ReeseAllen
Well-Known Member
Half of the US has been covered in snow, but over here in Seattle the last few days we've had the best weather we've seen since last September. This Saturday and Sunday, it was about 60 F, blue skies, and a mild breeze.
My old MLT came down with an intractable case of mold recently, so I set to work building a new and improved one on Saturday. I used a 10 gallon rubbermaid cooler with an retractable handle and wheels (just like a suitcase) this time. It's the same volume as my old MLT, except a couple inches taller and with a correspondingly smaller footprint. I also used a stainless braid as opposed to a copper manifold this time.
I also replaced some kinked tubing on my CFC. The clear vinyl tubing is nice because I can see whether there is still water in the line. The tap water is fed from a garden hose on the left and the hot output water drains into another section of hose on the left that goes down to the yard. The two hoses are zip-tied into the deck's support strut, and the stand is zip-tied into the deck for stability. When the boil is nearing the end, I close the water valve, run down to the yard, hook the hose to the faucet, and turn it on. I then open the valve just before I start running wort through the chiller coil. After I've got the wort chilled and safely indoors, I turn the hose off. I leave the valve open when not in use to allow it to drain by gravity.
My old MLT came down with an intractable case of mold recently, so I set to work building a new and improved one on Saturday. I used a 10 gallon rubbermaid cooler with an retractable handle and wheels (just like a suitcase) this time. It's the same volume as my old MLT, except a couple inches taller and with a correspondingly smaller footprint. I also used a stainless braid as opposed to a copper manifold this time.
I also replaced some kinked tubing on my CFC. The clear vinyl tubing is nice because I can see whether there is still water in the line. The tap water is fed from a garden hose on the left and the hot output water drains into another section of hose on the left that goes down to the yard. The two hoses are zip-tied into the deck's support strut, and the stand is zip-tied into the deck for stability. When the boil is nearing the end, I close the water valve, run down to the yard, hook the hose to the faucet, and turn it on. I then open the valve just before I start running wort through the chiller coil. After I've got the wort chilled and safely indoors, I turn the hose off. I leave the valve open when not in use to allow it to drain by gravity.