Does your 10 gallon Igloo MLT leak?

My wonderful son gave me a 10 gallon MLT and HLT combo from Adventures in Homebrewing so that I can start doing all grain. But I have one problem - AIH forgot to include the silicone o-ring that fits up against the inside of the cooler wall to prevent leaks. I called them and they promised to send them to me, but who knows how long that will take, and I wanted to brew this weekend. They did give me the the exact specifications, I found them on Amazon, ordered them and they arrived today. Popped them in, and even with the o-ring, there is a constant drip!

Does anyone else using this, or a similar setup have this problem, or better yet, a solution?

I've attached a photo of the hardware that came with the MLT, plus the O-ring that I purchased. I have two additional ideas to try. One, would be to get a larger washer to apply more even pressure on the o-ring. The other is, I'm wondering if the drip could be coming through along the shaft of the ball valve, and if I should wrap the inside threads with teflon tape? Would it harm my beer in any way to have teflon tape on the inside of the cooler?

Thanks for any help.

When I made mine, I used all brass parts from home depot. I was able to get all the parts I needed there except for a flat silicone gasket/washer to seal the inside of the tun.

What they suggested was an o-ring, and I tried a few sizes. All leaked.

My solution was to go to bargainfittings.com and get the silicone gasket there, plus I opted to return some of the brass parts to HD and bought SS parts from bargainfittings.

Not the cheapest option, but it worked. I also used several 1/2" washers as shims behind the ball valve to make a tight seal.. That nut looks like it might be enough, hard to tell.

Also it doesn't look like you have plumber's tape on the barb.. it's possible it could be leaking from there.

I have the same setup. I used the original white plastic washer and black flat gasket that came off the spigot, backed up by the brass washer and nut on the inside of the valve assembly. I used the rubber O ring supplied on the nut with the machined groove that cinches down the center hole of the false bottom. No leaks. Their design does not require Teflon tape.

timpoulsen said:

I have the same setup. I used the original white plastic washer and black flat gasket that came off the spigot, backed up by the brass washer and nut on the inside of the valve assembly. I used the rubber O ring supplied on the nut with the machined groove that cinches down the center hole of the false bottom. No leaks. Their design does not require Teflon tape.

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Thanks. It looks like they have changed things up a bit since you bought yours. I did not get the black or whites pieces that are in your last pic. Also, my nut and washer are stainless, and they recommended the silicone o-ring which I expect is identical to the one they are sending.

The white plastic grooved washer is the original one off the Igloo tap. Same with the black flat neoprene gasket to the right. I bought my Igloo off Amazon so it came with the original tap.

timpoulsen said:

The white plastic grooved washer is the original one off the Igloo tap. Same with the black flat neoprene gasket to the right. I bought my Igloo off Amazon so it came with the original tap.

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Oh, I see. Since I received the entire setup from AIH, the Igloo tap had already been removed, along with any original washers and gaskets. At this point the drip is pretty minor, so I think I will go ahead and brew today. But long term I certainly want to resolve this. Thanks for your input.

jeff62217 said:

When I made mine, I used all brass parts from home depot. I was able to get all the parts I needed there except for a flat silicone gasket/washer to seal the inside of the tun.

What they suggested was an o-ring, and I tried a few sizes. All leaked.

My solution was to go to bargainfittings.com and get the silicone gasket there, plus I opted to return some of the brass parts to HD and bought SS parts from bargainfittings.

Not the cheapest option, but it worked. I also used several 1/2" washers as shims behind the ball valve to make a tight seal.. That nut looks like it might be enough, hard to tell.

Also it doesn't look like you have plumber's tape on the barb.. it's possible it could be leaking from there.

Click to expand...

Thanks for reminding me about Bargain Fittings. I have thought all along that a flat silicone washer would work better than the o-ring, if it's thick enough. Is this the one you used?
http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=42&product_id=105

Only concern is that this has an ID of .844 inches and won't be very tight against the shaft of my ball valve. The o-ring has an ID of .787 and it's a little loose as it is. Maybe I could try a 5/8 o-ring in combination with the gasket from bargain fittings??? The 5/8 should fit pretty snugly against the shaft.

The leak is definitely not at the barb connection. There is teflon tape there, you just can't see it in the pic. The leak is coming out where the outside nut portion of the ball valve contacts the cooler shell.

Check your torque on the nut. You could be over-tightening them a little which pushes the O-ring out of place. If that's the case, back off a little and it should seal right up.

Ravenshead said:

Check your torque on the nut. You could be over-tightening them a little which pushes the O-ring out of place. If that's the case, back off a little and it should seal right up.

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Did that one on my kettle. It all worked out in the end. Something else to look for might be a lock nut that is rounded on one edge so that it fits the curvature of the tun better. Look at this following diagram.

(| (viewed from above)

If this is happening the nut is tight on the "top and bottom" of the picture which means the two sides of the tun. Meanwhile it isn't touching anything on the actual top and bottom of the o-ring.

TxBigHops said:

Thanks for reminding me about Bargain Fittings. I have thought all along that a flat silicone washer would work better than the o-ring, if it's thick enough. Is this the one you used?
http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=42&product_id=105

Only concern is that this has an ID of .844 inches and won't be very tight against the shaft of my ball valve. The o-ring has an ID of .787 and it's a little loose as it is. Maybe I could try a 5/8 o-ring in combination with the gasket from bargain fittings??? The 5/8 should fit pretty snugly against the shaft.

The leak is definitely not at the barb connection. There is teflon tape there, you just can't see it in the pic. The leak is coming out where the outside nut portion of the ball valve contacts the cooler shell.

Click to expand...

Ok I couldn't see the barb clearly so wasn't sure.

I didn't use the red one, I ordered this one:
http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=42&product_id=189

Looks to be identical except for color and outer diameter size. I used it to seal from inside the mash tun, no additional orings needed.. just a 1/2" washer and nut. On the outside I used shims and the ball valve to take up the slack.

I had this problem and fixed it with flex seal on the outside of the cooler. Been through 10 batches now with no leaks.

More than likely you have all 1/2" NPT fittings. Try using a #10 O-Ring.

TxBigHops said:

My wonderful son gave me a 10 gallon MLT and HLT combo from Adventures in Homebrewing so that I can start doing all grain. But I have one problem - AIH forgot to include the silicone o-ring that fits up against the inside of the cooler wall to prevent leaks. I called them and they promised to send them to me, but who knows how long that will take, and I wanted to brew this weekend. They did give me the the exact specifications, I found them on Amazon, ordered them and they arrived today. Popped them in, and even with the o-ring, there is a constant drip!........

Click to expand...

Just want to add one note here. Email AIG again, you are not going to find a better outfit than them to deal with. They will make it good. Remember more torque will equal more leaks. You over tighten the fitting and the seal gets out of shape. Same reason you don't tighten a cars oil filter with a breaker bar.