56 qt Coleman, Wheeled (from BJs) MLT conversion

I picked up a 56 qt Coleman from BJs. The drain comes out easily. It sits in a channel inside the cooler. I got some metric fender washers that are almost exactly 5/8" (just over, in fact) - they barely fit onto the Watts A-786 brass pipe nipple... the problem is that the washer is too big to fit snugly inside the channel. There's no way I can get a seal against the cooler's inside ring.

Has anyone else used this cooler? Any solutions?

Is there a 5/8 fender with a smaller outside ring? The outside diameter is about 2" and it's the only thing in full stainless I've found (Ace hardware).

Silicone? If you can get the washer positioned properly just fill the gaps with silicone to seal it.

Ya know, I was at BJ's earlier and I saw that the Coleman coolers had moved the drain to the lower portion of the cooler (underneath near the wheels). Was that a problem?

The location isn't really a problem. The spigot will be angled downward about 30 degrees. The only problem is the narrow channel.

I'll pick up some silicone caulk. I also found flat washers listed at fastenal in 5/8" with 1" and 1.5" OD... one of those should work too.

Don't use caulk, go to bargainfittings or one of the other vendors here that specialize in stuff like that. you should be able to find a washer that works

It seriously irks me when people recommend half-assing a bulkhead with silicone caulk when it's so unnecessary. The correct answer is to find a smaller OD washer and they do exist. Mcmaster.com would also have what you need.

Thanks, will do.

Hopefully I can find something at Ace. They had a decent selection, but I skipped the flat washers. Unfortunately most of the stainless is metric only. Otherwise I will look online.

Another thought... I could take the fender and cut the sides off to fit. I think the dremel with cut-off wheel should work... though I might go through a few wheels doing it!

Bobby_M said:

It seriously irks me when people recommend half-assing a bulkhead with silicone caulk when it's so unnecessary. The correct answer is to find a smaller OD washer and they do exist. Mcmaster.com would also have what you need.

Click to expand...

Yeah yeah yeah. You'd think I told him to connect 2 wires with a wire nut and electrical tape. Anyway, Bobby knows his stuff. I'd take his advice on this sort of stuff before mine.

So here's a +1 for no silicone!

Ace had a M16 SS flat washer that seems to be working great! It's no 2" fender... (probably 16mm ID 20mm OD, really).

I put on the brass fittings only (inside tube fitting through outside ball valve). I needed one M16 nylon washer and two M16 fender washers on the outside to get it fit. The nylon washer I needed because my poor drill couldn't handle drilling stainless steel (sure got hot, though) -- I have a couple step bit sets (graduated and smooth) that worked pretty well on the nylon, though.

Filled it with 5+ gallons of tap-hot water. The seal is holding and I'll check the temps in the morning (by feel, anyway).

Thanks for your help! I'll throw some pictures up once it's done, but I'm not actually planning on going whole grain until this summer (working on getting the parts bit by bit -- next up: a 60 qt SS pot and propane burner).