5 Gal RubberMaid Mash/Tun

This is how I put one together after a long and painfull process.



This is a picture of all the parts needed.

Rubber Maid 5 Gal cooler, Kewler Kit, and some barbs that change diameter sizes. You will also see that I decided to go with the Steet false bottom. Phils is ok, but it did not fit in the other cooler I attempted to use first.




Here is the order where you will install all the fittings together. The cooler will be to the left of the Ball valve. There is a machined nut. You take that off and flush it between the rubber gasket and the spiggot openng in the cooler.


In the end it will look like this....


If you look at the brass nut you will see that it is machined out. This is to be able to fit the washer very snugly againsst the cooler wall.

The inside:


The challenges of the insde is that the spece btween false bottom and fittings to the outside world is not a lot. Another challenge is to be sure you get High Temp tubbing as the normal vynle tubbing wont hold. I actually got some steel clamps to just to be sure.

Success!


Well Ok, almost. You dont see it here but it is leaking just a tad from one of the outside fittings. Not the Kewler Kit though. Dude had suggested using Teflon Tape and it was a great idea as I never had a drop of liquid come out of the fittings now.


Other things......

1. The Kewler Kit does not wobble much. When you homemake this connection it seemed to wobble a lot actually.
2. DO NOT TAKE OUT YOUR DRILL! Put it in a place you will not get at it. All you do is take off the spigot assembly and put the Kewler Kit on. THATS IT!
3. Whne you are making this, take everything you go to wherever it is you are going. This way you check things out before you buy them... bring them home... find they dont work..... return them. This is a long process that can be easily fixed by doing one thing... take everytrhing you are working on to whatever store you are going to.
4. Make/Buy false bottom or whatever means you plan to do this job BEFORE you buy the cooler. Your going to take this to the cooler and make sure it fits before walking out the store with it.
5. When you get to the conenctors... same thing applies... you are goign to take your cooler, now set up with your false bottom or whatever you are using.

What was your total cost?

Where'd you buy the Kewler Kit?

Thanks for posting this. I know this has been discussed alot lately on this forum and I agree that you went the right way with the Kewler Kit.

Your pictures are awesome. I'd be interested in your cost as well, although the cooler is the only piece that can be heavily discounted if you have a good cooler source. I'll be making mine with a 10 gallon cooler for future expansion.

gaelone said:

Where'd you buy the Kewler Kit?

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Northern Brewer carries them. Look under "Weldless fittings". I'm glad you posted this Michael, because knowing how I am I'd rather drop the extra cash and not have to screw with it....


Ize

I just picked all those up. I had the brass ball valve, so I just ordered the weldless bulkhead. And a word to those who want to do this. Order the Bulkhead and pick up the ball valve at your local hardware store. You will save quite a bit. Hmm, I wonder if I could of found that at the hardware store as well... Anyways, i also picked up that false bottom.

I got a question for you guys though. How much does the false bottom leave in the cooler? Is there some sort of siphon tube underneath?

Did you decide on the stainless steel one? When I used mine it did not leave much... I'll be able to tell you more exactly tomorrow after I brew. It was really pretty negligable. I bet Phil's leaves more cause its more concaved.

Chimone said:

I got a question for you guys though. How much does the false bottom leave in the cooler? Is there some sort of siphon tube underneath?

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With the steel one the 90 degree fitting is flushed to the bottom and there is just a brass nut on the underside. There is not a lot of room under it for much of anything.

Sorry if this is a dumb question but I'm new to all this. Why do you need a false bottom in a mash tun?

Hopfan said:

Sorry if this is a dumb question but I'm new to all this. Why do you need a false bottom in a mash tun?

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Actually you dont. But then you would have to mash in one vessle and get it to another one via siphon or what not to sparge. Since a false bottom or manifold (or whatever you decide to use) is very easy to make people just make the assembly one and call it a day.

Online Metals just started carrying stainless perforated sheet. The top link on the perforated stainless page looks perfect for false bottom material, and the price is reasonable. The decimal conversion works out to 22 ga sheet with 3/32" staggered holes. I just ordered enough to make a false bottom for my 60 qt Ice Cube mash tun conversion. 22 ga sheet is thin enough to cut with tin snips or shears, so special tooling won't be required to make a custom false bottom. Pictures and a short "how-to" will follow when the materials arrive and I get started.

Are your male thread fittings, the ones with the nipple, a 3/8 thread to a 1/2 inch nipple? looks like it. Did you have the bronze nut machined by a pro or figure out how to do it yourself? I own a dental laboratory and I can machine that surface my self. Does the nut have cast raised ridges all the way to the thread pattern that were holding up the silicone o-ring? Yea why do you have to have a false bottom in the mashtun? I'm new to this never done it before but am quickly learning. Next weekend will be my first time, all graining as an assistant to my mentor.

You can put that cooler together with parts off the shelf at Home Depot - no need to custom-machine anything. Just takes a bit of mixing and matching to get it right.

Gregg Meyer said:

Are your male thread fittings, the ones with the nipple, a 3/8 thread to a 1/2 inch nipple? looks like it. Did you have the bronze nut machined by a pro or figure out how to do it yourself? I own a dental laboratory and I can machine that surface my self. Does the nut have cast raised ridges all the way to the thread pattern that were holding up the silicone o-ring? Yea why do you have to have a false bottom in the mashtun? I'm new to this never done it before but am quickly learning. Next weekend will be my first time, all graining as an assistant to my mentor.

Click to expand...

Greg this is machined. It's called the Kewler Kit and it's by far the easiest way to go about doing this for someone who does not have the eqiupment and know how to machine parts. You can just buy this kit or go to Home Depot and spend many hours of frustration to try to figure out how to make it... but in the end, like you obsearved. This brass part is machined, so your not going to find it at Home Depot. Why is it machined.....? It is machined to fit the O ring snugly to cut back on leaking problems..... I have been using pluming tape cause leaks are inicially still a problem (not after you use the tape). Since you have the know how and equiptment you could do this yourself though. It might help if your LHBS has one so you can take a look at it. This thing literally goes together in less then 5 minutes (and thats when you have no clue what your doing).

When I'm ready I will buy it from Northern Brewer, I have their catalog and have orderd from them before.

http://www.greatbargain.net/order/shop2.html

good resource for parts and a bit cheaper than NB

Beer Snob, I was trying to figure out where I had seen your avatar before. Then I remembered, I saw it last night. Now my only question for you is how do you know my girlfriend, and why do you have a picture of her?

:rockin:

Looks like you could do something similar with a keg, but the difference is you need that drill with a metal cutting hole saw and grinder for the top. Or, if you are Yuri, you just get out that plasma cutter.

Hey Beer Snob.....

Did you end up needing clamps between your false bottom and barb or has the high temp vinyl tubing held fine without it?

I made a MLT today using Fly Guy's part list and except I'm using a false bottom and need to get some high temp tubing.

Thanks!

uwmgdman said:

Hey Beer Snob.....

Did you end up needing clamps between your false bottom and barb or has the high temp vinyl tubing held fine without it?

I made a MLT today using Fly Guy's part list and except I'm using a false bottom and need to get some high temp tubing.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

You see the first set up I tried I did not use high temp tubing. It came loose (softened up from the heat) and as you can imagine I had a pretty big mess. I purchased high temp tubing for my next attempt and just to play it safe I put the clamps on. They have never came loose and I've actually never tried it without the clamps thinking that well they are on... why take the chance

Good call........what kind of clamps did you use? Stainless steel?

uwmgdman said:

Good call........what kind of clamps did you use? Stainless steel?

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Yup. Nothing fancy really. Just works.

Do you have to use a pump to get the wort out? I'm curious how it takes the liquid from underneath the false bottom and make the 90 without a little help.

bump......

It creates a siphon.

As long as you have some tubing hooked up to the outlet, and the tubbing is below the bottom of the cooler, it will siphon until it starts sucking air.

Just my opinion but I don't agree with these weldless set ups sold by northern and more beer. They don't make sense. Your putting a larger o-ring on the outside also when this does nothing for sealing the cooler. It's a split walled cooler at the original valve site. You can see this when you disassemble the original valve. If your inside seal leaks and the outside doesn't the walls of your cooler are going to fill with water or wort and you won't even know it.

YOU NEED TO SEAL THE INSIDE OF THE COOLER WALL PERIOD! Not the outside. This does nothing. Just like the original gasket thats on the cooler valve. There's no seal on the outside wall of the cooler. The original gasket seals the inside wall & the split between the inside and outside cooler walls, that's it.

First. Don't waste your money at these brewery sites on those weldless fittings. Those little silicone O-rings can be purchased at smallthings.com for cheap money. You can buy a bag of 10 of them for 2 bucks! All different sizes and thickness. They have a nice one that is 1/8" thick that fits the nipple that goes through the cooler wall.

Second. If your worried about the outside seal, seal the cooler walls from the outside with permatex. This is an automotive gasket maker made of the same silicone as the gaskets. It comes in a tube like toothpaste and it's rated for 600 F and is non-toxic. Seal the outside where the nipple comes through and if anything use 2 large metal washers to stabilize the ball valve against the cooler wall on the outside. Done! You really don't need the permatex, just and added expense.

Your Valve, nipple, gaskets, O-rings, and bulkhead should only cost you 15 Bucks, not 35 to 45 dollars like they're charging. Mike

nanticokerailroad said:

Just my opinion but I don't agree with these weldless set ups sold by northern and more beer. They don't make sense. Your putting a larger o-ring on the outside also when this does nothing for sealing the cooler. It's a split walled cooler at the original valve site. You can see this when you disassemble the original valve. If your inside seal leaks and the outside doesn't the walls of your cooler are going to fill with water or wort and you won't even know it.

YOU NEED TO SEAL THE INSIDE OF THE COOLER WALL PERIOD! Not the outside. This does nothing. Just like the original gasket thats on the cooler valve. There's no seal on the outside wall of the cooler. The original gasket seals the inside wall & the split between the inside and outside cooler walls, that's it.

First. Don't waste your money at these brewery sites on those weldless fittings. Those little silicone O-rings can be purchased at smallthings.com for cheap money. You can buy a bag of 10 of them for 2 bucks! All different sizes and thickness. They have a nice one that is 1/8" thick that fits the nipple that goes through the cooler wall.

Second. Seal the cooler walls from the outside with permatex. This is an automotive gasket maker made of the same silicone as the gaskets. It comes in a tube like toothpaste and it's rated for 600 F and is non-toxic. Seal the outside where the nipple comes through and if anything use 2 large metal washers to stabilize the ball valve against the cooler wall on the outside. Done! Your Valve, nipple, gaskets, O-rings, and bulkhead should only cost you 15 Bucks, not 35 to 45 dollars like they're charging. Mike

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Holy bumping an ancient thread there nooby...
(It's always fasciniating when a first time poster jumps in not to a current thread but something deep in the bowels of the forum.)

We've kinda moved beyond needing to buy a kewler kit at all. We have this now, if you haven't seen it, our own version...much cheaper.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/cheap-easy-10-gallon-rubbermaid-mlt-conversion-23008/

Welcome to our insanity, BTW!!!!

Didn't realize it was that old. Hate to see people waste money on things they can put together themselves. Nothing wrong with the on-line stores, I use them myself, but some of their stuff is just way over priced.