Want to make a bigger mash tun...

Currently use a 12G cooler with copper manifold.. It's a wee bit small.. I like to make 11 gallon IPA's and my mash's are sometime low in gravity because of the smaller size.. I don't like having to run a bunch of water through to get the efficiency up, and then have to boil for an extra hour to get the volume back down...

I don't like stouts, but I can see myself doing DIPA's...

I want to be able to do the mash with one rinse, optimal water volumes in both the mash and the rinse.. Don't want to limit technique due to tun size...

I have an extra keg I could convert, but that looks like it would be a PITA to clean out the spent grains, and stir and what not.. even though I know lots of people use them..

What I was thinking of was to get a deep laundry sink, and then build a larger plywood box for it to sit in, and then fill the void with expanding foam as an insulator.. then build an insulated lid for it...

Like these...



Is there any reason why they would be a poor choice for this purpose? Will they leech any bad stuff into the wort?

I kind of like the sink set up as it has legs, making it an easy height to stir from the top, has a 20G capacity, has a drain at the bottom so that all I'd have to do is make a SS mesh false bottom for it to do the lautering.. could even make a SS lautering 'basket' that allows me to just pull all the grains out at once and dump them... and the drain has readily available fittings at the local Big Box hardware store for getting the thing to the collection buckets... It also has holes for a faucet to be installed for draining strike water into it... Heck, with the right type of faucet, a simple attachment on the end would make a super easy fly sparge set up...

Anyways, I'm just throwing this idea out there to see if anyone has used one of these for a mash tun, or has any thoughts on it....

well... definitely different, very creative!
One question: insulation?
"Damn, this beer has everything in it, I even threw in the kitchen sink!"

If you do the keggle mash tun right, it's a great thing. I'm using one currently, made from a 1/2 bbl keg, and love it. Being able to direct fire it on the propane burner is a wonderful thing.

I ended up with a 15" diameter, hinged, with handle, false bottom from Jaybird/NorCal. I also got one of their dip tube setups for the bottom. I installed a thermometer just above the ball valve so that I could see what the temps were easily. I've also added a recirculation fitting as high up as I could as well as a Blichmann Auto Sparge to make it even easier to use.

With a ~10.5" diameter opening, I don't have any issue stiring/removing dough balls in the mash. If you cut the opening a bit wider, you'd have even less issues. I've learned where the handle and dip tube are and can easily run the mash paddle around/along them when stirring... I've also wrapped it in a carbon fiber welding blanket (1-1/2 wraps around it) that is secured with Velcro. Working great, so far, to help keep the temps stable.

If that sink isn't 100% food safe, at mash/sparge temps (and a bit above) then I wouldn't use it. Without knowing what it's made from, that could be difficult to determine. Unless you can get a hold of the manufacturer to see if they have that info.

Personally, IF I was to use any kind of sink, I'd go for stainless steel over plastic right from the start. At least you know it will handle the temps, and you can easily sanitize it. Plus, you don't need to worry about scratching the surface at all.

I like it! My only question would be the material of the sink. It's probably polyethylene, which would be OK.

No need to build a box. Just pick up some 1" insullation from McMC. http://www.mcmaster.com/?m=true#9385k23/=epg53t

Too bad I'm not rich.. because there are a lot of commercial SS restaurant style 3 sink setups out there on the used market that would be the bomb with some insulation, pumps, electric heat and PID control....

But I can't afford that right now (someday though!)... So I have been kicking this idea around for quite a while....

If it will work, then after I get it set up, it seems like it would be kinda easy to convert to a recirculation system... But I have to learn even the basics yet of how those work... so I can't say for sure...

This was a pretty active topic for awhile on HBT, might work for you.

samc said:

This was a pretty active topic for awhile on HBT, might work for you.

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I don't get it.. Why is the spigot half way up the thing? Does it have to be used with a pump or something?

r8rphan said:

I don't get it.. Why is the spigot half way up the thing? Does it have to be used with a pump or something?

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That is a really good question... I didn't notice that the first time.

OneHoppyGuy said:

That is a really good question... I didn't notice that the first time.

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It looks like that is where the bottom of mash is - the rest of it is just like a stand.

Why not just use a larger ice chest?

Sam's Club has a great price on large Igloo coolers. I didn't know that and bought a 130qt MaxCold. Installed a copper manifold and it works great for any size batch I want. I hardly ever brew 5 gallons, but when I do I have a small 48qt with a braid for that. I can do up to 20 gallon batches with my BK and the 130qt MT works great. I would personally check on a large cooler. One day, when the cooler wears out, I will make me one I can direct fire. I have a HERMS coil in my HLT to take care of it for now.

Golddiggie said:

Personally, IF I was to use any kind of sink, I'd go for stainless steel over plastic right from the start. At least you know it will handle the temps, and you can easily sanitize it. Plus, you don't need to worry about scratching the surface at all.

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Who sanitizes their mash tun???????? You gonna boil that stuff for 60 minutes at least right? Let's not get carried away with the whole scratch issue here in mash tuns....otherwise all us cooler MLT users are screwed.

bigbeergeek said:

Why not just use a larger ice chest?

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I 'could'.. but there are a couple issues I don't like about them, which the sink method addresses...

one is that a sink with legs is just 'handy' as far as height and shape goes.. but that could be partly addressed with a separate stand..

The other is that the sink has a drain in the bottom... all ready to go... Then the lautering would simply be a matter of making a raised false bottom or better yet a removable 'basket' for the grain (with perforated SS on the bottom)..

The local tractor supply had a really nice Ice chest I was interested in.. It had a pine log exterior and stood at a nice height on pine log legs... you lifted the pine log top, and inside was a 14-15G stainless steel container, with a drain on the bottom.. Would make an 'excellent' MLT.. but was $130 or so...

I'd post a picture of it, but the link to the the manufacturer is on my other computer...

r8rphan said:

I 'could'.. but there are a couple issues I don't like about them, which the sink method addresses...

one is that a sink with legs is just 'handy' as far as height and shape goes.. but that could be partly addressed with a separate stand..

The other is that the sink has a drain in the bottom... all ready to go... Then the lautering would simply be a matter of making a raised false bottom or better yet a removable 'basket' for the grain (with perforated SS on the bottom)..

The local tractor supply had a really nice Ice chest I was interested in.. It had a pine log exterior and stood at a nice height on pine log legs... you lifted the pine log top, and inside was a 14-15G stainless steel container, with a drain on the bottom.. Would make an 'excellent' MLT.. but was $130 or so...

I'd post a picture of it, but the link to the the manufacturer is on my other computer...

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The keggle is stainless, that's a big plus. I think metal (aluminum or stainless) is infinitely better than plastic. I used a cooler for a long time and I know the lining is supposed to be safe HDPE but I honestly just don't trust plastic. I'm more comfortable with brass than plastic in my brewery. But that's just me.

And the keg also has a built in bottom drain - put a triclover on the port, flip the keg over and cut a hole out of the bottom.

The keg also has false bottoms readily available for it as well. I'm considering using the piece I cut out of it for that purpose (we'll see how that goes). There's no "ready made" false bottom for the sink. And you can't use a manifold because the drain has no fitting/threads (at least my shop sink doesn't).

And if you ever decide to fly sparge then the bottom drain in the sink will work quite poorly because it is not located in the center of the vessel. This is not true for the keg.

The only thing the keggle lacks is a stand. This can be easily rectified with some 2x4s and a couple lag bolts.


You definitely get some serious points for creativity and innovation but, in this case, I think you're reinventing the wheel.

Sounds like you're sold on the idea of insulating a sink and mashing in it. Best of luck. Enjoy.

bigbeergeek said:

Sounds like you're sold on the idea of insulating a sink and mashing in it. Best of luck. Enjoy.

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Sold, no.. Heavily leaning yes...

But I gotta know if they're food safe... Might go a slightly different direction depending on the info learned in another thread..

And that canister style tun someone posted earlier is kinda interesting too...

Lost said:

And the keg also has a built in bottom drain - put a triclover on the port, flip the keg over and cut a hole out of the bottom.

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Didn't even think of that! That's definitely a plus...

Lost said:

You definitely get some serious points for creativity and innovation but, in this case, I think you're reinventing the wheel.

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That's nothing... I'm really trying to reinvent the wheel in THIS THREAD