Cheap & Easy 10 Gallon Rubbermaid MLT Conversion

CornyKegs 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
MikeG said:
I do 10 gal batches in mine. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/how-big-your-mash-tun-needs-123585/
Click to expand...

Great thread...thank you.

DrawTap88 said:
Sorry I missed so much. I had a really thin mash when I filled mine up. I also left out that it was my mash out water that got me to the brim of the cooler. Sorry for that.

Also, to address something that wasn't pointed towards me...When I mashed all that grain I brought most of my grain to temp in a pot over a burner from 130 to 157, which when added to the cooler I only lost about 2 degrees and it didn't lost more than 1/2 a degree over the 90 minute mash (it was really warm that day).
Click to expand...

I am trying to keep my steps as simple as possible so I guess I will just play with the temp and see how it works with different amounts.
 
Simpler is better...but keep that method in the back of your mind if you're getting bad efficiency and not hitting your numbers.
 
This thread and all the good info from the original poster is just priceless. Thank you.

Question...could I safely use silicone sealing gel on the outside part of the assembly? Just wasn't sure if it's temperature safe and would have no adverse impact on the wort if there was a minor leak.
 
WxDaddy said:
This thread and all the good info from the original poster is just priceless. Thank you.

Question...could I safely use silicone sealing gel on the outside part of the assembly? Just wasn't sure if it's temperature safe and would have no adverse impact on the wort if there was a minor leak.
Click to expand...

Perfectly fine and safe to do on the outside. If it were on the inside you'd have to find a gel rated for the heat and still be food grade, but on the outside of the cooler you'll be safe.

Question for you. Are you doing this because it's leaking? If it is leaking you should stop the leak from the inside with an o-ring, or something, to keep any wort out of the insulation which will then start to stink to high heaven.
 
The problem I had is that the Igloo cooler I had did not have a rubber seal that goes through the cooler like the rubbermaids do. In fact, it had no seal at all really, the spout is used to seal as weird as that sounds. The hole was also a different size, so none of my parts fit snugly.

I got the rubbermaid cooler and it was still leaking a bit after I got everything secure. At that point I realized I had spent about $71 for the cooler, and all the hardware.

My LHBS sells an 8 gallon mash tun with false bottom for $69.99. Guess who returned everything to home depot and bought that son of a *****! lol
 
Okay--I'm going to try and rebuild this thing with a handy friend.

I'm worried that my plastic bucket won't hold temps and I really want to get one of these done. Wish me luck!
 
Ben_Persitz said:
Okay--I'm going to try and rebuild this thing with a handy friend.

I'm worried that my plastic bucket won't hold temps and I really want to get one of these done. Wish me luck!
Click to expand...

FYI, I built mine at my desk at work in about 15 minutes.
 
Instead of using the o-ring seals supplied in the valve kits, I used a silicon baby bottle nipple. I cut the nipple portion off about 1/4" or so above the flange portion and it creates a perfect seal. As a bonus, the 1/4" portion of the remaining nipple fits into the stock Rubbermaid hole perfectly like it was meant to be.
 
So hey if I want to put a bazooka screen on mine instead of the braid, I just need to convert from 3/8 nipple to 1/2 inch female on the inside right?
 
I used a CPVC manifold in mine. $2.50 for 10 feet of 1/2 inch pipe $1.75 for 3 T junctures. $2.00 for 4 elbows. .55 for a threaded end. I don't remembeer the cost of the 1/2 to 3/8 brass nipple. Bought some high temp silicone tubing from the HBS. works like a charm. and cost less than the steel braid.
 
BendBrewer said:
Atta boy! Gotta ask, how long did it take you?
Click to expand...

About ten minutes.

I think the reason mine leaked before is I didn't have enough washers.

I got 3 5/8 stainless flat washers for the inside, and 3 5/8 zinc for the outside.

Last time I only had one on the inside and two on the outside.

PLUS--last time I was using 16 mm metric, because I couldn't find 5/8 inch stainless.
 
Gang - I have been using my 10 gal cooler with a false bottom for a while now. Works great. But, I wanted to note in here that I thought, when I built it, that I would be able to do 10 gal mashes in the tun. I did a 10 gal batch last week and had about 26# of grain that required about 8 gals of strike water. There was no way in hell it was gonna all fit in there. So, I split up my grain and did two separate mashes; combined; and, then boiled together. Just something to keep in mind if you plan to mash more than a 5 gal batch. I may end up moving over to a larger rectangular cooler or add a third keg to my setup. If I do, my 10 gal MLT w/ false bottom will be up for grabs. Will let y'all know if/when I do. Cheers.
 
johnnybrew said:
Gang - I have been using my 10 gal cooler with a false bottom for a while now. Works great. But, I wanted to note in here that I thought, when I built it, that I would be able to do 10 gal mashes in the tun. I did a 10 gal batch last week and had about 26# of grain that required about 8 gals of strike water. There was no way in hell it was gonna all fit in there. So, I split up my grain and did two separate mashes; combined; and, then boiled together. Just something to keep in mind if you plan to mash more than a 5 gal batch. I may end up moving over to a larger rectangular cooler or add a third keg to my setup. If I do, my 10 gal MLT w/ false bottom will be up for grabs. Will let y'all know if/when I do. Cheers.
Click to expand...

Start using 1 qt of water per pound of grain to mash. A thick mash is your friend and a large amount of sparge water is his hot sister.
 
BendBrewer said:
Start using 1 qt of water per pound of grain to mash. A thick mash is your friend and a large amount of sparge water is his hot sister.
Click to expand...

I love that analogy!

Even with a lower ratio I would be striking 26 lbs of grain with 6.5 gallons of water. I don't think it will fit in there! (that's what he said)
 
Yeah, I think you MIGHT be able to get all of that in there. I did a 25.5 pound batch with a little over 6 gallons of water this weekend and I still had a little room to work with.
 
johnnybrew said:
Gang - I have been using my 10 gal cooler with a false bottom for a while now. Works great. But, I wanted to note in here that I thought, when I built it, that I would be able to do 10 gal mashes in the tun. I did a 10 gal batch last week and had about 26# of grain that required about 8 gals of strike water. There was no way in hell it was gonna all fit in there. So, I split up my grain and did two separate mashes; combined; and, then boiled together. Just something to keep in mind if you plan to mash more than a 5 gal batch. I may end up moving over to a larger rectangular cooler or add a third keg to my setup. If I do, my 10 gal MLT w/ false bottom will be up for grabs. Will let y'all know if/when I do. Cheers.
Click to expand...

Sent a PM.
 
I have a Bazooka screen in my kettle. I don't think I would use it as is in a mash tun. I would think it would lead to a lot of stuck sparges. Hell, that thing clogs up in my kettle at times.

A copper manifold is a piece of cake to build and cheap. Got a hacksaw?
 
I use a copper manifold in mine. Started with a braid but am much happier with the manifold.

And no, no stuck sparges. Drain slowly.
 
You think a bazooka screen would lead to stuck sparges? Really? It's just a stainless steel braid in essence isn't it?

I'm just going to be batch sparging. Think it would still be a problem?

Edit: Yes I do have a hacksaw. A ****ty one that I got for $4.99 at ace :p
 
Ben_Persitz said:
You think a bazooka screen would lead to stuck sparges? Really? It's just a stainless steel braid in essence isn't it?

I'm just going to be batch sparging. Think it would still be a problem?
Click to expand...

Not sure about this since I have a false bottom, but I always thought that if you are going to have a lot of grain/weight, the braid can collapse a bit. I doubt it is a concern for a 5 gal batch of a big beer (i.e., 13-15 lbs of grain).
 
Yeah, I think without modifying it somehow that the grain bed will compact down and INTO that Bazooka screen. I think someone mentioned using one but they had some type of 'roof' or 'cover' over the top half of it to avoid the compaction. Those Bazooka screens aren't as tight of a screen as the SS braids suggested by Fly Guy.

For under 10 bucks and 30 minutes with a hack saw, you could build a copper manifold that will never float, break or get clogged with grain matter. The slots are on the bottom.
 
BendBrewer said:
Yeah, I think without modifying it somehow that the grain bed will compact down and INTO that Bazooka screen. I think someone mentioned using one but they had some type of 'roof' or 'cover' over the top half of it to avoid the compaction. Those Bazooka screens aren't as tight of a screen as the SS braids suggested by Fly Guy.

For under 10 bucks and 30 minutes with a hack saw, you could build a copper manifold that will never float, break or get clogged with grain matter. The slots are on the bottom.
Click to expand...

Got a tutorial?
 
Yeah I do think that you'll run into problems with it clogging. Mine clogs in the kettle sometimes from hops. A grain bed is going to compact down more than my hops do. I would also be concerned with channeling in the event that only part of it becomes clogged. You could end up drawing sparge water from a very small portion of your grain bed sucking through a hole the size of a dime.

I haven't tried it and maybe someone will say they work fine, but I just see trouble awaiting with those things in a MLT and look forward to getting a false bottom in my kettle so that I can ditch the one that I have.

My manifold sits on the very bottom of the MLT and sucks the thing dry by siphon. Those bazooka screens don't really do that.
 
Got a tutorial?
Click to expand...

Just use elbows, tees and rigid copper tubing to make something like this:

images


That is the underside of the thing.
 
I don't solder mine. It comes apart for easy cleaning. I cut the tubing so that it would fit snug along the bottom and against the walls of the cooler.
 
Oh and a hint. (It looks like the guy in the photo used the same parts.)

The tee in the middle has (2) 45 degree elbows where the rest are 90 degrees. You connect them at opposite angles and you have your 'dip tube' angle to reach over your manifold to get to your valve.
 
How do you hook it up to the hose barb on the inside of the cooler?

Edit: I'll consider this but I might just buy a false bottom.
 
I used a nylon threaded barb and screwed that into the valve. I cut an inch or 2 piece of copper tubing and shoved it over the barbed end. The 45 degree elbow coming off of that middle tee slips into the piece of copper tubing. I control the snug fit by backing out that nylon barb a turn or two. It kinda 'snaps' into place.
 

Similar threads

adx
For Sale Brass Quick Disconnects
Replies
0
Views
568
adx
adx
MightyMosin
My homemade Quick Carbonator
Replies
0
Views
1K
MightyMosin
MightyMosin
yaakov
10 gallon rubbermaid home depot cooler conversion
Replies
8
Views
995
yaakov
yaakov
SimmonsBrew
Withdrawn 1 Barrel Brewing Equipment in the SF Bay Area $3000 obo
Replies
3
Views
1K
SimmonsBrew
SimmonsBrew
C
For Sale Complete 10 Gallon Batch HERMS Electric Brewing System, Keezer & Misc Items - Bethel, CT
Replies
5
Views
2K
krustissimo
K
SSBrew 300

Latest posts

Back
Top