Rubbermaid MLT Conversion but cant find cooler/stainless steel fender

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britishbloke

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Bought parts for Rubbermaid MLT Conversion but cant find a cooler. Looked at a few hardware stores and sports stores and Walmarts.

My questions are: Can these parts only be used to convert Rubbermaid coolers?

I could'nt find the 5/8” stainless steel fender washer. I bought a rubber fender for now. Will that work? Me and my roommate were arguing about that today. I don't think rubber will work.

And finally I live in Madison Wisconsin. I know its out of season and I really am buying the cooler at the worst time of the year. But this summer I want to finally goto AG. Anyone know any other locations where they might sell these coolers?

Thanks. :cross:
 
I used the parts listed, with a few alterations here and there, to convert our Coleman 36 quart Xtreme rectangular cooler. You might have to alter the fittings (the alteration I do remember is using a longer nipple ~giggle~ because of the width of the cooler wall) but in general it should work just fine.

That cooler is sweet BTW... we maxed it out last weekend with a 20 pound grain bill for a 5 gallon batch :D

As for the stainless steel fender washers, I find ours at Ace Hardware. I had to ask, but I was pointed in the right direction.

I don't think rubber will work as well as stainless in this.

Check a local Ace, if you have one, if not, give me a shout. I might be able to snag a couple and mail them to you.
 
Very nice. OK Ill check with Ace Hardware. Actually thats the only one I havent visited yet.

So, your mush tun sounds like its the rectangular one. I heard that those ones arent as good because of the grain bed not getting deep enough?

Daamn, I can buy those rectangular coolers anywhere.:mad:
 
britishbloke said:
So, your mush tun sounds like its the rectangular one. I heard that those ones arent as good because of the grain bed not getting deep enough?

I might be wrong, but I thought grain bed depth was only an issue if you're fly sparging. We batch sparge, so it's not an issue for us.

We got ours at Dick's Sporting Goods. Try Gander Mountain?
 
rectangular coolers are just fine... depending on who you ask. ;)

everyone has different opinions. That said, from what I understand (I am getting my setup together also) Rectangular ones are just fine if you are batch sparging as opposed to fly sparging. Folks with more experience will fill in the details. Don't give up on rectangles yet...
 
Ah ok. My main reason for doing this fly sparge is because of a DVD I got from Midwest showing the step by step way to do the all grain method.

Is'nt batch sparging done because you dont have the bigger equipment?:drunk:
 
well, no, not exactly.

After you've mashed, you vorlauf the runoff to clear it of any husks, etc. When you're doing that, you want to gently pour the runnings into the tun so as not to disturb the grain bed and stir up the husks you're trying to strain out.

After that, you pour in your sparge water. Agitation is a good thing in this case, because you're trying to rinse any residual sugars out of the grains. In fact, it's good to stir the mash after you've dumped in the sparge water.

Vorlauf again until the runnings are clear, and then drain into your brewpot.

I think you're thinking of fly sparging, where you're trying to add the same amount of sparge water as you're running off at the same time.
 
OK, I called Home Depot (This time on the west side)

They have the ten gallon for 39.99. Nice!

Anyway to make it so that you only need to have bought one cooler?

I rewatched the DVD on making beer and it shows two you need.
 
bloke, i searched high and low for 5/8 washers in madison. finally found them at menards, in the nuts and bolts dept (hardware, IIRC). patience was of great importance(lots to sort through), otherwise i would have thrown the hands up in disgust.
 
ill.literate said:
Batch sparge = easier ;)

Does everyone feel this way? Having done both, I find batch FASTER, but fly easier. With batch, you're vorlaufing more than once, stirring, measuring out water additions. With fly, you vorlauf, set the outflow, set the inflow, and walk away for 45 minutes. I suppose there's more possibility for trouble (stuck sparges) with fly, but it feels like less work to me, not more. To me, the benefits of batch are speed (you can really just let the outflow rip), and maybe higher efficiency (in my few batch sparges thus far, I have seen ~80 vs. 75 for fly).

I dont care so much about the few extra points of yield... as long as the efficiency is reasonably predictable. So I batch when I'm in a hurry, and fly when I have more time and want to do other things whle I'm brewing (like RDWHAHB)
 
OK, I did go to the Menards on the Eastside near Monona Drive.

They only claim they had the rubber fenders but not the regular.

Again, maybe the westside has them? But not the eastside.

If so this is a messed up town. :)
 
britishbloke said:
So, if I understand this correct, you might not need another 10 gallon cooler but the second one could be a 5 gallon cooler?

Yes, that's right. I really advocate this setup because if grainbed depth is an issue for you (e.g., brewing a lighter beer), then you have the option of using the 5 gallon cooler for the mash. Either way, use one cooler for the mash (pick the best size) and the other becomes a place to hold your hot sparge water.

You don't NEED the second cooler, but it is handy and then you only need one pot instead of two!
 
Bike N Brew said:
Does everyone feel this way?


LOL.. .in the world of Home Brewing, you will NEVER find something that EVERYONE agrees with, except mabey that beer is good *grin*

I fly sparge when I am at my buddies house using his equipment, but I batch sparge every batch I brew. Personally, I found it easier and more efficient to batch sparge. Pour my strike water, walk away for an hour. Come back, Vorlauf for about 30 sec, crack that ball valve wide open and watch it drain. Stir in sparge water, walk away again for 15 min, lather rinse repeat.
 
britishbloke said:
OK, I did go to the Menards on the Eastside near Monona Drive.

They only claim they had the rubber fenders but not the regular.

Again, maybe the westside has them? But not the eastside.

If so this is a messed up town. :)

Sorry to hear that. Well, i can only speak for myself, but i did find them at the e. springs dr east towne mall menards. I found them myself. I avoided asking for help cuz they usually are anything but helpful.

If you haven't read through the entire original Flyguy rubbermaid mlt thread someone on it offered to mail people 5/8 washers for a buck. Look it up!

As far as being messed up, yup, u betcha. wouldn't have it any other way.:D :D
 
uuurang said:
If you haven't read through the entire original Flyguy rubbermaid mlt thread someone on it offered to mail people 5/8 washers for a buck. Look it up!

Thanks for the indirect plug uuurang :) See my sig for a link to the post.

If so this is a messed up town

Whaddya mean 'if so'?? :D (Go Hawks!)
 
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