Insulating an Igloo Cooler

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dr_finklestein

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My 10 gallon igloo MT looses a couple degrees during the mash and I want to insulate it more. I don't want to use the awkward Reflectix bubble wrap stuff. I am wondering if anyone knows what John Beere used on his kegs in this post. Do you think this will work for a cooler?
 
I don't know what that material is, sorry. The Reflectix stuff is not that awkward. I made up a removable sleeve. It worked like a charm on a 5 gallon cooler, but not so great on a 10 gallon rubbermaid. I also lose 2-4 degrees. I have heard some say it is the increase in head space inside the cooler. Some people put saran wrap on top of the mash after mashing in and stirring, I might try that next time.
 
I don't know what that material is, sorry. The Reflectix stuff is not that awkward. I made up a removable sleeve. It worked like a charm on a 5 gallon cooler, but not so great on a 10 gallon rubbermaid. I also lose 2-4 degrees. I have heard some say it is the increase in head space inside the cooler. Some people put saran wrap on top of the mash after mashing in and stirring, I might try that next time.

I get the same kinda temp loss also. Now my brain is ticking with an idea. Listen to this one, if it is indeed loss of temp due to the increase in head space how about decreasing it with, what shall I call it "false top". Rather than saran wrap, which to me doesnt really figure to keep temp from decreasing ,fashion a top out of stainless steel to fit whatever shape cooler that is being used with a handle on it and just gentle place on top of the grain bed. Seems like it could work.
 
Not sure if your cooler is round or square but it should not matter. I had the same issue and I ended spraying that foam insulation stuff into my lid. I drill a few small holes then injected it in to it. I think I ended up using two cans and it made a world of difference.
 
Not sure if your cooler is round or square but it should not matter. I had the same issue and I ended spraying that foam insulation stuff into my lid. I drill a few small holes then injected it in to it. I think I ended up using two cans and it made a world of difference.

Never thought of that, but that makes sense..:tank:
 
upperNY01brewer said:
I get the same kinda temp loss also. Now my brain is ticking with an idea. Listen to this one, if it is indeed loss of temp due to the increase in head space how about decreasing it with, what shall I call it "false top". Rather than saran wrap, which to me doesnt really figure to keep temp from decreasing ,fashion a top out of stainless steel to fit whatever shape cooler that is being used with a handle on it and just gentle place on top of the grain bed. Seems like it could work.

I often make a tin foil "false top" which fits into my cooler, it rests on top of the mash.. usually 4 or 5 layers. Then I zip up the whole mash tun in a sleeping bag
 
I just made a new mash tun out of a 10 gallon igloo cooler. I used almost 1 can of expanding spray foam in the lid. I used it for the first time yesterday. I pre-heated and still lost about 4 degrees over an hour. That's with a sleeping bag over top. I can live with it.
 
I get the same kinda temp loss also. Now my brain is ticking with an idea. Listen to this one, if it is indeed loss of temp due to the increase in head space how about decreasing it with, what shall I call it "false top". Rather than saran wrap, which to me doesnt really figure to keep temp from decreasing ,fashion a top out of stainless steel to fit whatever shape cooler that is being used with a handle on it and just gentle place on top of the grain bed. Seems like it could work.

I remember reading a post once where someone did this. Can't seem to find it in the search.
 
Not sure if your cooler is round or square but it should not matter. I had the same issue and I ended spraying that foam insulation stuff into my lid. I drill a few small holes then injected it in to it. I think I ended up using two cans and it made a world of difference.

Good Idea. I will try this.

I still want to line the outside of the cooler with the material in the above post. Does anyone know what it is?
 
It is black insulation tape.

In regards to dead space, you could also use a piece of doubled reflectex cut to just fit inside your MLT and set on top of the mash.
 
FYI today I used saran wrap. Pain in the butt, I will try to think of an alternative, but it did reduce my temp loss from 4 to 2 degrees, and that was an hour fifteen minute mash (not intentional, had to run an errand).

I am not sure how you're suggesting using the reflectix, but the cells are open on the edges, it sounds like it would be a nasty mess to use it for this. I just threw the saran wrap away. Some kind of floating insulated disk would be perfect. I wonder if the lid to my 5 gallon cooler would fit inside the 10 gallon?
 
If i had a 10gl cooler this is what i would do. I have reflectix material on my 5gl round cooler. I use Velcro straps so it goes on easier. For the lid i dont even use it. I cut styrofoam sheet doubled to fit the opening snugly. Stick em in a plastic grocery bag and push it down onto the surface to get rid of the dead space. I still wrap a blanket around (not over) the whole bit. I lose maybe one degree if I let the cooler heat up completely before I dough in.
 
It is black insulation tape.

In regards to dead space, you could also use a piece of doubled reflectex cut to just fit inside your MLT and set on top of the mash.

I understand what you are saying, but this looks like a sanitizing/baterial mess. I don't want to add another step to my process. Insulating the lid looks like the best alternative here.
 
if you could put some 2L bottles filled with water in, they'd displace the mash and reduce the head space. No?

Good idea, but again, this is adding more complexity to the process. I just want to insulate my cooler better but I don't want the awkward Reflectix stuff. Looking for something to permanently afix to the outside.
 
My SWMBO would kill me if I did this with our gear!

Then get an old blanket at good will! I do this too, works great. However I should note that I still get temp losses as described here with the blanket. I am tempted to shoot foam into my lid as well, but I just keep thinking, how is that different than putting a heavy blanket on top? Think I am going to continue to pursue some kind of floating/cleanable mash cover.
 
I just injected my lid with spray foam. It weights about 4 times as much as it did before so I am anxious to see how it works.

Word to the wise: don't get the "Big Gap Filler" spray foam unless you want a big clean up. I drilled three extra holes in the lid (corresponding to the one the factory put in), filled, and had a huge mess when it started to expand. I put it in the yard and let it sit for a bit and then "broke" off the softball-sized over-fill along with a few huge patches of grass.
 
The insulated lid worked realy well, I didn't loose nearly as much temp as in the past.

Note to anyone thinking of doing this: The foam expands the lid slightly which makes is a little harder to get on.
 
The insulated lid worked realy well, I didn't loose nearly as much temp as in the past.

Note to anyone thinking of doing this: The foam expands the lid slightly which makes is a little harder to get on.

Interesting. Could you solve this by placing the lid on the cooler during expansion and compress it with a heavy weight to couteract the upward pressure of the expanding foam?
 
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