Cooler Bulkhead...??

I was looking at NB at there bulkheads and thermometer fittings for cooler conversions... I'll probably end up going with a Colman Xtreme 70qt. cooler (price and availabilty are better), but NB lists most of there bulkheads as being made for the round Igloo 10 gallon coolers... they do have one listed as an XL bulkhead for the Xtreme Ultimate Coolers... my questions is, which bulkhead would I use for the standard Colman Xtreme 70qt. cooler..?? Thanks in advance...

Jester

How thick is your cooler at the spigot? They have thickness ranges listed on the site (in the item description I think), you should go by those. Get the measurement, and if you still have a question, call them. IME they are always willing to help over the phone.

I went through this with the exact same cooler, and I still haven't sent back the other bulkhead to NB. I originally bought the XL and it was too big. I could have added a few washers to get it to work or replace the nipple, but I wanted it to be right.

I have a 70 quart Coleman Xtreme cooler, and the normal bulkhead is the one you want.

The XL model is for the "Coleman Ultimate Extreme" line, which IIRC is the ones that say keeps things cold for 7-10 days where my Xtreme cooler is only good to keep things cold for something like 5 days

James

Bokonon said:

I went through this with the exact same cooler, and I still haven't sent back the other bulkhead to NB. I originally bought the XL and it was too big. I could have added a few washers to get it to work or replace the nipple, but I wanted it to be right.

I have a 70 quart Coleman Xtreme cooler, and the normal bulkhead is the one you want.

The XL model is for the "Coleman Ultimate Extreme" line, which IIRC is the ones that say keeps things cold for 7-10 days where my Xtreme cooler is only good to keep things cold for something like 5 days

James

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Thats awesome.. glad you have the exact same cooler.. makes me feel better about ordering stuff now... How do you like the xtreme 70qt..?? Do you have any pics of it with the valve and everything installed..??

I have been extract w/ specialty grain brewing for close to two years now.. so I want to stepup to all-grain soon... I'm slowly getting my equipment together...

Jester said:

Thats awesome.. glad you have the exact same cooler.. makes me feel better about ordering stuff now... How do you like the xtreme 70qt..?? Do you have any pics of it with the valve and everything installed..??

I have been extract w/ specialty grain brewing for close to two years now.. so I want to stepup to all-grain soon... I'm slowly getting my equipment together...

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Unfortunately I don't have any pics. Maybe next time I brew I'll take some, I always forget to pull out my camera. I'm using a stainless steel braid (probably 18-24") I just did my 3rd AG batch about a week ago, so I'm still new to AG but everything has been going well.

My setup is basically whatever I could find in my garage. To raise my cooler up I have a sanke keg with another cooler on top, and on that I set the Xtreme cooler. I'm happy with the simplicity of my setup for now, but eventually I'm going to build a stand and cut my other kegs and get fittings welded in.

I've been preheating my cooler with about 180deg water while heating my strike water (I've only got one burner now). I still have to get everything dialed in a little better but now I heat my strike water to about 5deg over what beersmith tells me and then let it come down before adding the grain.

any opinions on whether the 70qt is overkill...?? I am probably going to start with 5 gallon all-grain batches... i jsut hate to build something and then have to rebuild it later once I step-up to 10 gallon batches..

I'm getting ready to order the bulkhead from NorthernBrewer... how do you normally attach the SS braid to the bulkhead..?? I've heard some SS clamps rust over time...

Jester said:

any opinions on whether the 70qt is overkill...?? I am probably going to start with 5 gallon all-grain batches... i jsut hate to build something and then have to rebuild it later once I step-up to 10 gallon batches..

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IMO your grain bed would be pretty thin for 5 gal batches in a 70qt cooler, but i have heard that it has worked out fro many people. you would definatly not need to rebuild anything for moving up in batch size, you would be very well suited for ten gallon batches. as far as SS clamps rusting I would say that they are not SS of they are rusting. as long as you clean and maintain your equipment it will last you a long time.

FWIW, I have a hose barb on the inside of my cooler bulk head and a short (1 1/2in) tube on that with a brass T attached to that and my SS Braid makes a loop around the bottom of my cooler. I used SS worm clamps and haven't had a problem, they have been there fo ra bout a year now just rinse real good.

Cheers

I got my bulkhead in the mail yesterday and just as my luck goes, it wouldn't fit... I measured the cooler again (slightly smaller than 3/4") and I guess it is a little larger than the size listed for the regular cooler bulkhead (5/8"), but its definitely too small for the XL bulkhead (min of 1")... I called northern and spoke with them and the only thing they can do is take back what I ordered, but suggested that I go up to the hardware store and look for a slightly longer stainless threaded bulkhead piece... so.. off to home depot I go tonight to see what I can find...

You can't drill out the hole?

Bobby_M said:

You can't drill out the hole?

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The bulkhead will fit through the hole in the cooler.. the threaded piece is not long enough to go through the cooler and then allow enough threaded pipe remaining to attach the valve. Its the cooler wall thickness that I was giving measurements for above...

well... I measured the SS threaded connector that came with the NB kit and it was 1 1/2" long.. I went to home depot and couldnt find any SS piping... so I picked up a 2" brass threaded connector... that worked great...!!!! is there anything special with the brass pieces you get at home depot..?? I've read of people pickling them... should I do this or will i be safe..??

heres some pics of the completed project.. and when I used it this weekend..