Can anyone advise me on this manifold design and material?

Hi everyone

I live in Spain and apparently CPVC is not know here and I dont wanna use PVC for a manifold. So I have decided to use copper. I have created a design (a really simple one ) that you can find here as an attachment. The material seems to be available but I still have tons of questions.

The manifold will go into a 50 qt xtreme, coleman cooler.

Please advise me on these questions:

-what type of copper is good for such a manifold? Are there anything I should know about copper at this stage?

-is there a way to make it without welding, or anything extra? I'd like to buy copper T joints and just pust the parts together. Is that an option?

-the slits.....should only be cut on the 4 long tubes that run along the 20.5 inch wall? What should be the distance between the slits and how deep they should be cut into the tubes?

-do you guys think the 2-inch distance will do and help me achieve good efficiency? (I was told that a lot depends on the manifold when it comes to efficiency)

-I am wondering what diameter copper tubes I should buy...they dont really talk about those anywhere.


Thanks a lot.

UPDATE: do you guys think I could cut the ends of the elements and screw them together? Just as if they were screws. This is just an idea...it might be impossible....but I am trying to avoid soldering.

I'd say the design will do you just fine.

I think most use 1/2" rigid copper tubing and I'd cut slits anywhere you don't have a 'T' or Elbow joint.

I know there are folks who successfully just piece the manifold together w/o soldering.

I will say that you should solder it. If something comes apart during sparge you will have a hell of a time getting it drained. I speak from my own painful experience. Soldering is hella easy too

I too use nearly this style, 1/2" copper. Slits cut everywhere but the elbows or T's as stated. At the corners though I also used T's with end plugs so that the tubing would stand off the wall of the cooler about 1/2".
I however only soldered certain joints, my manifold fits snug in the bottom of the m/t, haven't pulled it apart while mashing, hopefully never will, but give some serious thought toward soldering it together. Edecambra seems to have some good unpleasant "lessons learned" advice. I left mine loose in places for ease of cleaning only.
Cheers

beergynt said:

I'd say the design will do you just fine.

I think most use 1/2" rigid copper tubing and I'd cut slits anywhere you don't have a 'T' or Elbow joint.

I know there are folks who successfully just piece the manifold together w/o soldering.

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Thanks for the reply beergynt. I have uploaded another image...where I indicated in red where the slits should go. However....I thought that the slits should only go on the long tubes. I was told that if I cut slits on the vertical tubes...that will cause interruption to the flow. Is it true?

worksnorth said:

I too use nearly this style, 1/2" copper. Slits cut everywhere but the elbows or T's as stated. At the corners though I also used T's with end plugs so that the tubing would stand off the wall of the cooler about 1/2".
I however only soldered certain joints, my manifold fits snug in the bottom of the m/t, haven't pulled it apart while mashing, hopefully never will, but give some serious thought toward soldering it together. Edecambra seems to have some good unpleasant "lessons learned" advice. I left mine loose in places for ease of cleaning only.
Cheers

Click to expand...

That is one thing...if I solder the thing together, then how can I properly clean it after mashing? Dont I need to pull the parts apart and clean them one by one in the end of the mashing?

Elysium I was pretty amazed at how clean mine is at the end. Didn't take much at all to flush it out, but I like pulling it apart and looking it over

You just need to cut slits in the long pieces, make sure the slits face down. If you dimple the pipe ends, by putting three punch marks around them this will make them more secure without solder. John Palmer's book "How to Brew", also has some great information on manifold design.

fbold1 said:

You just need to cut slits in the long pieces, make sure the slits face down. If you dimple the pipe ends, by putting three punch marks around them this will make them more secure without solder. John Palmer's book "How to Brew", also has some great information on manifold design.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. 3 punch marks? What does that mean? I am really not good with many beer brewing or DIY terms.
Yeah, I have read the section on manifolds in John Palmer's book...but I think it is more complicated to make the final thing and require more information than the one that is in the book.

A center punch, nothing to do with brewing, in other words, this will misshape the pipe ends and keep them from slipping off.