Cooler mash tun mishap?

Has anybody else used that Cooler Mash tun set-up? I just put it together and used it and the beer is quite off. When I first tested it with water to see how well it would insulate I noticed a film of something on top of the water. Does anyone know if there is something that needs to be done to the cooler to get off a layer of whatever before mashing will work? It's a Rubbermaid 48 quart cooler. Thanks.

Probably 90% of the AG'er here using coolers (just a WAG). I hope you washed it before brewing? Who knows what sort of solvents are used in the molding of the plastic that might make it through the manufacturing process to the POS.

Could be flux if you sweated copper parts together. I always hit mine with near boiling water a few times to flush off the flux and make sure I'm water tight.

When I set up my AG cooler system, I washed all of the coolers pretty thoroughly. Then I ran 3 gallons of near boiling water through the entire system, all the valves, tubing, etc. I still had a faint plastic smell, but it didn't seem to affect my first beer. Now, the coolers don't really smell like anything.

You may want to wash out the cooler with a mild bleach solution and leave it open and lying in full sunlight. That should really help with any plasticy smell/residue.

Ive heard of running hot white vinegar through the newly soldered copper and brass fittings is good because the pH of the Vinegar is lower than the wort, so if any thing like lead is in the system it will come out with the vinegar and not your beer. It might be good for the cooler as well.