Thinking bout converting old hot tub into MLT,any thoughts

I got an old hottub 2 person size,well insulated,with insulated cover,all plumbed out and stuff for a potential RIM system.Heater and pump seem to still work, and its got little air bubble holes on the floor for a screen of some sorts.Any one out there think of why this won't work.I can probably get another one to use as a Boiler vessel if you think it would hold up to the heat needed to bring to a boil.I'll also need some kind of hot water tank for the sparge water,I could pull a few old gas tanks off some junkers in my yard and rinse 'em off.15 gallons per tank, probly need about 10 of em.Can any one out there think of any good fermenter options for fermenting bout 150 gallons of beer.If this works I'm gonna start my own micro brew pub!!Any help would be appreciated,I'd like to brew my first batch this weekend.Thanks in advance

I dont know about the hot tub, but I have seen the heating tube on these and that is a sweet rims tube just screaming" beer me"..the pump may not be good for this. take the parts you need and find a better tun, don't know.

Find an old decommissioned Ethanol85 tanker for a fermenter. After all, it was used for ethanol right?

I have heard of bathtub brewing before but.......

You can name the brewery Hot Tub Suds!

Maybe it is just the public hot tubs I have seen, but my guess is you would need to do one helluva deep cleaning if you were making an MLT out of it... Just saying, I tend to think of them as a huge human Crock Pot...

Not to rain on the parade... but I wouldn't do this. Though, I would do a lot of things that other people do.

Hot tubs are not made out of food safe materials. Seals, gaskets, plastics, lubrication systems, all of it is likely not food grade or even close to it. I could be wrong, but if I were building a hot tub I would pay the price for food grade materials...

Second, how would you possibly clean that thing? The circulation holes are small and molded in place. Sticky mess in the making. CIP? Only if you think the non-food grade components are fine for that. Granted, the tub has been soaking in nasty chemicals forever at high temps, but I would still be worried about it, not to mention, IT HAS BEEN SOAKING IN NASTY CHEMICALS FOREVER AT HIGH TEMPS. lol... sorry

Next, gas tanks are made of low grade steel last time I checked (or at least all the ones I have worked with (if not plastic). Not good for boiling wort. Blood beer anyone? And again, do you really want to drink out of a gas tank? Bathtub gin is illegal for a reason, serious health hazards.

Finally, this idea will never work for a brewpub. No inspector in there right mind would ever allow you to sell a food product made with such a system. Also, do you really think anyone is going to buy bathwater beer?

I love your creativity, but I think you need to go back to the drawing board.

mmmmm nice sour flanders red. gross.

Well I just finished scraping most of the residue from the side of the tub,and epoxyed the cracks..Had to replace some of the pvc pipe that runs to the jets.I'll have to reroute some of the pipes into my heater assembly.The stock heater only max's out at about 120 degrees so i'm gonna run the wort through my RIM system made of some of those gas lines I got left from those junkers through a burn barrel for garbage and the likes, then back to the mash.Figure I can hold bout 150-158 using this system.Not sure if I'm gonna do a fly or a batch sparge though.I picked me up 3 drums that I seen out back of jiffy lube late last night(almost got caught)squirted some dawn in there and rinsed them out real good,figured they'd make perfect fermenters.Got to thinkin bout that boiler again and realized that other hottub would flare right up if I put my weed burners under it(what was I thinkin?).--Still lookin for boiler ideas --Seems like things are really starting to come together though.

Brewvy said:

Well I just finished scraping most of the residue from the side of the tub,and epoxyed the cracks..Had to replace some of the pvc pipe that runs to the jets.I'll have to reroute some of the pipes into my heater assembly.The stock heater only max's out at about 120 degrees so i'm gonna run the wort through my RIM system made of some of those gas lines I got left from those junkers through a burn barrel for garbage and the likes, then back to the mash.Figure I can hold bout 150-158 using this system.Not sure if I'm gonna do a fly or a batch sparge though.I picked me up 3 drums that I seen out back of jiffy lube late last night(almost got caught)squirted some dawn in there and rinsed them out real good,figured they'd make perfect fermenters.Got to thinkin bout that boiler again and realized that other hottub would flare right up if I put my weed burners under it(what was I thinkin?).--Still lookin for boiler ideas --Seems like things are really starting to come together though.

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You've got to post some pictures of all this.

See, what ya' needs right thar is onna dem steal sat-e-light dishes. One of those big fvckers. Should be easy enough to git senz they be hookin em up to them poles and such. the bumper on the ford can take it.

thens allz you gotta do is make up a double boyler. Uze them weed burners to heat the dish filled with all that leftover antifrize and the antifrize to heat the hot tub all gintle like.

thank outta the box and keep sniffin them vapors.

My money is on Revvy. Who would you guess? Are we rather bored today Reverend?

Maybe it is just the public hot tubs I have seen, but my guess is you would need to do one helluva deep cleaning if you were making an MLT out of it... Just saying, I tend to think of them as a huge human Crock Pot...

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Thats exactly what I thought when I read the original post. If I was drinking a homebrew and the brewer told me he mashed in a previously used hot tub, I think I would have the urge to spit out the beer.

Seriously, those pumps and lines have had peoples' sweat, hair, probably urine, dead skin cells, and worse pumping them for years. I don't care how much PBW and starsan you pump through there, it doesn't sound like any beer I wanna drink is gonna be made in there. It also wouldn't matter to me that that was all pre-boil, it just doesn't scream "food grade".

All that nastiness aside, is the epoxy/plastic/coating inside the tub itself even rated for mash temps? You could be drinking plastic and epoxy.

Like others said, its a creative idea. But I wouldn't do it, or drink it.

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

My money is on Revvy. Who would you guess? Are we rather bored today Reverend?

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I think Kate16 is getting all sweet on Revvy too.

Yea...I won't even get into a hot tub at an expensive beach rental, much less drink beer that has been mashed in one. Just my opinion.

jamest22 said:

Thats exactly what I thought when I read the original post. If I was drinking a homebrew and the brewer told me he mashed in a previously used hot tub, I think I would have the urge to spit out the beer.

Seriously, those pumps and lines have had peoples' sweat, hair, probably urine, dead skin cells, and worse pumping them for years. I don't care how much PBW and starsan you pump through there, it doesn't sound like any beer I wanna drink is gonna be made in there. It also wouldn't matter to me that that was all pre-boil, it just doesn't scream "food grade".

All that nastiness aside, is the epoxy/plastic/coating inside the tub itself even rated for mash temps? You could be drinking plastic and epoxy.

Like others said, its a creative idea. But I wouldn't do it, or drink it.

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Dont worry I dumped a whole bottle of bleach in there and got it recirculating round, not through the burn barrel yet.All them pipes and such will be cleaner than my kitchen.And epoxy don't flare up till 250 degrees anyhow.Guess you won't be invited to the grand opening!

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

My money is on Revvy. Who would you guess? Are we rather bored today Reverend?

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What???? You think this is me????

he's got a w in his name (I thought it was someone trolling me actually)....Besides I wouldn't even begin to come up with a cockamamie idea as this....I'm too busy trying to be Switzerland in an argument about beans in chili.

This thread has everything: questionable redneckery, bodily fluids, and theft. Keep it coming.

Brewvy said:

I picked me up 3 drums that I seen out back of jiffy lube late last night(almost got caught)squirted some dawn in there and rinsed them out real good,figured they'd make perfect fermenters.

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Don't use Dawn, it will be almost impossible to get all of the soap residue off, and will throw off the flavors of your beer. Just leave the oil residue there. Everyone knows that water and oil are immiscible, so there is no way the residue could affect the final product. Wait, was it regular or synthetic??

There you go describing Revvy again.

devilishprune said:

this thread has everything: Questionable redneckery, bodily fluids, and theft. Keep it coming.

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lol

Just one more quote from the OP would do it justice: "...and then I said, 'Hey y'all, watch this!' "

I have some old lead screen that I could donate for use as a false bottom. :cross:

zymurgy101 said:

I have some old lead screen that I could donate for use as a false bottom. :cross:

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Nah. Jus use that ole Kenorewasher as the lauter toon.

I was thinking on the ride home that a MUCH better purpose for this hot tub would be as an HLT. Heck, you could use some of those radiators you got in them there ol' clunkers stuck together for a heat exchanger. It's perfect.

You could make a milk stout to capitalize on the added benefit of the leftover antifreeze: you don't have to add lactose to sweeten at bottling time!

Revvy said:

I'm too busy trying to be Switzerland in an argument about beans in chili.

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Beans in chili?!?!?! What manner of blashpemy is this??

EDIT: Nevermind, I found the offending thread!

Is anyone really taking this seriously? I've owned three hot tubs, kept them all immaculate and would never, never even think of using one to brew beer. There are hundreds if not thousands of places where bacteria can hide and incubate. It's one thing to sit in it with hot water, it's another to brew in it. Trust me when I tell everyone that this is not a good idea.

no its not a good ideal, but the stainless heating tube is perfect for a rims.

just say'n

DrHops said:

Is anyone really taking this seriously? I've owned three hot tubs, kept them all immaculate and would never, never even think of using one to brew beer. There are hundreds if not thousands of places where bacteria can hide and incubate. It's one thing to sit in it with hot water, it's another to brew in it. Trust me when I tell everyone that this is not a good idea.

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Don't be ridiculous.

i have an old radiator for cooling the wort(i use that loosely) only has a little bit of lead in it

Brewvy said:

Dont worry I dumped a whole bottle of bleach in there and got it recirculating round, not through the burn barrel yet.All them pipes and such will be cleaner than my kitchen.And epoxy don't flare up till 250 degrees anyhow.Guess you won't be invited to the grand opening!

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The bleach doesn't do anything for me here. bleach is corrosive to stainless and copper. Now any copper or stainless components could leach harmful levels of metal into the wort.

Just curious, are you the original owner of the hot tub? If not you should cringe to think what types of hijinks may have transpired in that tub. I have a good suggestion for the name of your first beer: Sex on the Beach

Besides bacteria and non food save materials and whatnot... I just wouldn't want to mash my grains in something that unknown people have been getting their groove on in.

Right. At the end of the day beer is a food product for human consumption. Would you eat a pizza that had been rolled out on an old massage table?

Ya photos let's see them!

If you do end up making a beer in that hot tub, make it a Nut Brown Ale...

jamest22 said:

Would you eat a pizza that had been rolled out on an old massage table?

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Oh boy would I...and how!!!

What's really scary about this is that I've driven by some properties out here that have junk like this rigged up to do all sorts of crazy things, and it wouldn't surprise me a bit if Brewvy is dead serious. Washington rednecks are a bit different than ordinary rednecks. Reading our local paper is a bit like reading the Onion sometimes. We had a guy about a year ago who tried to blast the lugnuts off his car with a shotgun. We try not to go too far out of town around here, at least after dark...:cross:

Subscribed...eagerly awaiting pics!!

Well I tried to upload some pictures,but I guess you gotta be a paid members or something.Hell I can't even pay on me trailerhouse.The heat exchanger is a good idea,to cool the beer and such,but whats all the fuss bout the cleanness?Its just beer,I ain't gonna eat it ,it's for my brewery,I'ma gonna sell it!But really it ain't gonna be dirty.I don't think i'm gonna make a nut brown ale though,but anybody got a good recipe for Busch Lite or Busch regular??Thems my favorite beer!It's plastered all over my favorite NASCAR car too.Thanks for all the responses keep 'em comin' and ya'll be invited to the grand opening!!

No bush in the hot tub...

I'm surprised Brewvy hasn't come clean that it is a hoax yet; guess their just seeing who else will bite. It has been fun to see some of the responses.