Cheap & Easy 10 Gallon Rubbermaid MLT Conversion

[oberon567]

As others, I was unable to get the 5/8" stainless steel. 5/8" zinc/steel was easy, though, and $0.30 each. So those went on the outside as spacers. What I was able to find easily in SS were 3/4". And the o-rings I bought came in a pack of 20 or so. So, I added a few o-rings on the inside, along with the 3/4" spacer, and it was all good. (I did have to use 2 o-rings and 4 washers on the outside to get it nice and tight).

So, for those of you suffering with the 5/8" SS washers, if you don't follow the advice above and just buy everything all at once online, you could probably go ahead and try a 3/4" SS...

Once I got it nice and tight, it went for 75 minutes with no leaks. Didnt do a heat temp test

EDIT - Looking at the Bargain Fittings website... the kit there was about $15 cheaper than what I spent on parts (not counting shipping). Damn.

 

[tipicreeper]

Last time I was at Ace hardware. The 20mm washer fit over the 1/2" NPT nipple (tee-hee) best.

 

[MikeG]

You said it! After reading about all the, uh, "fun" a lot of people in this thread had putting together a good combination of hardware, I just ordered mine from Bargain Fittings. Everything is 1/2", went right on the Rubbermaid / HD 10 gal. cooler according to directions, and it doesn't leak a drop.

I wish I had seen this info about Bargain Fittings, I looked over the site and this is what I'd use if I had not already made my MLT.

 

[Blackhawkbrew]

I just finished mine! I am using a rectangular Rubbermaid 48 quart cooler. Got most of the parts mentioned in the OP at Lowe's, but had to go to HD to get the SS fender washer fron the "Create-A-Bolt" kit. I tested it and no leaks! I have one question though, does the braid have to extend the length of the cooler? I got a 12 inch SS braided supply hose and it reaches a little more than half the cooler bottom. Should I get a longer braided hose?

Thanks to all who have posted. I'll have pictures soon, I hope.

 

[MagicLarry]

Made one not to long ago... awesome. Thank you so much.

 

[murphyslaw]

Just made one yesterday, quick and easy. Couldn't find the SS washers, but just stuck some zinc washers on the outside and a few o-rings on the inside. Holds the water just fine.

 

[Chips]

Just out of curiosity...where did you buy the 10 Gallon cooler for $34? I also live in Canada (Ontario) and have not been able to find a 10 Gallon round cooler...only 5 Gallons at Canadian Tire.

Thanks!

 

[Blackhawkbrew]

Here's a picture of my SS braid. I was wondering if it's not long enough?

 

[Blackhawkbrew]

Sorry, wrong picture :cross:

 

[MajorWoody]

That's a pretty small braid.
I have a two foot long, one inch water heater braid formed into a circle. No stuck sparges, ever (I fly sparge but I have at times opened it up fully and it FLOWS)

 

[lowlife]

I used a lid from an 1 gallon apple juice plastic container instead of the inside stainless washer since i couldnt find a stainless one. I cut the side threads off it so it was flat then drilled a hole in it. It works fine.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Here's a picture of my SS braid. I was wondering if it's not long enough?

Yes...your braid is plenty long. The wort will escape the tun w/in the first few inches anyways. A longe braid is not of much value IMO...6-8" is fine. Less to get all tangled up and kinked while you are stirring the grist.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Yes...your braid is plenty long. The wort will escape the tun w/in the first few inches anyways. A longe braid is not of much value IMO...6-8" is fine. Less to get all tangled up and kinked while you are stirring the grist.

+1 It's not the size that matters...... *snicker*

We use 12" SS braid and I sometimes feel even that's too long. Stretches about 2/3 the length of the 12 gallon cooler

 

[lowlife]

I used a lid from an 1 gallon apple juice plastic container instead of the inside stainless washer since i couldnt find a stainless one. I cut the side threads off it so it was flat then drilled a hole in it. It works fine.

I noticed tonight they have brass 5/8 washers. Im sure that could be used instead of stainless.

 

[kaiser423]

I went to do this wit ha 5 gallon rubbermaid from home depot, but right at the last second cannibalized a 48 quart rectangular cooler that I had laying around (heck, why go 10 gallon, right?!?!).

Everything went together pretty good. I had bought the hot water heater stainless steel hose, and the ends I cut off had washers inside the fittings. My SS washers from Lowes were too big of a whole for the nipple to screw onto well, and none of my O-ring washers were going well. That Neoprene one inside those fittings went on like a glove.

Did that yesterday, and I'm finishing up my second batch in it right now!

Edit: 12" SS Braid. Why not? It's not hurting anything, and I have it put together well enough that hitting it with my stirring spoon isn't an issue. I'm still careful though, but I can't physically pull it off without loosening my hose clamps, even when warm. Mine does have a reinforcing hose in it though.

 

[lucasszy]

I just bought all the parts to do this at the local lowes and spent $31. Already have the cooler.

This will be my first attempt at all grain!

Wish me luck!

Cheers

 

[rico567]

+1 It's not the size that matters...... *snicker*

We use 12" SS braid and I sometimes feel even that's too long. Stretches about 2/3 the length of the 12 gallon cooler

The hardware kit I bought from Bargain Fittings is all 1/2" components, including some large diameter braid that's only 8-9 inches long. I used it in my first AG batch today, installed in my HD Rubbermaid 10 gal. cooler, and it did a great job of lautering that wort. Very little material in my vorlauf pitcher at any time, and as much flow as I wanted.
The cooler is a great deal, about its only drawback being the lack of insulation in the lid. I'm going to fix that by drilling a few holes and injecting some Great Stuff aerosol insulation.

 

[JMSetzler]

I decided to build the 5-gallon version of this MLT this afternoon. I just finished building my first MLT from the Coleman 48-qt chest cooler and I haven't even used it yet, but I wanted a 5-gallon round cooler for smaller mashes. I set out for Lowes after lunch to get what I needed and found everything except the 5/8" stainless washers. I picked up three non-stainless 5/8" fender washers for the outside. I went to my local Ace Hardware to try to find the stainless washer for inside, and they had it. Just as an updated to this thread, here are the prices I paid for the hardware for this build:

Igloo 5-gallon Water Cooler (Walmart) - $19.96
Square Head Plug (Watts A-737 - Lowes) - $1.88
2-pack Stainless Steel 1/4" Hose Clamps (Lowes) - $0.97
12" x 1/2" Stainless Braided Faucet Connector (Lowes) - $3.84
3/8" Female Hose Barb Adapter (Watts A-298 - Lowes) - $2.88
3/8" x 1.5" Brass Pipe Nipple (Watts A-786 - Lowes) - $2.78
5/8" Stainless washer (Ace Hardware) - $0.30
5/8" O-rings 10-pack (Lowes) - $1.97
(3) 5/8" Fender Washers (Lowes - $0.31 each) - $0.93
3/8" Brass Ball Valve (Lowes) - $6.69
3/8" Male Hose Barb Adapter (Watts A-294 - Lowes) - $2.58

Total Cost before Tax: $44.78

We'll see how it works before long. I have all this AG equipment ready to use and haven't made my first AG batch yet I think I'll try BM's Centennial Blonde in this 5g MLT...

** NOTES **

The Igloo 5-gallon water cooler may not work as well as some others. There is no insulation at the spigot point and I had to use a little different configuration to get it to work. It's hard to make the water tight seal at this point because the washer that comes as part of the Igloo spigot isn't so great. I also needed 4 washers on the outside of the cooler to get the proper spacing with the 1.5" nipple.

 

[SugarJohnson]

Can anyone tell me the weight on a HD rubbermaid 10g round cooler.

 

[jimba009]

I think it is about 5 pounds... You might want to dig around the software section, i remember seeing info on cooler weight there (beersmith)

 

[slipperypick]

Thanks for putting this info out there! Clear instructions, and my first step to AG brewing!

 

[Captain_Bigelow]

every few pages we mention fastenal for the SS washers....
This post has everything including the sku for the product, and the website

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/704668-post394.html

I was looking all over the city for 5/8" washers. I checked out the Fastenal website and found out that there was a store less than a mile from my house! Cost me $6.30 for the 4 washers. They had no stock, but ordered them in and they arrived the following morning.

 

[slipperypick]

I was looking all over the city for 5/8" washers. I checked out the Fastenal website and found out that there was a store less than a mile from my house! Cost me $6.30 for the 4 washers. They had no stock, but ordered them in and they arrived the following morning.

Yep, I did the Fastenal website thing too. And they turned out to have a store less than 10 minutes from my house. SWEET!!!!

 

[rico567]

After what one relative went through collecting all the parts for the conversion, and after reading a number of posts to this thread, I just bought a kit from Bargain Fittings. Boy is that outfit appropriately named! Took me two minutes to order it, $45 shipped, all 1/2" fittings, including large diameter braid on a screw-in collar. Everything went together in 10 minutes and worked perfectly. The braid arrangement makes it simple to just unscrew after mashing and rinse everything in a snap.

 

[Captain_Bigelow]

I can't securely attach the female barb adapter to brass nipple. It only screws on a couple of turns. Is there a trick to get these screwed all the way in?

 

[Auspice]

Picked up everything I need for this at my local HD but wanted to make sure of something before I cut off the ends of the SS braided hose. Would it be possible to cut one end off and pull the existing hose out so I can easily seal up the other end with a brass nut? I'm not sure if I can find a strong enough hose to insert into the braid at my local HD/Lowe's/TrueValue. The only 7/16"x5/16" hose I found is a soft vinyl hose that doesn't seem that it will hold up well to higher temps.

 

[Bobby_M]

Nope, there's no way to cut the inner tube without cutting the braid.

 

[slimer]

Picked up everything I need for this at my local HD but wanted to make sure of something before I cut off the ends of the SS braided hose. Would it be possible to cut one end off and pull the existing hose out so I can easily seal up the other end with a brass nut? I'm not sure if I can find a strong enough hose to insert into the braid at my local HD/Lowe's/TrueValue. The only 7/16"x5/16" hose I found is a soft vinyl hose that doesn't seem that it will hold up well to higher temps.

Cut a regular piece of hose in half. Insert into braid. Go take a nap.

 

[Auspice]

My cooler didn't have a black rubber seal as pictured in the OP. It had a white foamy seal instead. I also got a 3/8" female pipe tee and two male 3/8" barb adapters instead of the single 3/8" male barb adapter so I can attach both ends of the SS braided hose to the spigot.

EDIT: DANGIT! I had my grandpa help me put it together and the braided hose definitely isn't stainless steel; it's some sort of plastic. Hopefully it'll be alright to use the braided hose and the plastic that was inside just notched up.

 

[FlyGuy]

My cooler didn't have a black rubber seal as pictured in the OP. It had a white foamy seal instead. I also got a 3/8" female pipe tee and two male 3/8" barb adapters instead of the single 3/8" male barb adapter so I can attach both ends of the SS braided hose to the spigot.

EDIT: DANGIT! I had my grandpa help me put it together and the braided hose definitely isn't stainless steel; it's some sort of plastic. Hopefully it'll be alright to use the braided hose and the plastic that was inside just notched up.

Perhaps it would be worthwhile for you to go back and read my original post again. There was no black rubber seal on my cooler, either. And the tee and a circular hose are a good idea for fly spargers (although not necessary for batch sparging).

Regarding the braid, you MUST have stainless steel. And DON'T put tubing inside unless you know what you are doing. Again, perhaps it would be good to go back and read the instructions I left in the original post. You are going against two of the most important points I mentioned.

 

[Auspice]

I've been looking for the past few days trying to find a stainless braid and can't find one locally; that's why I was looking into using the plastic tubing.

I must have missed the O-ring part since I was looking at this thread on my phone when I went shopping for the parts.

Pardon my apparently ignorance but if I'm not using a hose inside the braid and I'm not using clamps, how is the braid going to stay attached?

Pretty sure I'm making this way harder than it needs to be. :/

 

[FlyGuy]

All SS clamps aren't that hard to come by. The big box stores might not have them, but a plumbing store will. If you don't want to be bothered hunting for them, lots of people in this thread have used nylon zip ties with great success. Or you can use a compression fitting instead of the barb if you want something more secure.

You could proabably get away with a plastic braid if you inserted a length of slotted CPVC or copper pipe inside. I have never tried it - I am just guessing here. This would be cheaper and much easier than assembling an entire slotted pipe manifold, which is another option if you can't find a SS braid.

 

[MikeG]

I've been looking for the past few days trying to find a stainless braid and can't find one locally; that's why I was looking into using the plastic tubing.

I must have missed the O-ring part since I was looking at this thread on my phone when I went shopping for the parts.

Pardon my apparently ignorance but if I'm not using a hose inside the braid and I'm not using clamps, how is the braid going to stay attached?

Pretty sure I'm making this way harder than it needs to be. :/

I found my SS hose at Lowe's. For clamping, I simply used zip ties. Since the picture I trimmed the excess but you can see them there. I've done 3 batches in there so far w/o issue.

 

[Hotspur]

+1 on zip ties. I've done four batches, and not had a stuck mash, or a loose braid. I used a bunch of rice hulls in the wit, but that's just common sense.

 

[Gremlyn]

I doubt the zip ties are 'food grade' but I also doubt that they are big enough to matter. I'd thought about doing the zip ties, but i just happened upon some SS hose clamps when I was in Lowes.

 

[Captain_Bigelow]

Thanks for the thread FlyGuy. I followed your instructions exactly, however I did have a minor leak. I used a 5/8" rubber washer on the inside and it worked great - no more leaks.

I used this for the first time last night. It worked great. The SS braid did a great job and the temperature remained constant for the whole 60 minutes, not even 1 degree in loss!

 

[Phantastik]

My father just gave me a Home Depot 5 gal cooler that I plan on converting tomorrow. Does anyone know from experience weather the 3/8 ball valve in FlyGuys parts list will work with the built in spigot on the Home Depot cooler? Are the holes for the spigots the same size?

Thanks in advance, and great DIY!



Edit:

I went ahed and tried using the Home Depot brand cooler. It worked! Everything in the parts list fit without any modifications. I used an old rectangular cooler and converted it to a hot water tank. All I did was drill a 5/8" hole near the bottom and used another set of parts to install a ball valve. 5/8" made for a very tight fit, but nothing a little muscle couldn't fix.

Thanks again

 

[DZzero15]

Just built one myself. After three trips to the hardware store... no leaks! Word to the wise for those who bought igloo ten gallon drink coolers, just buy vinyl tubing (5/8 internal diameter) that fits snuggly over the nipple and sand it down until it fits into the hole. While I had no sanding paper (would have been trip number 4 to the hardware store) I found a microplane worked great! Again, don't waste time with washers, o-rings or sealents... vinyl tubing and sand paper will solve all! I found my vinyl tubing at Ace Hardware.

Or better yet, buy a rubbermaid cooler to begin with! Can't wait to brew my first all grain batch this weekend!

 

[SugarJohnson]

Well after three uses on my HD 10g MLT I got the dreaded insulation bulge in the cooler. Bulge comes out about 1/2 inch and goes all the way down the damn thing. Good news is the plastic did not split so all is well. I suspect the bulge happened the very first use and I just noticed it while cleaning. Will just use it until it implodes! And No I'm not putting 300 degree water in it but I do preheat my MLT.

 

[rico567]

I preheat with 170F water, and I get the interior liner bulge. It's perfectly predictable, as the plastic has to have somewhere to go when it expands from the heat. It can't go out, due to the insulation, so it goes in. No cracks, no leaks, so as far as I'm concerned, no problem, either.