Klov Brews: MASH TUN w/ MANIFOLD

SUMMARY
If you don't have a mash tun, build one right away. All-grain brewing opens up more doors than you probably understand. You will have supreme control over your final product, and it will allow you to invent your own recipes, which IMO is the best part of homebrewing (other than enjoying said recipes). Granted, all-grain brewing is much more time and labor intensive than extract brewing, but its just so much better.

All-grain brewing is like planting an orange seed, nursing it into a large orange yielding tree, picking oranges from it, and squeezing them into a fresh juice. Extract brewing is like buying frozen orange juice concentrate and adding water. The results are the same (orange juice), but the experience is completely different.

Granted, there are plenty of yummy extract brews (like Captain Trips), and I still brew some during the colder winter months. But, if you want to get into the homebrew game, I would go all-grain as soon as possible. Brew an extract kit first, to get your bearings, but then go all out.

SUPPLIES (~$60)
Rectangular Cooler (>36qts)
Copper Tubing (+ 6 Ls & 5 Ts)
Water Valve
Rubber Washers
Connectors
Rubber Tubing
Pipe Cutter
Dremel w/ Circular Cutting Tool
Long Sandpaper Strips
Dowel Rod

STEPS

1) Design the manifold

- it is important to have an efficient drainage system and to avoid preferential flows

- since all coolers are different shapes I will not provide strict dimensions

- consult How to Brew for a very thorough design walkthrough

2) Use pipe cutter to cut cooper tubing to length

- these will leave nice end cuts, where a saw will leave a jagged edge

3) Construct manifold using Ts and Ls. Make sure it fits in the cooler correctly

4) Use Dremel to cut slits into pipe
a) Slits should be 2-4 inches apart
b) Slits should penetrate 50% of the way through the tube
c) Make sure to have extra Dremel attachments (I went through almost half a dozen)
d) This takes a long time. Have patience or work with a friend

5) Use sandpaper and dowel to sand the interior of each cooper tube
a) You don't need to sand the outer walls of the tubes, but it sure looks nice

6) Remove the cooler's draining mechanism. Replace with Water Valve
a) It might take some ingenuity to get this to fit just right
b) Make sure to use the rubber washers to ensure a strong seal around the exit hole

7) Connect rubber tubing and connectors to inside portion of Water Valve
a) This is the only portion of the mash tun that I never deconstruct
b) The manifold should connect easily

8) Re-assemble the manifold and place into cooler
a) Do NOT solder! You will want to clean the manifold after each use
b) Fill cooler with water
c) Open the Water Valve and enjoy the fruits of your labor

LESSONS LEARNED

All-grain brewing is the bee's knees

This build will take a day, but it is very fun and satisfying

PHOTOS