My new mash tun

ben the brewman said:

Hows the progress coming on the mash tun?

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Well... It was going very well, and then the razor knife slipped, as did the cooler, and the razor hit my thumb. Went all the way to the bone. 4 stitches later and humpty dumpty is back together again. Note to self; NEVER hurry when holding a razor knife.

In any case, should be back at it tomorrow. Out of curiosity, what did you use to shave the foam back inside the cooler to get the kettle to fit? I was thinking a rasp would be perfect.

Holly crap man! That sucks but I see how it could happen for sure cutting on a round plastic object. I used a hacksaw blade to trim the foam. I took the blade off of the saw and just held it in my hand and used it like that. Im sure a rasp would work pretty well too. Keep me posted.

I think it will go well assuming I can do it without cutting my arm off.

You had mentioned rivets on the handles; FWIW, my pot does not have any rivets. The handles are welded on.

Huh thats odd my handles had rivets that went through the inside of the pot and held the handles on. If they are welded on just cut them off.

That's what I expected based on your photos, but mine was different. They must have changed their production line.

That is a sweet build, but the price of the pot is a bit high for me.

Since I do a lot of 13 gallon batches now (2 x 5 gallon kegs and 1 x 3 gallon keg), I'm still thinking of building a keggle MLT. I need the extra space. Now, I just need to figure out a good way to insulate it.

Cpt_Kirks said:

That is a sweet build, but the price of the pot is a bit high for me.

Since I do a lot of 13 gallon batches now (2 x 5 gallon kegs and 1 x 3 gallon keg), I'm still thinking of building a keggle MLT. I need the extra space. Now, I just need to figure out a good way to insulate it.

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Cpt Kirks: Check out the thread put together by Wort Monger. He had a link found of Page 4 of this thread. It is an wonderful illustration of insulating the HLT and MLT - both kegs. Very informative.

LuiInIdaho said:

Cpt Kirks: Check out the thread put together by Wort Monger. He had a link found of Page 4 of this thread. It is an wonderful illustration of insulating the HLT and MLT - both kegs. Very informative.

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It was nice but how much did it cost to have the liner sprayed on the kegs? Im sure it wasnt too cheap.

nice setup ben.

ben the brewman said:

It was nice but how much did it cost to have the liner sprayed on the kegs? Im sure it wasnt too cheap.

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I think it was $100-$150, and that was because I had them painted. Much cheaper if you go with the flat black rubber unfinished, but I wanted Chrysler Silver. This was overkill from what you could do. Heck, you could keep wrapping them in duct tape after the insulation was on and still have a great insulating product in the end.

kincade said:

Well... It was going very well, and then the razor knife slipped, as did the cooler, and the razor hit my thumb. Went all the way to the bone. 4 stitches later and humpty dumpty is back together again. Note to self; NEVER hurry when holding a razor knife.

In any case, should be back at it tomorrow. Out of curiosity, what did you use to shave the foam back inside the cooler to get the kettle to fit? I was thinking a rasp would be perfect.

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How is your thumb? How is the mash tun build coming along?

Thumb is healing well; mash tun is done. Just need to post photos. Haven't brewed with it yet, but it looks like it will work very well.

I have used mine 3 times now and it works freaking great! Cant wait to see the pics of yours

anyone have numbers--- degrees lost over time. Hows this contraption perform?

im intrigued

I can check the next time I brew with it. I do 60 min mashes so thats how long I would be checking it for. I think it will hold just as good as the cooler by. Ill let you know for sure though.

It should hold temps BETTER due to the different materials used (theoretically). I mash for 90 so I'll report on what my experience is.

That would be awesome. Thanks!

I can't believe this, Ben- I have been picturing almost this exact same setup in my mind for the last couple of weeks, but I had no idea you had posted this. Great minds must think alike! I am planning this same build with an electric heating element in the 3 inch open space between the bottom and the basket bottom, adding a March pump and a sparge arm threaded through the lid…add a Ranco and some quick disconnects, and for under $400 i'll have the equivalent of the Braumeister for a ton less dough. Just so weird to see you were doing what I had been scheming these past few weeks. Happy brewing!

mbk1487 said:

I can't believe this, Ben- I have been picturing almost this exact same setup in my mind for the last couple of weeks, but I had no idea you had posted this. Great minds must think alike! I am planning this same build with an electric heating element in the 3 inch open space between the bottom and the basket bottom, adding a March pump and a sparge arm threaded through the lid…add a Ranco and some quick disconnects, and for under $400 i'll have the equivalent of the Braumeister for a ton less dough. Just so weird to see you were doing what I had been scheming these past few weeks. Happy brewing!

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I have been thinking of this for quite sometime too and was just lucky enought to find something that would work. It only took hours and hours of searching pots online to find the right one but im glad I did!

kincade said:

It should hold temps BETTER due to the different materials used (theoretically). I mash for 90 so I'll report on what my experience is.

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Be sure to preheat it first! It wasnt that big of a deal when it was plastic but now that its metal it will drop the temp quite a bit if its not preheated. I have been fliping mine over upside down and putting it ontop of my kettle while I heat my sparge water and letting the steam heat it up for me.

ben the brewman said:

Be sure to preheat it first! It wasnt that big of a deal when it was plastic but now that its metal it will drop the temp quite a bit if its not preheated. I have been fliping mine over upside down and putting it ontop of my kettle while I heat my sparge water and letting the steam heat it up for me.

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Agreed; it will most certainly need to be preheated. I'll be dropping in a gallon or two of sparge/mash water in prior to mashing.

ben the brewman said:

I have been thinking of this for quite sometime too and was just lucky enought to find something that would work. It only took hours and hours of searching pots online to find the right one but im glad I did!

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I can relate- I have at least 15 hours logged looking for just the right pot, too…learned a lot about "spinning" metal along the way, and that stainless barrels are far more expensive than a regular ol' stock pot. Oh well, seeing yours gave me the nudge I needed...ordered mine day before yesterday. Now i'll be pricing out march pumps, sparge arms, quick disconnects, etc., etc...

mbk1487 said:

I can't believe this, Ben- I have been picturing almost this exact same setup in my mind for the last couple of weeks, but I had no idea you had posted this. Great minds must think alike! I am planning this same build with an electric heating element in the 3 inch open space between the bottom and the basket bottom, adding a March pump and a sparge arm threaded through the lid…add a Ranco and some quick disconnects, and for under $400 i'll have the equivalent of the Braumeister for a ton less dough. Just so weird to see you were doing what I had been scheming these past few weeks. Happy brewing!

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From your description, am I correct in concluding that you're planning on boiling in this pot after installing in the cooler? Please post and let us know how it works out?

rico567 said:

From your description, am I correct in concluding that you're planning on boiling in this pot after installing in the cooler? Please post and let us know how it works out?

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I'd be concerned about continued exposure of high heat to the foam; most of the expandable/insulating foams are only rated to 150* or thereabouts.

kincade said:

I'd be concerned about continued exposure of high heat to the foam; most of the expandable/insulating foams are only rated to 150* or thereabouts.

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I am glad you mentioned the temp issue. I think I'll wrap the pot in that thin foil insulation and cut a circle the size of the bottom and stick it on the bottom of the cooler before I drop the pot in now. It'll add some labor to the project, but this thing will be solid when all's said and done. I am going to try to post pics as I get things underway…

rico567 said:

From your description, am I correct in concluding that you're planning on boiling in this pot after installing in the cooler? Please post and let us know how it works out?

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Yep, I am striving for a single vessel system- HLT, MLT and BK all in one. Small footprint and shorter brew days! To be honest, I wouldn't even be building this thing without my wife's inspiration- she's been on me to get rid of a bunch of brewing equipment that takes up valuable real estate in our garage for years…not to mention her (and my) general distaste for 7-8 hour brew days…when I saw the Braumeister I knew that system would kill 2 birds with one stone. The price tag was not something I could handle, though, so I started dreaming of how I could use what I already have. I sure hope it turns out as cool as I am imagining it to be…

mbk1487 said:

I am glad you mentioned the temp issue. I think I'll wrap the pot in that thin foil insulation and cut a circle the size of the bottom and stick it on the bottom of the cooler before I drop the pot in now. It'll add some labor to the project, but this thing will be solid when all's said and done. I am going to try to post pics as I get things underway…

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I think that's a good idea, although I'm not sure how much room left there will be for the foam in the cooler. At that point you may want to just wrap your kettle in insulation and get it rhino lined. With 1/2" of wrapping there would be little to no foam left in the cooler. Most of the expandable non latex foams are made from isocyanates (very nasty stuff). While I am sure they release them while curing, I'm not sure what would happen if the foam were exposed to high heat after the fact.

well, if all I am left with is the shell of the cooler, I am fine with that. They're not unattractive- certainly more attractive than a foil insulation wrapped pot on its own. Plus, it's got really big, sturdy handles, which is quite important. I found some stuff online that is heat rated to 2000 F and might be even thinner than Reflectix...the walls of the cooler itself are over an inch thick, so I think I should be ok…

I just ordered the pot off of Amazon for $86.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a weld-less fitting setup? I cannot figure out what size I need to order (looking at bargainfittings.com) without having the pot here? I will be using this with a domed false bottom.

Thanks

I used a domed false bottom and a 1/2" fnpt fitting. I welded mine in because I didnt want any chances of it leaking but a weldless would work just fine.

HItransplant said:

anyone have numbers--- degrees lost over time. Hows this contraption perform?

im intrigued

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I brewed again on friday and checked my temp loss but my digital thermometer was broken. I used a analog thermometer and it didnt look like it dropped at all but it is a small dial and the increments are not that accurate so next time I will have a new digital thermometer.

I brewed 2 weeks ago; haven't had time to post photos, but it looked like I lost about 1.5* over a 90 minute mash.

kincade said:

I brewed 2 weeks ago; haven't had time to post photos, but it looked like I lost about 1.5* over a 90 minute mash.

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That's pretty damn good if you ask me.

ben the brewman said:

That's pretty damn good if you ask me.

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Yeah, I'd take that

Brewed 3x in mine so far, every time it's lost about 1.5*-2* in a 75 minute mash. This is with ambient temps around freezing (or 18* last time), so I'm very happy with it. I've noticed no less drop in temperature with this than the regular cooler AS LONG AS IT IS PREHEATED A BIT. The increased thermal mass of the stainless pot/liner will suck more heat out if it's 35* when you throw your strike water in. I just put a gallon of hot tap water in it while heating my strike water which solves the problem.

Attached are the photos I promised so long ago. Forgot to take a photo of the lid, which I attached to the stock rubbermaid lid for insulation, but it keeps temps perfectly. Thanks for the great idea Ben!

I'm debating on selling this and upgrading to a larger mash tun as I found an amazing deal on a Blichmann 15 gallon, but it's going to be very hard to find something that insulates as well as this.

Hell yea man thats bad ass! I love the valve and thermometer in it. How well is the thermometer working for you? I want to put one on mine but always wondered how well they would work in a mash tun.

Your never gonna find a nice stainless steel mash tun that is insulated like this one. The blichman ones are nice but have no insulation.

ben the brewman said:

Hell yea man thats bad ass! I love the valve and thermometer in it. How well is the thermometer working for you? I want to put one on mine but always wondered how well they would work in a mash tun.

Your never gonna find a nice stainless steel mash tun that is insulated like this one. The blichman ones are nice but have no insulation.

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Thermo works great as long as you have something to calibrate it against... I bought a thermapen a whole ago so all my thermometers read correctly now. Out of 5 not even one read within 3* of correct at 150*. This explains a lot on my previous beers and how many of my beers were fermenting too far out as I was consistently mashing low.

Just put one of these Mash Tuns together, found the pot for $40 on eek-bay and bought the cooler used in the classifieds for $15.00. Such a good idea, I just couldn't get comfortable with my mash sitting in that plastic cooler, love the idea of stainless and the insulation properties of the cooler.
The only piece that I might add is that I think I am going to coat the outside of the pot in urethane grease (release agent) and fill the gaps that I caused (removing the insulation to fit the pot) with GreatStuff. (BTW irrigation/aquarium tubing make really long flexible GreatStuff straws) I was not able to have as much control as I would have liked and I took a little bit more than I would have liked to in certain spots.
Just a thought..I'll try to post back if it fails or seems successful.

FYI - Amazon has the "Bayou Classic 1044 44-Quart Stainless-Steel Stockpot" on sale for $74.15, with free shipping, now. I just ordered one.

I'm only totally redoing my HLT and BK now, why not the MLT while I'm at it?

:rockin:

http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-.../dp/B000VXHKMC

FWIW, I built another and I'm going to sell it. Thought I could use 2 for the 'big' brew days but I found a good enough deal on a larger 15G kettle that I think I'm going to go that route instead.


I'll post photos in the classifieds in the next week, but if anyone is interested feel free to PM me. Same as the one posted above.