Mash tun: braid vs. copper manifold

[mike004]

I'm thinking of making a cool box mash tun.
1800ft and other web sites describe a manifold made from copper tubing.
But others, such as the excellent site of Don Osborn: www.donosborn.com/homebrew/mashtun.com use a metal braid connector to filter the mash.
This seems a cheaper option (copper pipe and plumbing fittings can be expensive. But is it less efficient and more liable to stuck sparges?

Anyone used the metal braid approach?
Thanks
Mike

[Fil]

i use a braid an it has never stuck on me. only mashed 5 times tho

[greenxpaddy]

Ditto. I think the braids will rise in popularity over here eventually

[gnutz2]

I've used a single piece of braid for over 20 mashes now and only had a couple stick, my own fault for trying to run off too quickly.

[Deller12]

I used a piece of 22mm copper pipe about 200mm long witch I peppered with 6mm holes and blocked one end with a copper end cap. I then slipped over the top some stainless steel braid and added a 22m-15mm reducer the other end. I used a couple of stainless steel jubilee clips each end toy stop the braid moving and it work a treat the wort flowed poured out Im sure i have a bit about 13" long kicking about somewhere

[chivelegs]

Stainless (and make sure it is stainless) braid is cheap, easy to fit and so far has never let me down. Beats sawing dozens of slots for sure, just watch your fingers on the frayed end when you're making it.

[Blackaddler]

I've used braided hose for more than 30 mashes, without problem.

I think the secret is to not go too large on the diameter of hose. I use 15mm. People who report a stuck mash often seem to use 22mm, which appears to be more prone to squashing under the weight of grain.

[greenxpaddy]

I've used braided hose for more than 30 mashes, without problem.

I think the secret is to not go too large on the diameter of hose. I use 15mm. People who report a stuck mash often seem to use 22mm, which appears to be more prone to squashing under the weight of grain.

Not been a problem for me though, but if you are using a very deep MT I would reinforce with some loose 10mm copper pipe to stop it squashing flat. If it did squash flat at any point you would know as it doesn't return to form when stressed

[Lime Corridor]

I have use braid and it has been a nightmare...no, not really, It is cheap and effective and I would recommend.

LC

[Kev888]

I've used braid and manifolds in the past (and a false bottom now). The braid seemed 'about' as effective as the slotted manifold to me and was a bit cheaper, but its just a bit less physically robust. I damaged it a few times when mixing, and also stretched it a bit when cleaning it once (the holes tend to get closed up a bit if you stretch it). Also I had a go with bigger batches and it didn't like the weight as much (I didn't leave anything inside to support it), but it was fine with normal grain bills.

I currently use a braid as a hop stopper; if I could stop accidentally bashing it with things I'd be quite happy with it in that role, too.

Cheers
Kev

[flytact]

I have two mash tuns and use braid on one and copper on the other. The copper is from an old hot water feed to a dishwasher, small diameter, soft tubing with a brazillian holes drilled in the underside.
I get 78-80% efficiency with the braid and 85+% with the copper.

[bod]

i've used stainless braid for about 7 years, could never be bothered with all the sawing! works for me, although i'm about to change it for a looped one connected with a t joint at the tap. the current one is a little worse for wear after all this time!

[stumpyb]

That is one hell of a thread resurection from Feb 2009 to Nov 2011. Good going