Storing equipment in my mash tun?

I'm in an apartment with limited space at the moment, and I have to try to keep all of my brew stuff as compact as possible. Does anyone store some of their equipment inside the mash tun when you're not using it? I'm worried that once I have the SS hose braid in there, I'll end up crushing it with the equipment. But then I got to wondering: does that matter? The braid is going to get smushed with al of the grain I put on it, right? And as long as the barb nozzle has the braid covering it, then that's all I need to worry about, correct?

The grain shouldn't really crush your braid. If that were the case, you wouldn't get much flow through it. Perhaps you could disconnect the braid while you store stuff in your mash tun, provided that the braid is attached to something threaded that you could just unscrew.

grain wont crush the braid.but storing some stuff shouldent hurt it as long as you dont put it directly on the braid.

I would be careful to not crush or otherwise distort the SS braid. Just be careful when putting equipment into your tun.

sounds like a good argument to not use a braid. How about a manifold instead?

What are you storing on top of it? Lead bricks? I don't think all my brewing supplies combined weigh more 50lbs. And 40 of that is my propane burner and tank which wouldn't fit in a MLT anyway. So you've got what? 10-15 pounds of miscellaneous thiefs, fillers, tubes and racking canes which won't be resting on the SS braid anyway. I don't really see what the issue is. But then, people with a SS braid may have a better feel for your concerns than I do.

I usually keep lots of tubing and platic stuff like the Thief, funnel, etc. in the Mashtun. I see no problem with this at all.

I have a small 2-gallon fermenter that I'd like to store in there. I can easily see it crushing the braid.

Isn't the braid flexible? can't you just move it away from the fermenter?

rdwj said:

Isn't the braid flexible? can't you just move it away from the fermenter?

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I s'pose, but then there's all the other junk in there.

I guess I'll just have to see what happens. I should be getting my bulkhead and other hardware any day now (ordered it Sunday from Northern Brewer via priority mail to PA).

Thanks again, all.

make it more compllicated, get a couple small blocks of styrofoam or some sort of spacer and put one on either side of the braid, put the fermenter on top of them so you don't crush the braid...

ColoradoXJ13 said:

make it more compllicated, get a couple small blocks of styrofoam or some sort of spacer and put one on either side of the braid, put the fermenter on top of them so you don't crush the braid...

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Listen, pal, I don't want any of your logical, well-thought-out answers to my questions. People that make sense piss me off.

Good idear!

If you can't disconnect the braid easily, just get a large cardboard tube or a piece of PVC pipe and slide it over the braid for protection. If the braid is really long, you might need to use two sections.

david_42 said:

If you can't disconnect the braid easily, just get a large cardboard tube or a piece of PVC pipe and slide it over the braid for protection. If the braid is really long, you might need to use two sections.

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These posts are only reaffirming that I am, in fact, an idiot.

Thanks!

Find yourself a cheap tupperware bowl that will fit inverted over the braid and just cut out a notch in the side of bowl to accommodate where the braid/manifold attaches to the bulkhead.

ayrton said:

Listen, pal, I don't want any of your logical, well-thought-out answers to my questions. People that make sense piss me off.

Good idear!

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If you want, I can think about it some more and come up with a much more complicated method, but it seems some people have already done that