lawn irrigation department. I had no idea that all the braided lines wouldn't be in one place! Dumb assumption on my part, I guess.

Went to a Lowes today, and the sales clerk showed me two out of three places where the lines were. Didn't find what I was looking for, so I was headed out the door. THEN on the way out, I stumbled across more braided lines in the washing machine area. Bingo! I found a four foot length in stainless in the right diameter.

I guess I shouldn't feel too bad about not finding what I was looking for right away. The sales clerk was even at a loss... ha ha

I also picked up a wallpaper paste tray to sanitize my autosiphon and racking canes in....

 

[joe s. sausage]

Monster, thanks for sharing the party photos. That looks like and excellent party and of course the chicks tossing kegs....awesome.

Are these all homebrews and you get a park space and go for it? That is fantastic.

 

[DeejayDebi]

I vote for the stainless Steel hose braid

 

[Monster Mash]

Monster, thanks for sharing the party photos. That looks like and excellent party and of course the chicks tossing kegs....awesome.

Are these all homebrews and you get a park space and go for it? That is fantastic.

Its funny you ask because we are doing it again this weekend. We will have about 200 people at a campground we reserved. We should have over 50 beers on tap...

Mayfaire Fest... http://maltosefalcons.com/