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Plastic false-bottom
Hello, I'm planning on building a copper manifold for a round beverage cooler mash/later ton.
I was wondering if anyone has had bad experiences with such homemade copper manifolds vs. plastic false-bottom («Phil's mashing eq.» type).
Also, if I build a copper manifold for a round shaped ton, it is better to build the square type or the round type?
Any important details I should know when selecting pipe size, fittings, material, slot size, etc.?
Thanks
Daniel
1. I slotted both the horizontal and vertical--basically any free space on the straight tubing. I also cut one slot on two of the four elbows and the two main T-junctions. I wound up slotting 180 degrees around (1/2 the circumference). Not sure if less or more is best, but it seems to do the job for me. I chose not to cut any slots that were too close to the wall of the cooler as this would likely promote the liquid to flow down the sides of the inside cooler rather than filtering thru the dense grain bed.
I would recommend getting a variable flow spigot to connect to the manifold. As howtobrew.com recommends, you will get better extraction and less chance of stuck later if you can slow the lautering of worth down to approx. 1 qt per minute.
Having said all this, most people I have talked to are using the false bottom rather than manifold approach. I have no basis on which to compare the two approaches, but a Phil's false bottom would likely be an easier (and possibly cheaper) route to go.
Thanks
Ethan
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