Okay-so I will shortly be getting my 70qt Coleman Extreme. My next decision is whether to build a manifold or use a stainless steel screen or braid. I have read that the issue appears to be efficiency. Anyone have an opinion either way? Thanks.
I batch sparge with a smaller Coleman Xtreme using the braid and I consistently get 80-85% brewhouse efficiency. Have never used a manifold but I wouldn’t think it would be much better than that.
You planning to fly or batch sparge?
Batch appears to be the simplest but keeping options open may be beneficial. Can you fly sparge in a rectangular cooler?
Sure, you can fly sparge in a rect cooler. It’ll probably eliminate the braid as an option for you though. With fly, it becomes all important to make sure that your collection method provides coverage for a much of the area of the grain bed as possible. For a rect, that means manifold (round coolers could also use a false bottom). With batch sparge, since you drain the whole thing each time, you’re not worried about channelling and such so a braid works great.
You can use a braid in a rectangular cooler to fly sparge, but it needs a more complicated configuration that it would for batch sparging. My experience comparing manifolds and screens is that screens clear the wort faster and are a bit less prone to stuck runoffs.
For batch sparging, it really doesn’t matter much, if at all. You’re just trying to dump the liquid out as quickly as possible. For fly-sparging, you need a design that will drain the entire grain bed as uniformly as possible. There’s an entire chapter on how to build a manifold in How To Brew.
I batch sparge with a CPVC manifold and am glad I went that way, because I can take it apart and clean it. I tried a braid for a few batches but wasn’t comfortable with the little bits of grain that got stuck inside.
I have a CPVC manifold that I use in both of my MLTs, and it works great. I batch sparge, and also use a pump to vorlauf and move wort to my boil kettle. I haven’t used a braid, so I can’t make any direct observations as to whether either works better in my system. However, I know some brewers who do use braids and, as Denny said, the wort seems to clear a little faster. I went with the manifold because I already had the CPVC around the house, and because I hadn’t come across the braid idea yet. I’m sure you’d be happy with either a braid or a manifold - it’s really a matter of preference and how much tinkering you want to do.