anyone use a cooler without drain hole?

I'm wanting to start setting up a cooler for all grain, I have a 10 gallon but it does not have a drain hole?

troy-m-c said:

I'm wanting to start setting up a cooler for all grain, I have a 10 gallon but it does not have a drain hole?

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Do you own a drill?

Generally you would drill a hole in the side. When you get your fitting, use the washer as a guide and get the valve as close to the bottom as you can.

that was exactly the plan, just wondering if there was a problem doing that? Which i figured there wasn't, but what the heck a silly ? should i use o-rings for gaskets, this is my first grain set up

what size do yous use through the cooler it's self?

I would just buy a valve from weldlessfittings.com or bargainfittings.com They make them that fit coolers. You should measure the thickness of the cooler wall and go by that. Either one of those places will have what you need.

I used a hole saw (2" ?) from the outside and attached my valve to the inner wall only. That way you can crank it down tight without worry of leaking from the two walls flexing. I used an o-ring on just the inside.

i have a stainless valve, i my need to use a reducer it's 3/4" valve

Just get a 3/4" close nipple to go with it? Do it all in 3/4"?

I used pvc fittings though the wall. I tightend a coupling up gainst the inide to a male female adapter and made my own gasket out of rubber sheet material I got a Home Depot. It leaked about a tablespoon in around an hour and a half.... That was fine and cleaned up easily in m y kitchen.

The key thing to remember when installing a valve in a cooler is that the seal needs to be on the INSIDE only. Don't bother with a rubber washer/o-ring/gasket on the outside, you have to get it right on the inside. If it's leaking past the inner seal, it's getting inside the outer layer of the MLT, and over time that will get really nasty in there.

In fact, sealing the outside actually hurts you; if the inside seal is leaking, and the outside seal holds, you won't have any idea that the inside seal leaks because the outside seal will hold it in. At the very least, if you only seal the inside, and that seal fails, eventually you should see some liquid seep out through the opening on the outside, which would be your indication that it's (unfortunately) time to buy a new cooler.

ReeseAllen - Yes.

I took away a small portion of the insulationand clamped just the inner wall in my cpvc fittings. The homemade rubber gaskets are only on the interior of the mash tun.