Lining a 10G cooler with stainless?

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kincade

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I'm getting less and less tolerant of the plastic in my brew rig, and the last part is the mash tun. On all of my 10G coolers, the inside has slightly deformed and I swear I can taste the plastic. On top of that, the possibility of plasticizers and other nasties leaking into my beer doesn't really please me.

So, in the pursuit of all that is anal retentive and un-necessary, has anyone else lined of of their mash tun coolers with stainless? I'd love to find a brewpot that just 'fit' the inside of it, but if that's not available I'm thinking of having a local welder tig weld a 'sleeve' of stainless for me.

Any thoughts?
 
First thought is you might as well just bite the proverbial bullet and find a bargain SS pot to use as a MLT and wrap it with foil-backed insulation if you don't want to go direct-fired. Unless your welder works for free, between the materials cost and the labor - not to mention coming up with a well-aligned and leak-proof connection between the SS liner and the cooler outlet - it seems unlikely to be cost effective and successful...

Cheers!
 
wouldnt it be easier to build an insulated sleve for a pot than to find a pot to fit a cooler?

Perhaps... And I've thought about that. A cheapie 10G pot could probably be had for $80 or so, but then the false bottom, fittings, etc, would all add up quick. OTOH, I've already got everything mentioned with the cooler...
 
If u went with a ss tee and two ss braided hoses on the inside of ur kettle. It won't cost that much.
 
Perhaps... And I've thought about that. A cheapie 10G pot could probably be had for $80 or so, but then the false bottom, fittings, etc, would all add up quick. OTOH, I've already got everything mentioned with the cooler...

A cheap 15.5g keg can be found for less... Total in my BK, before welded fittings was about $50 (weldless fittings included)...

However, if you are willing to give it the old college try, I applaud you...

Let us know how you fare....

:mug:
 
I'm getting less and less tolerant of the plastic in my brew rig, and the last part is the mash tun. On all of my 10G coolers, the inside has slightly deformed and I swear I can taste the plastic. On top of that, the possibility of plasticizers and other nasties leaking into my beer doesn't really please me.

So, in the pursuit of all that is anal retentive and un-necessary, has anyone else lined of of their mash tun coolers with stainless? I'd love to find a brewpot that just 'fit' the inside of it, but if that's not available I'm thinking of having a local welder tig weld a 'sleeve' of stainless for me.

Any thoughts?

I've thought about it, even started a thread about it, but finding a pot of the right dimensions was not possible.

So, I'm making do with my cooler MLT until I get around to massively insulating a keggle. That will have the added advantage of allowing room for AG 13 gallon batches.
 
Thanks for all the advice everyone. Sometimes it's good to get discouraging advice, even if it's not what you wanted to hear.

I just HATE to have to rebuy a false bottom, all the fittings and barbs, etc for a new mashtun. I guess I'll start looking for a right sized brewpot and start looking here for insulation techniques.

Thanks again!
 
I'm not sure why you'd have to rebuy everything. You'd move it all to a stainless vessel.

The ball valve and barb, yes; but the bulkhead fittings and false bottom are both specifically fit for the diameter and thickness of the cooler.

Although, now that I'm thinking about it, I guess the false bottom doesn't need to cover the entire bottom of the mashtun...
 
. . . has anyone else lined of of their mash tun coolers with stainless?

Igloo made a 10 gallon cooler with a stainless liner.
Keep an eye on Craig's List, eBay, yard sales . . . for one of these.
My wife brought this one home from a yard sale.

MLT22.jpg


MLT19.jpg
 
Igloo made a 10 gallon cooler with a stainless liner.
Keep an eye on Craig's List, eBay, yard sales . . . for one of these.
My wife brought this one home from a yard sale.

MLT22.jpg


MLT19.jpg

Wow, that is sweet! Wanna sell it? ;-)

I'll keep my eyes open, or just dump the current Gott I have and get a brewpot...
 
Hey AnOldUR,

I just picked up one of these 10 gallon babies off e-bay. Any advice on modififying them to work as mashtuns? (Im kinda a noob btw) Anything specific to running the hardware through the spout? Did you just drill through and put in the hardware, or did you completely remove the plastic spout? Is there a reason why you used the SS braid instead of a false bottom? Thanks so much!
 
Hey AnOldUR,

I just picked up one of these 10 gallon babies off e-bay. Any advice on modififying them to work as mashtuns? (Im kinda a noob btw) Anything specific to running the hardware through the spout? Did you just drill through and put in the hardware, or did you completely remove the plastic spout? Is there a reason why you used the SS braid instead of a false bottom? Thanks so much!

Actually, the right thing to do would be to sell it to me. :D
 
Thanks for all the advice everyone. Sometimes it's good to get discouraging advice, even if it's not what you wanted to hear.

I just HATE to have to rebuy a false bottom, all the fittings and barbs, etc for a new mashtun. I guess I'll start looking for a right sized brewpot and start looking here for insulation techniques.

Thanks again!

I went through the same process when my wife "recommended" that I stop brewing in plastic. Couldn't find stainless steel anything to fit inside my cooler. Settled on expandable foam around a stainless steel kettle.

DSC_0001_640x428_.jpg


The best release material I found was a sheet of parchment paper between the spray foam and kettle. It peals right off after the foam has cured. Wax paper does not work. It doesn't breath.

Perhaps it's possible to modify or "tweak" the false bottom to fit the new tun. I found a cheep $10 ss strainer. Think outside the box and the answers will reveal themselves.

DSC_0008_640x428_.jpg


1 more pic to show this is no BS. First batch - new setup. Holds temp great.

DSC_0002_640x428_.jpg
 
I went through the same process when my wife "recommended" that I stop brewing in plastic. Couldn't find stainless steel anything to fit inside my cooler. Settled on expandable foam around a stainless steel kettle.

DSC_0001_640x428_.jpg


The best release material I found was a sheet of parchment paper between the spray foam and kettle. It peals right off after the foam has cured. Wax paper does not work. It doesn't breath.

Perhaps it's possible to modify or "tweak" the false bottom to fit the new tun. I found a cheep $10 ss strainer. Think outside the box and the answers will reveal themselves.

DSC_0008_640x428_.jpg


1 more pic to show this is no BS. First batch - new setup. Holds temp great.

DSC_0002_640x428_.jpg

That is perhaps the most creative solution I have ever seen! I love it! How did you set up the strainer to sparge? Can you post more pics? I may have to try this!
 
I've been thinking on this the last couple of days. The 10 gallon Rubbermaid I have is 13 inches in diameter on the interior- the Bayou Classic 44 qt. Stainless pot is 13.5 in, which is as close a fit as I've been able to find. So...alterations to the cooler would be needed. I'm thinking a single straight-line cut top to bottom, thru the bottom will give the flex needed to shove the pot into the cooler. In the seam that results from the cut I envision a sight glass, maybe the ball valve, maybe the mount for the electric element, filling in the gaps with expandable foam insulation. A little more work maybe, but these coolers hold temp so well and I already own 2, so why not "recycle"?
 
Just sell your current MLT and start from scratch.

Why not just get two cheapie SS pots, one bigger than the other. Remove the handles from the smaller of the two, then spray-foam the dead space? SS inside, and SS outside.

You could also put a bulkhead on the inside pot, add a threaded nipple long enough to reach the outside of the outer pot, and just a nut on the outside of the whole thing.

I have plans to do it when I finally have a dedicated brew space. I've thought about it for a long time.

B
 
The other cool thing about the pot in pot design is that you can install a bottom drain with an elbow and long horizontal nipple so that it pops out the side of the outside shell.
 
This thread is giving me a headache, I'm thinking too hard for a Monday...

OK, how about fitting a 12 or 13 gallon SS pot into a sankie keg. Fill THAT dead space with foam.

Just taking the previous idea to the next level.

;)
 
Just a heads-up. Igloo made these with both plastic and stainless liners. You might want to check with the seller to see which this is.

Yeah, I've got one with a plastic liner, picked it up for a couple of bucks at a yard sale. Makes a good container for lemonade or iced tea at picnics.
 
I've heard about these coolers warping on the inside over time due to the heat, which is odd 'cos 170F isn't really excessive. I'm probably gonna buy a 10 gallon Rubbermaid soon...do these warp also? For what they cost I would hope not!

Also is the OP's concern about plastic leaching into the hot wort a valid concern? I'm mildy concerend about BPA's and pthalates getting in my beer.
 
I had the same idea about making an SS liner for a cooler a while back, but I abandoned it because it seemed like more trouble than it was wort. However I'm sure I saw someone on here do this in the last few months. He even found an off the shelf pot that fit reasonably well into a cooler. I did a couple quick searches and didn't find it so unfortunately I can't give you a link but it's out there.
 
I had the same idea about making an SS liner for a cooler a while back, but I abandoned it because it seemed like more trouble than it was wort. However I'm sure I saw someone on here do this in the last few months. He even found an off the shelf pot that fit reasonably well into a cooler. I did a couple quick searches and didn't find it so unfortunately I can't give you a link but it's out there.

Yeah, I remember seeing it too. In fact I thought for sure by the time I got to the end of this thread I would see pics of it again.
 
Yeah, I've got one with a plastic liner, picked it up for a couple of bucks at a yard sale. Makes a good container for lemonade or iced tea at picnics.
My 10 gallon Igloo is stainless and makes a great MLT, but I have a 5 gallon that's plastic lined. The 5 gallon one fits a cornie keg with an ice wrap perfectly. It's nice for taking beer places.
 
I've heard about these coolers warping on the inside over time due to the heat, which is odd 'cos 170F isn't really excessive. I'm probably gonna buy a 10 gallon Rubbermaid soon...do these warp also? For what they cost I would hope not!

Also is the OP's concern about plastic leaching into the hot wort a valid concern? I'm mildy concerend about BPA's and pthalates getting in my beer.

Yes, they "can" warp. I don't think the liners are manufactured to exacting specifications so some folks have good luck with them, others not so much. These are primarily designed as "coolers". When you heat the inside, they expand and the material has to go somewhere. I have 3 warped "coolers". Two that I warped, one I got with some other stuff I bought. I have since upgraded and now my vessels are all stainless steel.

If the plastic concerns you... consider this, when the inside of a cooler warps enough, they crack and then you are exposing your wort or water to the insulation inside.
 
my Rubbermaid 10 gal is warped so that there are vert bubble ridges from top to bottom on either side of the interior wall. It holds heat so well, though, i'm thinking lining it with stainless is a brilliant idea. I want to build a single-vessel system with it so I can shrink my brew day to under 4 hours from start to finish (incl. Cleanup). Electric RIMS...looks so compact and easy to use in my mind's eye...
 
check ebay for a cambro hot beverage dispenser, they run used from about 30 bucks, new starting around 125... they are designed for hot coffee, ive seen them used for years fo soup, you can bulkhead that and put in a thermo if you want, easy to replace the drain with a ball valve.

As they are specifically designed to hold hot food for hours on end for catering events etc. the plastics stand up a lot better than those designed to keep stuff cold.

not mine, but here is an example of one that would hold 5 gallons, they make em bigger, not sure what your requirements are

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cambro-Ultra-UC500-Camtainer-Cold-Hot-Insulated-Beverage-Dispenser-5-25-Gallon-/220878080006?pt=BI_Hot_Beverage_Brewers&hash=item336d5c0806


new 10 gallon models are under 200

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=cambro+hot+beverage+10+gallon&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:eek:fficial&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=1136892337156743214&sa=X&ei=jUWmTvuZNIf8iQKxn9yuDQ&ved=0CFAQ8wIwBA
 
I had the same idea about making an SS liner for a cooler a while back, but I abandoned it because it seemed like more trouble than it was wort. However I'm sure I saw someone on here do this in the last few months. He even found an off the shelf pot that fit reasonably well into a cooler. I did a couple quick searches and didn't find it so unfortunately I can't give you a link but it's out there.

Yeah, I remember seeing it too. In fact I thought for sure by the time I got to the end of this thread I would see pics of it again.

Not sure if this is still relevant or if anyone else here found it too, but I found the thread that i was talking about. Turned out it was in the "Equipment/Sanitation" section:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/my-new-mash-tun-268370/
 
check ebay for a cambro hot beverage dispenser, they run used from about 30 bucks, new starting around 125... they are designed for hot coffee, ive seen them used for years fo soup, you can bulkhead that and put in a thermo if you want, easy to replace the drain with a ball valve.

As they are specifically designed to hold hot food for hours on end for catering events etc. the plastics stand up a lot better than those designed to keep stuff cold.

not mine, but here is an example of one that would hold 5 gallons, they make em bigger, not sure what your requirements are

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cambro-Ultra-UC500-Camtainer-Cold-Hot-Insulated-Beverage-Dispenser-5-25-Gallon-/220878080006?pt=BI_Hot_Beverage_Brewers&hash=item336d5c0806


new 10 gallon models are under 200

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=cambro+hot+beverage+10+gallon&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:eek:fficial&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=1136892337156743214&sa=X&ei=jUWmTvuZNIf8iQKxn9yuDQ&ved=0CFAQ8wIwBA

good idea, but my goal was to get the plastic OUT of my system. The rubbermaid worked fine although a bit warped; I just don't want plastic and the associated plasticizers, pfthalates, etc in my beer.
 
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