mash tun manifolds

[headcase.brewing]

I am building a wort collector and wanted to see if anyone had a similar setup and wanted to know well it works. Or should I just get a false bottom.

[GeoBrau]

Looks cool. Planning on putting slits in the bottom of the copper? The rise in your manifold, just prior to exiting through your ball-valve might be my only concern as you could leave an appreciable amount behind. I prefer my manifold to the false bottoms I was using before. I had 2 stuck mashes with the FB, since going to a copper manifold, I've never had another batch stick.

[Grist Licker]

Check out Palmer's book at http://www.howtobrew.com/sitemap.html. Appendix D has theory and instructions on constructing a manifold lauter tun. It is super important to dimension your manifold correctly or else you will have dead spots in your mash that do not get completely rinsed during the sparge thus lowering your efficiency.

Congrats on building your own all grain equipment!

[Mylo]

Headcase - I made the manifold for my first mashtun exactly like the inside ring of yours. It worked perfectly for years. When I read the appendix in Palmer's book, I took it to mean that you shouldn't put a ring too close to the outside of the vessel - because the wort will take the path of least resistance - straight down the sides - and avoid going through your grain. My ring was very close to being equidistant from the center as it was the sides. Ditch the outside ring, and your good to go. I put saw cuts on the top half - but in retrospect I would have put them on the bottom. Not because they ever got clogged, but because that would mean an extra half inch of wort would transfer before the suction broke.


Mylo