DarkSide
Well-Known Member
Hi Everyone,
I'm back for part 3. In case you missed the first two posts, here they are:
Part 1 - Introduction
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-brew-build-elm-street-brewery-part-1-introduction-129652/
Part 2 - The Grain Mill
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-brew-build-elm-street-brewery-part-2-grain-mill-129770/
So for the mashtun I decided to use a 5 Gallon round cooler. One of these days I may move up to a 10 Gallon, but 5 Gallon batches are just fine for me right now.
2 posts that I looked back at time and time again and based my design on were these 2:
A post from ChemE inspired the basic overall design of the whole mashtun. From it I used his idea for a lid with an integrated sparge manifold, having the valve on top to allow sparge water to flow to the manifold. The brilliant part is when you are holding the mash for an hour, you can close the valve to keep the heat from escaping from the lid. Thanks Chem. If you haven't seen this post, check it out here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-super-efficient-5-gallon-mash-lauter-tun-92724/
A post from The Pol allowed me to mount a digital thermometer cheaply and easily, not only to my MLT, but to my HLT as well. I was able to find solid silicone stoppers that work perfectly for this situation. Thanks Pol. If you haven't seen this post, check it out here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/10-thru-wall-therms-pics-too-24946/
So to begin, here is a pic of the cooler with all the parts I used. The valve was purchased from Bargain Fittings. After messing around with a SS braid design, I figured for all the hassle of taking it apart to clean, etc, the SS perforated false bottom was the way to go. For like $30 , I think it is well worth it. I used a little piece of silicone tubing to run between the SS barb and the false bottom barb:
Here is a closeup of the digital thermometer. I placed it under the 3 Gallon mark on the inside of the cooler, since for the most part the strike water is usually around 3 Gallons. Again, I was able to get a silicone stopper to help hold the probe in place, and there is no worry about hot temperatures:
Here is a pic of the inside of the cooler lid with the sparge manifold, inspired by ChemE. It is made from CPVC and runs through the top to a CPVC Valve:
Here is a pic inside the cooler, looking at the perforated SS false bottom:
Last but not least, here is a pic of the whole thing. You can see the SS valve. There is also a SS quick disconnect on the end of the valve. When I first put the valve in I had a small leak. When I checked, I found I forgot to put teflon tape on the outside threads. I put tape on...leak fixed:
I'm back for part 3. In case you missed the first two posts, here they are:
Part 1 - Introduction
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-brew-build-elm-street-brewery-part-1-introduction-129652/
Part 2 - The Grain Mill
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-brew-build-elm-street-brewery-part-2-grain-mill-129770/
So for the mashtun I decided to use a 5 Gallon round cooler. One of these days I may move up to a 10 Gallon, but 5 Gallon batches are just fine for me right now.
2 posts that I looked back at time and time again and based my design on were these 2:
A post from ChemE inspired the basic overall design of the whole mashtun. From it I used his idea for a lid with an integrated sparge manifold, having the valve on top to allow sparge water to flow to the manifold. The brilliant part is when you are holding the mash for an hour, you can close the valve to keep the heat from escaping from the lid. Thanks Chem. If you haven't seen this post, check it out here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-super-efficient-5-gallon-mash-lauter-tun-92724/
A post from The Pol allowed me to mount a digital thermometer cheaply and easily, not only to my MLT, but to my HLT as well. I was able to find solid silicone stoppers that work perfectly for this situation. Thanks Pol. If you haven't seen this post, check it out here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/10-thru-wall-therms-pics-too-24946/
So to begin, here is a pic of the cooler with all the parts I used. The valve was purchased from Bargain Fittings. After messing around with a SS braid design, I figured for all the hassle of taking it apart to clean, etc, the SS perforated false bottom was the way to go. For like $30 , I think it is well worth it. I used a little piece of silicone tubing to run between the SS barb and the false bottom barb:
Here is a closeup of the digital thermometer. I placed it under the 3 Gallon mark on the inside of the cooler, since for the most part the strike water is usually around 3 Gallons. Again, I was able to get a silicone stopper to help hold the probe in place, and there is no worry about hot temperatures:
Here is a pic of the inside of the cooler lid with the sparge manifold, inspired by ChemE. It is made from CPVC and runs through the top to a CPVC Valve:
Here is a pic inside the cooler, looking at the perforated SS false bottom:
Last but not least, here is a pic of the whole thing. You can see the SS valve. There is also a SS quick disconnect on the end of the valve. When I first put the valve in I had a small leak. When I checked, I found I forgot to put teflon tape on the outside threads. I put tape on...leak fixed:
