Cheap & Easy 10 Gallon Rubbermaid MLT Conversion

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I went to home depot and got my materials. Cut the ends off my braided line and it's not stainless steel. Hmm. Went back up there and the guy told me they aren't stainless and they don't make them like that. It's like some type of nylon.
 
Srceenplay said:
I went to home depot and got my materials. Cut the ends off my braided line and it's not stainless steel. Hmm. Went back up there and the guy told me they aren't stainless and they don't make them like that. It's like some type of nylon.
Click to expand...

The HD by me has both. The nylon and ss so I don't know why one would carry but not the other store
 
I went to HD and specifically asked for Stainless. He said they only have it at Lowes.
But I did see a mash tun at the Homebrew store with the nylon braid. Seemed to work ok.
 
They definitely have SS at HD, but instead of having them prominently displayed at eye level like the nylon ones they are just loose in a cardboad bin at ankle level. They are at my local one anyway.
 
I had trouble finding ss hose at my HD as well. I ended up buying a washing hose connection from HD that was ss. I think it might have cost more because the hose is longer but I've got some extra.
 
Well, I tested her out and she was leaking, drip drop drip drop and I did some rearranging and leak-city. I am pretty sure the leak is the top of the rubber from the cooler I am going to get rid of the rubber and see what happens... quite frustrating. Wish me luck.
 
No go, and then I tried to clean the space for the rubber that came with the cooler and fit it in again, its just too loose it is I believe pushing in when the ball valve has been added. How can I fix this leak? and make this work?
 
Got mine built today and did a leak test. ALL GOOD!

All the SS parts came from bargainfittings.com

Mash-Tun 001.jpg


Mash-Tun 002.jpg
 
That looks beast fam. I was going to go all stainless too but got the wrog parts so to speak. What are the pieces? here is my new and improved joint, not as pretty but now leakproof. I have a 1/2 stainless ball valve so any help in terms of extra parts let me know. blessings
<a href="http://www.freeimagehosting.net/ff7a6"><img src="http://www.freeimagehosting.net/t/ff7a6.jpg"></a>

Brickout said:
Got mine built today and did a leak test. ALL GOOD!

All the SS parts came from bargainfittings.com
Click to expand...
 
Tkelly32 said:
That looks beast fam. I was going to go all stainless too but got the wrog parts so to speak. What are the pieces? here is my new and improved joint, not as pretty but now leakproof. I have a 1/2 stainless ball valve so any help in terms of extra parts let me know. blessings
Click to expand...
ff7a6.jpg


Your image wasn't showing, so I re-posted it for you.

Here's the bulkhead kit I went with. I went with the standard coupling as the inside fitting, 1.5" nipple, 3 piece SS ball valve, no hose barb and one extra SS washer. From the outlet of the ball valve I have a 1/2" street elbow attached to a 1/2" SS camlock F style fitting. Then I have a 1/2" SS camlock B style fitting attached to a 1/2" NPT female x 1/2" hose barb. Which is attached to the hi-temp tube with a hose clamp.
 
eyedoctodd said:
Just curious if there was a reason you went with a 1/2" SS camlock B style fitting attached to a 1/2" NPT female x 1/2" hose barb instead of just using a C style camlock fitting for the female hose end connections?
Click to expand...

Just personal preference really. I suppose if I change thing around in the future it will easier to re-use the part somewhere else.
 
Does anyone know if its ok to use a grade 5 washer instead of the stainless? I looked everywhere for the illusive stainless fender washer and can't find it without ordering online. I want to brew tomorrow. Hope its safe to use.
 
If its on the outside, I don't see a problem with it - it's not coming in contact with the wort. May rust faster, but you can just replace it.
 
No it would actually be the one on the inside that is in contact with the wort. I also found a neoprene rubber washer. I might try that if all else fails.
 
brew2enjoy said:
Does anyone know if its ok to use a grade 5 washer instead of the stainless? I looked everywhere for the illusive stainless fender washer and can't find it without ordering online. I want to brew tomorrow. Hope its safe to use.
Click to expand...

I used one a couple of times until I could find a stainless washer.

It hasn't killed me yet...;)

BTW, if there is an Ace Hardware nearby, you can get a stainless washer there.
 
I called out local ace hardware and the lady said they had them. So I get there and couldn't find it. I ask the lady and she says "oh I thought you said 5/16" ugggggh! Long story short they did have a 5/8 washer but its not a fender washer. I also picked up a nylon washer while I was there. I figure between the two I can figure something out. Man, all this for one friggin washer!!
 
brew2enjoy said:
I called out local ace hardware and the lady said they had them. So I get there and couldn't find it. I ask the lady and she says "oh I thought you said 5/16" ugggggh! Long story short they did have a 5/8 washer but its not a fender washer. I also picked up a nylon washer while I was there. I figure between the two I can figure something out. Man, all this for one friggin washer!!
Click to expand...

Don't know your community, but ordering online with Fastenal is the sure way to go. I too went to Ace and did the run around for the SS washer. I wasn't aware however there was a Fastenal warehouse in my area, I could have easily driven there and got the washer. So, check your warehouse community too, but waiting a bit to maintain quality and assurance of product in my mind is a small price to pay. :rockin:
 
There is a fastenal about 10 minutes from me. Unfortunately they are closed today. I will try the smaller s/s washer/ nylon combo and see if that works as a temporary solution for the weekend.
 
Inflation has really hit and you can no longer make it for the same price, but it is still cheaper to do it this way than buying the kit in the beer store. The parts cost me about $37 and the 10 gal. Rubbermaid cooler was $46 at Home Depot. I bought my SS washers and rubber ring seal at Fastenal. The only modification I had to make on your outstanding directions was that I needed 6 fender washers as spacers on the outside (so 7 washers total). Other than that, everything went together very easily. The pix included helped a ton as well. Thanks a bunch!
 
I followed these directions a year ago to build my own 10 gallon Rubbermaid.
A year ago the 10 gallon was cheaper.... in the winter !

I was wondering if anyone has figured out what the Maximum amount of Grain you can get in & the Maximum gravity you could get out of a 10 gallon Rubbermaid ?

I've been doing 5 gal batches for years, and want to move up.... but to 10 gal or 15 gal ?

thanks
 
steveoatley said:
I followed these directions a year ago to build my own 10 gallon Rubbermaid.
A year ago the 10 gallon was cheaper.... in the winter !

I was wondering if anyone has figured out what the Maximum amount of Grain you can get in & the Maximum gravity you could get out of a 10 gallon Rubbermaid ?

I've been doing 5 gal batches for years, and want to move up.... but to 10 gal or 15 gal ?

thanks
Click to expand...

I've put 25 lbs of grain, and one quart per pound, and I feel that is the best you could do. It took 20 minutes to work all the dough balls out of the mix. It would give you 10 gallons of 1.060 beer though with the efficiency I'm getting.
 
Thanks BottleBomber, that answers a lot.
( i don't need a bigger kettle, just a better kettle )
Thanks for the info.

To all the others in this thread..... Start looking at Home Depot & Lowe's this time of year....
I got my 10 gal for $29.99 last December.... HD had them on clearance.
They need to move the coolers, so they have more room for Snow blowers !

I got most of my stuff at HD & a trip to Ace, and got it put together in an afternoon. My luck was that my Ace had a lot of RV'ing stuff, so I was able to find hose & SS washers.

SteveO
 
Hey! for xmas i got a girft certificate to the Home Depot and decided to make a MLT with these instructions...

I got the 5 gallon cooler (i live in a small spacei n NYC... it's all i can manage space-wise)

I'm certainly not a DIY guy, but i thought i would give it a go.
Last night, after picking up everything on the list, i noticed that the spigot hole in the Home Depot cooler was considerably larger than the 3/8" equipment that i bought... even the heat resistant rubber O-ring doesn't make it wide enough to fit snug... is that a problem? or can i use teflon tape or goo to make the whole thing water tight..

i hope i don't have to re buy everything again... that would suck.

D
 
Shaerf said:
Hey! for xmas i got a girft certificate to the Home Depot and decided to make a MLT with these instructions...

I got the 5 gallon cooler (i live in a small spacei n NYC... it's all i can manage space-wise)

I'm certainly not a DIY guy, but i thought i would give it a go.
Last night, after picking up everything on the list, i noticed that the spigot hole in the Home Depot cooler was considerably larger than the 3/8" equipment that i bought... even the heat resistant rubber O-ring doesn't make it wide enough to fit snug... is that a problem? or can i use teflon tape or goo to make the whole thing water tight..

i hope i don't have to re buy everything again... that would suck.

D
Click to expand...

Did you save the little rubber piece that was inside the hole when you disassembled the cooler?
 
There should have been a plastic lock nut that clamped the spigot in place from the inside. On the shaft of the spigot should have been an off white rubber gasket. If its not there its because some unscrupulous homebrewer robbed it off the cooler ;)
 
Shaerf said:
ha... do you know is there some kind of work-around that i could use if said rubber piece was not present?
Click to expand...

Some people have been able to find a neoprene gasket that works a lot better, I want to say at Fastenal or it might even be at HD. If that thing isn't on there though I would strongly recommend returning the cooler if its possible... of course you've probably completely destroyed the mechanism by now. So just go in to HD with some channel locks, and steal the washer from another cooler ;)
It would be a lot of work but if you read back through the thread you could see what others used. I know at least several people just ended up entombing the thing in food grade silicon gel. I wouldn't want to do that personally unless I had to though.
 
so when I got home I checked and i DO have the rubber washer that should be there in the cooler. The problem still stands though... the 3/8&#8221; MIP x 1-1/2&#8221; brass nipple connecting the interior to the exterior is quite a bit smaller in diameter than the rubber washer and the hole in the cooler... Should I be filling it out with silicon gel?

Thanks for all your help, by the way! I am such a rookie with this... :)
 
I vaguely remember having this problem too when I built mine. I ended up getting one that fits the hole - yes, it was annoying to go swap out all the other washers & fittings, but worth it for a good fit. Silicone isn't really designed to fill gaps - your fitting will be moving all over the place and you'll be disappointed I think.
 
When I built mine it wasn't close to fitting. I used an o ring between the washer and the inside cooler wall and cranked everything down tight. It took care of the problem.
 
This worked great i used a normal 5/8th washer instead of the fender for the outside, I just had to use 4 but it still holds really well no leaks. Another solution would be using a rubber washer because it can mold really well to the cooler creating a great seal. I bought the supplies in Reno and it cost me $15 more but it is still worth it.
 

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