Copper vs CPVC In Mash/Lauter Tun Manifold

[calderp]

Working on my AG setup, I just got a 12gal cooler for $10 and I'm trying to figure out what to do for the manifold. Any difference between copper and CPVC for this? If not, I'll go with the CPVC based on price but it seems like most people use copper, is there a reason for this? While I'm at it, does anyone know a website with good instructions/pictures for building M/L Tun, and/or putting together DIY ball valve assemblies?
Thanks!

[Jeff]

I know PVC is rated for 120*F and less, but I don't think CPVC is rated for anything near boiling. IIRC, CPVC is not rated to 165*F.

[calderp]

Wikipedia says good to 176F and seems pretty inert (wrong word for plastics, I think) and durable. Still, I don't really know anyhitng about it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorinated_polyvinyl_chloride

[calderp]

Also, found a good site for manifold construction if anyone else needs it, although I'm not sure about some of the materials he uses, like epoxy: http://www.homebrew.com/articles/article09130301.shtml Made me think of another question:
Should I worry much about getting the slits of the manifold really flush with the bottom, or will the water from fly sparging stay high enough to reach the slits if they or the drain is like 1" up?

[MichaelM]

my manifold is made from CPVC it works just fine and it alot easier to work with for the normal person. trust me I am a plumber cpvc works just fine just get a good clear cpvc glue for the parts you want to glue together and your golden

[danno]

Palmer has a nice chapter on manifold design and construction, although I'm very tired at this moment and too lazy to look it up for you. go to www.howtobrew.com and look it up...

[BrewDog]

Danno was referring to this page (http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixD-1.html)

There's no real reason to glue your manifold together at all. It will still siphon just fine, as long as the joints stay together.

In fact, it will be a major league pain in the ass to clean if you glue it. I guarantee that some grain WILL get in there and then it will be tougher to get it out if its glued.

Granted, while mash tun plumbing is pre-boil, and the wort will be sterilized in the boil, I still think that keeping the equipment clean from start to finish keeps me from taking other shortcuts that can have detrimental effects on the beer at other stages.

[dparsons]

Don't use PVC as it will leach harmful chemicals into your beer due to the pH. CPVC is fine as far as I know and this is why it is used over PVC.

[danno]

Originally posted by BrewDog
Danno was referring to this page (http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixD-1.html)

There's no real reason to glue your manifold together at all. It will still siphon just fine, as long as the joints stay together. the only exception to this rule would be if you have anything higher (taller?) than the main plane of the manifold. if you leave a gap in some plumbing above your main manifold, you'll lose suction when you get to the end of your sparge.

[MichaelM]

I made mine where it comes apart but glued the major pieces together... just sticking it together and it being CPVC you will run a good chance of knocking it apart while stirring......

[calderp]

Originally posted by danno
the only exception to this rule would be if you have anything higher (taller?) than the main plane of the manifold. if you leave a gap in some plumbing above your main manifold, you'll lose suction when you get to the end of your sparge.

Very good to know, i was going to do what Dave Miller reccomend sin his book and put some verticle clear pipe in there to keep track of the grain bed height so I'll glue that one and I'll probably glue the T's together so that the two ends are pretty rigid, will hopefully stop it from getting knocked apart.
Thanks for all the advice.

[Quin]

I would recommend copper. You wont need to solder the fittings; just whack them with a hammer once the entire assembly is built. It will distort the fitting making the fit tighter.

I would also second the Palmer book and website for design.

I don't really worry about draining the MLT. I prepare lots of sparge water and shut off when I have collected enough wort.

[Mad Scientist]

Originally posted by dparsons
Don't use PVC as it will leach harmful chemicals into your beer due to the pH. CPVC is fine as far as I know and this is why it is used over PVC.

Isn't the inside of our coolers that we use to mash in made of PVC?

[Mill Rat]

Originally posted by Boerne Brew
Isn't the inside of our coolers that we use to mash in made of PVC? I wouldn't know for sure what it is, but the folks at Igloo, et. al., are not so brain dead as to make the interior of a cooler for direct beverage contact out of a non-food-grade plastic.

[Free Beer]

Total newbee, here... I made a CPVC manifold for my rectangular cooler. I have a hard time keeping it from floating up off of the cooler floor. As I've never seen anything about this on a couple different forums, I assume there's an easy fix I'm just not aware of. Can someone please tell me if that is the case? Much appreciated...
My first couple batches worked great, but my last couple sparges got stuck, and I kept having to push down the manifold, while attempting to clear most of the grist from below it.

[Free Beer]

In weighing copper vs. CPVC, I went with CPVC because of the ease of slotting. But I imagine with a copper manifold, it would fit tighter together and be a little heavier, eliminating my floating problem.
By the way, I didn't want to glue anything yet, for cleaning purposes, and because of the toxins involved (and the long cure time; very impatient...), but I realize this may help in the end.

[PsychoBrew]

I used the CPCV also and instead of slots I drilled tons of 5/64 holes. I have not had a floating problem yet as every thing gets pushed together pretty tightly. I did not use glue either. I think that as long as all the peices are pushed tightly together it should not want to float and once it is full of liquid it should be ok. Thats just my take on it. Took me all of 45 min to get it all put together and the hole for the spigot enlarged in the cooler - went pretty smooth. The holes took me a while to drill.