Coleman Wheeled Xtreme 5 Cooler Mash Tun (with CPVC manifold)

I haven't seen any good shots of a CPVC manifold for the Coleman Wheeled Xtreme 5 Cooler as a mash tun so I thought I'd take a stab at it. Any feedback is welcome, I expect to try it out this weekend ideally.

Just a few extra details that I forgot last night, this is the 75qt Coleman Wheeled Xtreme 5 Cooler, which is almost a cube. I picked it out of the other options of it's size because it appears to have the smallest hump of the wheeled varieties, placing the drain lower than most. I wanted a more "cube" style when going larger, just for the compactness in my setup, and have seen a few people mention using them, with others asking for pics etc of their manifolds but rarely anything further, so hope this helps anyone else looking to pull the trigger. I should have some more feedback after I try it out this weekend, but overall the manifold was pretty easy, it measures roughly 9" x 14" and the center outlet is just a T, a 45 elbow, some CPVC and another 45 elbow attached to a CPVC/stainless female coupler, attached to a bulkhead.

As it currently stands, the ball valve, when handle is closed, actually clears the floor below, so you can use the wheels to make it a tippy dump (main reason I wanted a wheeled cooler). However, it JUST fits as it is, so adding any sort of barb, disconnect, etc. will change that. I had to remove the extendable handles in order make it useful for a tippy dump, and the way this sucker is designed, the black piece where the lid hinges has to stay on otherwise it creates an opening on the lid which would let heat out, but this also lets the lid swing further back so it shouldn't be a big deal.

Some thoughts down the road, I'll likely modify it in a way to remove the wheels or at least attach them somehow to keep it stationary and just pivot on that point, but cut an opening on the platform beneath it (or leave some sort of gap) so the valve and any fittings can clear when tipping it. The lid itself feels pretty flimsy so I have my doubts about how well it will hold in the heat, so if that proves to be a problem, I may modify it somehow (insulate it or something) and may even just remove the flips that keep it hinged so it can be removed easily for any reason (not a big fan of it having to swing front, may get in the way when trying to stir the mash, etc).

Anyway, that's the low-down on it so far, I'll report back with more details after it's had it's first use, but let me know if you have any questions, thoughts, suggestions, etc. Cheers!

Very nice. I thought it was small, the extreme 5 made me think 5gallon.

What about fitting bigger plastic wheels so you retain the ability to wheel and tip but the valve will clear. You would need to add front legs to keep it level when mashing.

Yeah, I happened to realize today I never specified the size (it was late when I finished it, just wanted to post the results haha). I didn't quite wanna go with the 60qt cube that is around, as the drain sits too high for my liking, plus my 20 gallon kettles can produce upwards of 15 gallon batches, so I figured I'd best get a mash tun to handle those batches properly. It was difficult to find quite what I was looking for, ultimately this one fits the necessary criteria best without having to use the longer style large coolers. At the size, I was also really wanting one with wheels so I can easily tip it to dump grain, etc. but we'll see just how well that actually works. I'll try to get some other pictures as well, but I know from my own research i couldn't find any examples of a manifold for it, but the question has come up a few times without answers so hopefully if anyone else is looking for this, it'll help

Didn't get a chance to brew with it yet but water tested and so far so good. Leaves behind exactly 32oz, so that will be easy to account for at least!

I have the same cooler but fitted with a diptube and a circular braid. The lid on mine held up alright but the walls are a little warped now so it doesn't seal as well. It's a little tippy but holds temperatures well enough for me. I've had probably 25 mashes in it now.

Nice big cooler! Another option would be to reinstall the original drain, and drill a hole for the valve in the front of the cooler so the valve and tubing are not an issue when wheeling the cooler. Additionally, if you ever incorporate this into a stand, the axle for the wheels can make for anice tippy dump feature.

When using this tun, it will help draining to add a barb and a few feet tubing to increase draw out of the cooler.

Yeah, I don't expect it to last forever. I had a coupon for it from BJs a little while back so I decided to get it since I need something bigger than my 10 gallon cooler. Ultimately, I would like to get a Blichmann for the mash tun, but this is a cheap route in the interim since it'll be more investing to make that route include a RIMS or HERMS, etc. I was debating drilling the hole, but initially wanted to set this up in a way that if I hated it I could just turn it back into a cooler, and so far so good on that part I was thinking about the tippy setup too, I don't know for sure if I'll keep this around long enough to bother with, mostly cause I don't have the highest of expectations in terms of quality, but it should get me by for a good while at least.

How's it working?