Annoyed at SS washer for cooler mash tun, any alternative?

[gyllstromk]

I'm building a mash tun on a coleman xtreme 70qt cooler. Most of the directions call for a stainless steel washer on the inside in order for a tight seal. It is widely known that the 1/2" nipple will not fit through the SS washers (though the zinc ones will fit).

I tried to get around this by using the cooler's "washer" on the inside and doing more zinc washers on the outside, but I'm getting a slight leak.

Also have a rubber washer from Lowe's, but I'm not sure that is food grade.

I don't have the tools to expand the SS washer and none of the local stores will do it for me. Is there any food safe alternative I can use to improve the seal on the inside of the cooler?

 

[KYB]

I don't know if they are food safe, but I've used those rubber washers in bulkheads and they stopped the leaking. Used one in my first mash tun cooler, over 3 years with not a single drop leaking, and a more recent keg kettle conversion. I used a rubber washer, o-ring, then the SS washer, and then the coupler to attach a tube to.

 

[bucfanmike]

if you have a fastenal near you they have the washer you need.

 

[swackattack]

After i screwed around looking for too long i said f it and bough kit from bargain fittings. Excellent move.

 

[BrewThruYou]

if you have a fastenal near you they have the washer you need.

+1. That's where I got mine.

 

[TrainSafe]

Menards should have the washers too.

 

[gyllstromk]

Thanks for the tip on fastenal. There's one, but it's a bit of a haul. I found another, closer hardware store with a 3/4" ID washer. Do you think that will do the trick?

 

[BrewThruYou]

Where are you located?

 

[tre9er]

BargainFittings has the exact size. Menards I believe has SS fender washers

 

[mbauer013]

Maybe this isn't this issue at all, but I found if I tightened my bulkhead down too far it leaked, I had a similar situation and solved it with some extra teflon tape on the threads and a little less torque on the nut.

 

[jpalarchio]

If you ever need to make a washer, silicone bakeware can be cut into a gasket that does a decent job and is available at your local megamart.

 

[tre9er]

If you ever need to make a washer, silicone bakeware can be cut into a gasket that does a decent job and is available at your local megamart.

same goes for baby-bottle nipples. I use one on my cooler MLT.

 

[gyllstromk]

all good suggestions, thanks for the help everyone!

 

[stamandster]

same goes for baby-bottle nipples. I use one on my cooler MLT.

"But honey, the baby needs to eat!" "Well I need to DRINK!" lol

 

[tre9er]

"But honey, the baby needs to eat!" "Well I need to DRINK!" lol

Sounds like something that would happen to me, but actually our kids are semi-grown, so I had to pay for them at the store!

 

[stamandster]

Sounds like something that would happen to me, but actually our kids are semi-grown, so I had to pay for them at the store!

Is that kind of weird? I bet the woman in the store think it's sexy.

TBH, it's a great idea