Cheap & Easy 10 Gallon Rubbermaid MLT Conversion

CornyKegs 728
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Typically yes however I had the cooler already and it will keep h2o at very steady temp for a decent amount of time. I'll heat the h2o in a regular 5gal pot that I use when brewing kits and put it in the HLT. One day I'll buy another pot to turn into a traditional HLT but for now the cooler will have to do.
 
Right on, was just curious because others had previously mentioned doing the same thing. Couldn't figure how you guys were heating them. :)
 
hnsfeigel said:
Ok, so this is probably a stupid question, but I've only been brewing for 6 mos so chalk it up to newbie. Isn't the point of the HLT to be able to heat water in it? If you're using a cooler you couldn't exactly put a fire to it. Good looking setup BTW.
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In a lot of home brewing setups (especially those using only one burner), the HLT is used to store the sparge water while the mash is happening, rather than heating up the liquor. At least that's how I see it.
 
I guess that's what threw me off, because I am used to being able to fire my HLT just in case my mash finishes a little low and I need a bump to mashout. I just like to understand how different setups work.
 
Thank you flyguy! I have been brewing all grain for the last year on my gas stove using 2 pots. Its been fun but messy! I know my system and actually get good efficiencies but I want to take it outside so after seeing your post I went to my local home depot for cooler and most parts and local small hardware store for some parts. It looks beautiful and doesn't leak. It cost me right under $100 and I can't wait to take it for a test run this week!
 
Flyguy,
Thanks for the article, put mine together last night! I followed your parts list and it all went together very well. I went to Lowes for my project, and the grand total was right at $75. Lucky for me the 10 gallon cooler was on sale for $38 as opposed to the listed price of $44.99.

I used it for a cream ale last night and all went well. I added four gallons of 165 degree water, then the grain. The temperature stayed at 155 for the entire hour. My only complaint is that it drains pretty slow. But seeing how my LHBS wanted $145 for the same thing, I don't mind waiting a couple extra minutes.

Thanks again!
 
I just wanted to add, that I could NOT find a ss fender washer in that size. So I had to buy a $13 bit for my drill press and enlarge another ss fender washer. If it wasn't for that the entire build time would have been 25 minutes... The washer took another 35 (the 5/8 bit was a little smaller than the 5/8 threads so I had to grind it down.)
 
pannell77 said:
Lowes around me didn't have the washes either but home depot did.
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I had the same problem. If you check online you can find which HD had the create a bolt kit. The ones near me didn't have it so I went to fastenals and got a 10pk of ss washers . My cooler needed 7 or 8 total washers to work so I used the ss ones because I didn't get enough regular ones.
 
Found a hardware store with 5/8" stainless steel FLAT washers...anyone had luck with these? I guess the outer diameter isn't as big as a fender washer? The OD on these are 1-1/4". I think this might be large enough, but just thought I'd check. Couldn't readily find anyone else trying these when searching the thread.

EDIT: Sorry I take it back. I went deeper and found this post. Said they worked fine for him.
 
I apologize, but I didn't read every post on this thread. I followed the instructions from the post and built myself a MLT for about $90 out the door. I bought all the parts for a second one for my brother as well. I am currently enjoying my first all grain 1.75 IPA (not quite a double IPA), and I'm quite happy with the results. My tip for those who are going to build this: Use an angle grinder with a cut-off wheel to separate the stainless from the fittings/hose, it makes the ends of the SS sheath nice and clean and easy to work with. Also, I used regular zinc cut washers for the inside fitting as I was unable to find SS washers large enough. Big mistake, they were rusting after the first brew. I've done two brews since then, but now the washers are rusted to the point that I can't risk ruining a brew. When I got the parts for my brother's MLT, the home depot had the "Create a bolt" kit in stock, so I'll take some of his (they weren't in stock when I built mine).

Just looked up my receipts, the total cost in the central valley, CA, 2012, was 89.18 out the door.

I put mine together in less than an hour and used it the following morning. This is a perfect example of ignorance being bliss; I was only somewhat familiar with the concepts of AG brewing but I tried it and it worked out. Now I need to learn exactly what it is that I'm supposed to be doing, rather than relying on dumb luck...
 
One more thing, I got a digital thermometer from Bed Bath and Beyond for about $20.00. I've been putting the probe into the mash then screwing the lid on the mash tun. On one brew, I didn't have any temperature drop, the other two were 6 degrees and 2 degrees. The difference between the temps was probably due to the fact that I draped a doubled up bath towel over the lid on the -0 and -2 degrees batches. Also, my thermometer only reads whole degrees, but I figure it's close enough for what I'm doing right now.

Some day, I'll get a brew stand with pumps and multiple burners, For right now, I'm pretty proud of the fact that I can make a tasty enough brew with a couple hundred bucks worth of equipment.
 
Menards had some 5/8 ID SS washers. Check your bigger Menards and don't trust the guy on the phone. They assured me they didn't have any that big...ended up finding them anyway when I was running other errands.

They're not the FENDER sized washers, but they are 1-1/4" outer diameter. I read another poster who said this worked out fine for them. I haven't built my conversion yet, but I'll post here if I run into issues.

$28 for all of my parts at Menards. Already had a cooler with a spigot.
 
60sd said:
I apologize, but I didn't read every post on this thread. I followed the instructions from the post and built myself a MLT for about $90 out the door. I bought all the parts for a second one for my brother as well. I am currently enjoying my first all grain 1.75 IPA (not quite a double IPA), and I'm quite happy with the results. My tip for those who are going to build this: Use an angle grinder with a cut-off wheel to separate the stainless from the fittings/hose, it makes the ends of the SS sheath nice and clean and easy to work with. Also, I used regular zinc cut washers for the inside fitting as I was unable to find SS washers large enough. Big mistake, they were rusting after the first brew. I've done two brews since then, but now the washers are rusted to the point that I can't risk ruining a brew. When I got the parts for my brother's MLT, the home depot had the "Create a bolt" kit in stock, so I'll take some of his (they weren't in stock when I built mine).

Just looked up my receipts, the total cost in the central valley, CA, 2012, was 89.18 out the door.

I put mine together in less than an hour and used it the following morning. This is a perfect example of ignorance being bliss; I was only somewhat familiar with the concepts of AG brewing but I tried it and it worked out. Now I need to learn exactly what it is that I'm supposed to be doing, rather than relying on dumb luck...
Click to expand...

I have some spare SS washers if you need a couple... shipped from northern CA, so they'd be there quick. Send me a message if you want some.
 
The home depot 10 gal cooler i got must have a different size hole unless everyone else had a very loose 3/8ths nipple. it seems like i could fit a 3/4 in there. Anyone else notice this? I cant get a 1 inch i tried that already.
 
drummerboyas157 said:
The home depot 10 gal cooler i got must have a different size hole unless everyone else had a very loose 3/8ths nipple. it seems like i could fit a 3/4 in there. Anyone else notice this? I cant get a 1 inch i tried that already.
Click to expand...

Yes mine is a little lose I have the 3/8 nipple but what I did was a rubber grommet. but it works no leaks
 
drummerboyas157 said:
The home depot 10 gal cooler i got must have a different size hole unless everyone else had a very loose 3/8ths nipple. it seems like i could fit a 3/4 in there. Anyone else notice this? I cant get a 1 inch i tried that already.
Click to expand...

Did you keep the original rubber grommet piece from the cooler? I just built this using the HD Rubbermaid cooler, and the nipple was not an issue.
 
Just picked up everything to do this project except the SS fender washers, will have to pick those up on Monday...otherwise it worked out to be less than $50 USD to get everything.
 
NHCaver said:
Just picked up everything to do this project except the SS fender washers, will have to pick those up on Monday...otherwise it worked out to be less than $50 USD to get everything.
Click to expand...

I cant find the SS fender washers anyone have extras? I'm using zinc which will corrode.
 
I did something a whole lot like this, but I sawed off a little piece of pvc and made a spacer in place of the washers.
 
Thanks FlyGuy!

It was really easy to put together. It costed me $80 at HD.


https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Converting_a_cooler_to_a_mash_tun

On tap: **** Happens Stout
Up next: Nierra Sevada

MTL1.jpg


MTL2.jpg
 
I put this together on Tuesday night with little to no trouble. The parts cost around $100 altogether, including the cooler (that was $50 at Home Depot). I followed the method of inserting tubing into SS braid, with holes cut into for easy flow and the cap on the end. I'll take some pictures at home tonight or tomorrow and post them. So far so good. I filled it completely and had not a single drop leaked after 24 hours. I am incredibly excited to be switching over to AG. Thank you SO much for putting this together. It cut my cost dramatically by DIY'ing it, keeping SWMBO happy, as well as ending up as just an incredibly cool project.
 
Can the plastic handle all that heat? I feel like after a couple of uses it would start to give out.
 
henrybeggs said:
Can the plastic handle all that heat? I feel like after a couple of uses it would start to give out.
Click to expand...

I read through more of the thread, and found discussion about it, so I got a high temp food grade tubing. So I'm not too worried about that. I also followed the suggestion of using an additional male barb inserted into the tubing, and then a simple hex cap on that. It holds it well, and then keeps it from floating up. I found no trouble using it with boiling water and had a solid, steady flow.
 
Clanchief said:
I read through more of the thread, and found discussion about it, so I got a high temp food grade tubing. So I'm not too worried about that. I also followed the suggestion of using an additional male barb inserted into the tubing, and then a simple hex cap on that. It holds it well, and then keeps it from floating up. I found no trouble using it with boiling water and had a solid, steady flow.
Click to expand...

If anything, you might see some deformation of the cooler's inner liner (bulging on the sidewall), but if I were to add tubing inside the SS braid, I'd probably recommend silicone hose, since it pretty much has the highest temp range you can find.
 
grimstuff said:
If anything, you might see some deformation of the cooler's inner liner (bulging on the sidewall), but if I were to add tubing inside the SS braid, I'd probably recommend silicone hose, since it pretty much has the highest temp range you can find.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that was my main concern. Won't all the deformation of the lining eventually lead to cracking?
 
henrybeggs said:
Yeah, that was my main concern. Won't all the deformation of the lining eventually lead to cracking?
Click to expand...

Has anyone using the Rubbermaid coolers found this to be a problem? I haven't heard anything along those lines, but that doesn't mean no one has experienced it.
 
#Clanchief - I have personally have not found this to be a problem. I haven't heard of anyone else having issue either. The rubbermaid coolers are BPA free, and are food grade quality, so I don't think there are any health concerns.

This from Rubbermaid's Q&A section, http://www.rubbermaid.com/Category/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?Prod_ID=RP091235, (click the Q&A tab or "read all" next to the customer Q&A icon) which has two questions regarding the use of hot liquids in their coolers. It's not much, but I thought I'd throw it out there. It seems to me that they just don't know and don't want any liability of saying it's ok as they haven't tested the coolers with hot liquids.

Q1 - Is there a maximum temperature for the liquid that goes into the water cooler? For example, if I put hot tea or a liquid at 170F, will this cause a problem (either health for me or damage the cooler)?

A1 - Our water coolers are designed for keeping liquids cold. Cold air falls, therefore the coolers have heavy insulation in the bottom of the cooler to keep the coolness inside the container.
Warm air rises and would easily escape from the containers as they lack heavy insulation towards the top.

Our water coolers will keep liquids warm for a limited period of time, depending on the outside temperature and the temperature of the liquid placed inside. We do not recommend putting extremely hot liquids in the container as it may warp the liner.

Q2 - i need to know if that cooler is safe to drink hot liquids from.. i know it won't do well keeping stuff hot because its designed to keep stuff cool. I just wasn't sure if the plastics would release any harmful chemicles if there were hot liquid in it

A2 - The water coolers have not been tested for use with warm/hot liquids. We do not suggest using them for this purpose as it could damage and warp the lining.
 
Thanks for that info. What it basically seems to say is that I might have problems with the lining in a couple of years and need to replace the cooler, or so it seems. Obviously not ideal as that's the single most expensive piece, but if I can get 5 years out of it, I'll be happy. I suppose it depends on how much it's used.
 

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