Cheap & Easy 10 Gallon Rubbermaid MLT Conversion

Luscious, That's all I can say.

My bulkhead valve is rock solid. doesn't move. cranked it down good.

I'm using a pyrex professional digital probe thermometer (with built in timer). I've found it registers temps 5° lower when in the 140°-180°. It seems to get more accurate at higher temps.

That is what I'm working towards! I didn't read through the whole thread so pardon my asking, but has anyone mentioned that there are 3/4 to 1" diameter hose braids in the hot water heater area of Lowes or Home Depot?

lgtg said:

That is what I'm working towards! I didn't read through the whole thread so pardon my asking, but has anyone mentioned that there are 3/4 to 1" diameter hose braids in the hot water heater area of Lowes or Home Depot?

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None in my local Home Depot, but there's a True Value hardware store around the corner that has 1" stainless braid. Shouldn't be too hard to locate (but definitely will be harder to cut!)

lgtg said:

That is what I'm working towards! I didn't read through the whole thread so pardon my asking, but has anyone mentioned that there are 3/4 to 1" diameter hose braids in the hot water heater area of Lowes or Home Depot?

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Found my braid in the plumbing area of Home Depot for ~$6. Careful though, make sure it's a stainless, not a plastic look alike. forgot the name of manufacturer of SS braid. The plastic braid was more abundant and much easier to find, in my personal treasure find. Good luck! Have fun. :rockin:

Thanks uurang, what I was asking though (I allready have a Mini-MLT with 1/2" braid) is has anyone seen or used those jumbo braids found in some Lowes or HD stores by the water heater parts and re-placement plumbing? It's much bigger and therefore may have a greater draw on the wort? Just thinking...

interesting, I'll have to put that in the hopper for another time.

FWIW, the 1" braid I put in my 10-gal MLT has a much tighter weave than the 1/2" I put in my 2-gal, and it seems to restrict the flow a tiny bit, compared to the output with no braid installed at all. Even so, it looks like it'll work fine and there's no way I'll have any husk material in the wort.

I converted a 10 gallon Rubermaid cooler (rectangular not round) into a MLT today and I though I would share a couple things that came up:

1. Do your shopping at Lowe's if possible. Their 'standard' supply lines are SS. At Home Depot the standard is 'polymer weave.' I ended up getting a 'Flood Prevention' line because it was the only SS one available.
2. I am not sure if it was the Canadian conversion or things are more expensive here or if the price of brass has gone up but the components cost me a lot more than I was expecting ($20+ w/o cooler).

Leak test. Everything looks good.


I went with the 20 in. line. I am using the nylon cable ties.



Now I have a couple weeks wait to clear out a carboy to do my first all grain!


BTW, thanks FlyGuy for posting this thread. There is no way in hell I would have ventured to do this if it had not been for your pioneering work.

If I wanted to use 1/2" fittings, is it possible without drilling the bucket?

sheikyerbouti said:

If I wanted to use 1/2" fittings, is it possible without drilling the bucket?

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Yep, but you won't be able to use the rubber fitting that comes with the cooler; you'll need to put together your own combination of o-rings/washers to get a good seal

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??

jesse said:

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??

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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!

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

bobbo said:

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

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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).

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

paranode said:

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

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

FlyGuy said:

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

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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.

Looks great.

Hey -- glad it all worked out!

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

Has anyone tried this conversion on a 10Gal Igloo cooler? If so, were you able to get the 3/8" parts to seal properly or did you end up going with 1/2"?

Home Depot about 30 min from me had the 10 Gal Igloo on sale for $40 a couple of weeks ago so I picked one up. Yesterday I picked up all of the parts and started to assemble, but for the life of me I can't get a tight fit. The o.d. of the spigot threads for the Igloo is 3/4", as is the i.d. of the spigot hole in the cooler. I can get the ball valve and the female fitting (with washers, etc) to go nice and tight on the nipple, but the nipple is way to small for the hole so it just kind of flops around loosely.

I'm guessing that I'm just going to have to go out and buy all new parts that will fit. Any other suggestions?

I guess it could be the lack of ss washers. All I could find was brass and they don't go past the threads on the nipple.

[maybe I'll try to take some pics tonight when I get home]

The ID of the spigot hole on the 10 gal Rubbermaids is 3/4" as well. However, I used 3/8" hardware because they fit perfectly in the factory seal that the spigot used. Otherwise, 1/2" parts would have been better.

Having said this, I know my fittings were not tight enough without the use of the washers. Some have reported that using a shorter nipple worked for them on other coolers -- it is all a matter of how thick the wall of the cooler is at the spigot hole. The outer washers simply provide a convenient way to adjust the tightness.

And you don't need to use SS washers on the outside of the cooler, just the inside parts that touch the wort.

Thanks a ton, FlyGuy. After a couple of trips to Lowe's and Menard's I finally got mine all setup.

FYI, for anyone attempting this with an igloo cooler, I added the following (in order from inside to outside)

starting from the cooler back to the thread of the 1.5" nipple on the inside:

the rubber washer that came in the spigot gasket of the cooler
5/16" rubber washer (Menard's - this should fit *very* snugly on the 3/8" nipple)
8 5/8" stainless fender washers (Menard's - the only ones that I could find were literally only about 1/32" thick)

Starting from the cooler back to the thread of the 1.5" nipple on the inside:

5/16" rubber washer (Menard's - this should fit *very* snugly on the 3/8" nipple)
2 5/8" hardened zinc flat washers (Menard's - these suckers are 1/8" thick)


I just made these changes before I took off to coach my daughter's tee-ball game (tournament week), I came back 3 hours later and not a drop had leaked out. I'm very stoked aout going AG, so thanks again FlyGuy.

I don't have a boil kettle large enough to use for full boils yet (my current kettle is only 22qt), but I plan on using it for a PM this week as a trial run.

inside closeup:
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outside closeup:
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braid (20 inch):
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front view:
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Well thanks to Flyguy for starting this thread. I have read through the entire thread before asking this question, the only SS hose clamps I could find were nickel plated. Is this going to negatively affect anything? I've got some time before I put this together, so if it's in my best interest to keep looking I can.

Itchin' to go AG, pretty soon now.

built mine two months ago. Thanks for the sharing of info! have yet to jump into the grain but have the ingredients.

Flyin' Lion said:

Well thanks to Flyguy for starting this thread. I have read through the entire thread before asking this question, the only SS hose clamps I could find were nickel plated. Is this going to negatively affect anything? I've got some time before I put this together, so if it's in my best interest to keep looking I can.

Itchin' to go AG, pretty soon now.

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You don't want to use plated hose clamps. You might risk getting metallic off flavours in your beer. Even so-called stainless steel hose clamps led to problems for me (see post #62 in this thread).

My solution was to insert some high temp vinyl tubing inside the SS braid. I cut a whole bunch of holes in the tubing to allow the wort to drain through. The fit was pretty tight, and I was simply able to insert the tubing over the barb connector. It works great, and comes off easily for quick cleaning. No clamps required!

And hope you get your first AG batch going soon!

EDIT: If you use the tubing insert idea instead of hose clamps to secure your braid, you MUST use stiff, high temp, food grade tubing. This works exceptionally for myself and many other people. However, if you use rubber tubing, or soft tubing, or tubing that is not rated for high temperatures, it will collapse under its own weight inside the SS braid and cause a stuck sparge. Further, you do not need the tubing to reinforce the SS braid -- it should not collapse under the weight of the mash (if it does you either have a deceivingly similar-looking plastic braid, or the quality of your SS braid is too poor to use in an MLT).

I'm thinking about putting one of these together here pretty soon. Thanks FlyGuy for the awesome instructions & parts list. You did all the hard work and we reap the benefits!

I remember reading earlier in the thread that someone proposed using a Tee type connector on the inside and running their stainless hose around in a circle vs. a straight line. This is presumably able to filter more volume faster. Whoever you are (I'm at work & can't go peruse thru 11 pages of posts) did you do this and did it work well?

mattyg said:

using a Tee type connector on the inside and running their stainless hose around in a circle vs. a straight line. This is presumably able to filter more volume faster.

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If you continuous sparge, a looped braid will work as long as the real-estate inside the braid is about equal to the outside. In other words don't line a braid around the edge of the cooler. This doesn't apply to batch sparging in which case, a straight braid works fine.

Just a quick question or two.

After seeing how easy this is it's making me really want to go to partial mashes.

I'd probably make one of these but use a 5 gallon instead, would that be fine for partial mashes in general? I'll be boiling in a 5.25 gallon pot doing 6 gallon batches. I know a full wort boil is preferred but will I get away with this set up ok?

Thanks in advance.

denimglen said:

Just a quick question or two.

After seeing how easy this is it's making me really want to go to partial mashes.

I'd probably make one of these but use a 5 gallon instead, would that be fine for partial mashes in general? I'll be boiling in a 5.25 gallon pot doing 6 gallon batches. I know a full wort boil is preferred but will I get away with this set up ok?

Thanks in advance.

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Yes, you can use a 5 gal cooler for PMs, as long as you mash at least a few lbs of grain in the recipe. A 5 gal cooler will actually hold up to about 12 or 13 lbs of grain, so you can even make 5 gal AG batches up to about 1.070 OG, if you get a bigger pot (or even a second pot to split the boil -- that's what I do in the winter when it is too cold outside to use the turkey fryer).

Cheers!

Awesome, thanks heaps mate!

I'm about to assemble this on a 5gal cooler. A word to the wise: I found NONE of the Watts parts at my local Ace, Home Depot, or Menards.

Praise the Gods...they just opened a Lowe's here a month or so back, and sure enough, they had every part number listed, and were the only ones to have anything close to a 5/8" SS washer (I had to get 3/4", so I might toss a second o-ring on the inside of the brass nipple, if I experience any leaks).

I'll update this post with the results later. Thanks again for the sweet write up! Partial Mashing is planned for the next batch!

update - first leak test...very minor leak. the 3/4" SS washer has too big a hole for the brass barb (inside the cooler) to seat properly.
Yanked it out and replaced with a black nylon gasket I robbed from a water bed drain/filler attachment.
second leak test done over night...there was a single drop on the outside barb the next morning.

that 5/8" SS washer on the inside primarily adds stability to the spigot, so when you open the ball valve it doesn't move side to side nearly as much.

So I'll probably be PM'ing skifast1 for the correct washer.

malkore said:

...the only ones to have anything close to a 5/8" SS washer (I had to get 3/4", so I might toss a second o-ring on the inside of the brass nipple, if I experience any leaks)

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A shiny silver dollar will get you a shiny 5/8" SS washer, delivered - see my sig

I went out and bought everything I need for this last night but the one item I had a problem with was the SS braid. Most of the braids carried by my Home Depot are of the engineered polymer variety and the only foot long SS I could get was 3/8" in diameter, I wanted to go at least 1/2". The one thing I did find that I thought would work is a 48" by 3/4" SS hose for a washer hook-up. However, I do have one concern.

When you cut the SS braid are you cutting the braid material itself or the metal fitting on the end of the braid? I had always heard that cutting SS is bad, that where you cut can and will corrode. If you can cut through the braid without a problem then I was just going to cut a length to fit my cooler from the 48” and save the rest for future MLTs.

I used a rotary tool (Dremel) to cut the fittings clean off each end (i.e. cut through the braid right beside the fittings). Then I used a pair of needlenose pliers to hold the inner plastic hose and 'pushed' off the braid.

I have not seen any corrosion of the braid itself (although I did find that the original hose clamps I used were corroding -- see my thread). I have also never heard anyone complain that the braid would corrode. As I understand it, if you cut it clean, the SS will re-passivate itself naturally. I don't think it is a concern at all.

Hope that helps.

I have one question regarding the update to the instructions (substituting cut vinyl tubing for the hose clamps).

FlyGuy states the he used 7/16" x 5/17" vinyl tubing... I am not the most handy guy in the world, so I'm not exactly sure what he's talking about. I am guessing that this means 7/16" outer diameter, 5/17" inner diameter? Common sense dictates that the 7/16" outer diameter would fit nicely and snugly into the 1/2" SS braid, but being clueless, I wanted to make sure before I hosed this assembly (no pun intended).

subourbonite said:

I have one question regarding the update to the instructions (substituting cut vinyl tubing for the hose clamps).

FlyGuy states the he used 7/16" x 5/17" vinyl tubing... I am not the most handy guy in the world, so I'm not exactly sure what he's talking about. I am guessing that this means 7/16" outer diameter, 5/17" inner diameter? Common sense dictates that the 7/16" outer diameter would fit nicely and snugly into the 1/2" SS braid, but being clueless, I wanted to make sure before I hosed this assembly (no pun intended).

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Sorry man -- that was a typo. I just fixed it to read 7/16" x 5/16". And yes, the first number is the outer diameter and the second is the inner diameter of the tubing.

Sorry for the confusion!

well, I am just finishing putting together my own one of these - using a 5 gal cooler. Excellent job on the write up FlyGuy. I just printed the parts list and pic, and took it to the store.

uuurang said:

found a stainless 5/8 washer at Menards in wi. So, there out there. Just not easy to find.

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Actually, they have almost every single part there, so... lucky us in Madison, WI. All I had to change was the cap for the SS braid. Ended up getting another 3/8" male barb and a 3/8" hex cap. Worked out great.

5 gal cooler - $17.80 from walmart
parts - $23.07 menards

Plus, if/when I want to go bigger, I only need to buy the cooler now.

subourbonite said:

FlyGuy states the he used 7/16" x 5/17" vinyl tubing... I am not the most handy guy in the world, so I'm not exactly sure what he's talking about. I am guessing that this means 7/16" outer diameter, 5/17" inner diameter? Common sense dictates that the 7/16" outer diameter would fit nicely and snugly into the 1/2" SS braid, but being clueless, I wanted to make sure before I hosed this assembly (no pun intended).

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For the tubing, they didn't have any 7/16" x 5/17" (heh, yeah right). So, I ended up getting 1/2"OD x 3/8"ID polyethylene, seemed to fit fine and was pretty cheap.

Again, hats off to you FlyGuy. I can't wait to try out the new toy!

Madtown Brew said:

I just printed the parts list and pic, and took it to the store. Actually, they have almost every single part there, so... lucky us in Madison, WI. All I had to change was the cap for the SS braid. Ended up getting another 3/8" male barb and a 3/8" hex cap.

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That's a really good idea, especially if you are using the tubing insert inside the braid. Elegant solution -- I think I might change mine, too! It would hold the braid really well, yet allow for easy cleaning. Thanks for the suggestion.

I just used this thread to convert a 3 gallon "Bubba keg cooler" into a mini mash tun. I used a 3/8 rubber grommet to line the hole from the old spigot, and had to make a plastic washer for the outside, to act as a stand-off so that the ball valve would close completely.

Cooler = Canadian Tire = 23.00
Parts = Rona = 9.00 (the wife gets an employee discount)
Ready for partial mash = priceless