My new mash tun

CornyKegs 728
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Man, can't believe I didn't see this thread 'till now. I've brewed a few batches in my cooler and it's worked great - just never really liked the thought of exposing plastic to such high temps and wondering about leaching bad stuff into my beer? Anyways, awesome info and pics Ben and Kincade. Just ordered my pot and excited to start this project. I'm wondering did you guys glue or fasten the pot into the cooler? How 'bout the top, did you caulk around between the pot and the cooler?
 
lpdjshaw said:
Man, can't believe I didn't see this thread 'till now. I've brewed a few batches in my cooler and it's worked great - just never really liked the thought of exposing plastic to such high temps and wondering about leaching bad stuff into my beer? Anyways, awesome info and pics Ben and Kincade. Just ordered my pot and excited to start this project. I'm wondering did you guys glue or fasten the pot into the cooler? How 'bout the top, did you caulk around between the pot and the cooler?
Click to expand...

Exactly the reason I wanted to do this conversion as well! It works fantastic. My only bad experience was letting the razor knife slip and ending up with 6 stitches in my thumb. :eek: Well, that and shaving the insulation out. That sucked royally IMHO. I spent at least 3 hours shaving insulation so the fit would be tight; but that stuff is nasty when in dust form. Make sure to wear a dust mask at least.

I didn't glue the pot in as the fittings make sure it can't come out, and the slip fit was quite tight already. I DID use a food safe 100% silicone caulk around the top and both fittings to make sure no water leaked in between the cooler and pot.

I'm sad to sell mine, but excited to step up to larger batches. I'd recommend this to anyone if they have the time.
 
I just bought 2some 10 gallon Rubbermaid coolers now that I saw this I want to buy a couple pots. This a pump, and the external heating element would be an awesome setup.
 
kincade said:
Well, that and shaving the insulation out. That sucked royally IMHO. I spent at least 3 hours shaving insulation so the fit would be tight; but that stuff is nasty when in dust form. Make sure to wear a dust mask at least.
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That yellow dust is nasty. I'm about a third of the way down shaving it now. Had to move outside, SWMBO threw a fit about the dust bits in the garage.
 
Cpt_Kirks said:
That yellow dust is nasty. I'm about a third of the way down shaving it now. Had to move outside, SWMBO threw a fit about the dust bits in the garage.
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Yeah, that would have been my least favorite part if i hadnt almost cut off my thumb. :p. A shopvac helps some, but the dust gets a static charge and sticks to just about everything.
 
Agreed. The dust is a pita. I got out a dust mask that I purchased for another project. This was a great help. I also used a Dremel Rotary Tool with a cutting disk to shave down the insulation. This, I am sure, contributed to the dust, but it also lessened the time needed to get the pot to fit. Mark
 
LuiInIdaho said:
Agreed. The dust is a pita. I got out a dust mask that I purchased for another project. This was a great help. I also used a Dremel Rotary Tool with a cutting disk to shave down the insulation. This, I am sure, contributed to the dust, but it also lessened the time needed to get the pot to fit. Mark
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I don't think there is any way to avoid the dust. I used a razor, rasp, rotary sander, and dremel. None of them seemed to cause more dust than the other, its just a messy job.
 
OK, just about finished with mine. My Bayou Classic pot came today so I took out my weldless ball valve and thermometer and got to workin'. Took me about two hours to take out the old liner, cut the top off and shave down the foam. I went pretty easy 'cuz I was afraid of taking too much foam off at once. Anyways, for those of you thinking of doing this here's a couple things I did that made things a little easier: I used a folding limb saw for shaving the foam and it worked great. I just laid it flat (very slight tilt actually) against the foam and pulled it out towards me and in a sweeping motion along the foam. Then I used the hacksaw blade to smooth it out at the very end. Also, once I got the pot so it could slip all the way in I pried it out a little and caulked under the rim of the pot then pushed the pot all the way back down. Once I wiped up the excess you can't even see the caulk but it seals the top beautifully. One other thing, don't force the pot in too tight as you're going along because it'll be a BEAR to pull back out - learned that one the hard way:eek: Thanks to the OP for the great idea! Can't wait to brew now.
 
Im glad you guys are liking this build. I personally love it. Be sure to preheat it or you could loose some serious temp. I will never have another plastic mas tun again ever!
 
Got my false bottom a couple days ago and my pot yesterday. I hope to get every thing cut and ready today. Going to take the pot to work and tig weld the fittings. Thinking of having 3 or 4 fittings welded to it. Drain, thermostat, recirculation near the top, and maybe a site glass.
Time to get busy and take some pics along the way.
 
jakesz28 said:
Got my false bottom a couple days ago and my pot yesterday. I hope to get every thing cut and ready today. Going to take the pot to work and tig weld the fittings. Thinking of having 3 or 4 fittings welded to it. Drain, thermostat, recirculation near the top, and maybe a site glass.
Time to get busy and take some pics along the way.
Click to expand...

SWEET! Please do take pics I want to see one thats all tricked out!
 
I brewed with Ben this weekend and saw this thing in action WOW what a great idea. I second anyone thinking of doing this, I have a bayou classic kettle and am seriously thinking about this build!!
 
This is a cool idea, my 5 gallon cooler has warped pretty bad. Probably upgrading to a 10 gallon cooler but cringe to spend the money on something that will probably warp.

I have an 8 gallon Bayou Classic SS Pot that the outer diameter is 13.6". Does anyone know the outer diameter of the linked pot and/or the cooler without the liner?

8 gallons is plenty for me. I am content with 5 gallon batches. I can mash about 20lbs in it which is about the biggest 5 gallon beer I would do.
 
Im not sure of the size of the pot. I would measure the pot you have and measure the inside of your cooler and see how close they are to the same size.
 
ben the brewman said:
Im not sure of the size of the pot. I would measure the pot you have and measure the inside of your cooler and see how close they are to the same size.
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I'm not that stupid if I had a 10 gallon cooler on hand I'd measure it. Trying to find dimensions before I order a cooler. My current cooler is 5 gallons. I will just swing by home depot.
 
I can't measure mine for you because I had to trim it some to make the pot fit. If I had another I would but home depot is your best bet for sure.
 
JonnyJumpUp said:
I have an 8 gallon Bayou Classic SS Pot that the outer diameter is 13.6". Does anyone know the outer diameter of the linked pot and/or the cooler without the liner?
Click to expand...

Here is a link to the pot that I used (as recommended by Ben). It gives the Diameter as 13.5 Inches. This was large enough that it required removing a little of the insulation from the inside of the cooler. Also, the recommended pot is is 17.25 inches tall. If you kettle is only 8 gallons, I am sure that it would not be that tall. The 11 gallon kettle fills the void nicely.

So, you have a few options to consider.
1. Buy the 11 gallon kettle to take full advantage of the cooler height.
2. Cut down the cooler to the appropriate level for the shorter 8 gallon kettle.
3. Place your kettle in the cooler at its original height, and place your valve where you want it. Then you can insulate the bottom of the kettle with great stuff. Just a word of caution, though, if you are going to use Great Stuff. You will need some fairly decent size holes into which you would spray the foam. A small hole (1/4 inch diameter) does not allow enough air flow for the Great Stuff to cure. I used 1.5 Inch holes and four of them on the bottom to fill a void. Then I used some more plastic and pop riveted a new bottom onto the cooler to cover the holes where I sprayed the foam.

Hope this helps.

Mark
 
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Will the pot fit into cooler without cutting off top of cooler ?
If so then I was thinking of cutting the cooler on sides of top so that handles of pot would drop right in and lid of cooler would still screw on . Then drilling a hole for ball valve and pounding the hole flat so that I could screw on a ball valve instead of welding it so that it would be removable for taking out the pot which with handles would still be useful for a brew kettle or other pot use .
 
ben the brewman said:
Im sure it will fit but there will be a gap at the bottom of it and I don't know if the lid will screw on or not.
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That is where the cutting of the slots for the handles to go in would come in . Allowing the handles to drop down in notches would allow the pot to drop all the way down and then the lid would screw on .
After actually looking at mine , do not know why I did not do that to begin with , I noticed that the top is actually bigger than the bottom by just a quarter inch maybe so of course the pot would slide in without cutting off top.

By the way the pot thing was a great idea .
 
I am still whittling away at that yellow foam. I can get the pot down halfway now. Probably finish when I'm off at Christmas.

Now, I'm working on an enhancement. What I am thinking of doing is adding a Grant made out of part of a sanke. The cooler and pot will sit on top of the sanke/grant.
 
ben the brewman said:
For years now I have been using a round drink cooler for a mash tun and have been unhappy the entire time because it always leaked and warped on the inside. I looked online for a new mash tun and didnt want to spend the money on a blichman, minibrew, or another cooler. I found a 44 quart stainless steel pot that I picked up for a great price and that is almost the exact same size as the drink cooler http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-.../dp/B000VXHKMC. I cut the threaded top off of the cooler and trimmed the foam from the inside to make the pot fit. I had a welding shop cut the handles off and weld a pipe fitting in the bottom of the pot for me. The pot slides perfectly inside of the trimmed cooler and if I would have lined up the hole a little better it would have been a perfect fit. I am using the same false bottom for the drink cooler in this mash tun. Here are a few pics of what I have done so you guys can check it out.

You said you "cut the threaded top off".

Could you have trimmed the top of the pot to make it fit better?

I ask mostly for storage reasons... I would like screw the thing down when I put it way... I have limited storage space and hate stuff falling down on me.

DPB
Click to expand...
 
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DPB,

I did trim the top lip of the kettle so that I could keep the threads to screw on the lid. A little more work but turned out pretty clean. After a few batches, some of the seam cracked a bit, so I reinforced it with some kind of putty that hardened. I then sanded and painted so you can hardly see it. I forgot what I used originally, but use something strong as there is a lot of stress put on that cut as you twist the cover on and off.

Here is a link to a few photos of my mash tun.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.344122272303642.70399.306360609413142&type=3

Good luck.
 
If you cut the lip off if the pot it will become weak at the seem as stated already. Even with the threaded section of the cooler cut off the lid still fits nice and doesn't slide around or fall off.
 
Cpt_Kirks said:
I am still whittling away at that yellow foam. I can get the pot down halfway now. Probably finish when I'm off at Christmas.

Now, I'm working on an enhancement. What I am thinking of doing is adding a Grant made out of part of a sanke. The cooler and pot will sit on top of the sanke/grant.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a pretty cool idea keep us posted when its finished.
 
Ben,

First, thanks for the inspiration.

Regarding cutting the lip of the kettle: I did not cut the whole lip, maybe just half on a 90 degree angle. Because it fits so tight in the cooler, I don't think I will have any issues with weakness. Haven't yet after about a dozen batches.

Is it worth it? Maybe. Little more work, but I feel that I save a tad more heat from escaping with a screwed on lid.

Anyway, just wanted to share. Thanks again for the ideas.
 
Im not sure that the lid being screwed down makes that much of a difference. I loose 1 degree over a hour mash with one that just sits on top but all of these ideas are great!
 
I read through the thread and didn't see this addressed. I'm considering doing this soon. I have a 10gal Rubbermaid that I've been using and Christmas is coming!

I know that Ben, you're pot came with riveted handles. I looked at the picture in your original post, but was unsure how the handle holes were dealt with. You said a welding shop took them off for you. Did they just cut them off? What did you do with the holes left from the rivets? Do you have a close up pic you could upload? Thanks.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
ben the brewman said:
For years now I have been using a round drink cooler for a mash tun and have been unhappy the entire time because it always leaked and warped on the inside. I looked online for a new mash tun and didnt want to spend the money on a blichman, minibrew, or another cooler. I found a 44 quart stainless steel pot that I picked up for a great price and that is almost the exact same size as the drink cooler http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-.../dp/B000VXHKMC. I cut the threaded top off of the cooler and trimmed the foam from the inside to make the pot fit. I had a welding shop cut the handles off and weld a pipe fitting in the bottom of the pot for me. The pot slides perfectly inside of the trimmed cooler and if I would have lined up the hole a little better it would have been a perfect fit. I am using the same false bottom for the drink cooler in this mash tun. Here are a few pics of what I have done so you guys can check it out.

2011-09-11_21-26-20_819.jpg

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2011-09-12_17-34-26_6442.jpg

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2011-09-12_17-34-46_22.jpg

2011-09-12_17-51-42_72.jpg
Click to expand...

One helluvan idea.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks smccarter! The thing has been working perfect for quite a while now. The 12" falso bottom is what I use in mine I measured it last night. Fits great
 

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