Mash Tun Woes

I just built my own mash tun but it leaks by the spigot/connector. Does anyone know a good way to seal it?

Some possible solutions that have been running through my head:

Use a larger brass nipple

My connectors don't screw all the way to the valve or pipe tee, even when I use a wrench. Buy new connectors.

I have the rubber ring from the original plastic spigot inside the cooler should I put another one outside the cooler?

I have multiple rubber washers on mine. 74 Qt Coleman Extreme cooler. It is a few years old and does not leak.

Are you going off the build from the HBT wiki? I found 1/2 inch fittings worked best for me on the Home Depot cooler.

Also, you can try another washer or two.

Ok I'll get some more rubber washers and see if it works!

Does the spigot feel loose? If so, you may need extra stainless steel washers so that the spigot is nice and tight. In my case, the washers had to fit over the unthreaded part of the nipple to get a tight seal. I learned that not all washers listed as the same size actually have the same ID dimension. I hope this helps. Good luck.

Buy stainless steel washers to get a better compression fit of your valve to the nipple, so that there isnt any wiggle room.

For example on the Rubbermaid tuns you need like 3-4 washers.

I have heard that a recent design change to the Rubbermaid 10 gallon coolers is a larger hole where your bulk head sits. That could cause you some problems. But I used rubber washers too in addition to flat washers.

I found a tube of cauk in Ace hardware for window and door seal. The lable states it can be used for incidental food contact. I also found it at Graingers and Home Depot. Google food contact adhesive. I used it on my new60 qt tun instead of nuts & washers. No leaks

Ed

Two rubber O-rings (one for each side) and some teflon tape should do the trick.