My MLT

[maltMonkey]

Just got done building this, which (I'm hoping) will be good for batch & fly sparging....

Does it look like it's up to the job?

 

[slnies]

well, it looks cool! Looks like a great idea, it should work great.

 

[The Pol]

Too bad you cannot close the lid while you are fly sparging to help maintain temps...

 

[Baldy_Beer_Brewery]

I take it you are going to inject steam or hot water through the upper level of piping? Is the PVC going to be up to that?

 

[The Pol]

My guess would be water... for the sparge...

 

[Baldy_Beer_Brewery]

I thought maybe it was a step mash distribution manifold gizmo. Even for sparge water I still think cpvc would have been a better option. But pvc cpvc either one is cheap enough that it can be replaced easily. Just wouldn't want it to give way mid-sparge.

 

[Bobby_M]

Rube Goldberg called. He wants his mash tun back!

I get it, the top part is a bracket to hold the sparge manifold at a specific height. It's a bit overboard when you could have just laid it on top of the mash and like Pol said, close the lid while you sparge.

 

[maltMonkey]

I take it you are going to inject steam or hot water through the upper level of piping? Is the PVC going to be up to that?

I think so....I've flushed the entire system twice with 5 gallons of boiling water and everything appears OK.

Rube Goldberg called. He wants his mash tun back!

I get it, the top part is a bracket to hold the sparge manifold at a specific height. It's a bit overboard when you could have just laid it on top of the mash and like Pol said, close the lid while you sparge.

Yeah, it's probably overcomplicated.....I wasn't even aware that you could just float the sparge arm on the mash....hmmm, that would be a lot better. Well, it's a simple change since the sparge arm holder thing just snaps in and out.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Bobby_M]

It's not the first time a homebrewer over engineered something that's for sure. Your sparge manifold has a lot of surface area, I believe it would sit on top of the grainbed just fine.

 

[The Pol]

If it wont "float" on top of the grainbed, it would be neat to have some sort of floatation device to keep it on top of the grain or water level while the lid is closed.

 

[wildwest450]

Im about to build mine, im also using cpvc, is it necessary to make a full square with runners in the middle? I was just thinking of making a simple T shape, after all if you use stainless, you just have a straight tube.

 

[The Pol]

If you use stainless, the sparge arm spins and they are made to fit round MLTs... so they cover the entire grain bed... the more even coverage you have, the less channeling you have and the better your results. Here is a video of mine in action.

 

[lustreking]

Very complicated! I like it!

Here's a somewhat less complicated sparge manifold with adjustable height that I built for a friend.

http://brewing.lustreking.com/gear/spargeman.html

 

[maltMonkey]

Im about to build mine, im also using cpvc, is it necessary to make a full square with runners in the middle? I was just thinking of making a simple T shape, after all if you use stainless, you just have a straight tube.

I probably wouldn't be the best person to ask as I'm still a noob to all of this.....I was just trying to get as much surface area as possible on the sparge arm in order to reduce channeling, and on the drain manifold to reduce the chance of a stuck sparge.

 

[maltMonkey]

If you use stainless, the sparge arm spins and they are made to fit round MLTs... so they cover the entire grain bed... the more even coverage you have, the less channeling you have and the better your results. Here is a video of mine in action.

I wanted to do something like that, but wasn't sure how to piece it together....and I didn't know if would be as effective in a rectangular cooler.

 

[maltMonkey]

If it wont "float" on top of the grainbed, it would be neat to have some sort of floatation device to keep it on top of the grain or water level while the lid is closed.

Hmmm....I wonder if Lowes carries sparge manifold pontoons?

 

[missing link]

I made something similar to fit a taller square cooler and the thing I noticed is that when you slow the sparge to last an hour, anymore than 10 to 15 of the smallest holes is to many in the manifold. to many holes causes the water to exit right near the manifold inlet and none makes it to the other end. You want the manifold to pressurize slightly to get even water distribution.

Next time your done brewing, use some colored water of some kind to continue to sparge and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Linc

 

[wilserbrewer]

Wow...I count 7 valves...unbelievable!!!!