My Coleman Xtreme Bulkhead Build

Croy9000 · 09-22-2009, 07:00 PM

Thought I would share how I built the bulkhead on my Coleman Xtreme. All parts were purchased from Lowes. Credit goes to Bobby_M for inspiration from his design here.

1/2" NPT Coupler
3/4" SS Washer (had to be dremeled slightly larger to fit over nipple)
2" NPT Nipple
3/4" Alloy Washer (cheaper than SS and fit over nipple without modifying)
1/2" Ball Valve
1" CPVC Coupler (1" to 1" female)

For a washer/oring I used the existing white rubber washer that originally sealed the outlet fitting (can be seen in the picks below).

Here is the cooler, and the parts used.

The one part I forgot to show (but shown below) was the 1" CPVC coupler I used as a spacer in the cooler wall. Also, I ended up using an alloy washer on the outside because it was thicker than the SS one.

Closeup of the assembled parts

Getting ready to dremel out a hole that the 1" CPVC spacer will fit into.

I used a chop saw to cut the 1" CPVC spacer to the right height (just flush with the outside of the cooler). The spacer prevents the thick (foam filled) wall from collapsing when you tighten the bulkhead.

Fully assembled.

I had to notch the SS washer because the factory hole Coleman drilled was not centered. The notch prevented the washer from resting on the curved side.

It passed the leak test with flying colors.

**DeathBrewer** · 09-22-2009, 11:46 PM

Nice! You going to use a braid?

Croy9000 · 09-23-2009, 12:44 AM

> Nice! You going to use a braid?

No, going to use a manifold I have already built from CPVC. Just need to cut the slits (or maybe holes?). I will post picks when I'm done.

Scut_Monkey · 09-23-2009, 03:52 AM

Seems nice and clean. Definitely post the pics with the manifold when available. Thanks for the pics.

Jayhem · 04-12-2012, 03:12 PM

This needs to be stickied! I searched for a solution to my bulkhead sealing issue and when I found this thread the lightbulb in my engineering brain clicked ON.

It's so simple! The reason for bulkhead fittings leaking is because the bulkhead is filled with soft foam. the moment you try to compress your gaskets into the weak bulkhead it compresses and does not provide a tight seal. The PVC spacer IS the solution! Thank you.

I just used a 3/4" sch40 PVC coupling trimmed to the right thickness as a spacer and was able to crank down on the bulkhead nice and tight! 7 gallons of water in the cooler for 2 hours and not a leak and not a drop of water made it into the dry foam insulation between the two walls! I'm going to seal my exposed foam insulation with silicone just in case a leak develops down the road...that way I'll get wort leaking out instead of leaking into the insulation!

- J

**tre9er** · 04-12-2012, 07:10 PM

I used one in my 6g. cooler tun (pvc spacer) and it works as a result. That and using baby-bottle nipple as gasket on the inside did the trick.

**brettwasbtd** · 04-12-2012, 08:57 PM

I used a CPVC coupler to attach to the nipple right up against the Colemans stock gasket. This allows an easy connection to my cpvc manifold. Used Zinc plated washers on the OUTSIDE of the cooler to make it tight and fill the space of the nipple to the ball valve...no leaks for 2 years.

Yours is def a more solid build. Just saying if you don't want to mod the cooler (mine can have the factory stuff reinstalled if need be

hoppedupbrewer · 04-12-2012, 10:11 PM

Ahhh, I knew I'd seen the split-CPVC coupler idea on here somewhere. I just posted basically this same setup on my blog, but it was SS parts from bargain fittings.

Nice write-up! Look forward to seeing the manifold