Electric Heatstick and a Grain Bag?

I'm thinking of building a electric heatstick soon:

How to Build an Electric Homebrewing Heatstick Audio Tutorial Podcast and Step by Step Photo Instructions

Will these work in a 5 gallon Igloo water cooler with a grain bag?

I am worried about melting the nylon bag.

Or, should I just go ahead and make a manifold?

I can almost guarantee it will melt the bag. Some have reported that it will melt the bottom of the cooler if left in spot to long.

Linc

Crap, what about PVC?

I was considering a PVC manifold.

maybe cpvc

I'm not saying that it won't melt the bag, but this is a mash tun, right? You'll probably be keeping the heatstick in pretty much constant motion. Who knows how long it will need to make contact with the bag to melt it? I think the only way to know for sure is to try it out.

Anyway, I do agree with nathan, you'll want cpvc instead of pvc in a mash tun. Also, have you considered a stainless braid?

I am considering a stainless steel braid, a copper manifold, a pvc (cpvc) manifold and a stainless false bottom. All options are on the table right now.

I have worked with copper and have some stuff already, so I probably should just go with that.

Is stainless steel braid bad to get stopped up?

I used copper and it's super easy.

If your strike temp is proper, the stick and grain bag will not be in the cooler together!

Why are you using a grain bag?? Not needed if you have a manifold or a braid! (sorry edit?) I use a heatstick in my tun to heat the strike water to about 15 degrees above mash temp. At that point the stick is removed and grains are added. The only time I put the stick in the mash is if my mash temp is low ( very rarely). If this happens, (I've screwed up and mashed too low). I use the stick w/ CONSTANT stirring to heat the mash a few degrees.

Also, I wrap the end of the stick w/ copper wire so the actual stick cannot touch the walls/bottom of the cooler and possibly melt it.

I like the braid (IMO) works great, simple and cheap!