jesse

Recipes 

Thanks for all your ideas....I was wondering if the brass plumbing had any ill effects on your brew??? I bought all the same components with a little change..Instead of the female adapter i changed it to a female tee (watts A-758),
then put 2 barbs on that and looped the ss braid around the cooler in a circle. I guess what i want to know is the extra brass contact going to be a big deal??

FlyGuy

Recipes 

Although unlikely, some are concerned about lead on the surface of brass fittings. This is easily removed by soaking your brass fittings in a solution of white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide, a la John Palmer's recommendations:

http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixB.html

The T and the braided loop is a great idea, especially if you intend to fly sparge.

Hope it all works well for you!

__________________
Cheap 10 gal cooler MLT • $3 Autosiphon • Aluminum Pot FAQ • Easy Steam Injection Mash System • Make a Frozen Yeast Bank
Improving Stovetop Boiling • Improving AG Efficiency

bobbo

Recipes 

Hopefully this isn't a dumb question...
What is the max size batch that you can bew with this setup? I know it would differ based on the OG of your brew, but I'm just wondering in general. Can you use it for a 10 gallon batch? 15?

Thanks!
Bob

FlyGuy

Recipes 

It all has to do with the gravity of the brew and how much grain is required. The 10 gallon cooler will hold about 25 lbs of grains comfortably in a typical mash. You can get it up to about 28 lbs if you mash at a 1 qt/lb ratio of water to grain. You can easily do many (but not all) beers at a 10 gallon batch with this setup. For reference, a 25 lb grainbill will roughly equate to around 1.060 OG in a 10 gallon batch (depending on the recipe).

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Cheap 10 gal cooler MLT • $3 Autosiphon • Aluminum Pot FAQ • Easy Steam Injection Mash System • Make a Frozen Yeast Bank
Improving Stovetop Boiling • Improving AG Efficiency

paranode

Recipes 

So for the vinyl tubing you actually slipped that tube over the square head plug? I can't get it to go on....

FlyGuy

Recipes 

I soaked it in some boiling water for about 30s then wedged the thing right in there. It fits really snug for me now.

__________________
Cheap 10 gal cooler MLT • $3 Autosiphon • Aluminum Pot FAQ • Easy Steam Injection Mash System • Make a Frozen Yeast Bank
Improving Stovetop Boiling • Improving AG Efficiency

paranode

Recipes 

That worked like a charm, thanks for the tip.

I built mine out of an Igloo MaxCold 5 gal cooler (for partial mashing) in case anyone is interested and it works just the same as with the rubbermade. I had trouble finding the SS washers also but Home Depot does have this $3 'Make-A-Bolt' assortment in the same area as the other washers and it has several stainless steel 5/8" washers inside it.

Thanks again FlyGuy for the great how-to.

eddieboy

Recipes 

Looks great.

FlyGuy

Recipes 

Hey -- glad it all worked out!

__________________
Cheap 10 gal cooler MLT • $3 Autosiphon • Aluminum Pot FAQ • Easy Steam Injection Mash System • Make a Frozen Yeast Bank
Improving Stovetop Boiling • Improving AG Efficiency

hmpitags2006

Recipes 

very nice I will have to refer to this when I convert to AG

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