[meistersmudge]

I have a circular 10 gallon rubbermaid cooler that I am turning into a mash tun. After hours of reading up on the subject I have decided to make a copper manifold instead of using the braid. I have looked at designs for manifolds and most of them are for rectangular coolers. Does anyone have any suggestions and/or pictures of homemade circular manifolds? One of my biggest concerns is attaching the manifold to the bulkhead without the need to solder. Any advice would be appreciated.

[dano14041]

Try this link:
http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixD-1.html

[Matt B]

The link has some good designs. If you're batch sparging, the easiest is probably just go buy a handful of elbows and tees and use some rigid copper and have a square manifold with a couple of crosses in your round cooler, with batch sparging it really won't make any difference. Rigid copper's cheaper, and if you're like me, you bang it around a lot and it's less prone to bending.

For hooking it up to the spigot, the elbows and stuff actually fit reasonably tight, and as long as there is liquid flow creating a laminar effect, it's less likely to start sucking in air and losing suction once the liquid level gets towards the bottom. If it doesn't fit well for whatever reason, put some petroleum jelly on the copper sleeve when you slide your manifold on and that'll help. Just make sure you don't make your manifold too big so you can slide it on.

I wouldn't bother soldering any of it, I didn't. As long as you don't use it as a frisbee, it's unlikely to just fall apart, and makes cleaning easier.

Also make sure that when you cut your slots in the copper, have the slots facing downward: helps with getting all of the wort out and also avoid creating too much suction and clogging up your manifold.

[tubercle]

As long as you don't use it as a frisbee, it's unlikely to just fall apart, and makes cleaning easier.

  Tubercle likes that

  Another word of advice. If you choose to make a circle out of soft copper, do all the bending before cutting the slots. If you cut the first, they will close up in the inside radius when the bend is made.

[meistersmudge]

What are your thoughts on having the "swan neck," as opposed to a straight connection?

[kramerog]

Two concentric rings connected by a tee works well for me.  The two rings are tied together with string.  The fittings within each ring don't need any soldering.   The outer ring has slots pointing upwards and the inner rings has slots pointing downwards.  The manifold is loosely connected to the spigot.  The manifold has not disconnected from the spigot in 6 batches.  My efficiencies are often 85% without overextraction.

[MrNate]

What are your thoughts on having the "swan neck," as opposed to a straight connection?

I have a square copper manifold with a swan neck. Principle should be the same. I don't see how it could lay flat without it.

I soldered mine. People say they stay together without soldering; Mine didn't. Maybe I was just banging it around with my spoon too much, or maybe the copper was just expanding and contracting. I tried crimping the main joint where it connects to the bulkhead, but after a while I just said screw it and soldered up the whole damn thing with a 1/2" union to connect to the bulkhead.

[1vertical]

I just hope that this round cooler is Blue.