Cheap & Easy 10 Gallon Rubbermaid MLT Conversion - Page 90

**rico567** · 09-22-2009, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by passedpawn

Not true, at least for Beersmith. If you select the "Adjust Temp for Equipment " checkbox, in the mash profile, it DOES increase the temp of your strike water to compensate for an ambient-temp mash tun. In fact, it gives you a list of common mash tun materials and automatically assumes the correct heat capacity, which is just a number that describes how much heat that tun will sap from your water. You can change this number slightly to dial in your particular container. (see Details next to your equipment settings)

If you preheat your strike water, and you want Beersmith to ONLY correct your temperature for the grain bill (which should be at ambient), then leave the checkbox unchecked. Hope all that was clear.

Good to know. Would have been more useful if I'd found it out before I started. Now that I have a handle on how it works, it makes the software kind of redundant. I've only used Beer Alchemy, and don't get along with it, except as a method of keeping records.

FlyGuy · 09-23-2009, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elmetal

where do I get the SS washer and the O Ring?

Try Ace Hardware or Lowes for both. Neither are absolutely required, but the SS washer on the inside of the cooler really helps a lot to make the fittings nice and stable.

qvantamon · 10-04-2009, 10:51 PM

Just made two of these (mash tun and hlt)

A few things:

Stainless steel washers - I couldn't find them on Lowes. They had 1/2 and 3/4 (too small, too big), or some "reinforced" types of non-descript material (yellowish, not brass). On Home Depot, I found this box - it's on the nuts & bolts section, there is a section just for these "create a bolt" orange boxes (they're not on the drawers, they're hanging on the wall). Flat washers not visible on photo because I used them

I used the short nipple (a-785?) instead of the a-786. With that, I could fit with only one SS washer on the inside, and one zinc-plated (thicker, smaller diameter) washer on the outside. The tap touches the wall when closed, but it's still barely able to close the full way.

I got the coolers from Ace, and the two were slightly different (although with the same model code, upc, everything). In one of them the tap hole has an indentation around it, so I could only fit the zinc washer - the ss one was too big. I'm starting to think the walls on that one are thicker - I may have to check which one holds more heat. As long as you've got the smaller washer for the outside, the instructions work for both, though.

I got the o-rings from fred meyer in their faucet section. They have a "faucet repair kit" that includes like 8 o-rings of different diameters.

Selfsufficient · 10-04-2009, 11:00 PM

I too, just made two of these and the stainless washers I found were at Menards. .49 each. I don't prefer Menards so all the rest of the build was from Lowes.

shuie · 10-05-2009, 02:46 AM

Cool thread. Thanks for posting. Has anyone built a sparge manifold into the lid of their cooler MLT? Are there other threads that cover using a similar cooler for a HLT?

bigred · 10-09-2009, 03:40 PM

I am getting all the equipment together right now for my first all grain brew. I would like to use the cooler method for my mlt, just wondering what size I should get? My brew pot is 7.5 gallons if that makes a difference. I was thinking to just get the 10 gallon cooler, but I'm not sure if there would be to much room at the top, which would lead to my mash temps dropping too much. I would like to try a few big brews, using close to 20 pounds of grain, but I'm not sure if the 5 gallon would hold all of it. Any suggestions are much appreciated.

**rico567** · 10-09-2009, 05:06 PM

You are only good with the 5 gallon cooler with mashes that SG to about 1.050. If you plan on making bigger beers than that, go with the 10 gal. I did, and ahve been very happy with the results. I injected the lid with foam insulation, and get about 4 degree temperature drop with a 60 min. mash (Note: once the mash is thoroughly mixed and the proper temperature established, I put on the lid and DO NOT OPEN the MLT until the hour has expired). This has no ill effect on the finished beer that I can tell.

DodgerBrew · 10-09-2009, 05:40 PM

Go with the 10 gal. You can't go up if needed with 5 gal but 10 gal should be great for your setup. I like Rico567's idea of injecting insultation foam into the lid. I'm going to look into that. Thanks! I went with 5 gal originally. I then bought a 10 gal for MLT and now use the old 5 gal for my sparge reservoir.

bigred · 10-09-2009, 06:06 PM

Alright, thanks for the advice, looks like I'm going to pick up a 10 gal cooler

Reinheitsgebot · 10-11-2009, 06:40 PM

I just found the SS washers. Had to buy a 10 count bag, but I only need two. So, $1 via Paypal gets you one, including shipping.