Cheap & Easy 10 Gallon Rubbermaid MLT Conversion

Got the cooler last night at Home Depot ($40 and plenty in my store, I think $20 for 5 gal)

Going to get the hardware soon but I had a question about the brass fittings.
I've seen some posts on here about doing the vinegar & HP soaking to leach the surface lead out. My question is do these things really have lead in them at all? Isn't lead pretty much banned for anything that would come in contact with food & water? Or am I wrong on this?

I realize many/most/all of these parts are probably imported and quality control may not be 100% in regards to following regulations like this. But I was curious if there was an official policy.

I can still do the soak, it's not much of a problem and definitely cheaper than trying to find all the parts in SS.

Instead of getting the tube of 100% silicon, I got a 1/2 inch ID o-ring, which solved my leaking problem.

Question about the ball valve, how important is the adjustable valve to
the draining process. The reason I am asking is I had a high flow
upgraded Mr Beer valve laying around that fits perfectly into the igloo
round cooler with about 1/2" of threads left inside the cooler that I could
attach the braid. It seals great with the tapered rubber gaskets that come
with the valve. It's one of those lever valves that is opened or closed unless
you are controling by hand or wedge it or something. I would be in extra
cheap if this would work and all I would have to buy is a braid and a plug.
It took about 5 minutes to empty the 5 gallons of water with no braid.
Thanks HJ

HatchetJack said:

Question about the ball valve, how important is the adjustable valve to
the draining process. The reason I am asking is I had a high flow
upgraded Mr Beer valve laying around that fits perfectly into the igloo
round cooler with about 1/2" of threads left inside the cooler that I could
attach the braid. It seals great with the tapered rubber gaskets that come
with the valve. It's one of those lever valves that is opened or closed unless
you are controling by hand or wedge it or something. I would be in extra
cheap if this would work and all I would have to buy is a braid and a plug.
It took about 5 minutes to empty the 5 gallons of water with no braid.
Thanks HJ

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Speed isn't necessarily your friend when mashing or sparging out. It is good to be able to control the rate of flow coming out of your MLT to insure proper rinsing of the grains for better efficiency. And draining your MLT too quickly can lead to your grain bed not settling properly which could lead to stuck sparges.

I think the valve you are talking about not having to buy is about 7 bucks.

Ok, so what kind of time should I be looking at to drain the mash for a
5 gallon batch. Sorry for the dumb questions but I'm just trying to prepare
for all grain. The locking spigot is 3.95 plus shipping but I had an extra one.
I just thought I might could utilize it and save from all the washer hunting.
The inside diameter of the outlet is about 3/8" and It seems like I could easily
wedge it half open if need be.
http://www.mrbeer.com/product-exec/product_id/858/nm/Locking_Spigot_Assembly1

It takes about 45 to 60 minutes to sparge for a 5 gal batch

BierSnob said:

It takes about 45 to 60 minutes to sparge for a 5 gal batch

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are you referring to fly sparging?

yes, thats fly sparging.

BendBrewer said:

If it doesn't leak that I would say the internal washer isn't needed.

The poly one will NOT work. It needs to be SS and will say so on the package.

Skip the tubing. Use SS clamps or vinyl zip ties.

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I'm not doubting you but what happens when you use the polymer tubing?

If its just a crush factor could I just cut the inside tubing some and put that in back in the braid for strength?

I used this for my HLT. Lowes had the 1/2 or 3/4 inch stainless washer, so I just went with the 25 cent zinc coated washers. I used 2 washers on the outside, but the handle hits the cooler, so I do think I need the 3rd washer. I had a few white washers hanging around that fit on the outside, so I didn't need the O rings - I bought the wrong size anyway. Apparently these were sold by outside measurement(?) I didn't have any leaks, but heard a cracking sound when I put the hot sparge water in the cooler.

This was my 1st time using a 3 level sparge. It sure beats sparging with a sauce pan.

Pierce said:

I'm not doubting you but what happens when you use the polymer tubing?

If its just a crush factor could I just cut the inside tubing some and put that in back in the braid for strength?

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You don' want to use the tubing that comes with the braid. I never had my braid crush per say, mine just got beat up over time and started to become inconsistent.

Somewhere in this long thread FlyGuy suggests skipping any tubing inside the braid. It isn't necessary.

I just assembled a similar MLT to the op's and instead of using the ss braid i used a cpvc manifold and a shorter brass bulkhead. Does anyone have any experience with cpvc with brewing? It came out to about 80$ which was a bit more than i expected to spend but the cooler was 55...

I'am only brewing 5 gallons of beer at a time. Will a 5 gallon cooler work for mash just as good as a 10 gallon??

If you brew stronger beers, or add a lot of water to adjust the temp, a larger cooler is better. I've gotten by w/ a 5 gallon cooler but it gets pretty full some times.

Hastings said:

I'am only brewing 5 gallons of beer at a time. Will a 5 gallon cooler work for mash just as good as a 10 gallon??

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I don't think you can get away with a 5 gallon cooler if you're making 5 gallon batches. With my average 9-10 lbs of grains, plus around 3 gallons of water, my 10 gallon cooler gets more than half full. Not to mention that you're going to have to compensate for loss of mash efficiency by adding more grains or more water, depending on your preference, getting the 10 gallon cooler is worth the extra $20.

Hope that helps. If anyone sees any flaws in my logic, please let me and everyone else know.

I did a 60 Quart Ice Cube cooler (already had the cooler) with the same parts list, thanks FlyGuy for the post. No leaks, and I am a very happy man.

DrawTap88 said:

I don't think you can get away with a 5 gallon cooler if you're making 5 gallon batches. With my average 9-10 lbs of grains, plus around 3 gallons of water, my 10 gallon cooler gets more than half full. Not to mention that you're going to have to compensate for loss of mash efficiency by adding more grains or more water, depending on your preference, getting the 10 gallon cooler is worth the extra $20.

Hope that helps. If anyone sees any flaws in my logic, please let me and everyone else know.

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nope, flawless.

DrawTap88 said:

I don't think you can get away with a 5 gallon cooler if you're making 5 gallon batches. With my average 9-10 lbs of grains, plus around 3 gallons of water, my 10 gallon cooler gets more than half full. Not to mention that you're going to have to compensate for loss of mash efficiency by adding more grains or more water, depending on your preference, getting the 10 gallon cooler is worth the extra $20.

Hope that helps. If anyone sees any flaws in my logic, please let me and everyone else know.

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Nope. No flaws. I have both a 7g and a 10g cooler for mashing in. The 7g can - barely - mash a 1.045 OG beer with 80% efficiency and 1.2q:lb ratio. No way you could do an all grain in a 5g tun.

GT

1st off thanks for the great DIY. Mine is done and it seems to not leak. I followed the instructions and parts in the OP and it was all pretty straight forward.

I may end up swapping out the nipple for 1 that is the next size smaller in length. While it does not leak the "looseness" of the ball valve does have me concerned. I understand that it does not need to be crushed on but it seems loose and scary...lol. We will see as it is "testing" now.

:rockin:

Got Trub? said:

Nope. No flaws. I have both a 7g and a 10g cooler for mashing in. The 7g can - barely - mash a 1.045 OG beer with 80% efficiency and 1.2q:lb ratio. No way you could do an all grain in a 5g tun.

GT

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Like any question other than what color is green grass, you're gonna have differing opinions, & differing experiences from one individual to another. As you'll see below I've had a much different experience using a 5 gal. tun than Got Trub has with a 7 gal tun. I easily get 1.065+ OG biers with approx. 12 lbs of grist in my 5 gal tun with efficiency of 80-85%. In order to get a 1.045 OG bier I use less than 9 lbs of grist for an average recipe which doesn't come close to filling up a 5 gal tun.

I've got a 5 gallon cooler and am very happy with it for 5.5 gallon batches. Since investing in a simple corona style mill I now routinely get 82-85% efficiency. My last batch linked here: http://hopville.com/recipe/199372/other-smoked-beer-recipes/illudium-pu-36-smoked-porter contained 10lbs 5 oz. grist which produced 1.057 OG.

My brew prior to this one was a Strong Scotch Ale linked here: http://hopville.com/recipe/188576/strong-scotch-ale-recipes/1314-the-year-of-scottish-freedom which I got 86% efficiency on and a 1.089 OG on a 4.5 gallon batch using almost 13 lbs of grist which fit in my 5 gal tun with slightly thicker mash than usual.

I can achieve 1.100 on 4 gallon batches with my 5 gallon mash-tun. I have a Makita cooler which was listed as a 5 gallon cooler but I believe is more like 5.5 or 5.75 which helps me in terms of achieving good gravity numbers with a smaller mash tun. The down side of having a larger cooler is the heat loss issues you'll have when doing a small batch like a 1.035 Ordinary Bitter, Mild, Specialty Belgian, etc. It's very hard without a false top (piece of styrofoam placed on top of the mash) to get a good mash on 6 lbs of grist in a 10 gallon cooler.

My conclusion is it depends on what your expectations are & your brewing style. I just don't drink enough bier to make 10 gallon batches (I even have 3 kegs set aside waiting for the day I go bigger). Thus for me the idea of doing 4-4.5 gallon batches when I produce RIS, Barleywine, Scotch Strong, etc. is no big deal. About half of my brews are 1.045 or less session biers so the 5 Gal MLT works great and I would find more frustration in a larger MLT rather than the minor inconvenience of producing 'less' bier on the bigger styles. If it's a big deal, get a 5 & 10 gal MLT! I know even with a 10 gal I'll never say bye to the 5 gal tun!

Schlante,
Phillip

Zamial said:

1st off thanks for the great DIY. Mine is done and it seems to not leak. I followed the instructions and parts in the OP and it was all pretty straight forward.

I may end up swapping out the nipple for 1 that is the next size smaller in length. While it does not leak the "looseness" of the ball valve does have me concerned. I understand that it does not need to be crushed on but it seems loose and scary...lol. We will see as it is "testing" now.

:rockin:

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UPDATE: It is indeed leaking, very slow and very minor (under pressure from the heat inside). Unfortunately I have the hardware as tight as it will go. I have decided that I will try the 1 1/4 brass nipple vs the 1 1/2 as per the OP.

If the hardware store does not have 1 1/4 then I will be headed over to get 2-3 more washers to aid in the seal. I will report back!

Zamial said:

UPDATE: It is indeed leaking, very slow and very minor (under pressure from the heat inside). Unfortunately I have the hardware as tight as it will go. I have decided that I will try the 1 1/4 brass nipple vs the 1 1/2 as per the OP.

If the hardware store does not have 1 1/4 then I will be headed over to get 2-3 more washers to aid in the seal. I will report back!

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Placing an O-ring on the inside of the tun between the wall of the cooler and the SS washer could be a cheaper fix.

DrawTap88 said:

Placing an O-ring on the inside of the tun between the wall of the cooler and the SS washer could be a cheaper fix.

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Thanks for that suggestion. I am using the white rubber ring that was with the cooler originally with a ss washer on the inside.(rubber ring against the cooler wall) On the outside I have a neoprene washer, that I had to cut down just a bit but fits perfectly, w/ 3 ss washers.

My contention is if I have to disassemble and reassemble anyway (even to put on an o-ring) I may as well try a slightly smaller nipple. I believe the nipple will "snug up" the fittings so they do not spin quite so easily vs. the o ring that will probably not have this effect.

I will report back! :rockin:

My whole set up spins, but doesn't leak.

Now, it doesn't spin freely. It takes a little bit of effort to get it to turn, but it still turns. It doesn't rotate or spin when I open the valve to collect my runnings.

Also, over tightening the fitings could cause them to break, so a little spinage isn't a bad thing.

add another to the flyguy 10-gal igloo conversion club. Just finished my new MLT a bit ago. Filled it up. No leaks yet.

Only prob I have is that the nut on the top of the ball valve keeps coming loose. Hopefully its just a bad nut that I can easily replace and not an issue with the valve itself. I'd really hate to take this thing apart right after I got it together.

Anyway...thanks to all of the contributors in this epic thread. Can't wait to brew with this thing.

Well the original OP DIY was good but I had better success with the 1 1/4 nipple. (I used: 3/8 x 3/8 hex nipple) I have a decent fit, the ball valve will turn but not easily, and no leaks.

I also picked up the 1/2 x 3/8 inch barbs vs. the 3/8 x 3/8. Just as an FYI to anyone interested I do highly suggest the 1/2 x 3/8 barbs as you will get slightly faster flow and it will be more uniform with all 1/2 tubing should you ever build a keggle. These also fit MUCH better in the SS braid IMO.

Thanks, Fly Guy for an excellent DIY!

Update 2: brew day tested and this thing is a BEAST!!!. 1st AG batch and it was smoother than silk.

I just picked up all the parts for this thing! I accidentally picked up a polymer braid hose but I caught it before I cut it up. Once I return this thing and get a real steel braid I'm ready to roll!

Just finished this setup yesterday, thanks Flyguy. Went to Fastenal and they had the SS washers. I bought 5/8" washers but had to file out the center just a little bit, but went well. I did make a change however, instead of using a steel braid, I made a false bottom.

Quick question for those using 3/8 fittings and the cooler's original gasket/seal:

Does the gasket have to sit on the flat part of the nipple for the best possible seal? Or is it ok for it to sit on the threads a bit?

I'm afraid if I keep the gasket totally on the flat part of the nipple that not enough of the nipple will come thru to the outside of the cooler. Then I won't be able to close the ball valve all the way because the handle will be too close & hit the side of the cooler.
I'm using a 1.5" nipple which is what most people seem to have success with so maybe the gasket placement on the nipple isn't that important.
I just want to get it right the first time so I don't have to assemble and disassemble a bunch of times.

thanks
--Dusty

Pretty sure that mine is sitting on the threads a little bit, which caused it to leak. I remedied that by inserting an O-ring between the washer and the inside of the cooler.

I also didn't have a whole lot of threads left to get the nipple on after adding the O-ring, but it's also not leaking and holding temp. well. My handle hits the side of the cooler when closed, but with 3 washers on the outside it is able to close. Hope that helps.

So you put an o-ring in between the inside washer and the cooler gasket? Or between the gasket and the cooler wall? Or you scrapped the cooler gasket in favor of a bigger o-ring?

DustBow said:

So you put an o-ring in between the inside washer and the cooler gasket? Or between the gasket and the cooler wall? Or you scrapped the cooler gasket in favor of a bigger o-ring?

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I still have the cooler's original gasket holding everything in place, but I added an oversized O-ring to go between the washer and cooler wall, right around where the original gasket is in place.

I'm so glad I found this thread. This is my next project. Thanks!

Finally got mine put together last night - held a couple gallons overnight w/ no leaks.
My brew buddies and I decided to "bling" it up a bit and went with all SS parts and a bazooka tube type of mash screen. Still did the whole thing for under $100.

First AG batch will be attempted this weekend!

(Anyone insulate the cooler lid? I was thinking about putting a couple holes in the very top of the cover and spraying some of that foam insulation in there. Might be overkill right now but I thought it might work out well for outside/garage winter batches - I figured the lid is probably the weak spot in term of insulation.)

Haven't thought of that. Mine holds the temp well enough without it being insulated. My buddy just cut a hole right in the middle of his to stick a sparge arm in, and his held well, even with the hole.

On another note, I'm also curious as to whether or not just putting a piece of insulation on top of the grain bed (after filling with water) to hold the heat in the mash and not the dead space above the mash.

FlyGuy said:

...off-the-shelf components from your local hardware store work just as well, and cost far less....

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FlyGuy! Your post made my life so easy - THANK YOU! I just converted a 10 gal Rubbermaid drink cooler! Had 10 gals of water in there for a few hours now and NO LEAKS! I am waiting for my false bottom to arrive and then I am all set. THANK YOU FOR THE POST!!!!!!!!!!

Well, after months of pondering, I finally splurged and bought the damn 10 gallon cooler. It was $110 - I could not find one in Edmonton from anywhere except parts distributors and paying to ship one here would have been even more expensive.

I am excited though. I am currently using a 40qt rectangular coleman cooler and I have trouble maintaining mash temperature AND the grain bed is very shallow- all in all, it's rudimentary and it's time for an upgrade. A good project for a day like today.

Thanks for the detailed info. Time to get to work

DustBow said:

(Anyone insulate the cooler lid? I was thinking about putting a couple holes in the very top of the cover and spraying some of that foam insulation in there. Might be overkill right now but I thought it might work out well for outside/garage winter batches - I figured the lid is probably the weak spot in term of insulation.)

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I thought about doing that, but mine holds temp just fine without it so I never bothered.

Bdogg said:

Well, after months of pondering, I finally splurged and bought the damn 10 gallon cooler. It was $110 - I could not find one in Edmonton from anywhere except parts distributors and paying to ship one here would have been even more expensive.

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Not intending to throw salt on the financial wound, but if you can return your cooler, US Plastic has one that is pretty reasonable. They shipped one to me for $20, for a total price of about $65. http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=30855&catid=760&clickid=searchresults

boogyman said:

I thought about doing that, but mine holds temp just fine without it so I never bothered.

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and should it ever be a problem a towel is a super cheap and super easy fix.