How often do you disassemble your MLT?

[Burgs]

I have a 10 gal Rubbermaid cooler MLT with weldless fittings and so far I've been taking the whole thing apart to clean it, pretty much after each brew.

Since the bulkhead only has a coupling on the inside of the vessel to grab on to with vice grips, I'm damaging the coupling every time I have to loosen everything and I'm wondering if it's even necessary.

Last night I think I ruined the fitting itself because the coupling came off but the nipple remained threaded through the cooler wall and into the valve - so I had to grab it by the threads to loosen the valve. Now a few of the threads are marred and it doesn't seem to tighten correctly - I get leaks where I didn't before.

This whole process is a huge pain in the ass that I'd like to avoid. Would I be better off just leaving everything installed and tightening every few batches if/when I see it leak?

I rinse the MLT pretty quick after each batch and then let it soak in Oxyclean overnight. If I do that + take the false bottom out and make sure it doesn't have any grain bits - I should be good, right?

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

I don't think you need to go to that extreme when cleaning pre-boil stuff. Just reasonably clean is fine, the boil will sterilize the wort.

 

[Kirbster]

I just rebuilt mine after a year, otherwise it gets a spray with the hose and wiped out clean. If you are worried about keeping it cleaner I have used dish soap on it when it gets a little gunky after a few brews and rinse it out.

 

[Bobby_M]

Stop taking it apart. You're inviting leaks that way and there's no reason to do so. When I was using a cooler, I would literally hose it out and let it dry upside down.

 

[JLW]

Stop taking it apart. You're inviting leaks that way and there's no reason to do so. When I was using a cooler, I would literally hose it out and let it dry upside down.

Great info. I was taking mine apart after every brew and making sure the false bottom was completely clean along with everything valve and other parts.

I guess I will stop taking it apart. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[stevo155]

I have never taken mine apart. I think the only time I would do anything is if I need to replace the SS braid.

 

[Burgs]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I will heed this advice from here on out.

 

[TheBrewinator]

I never unscrew stuff to clean it, I just hose it out and let it dry. I do take my braid off every few brews to get out any husks stuck in it but I built my MLT so I could do that without unscrewing things.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

I think in the year (~40 batches) that I've had a Blichmann I've used the brush to clean the sight glass twice. I also run with scissors and drink milk a day after the exp date.

 

[wedge421]

Yeah ive had a Rubbermaid MLT for 3 years now and I usually take it apart to clean it and check the gaskets once a year. Anything over that is overkill

 

[DubbelDach]

Never? Yeah, I have never taken the valve off to clean. My CPVC manifold I hose out each time, but only take that apart for an Oxy soak every 8-10 brews or so. I don't even use soap on the cooler, I just hose it out and maybe take a light sponge to the grain ring around it.

Pre-boil, I don't waste the time.

 

[weirdboy]

Also never here. I just rinse it out and maybe hit a couple of stubborn spots with the back of a kitchen sponge, but that is mostly because I reuse the MLT as a swamp cooler, and I don't want nasty crud on the sides of my fermenter.

I will be replacing the current 3/8" hardware on there with some 1/2" hardware as soon as it isn't being used as a swamp cooler for my current primary. And maybe I will get a new SS braid for it, too.

 

[chrislehr]

I only take out the false bottom and the autosparge float every time - everything else can stay in there and be rinsed/reused.

 

[Revvy]

My braid is setup so I can easily remove it. That's all I've ever done in 4-5 years of using it. I've never taken anything else off like the ball valve or anything. It's all nice and tight so I can't see the reason to. In fact I've never even thought about it til you asked this question.

 

[Yooper]

I pull the false bottom out, wash it well to get rid of those little pieces of grain, and use hot water to clean/rinse the MLT and ballvalve. That's it. Once in a while, I run a CIP process through it- PBW first and then a rinse. Maybe about once a year or so.

 

[Burgs]

Well alright then... I really should have posted this before I ruined my fitting trying to get it off!

 

[rico567]

For an MLT, I have the 10 gal Rubbermaid cooler with the Bargain Fittings kit......everything screws together. I've never taken it apart, why would I? The braid screws right off via a threaded sleeve, then I rinse it out well with the hose when I'm done mashing, then mash again, repeat. So, something might survive in the braid connection, or the threads of the sleeve......but nothing will make it through an hour's boil, so why worry? I've done this for two years, through many batches, and no trouble. Disassembly & cleaning would be a waste of time, IMHO.

 

[Bobby_M]

Ok, I will say that if you're using a manifold or false bottom, the design should be such that it can be easily removed without breaking the weldless bulkhead seal. That means using a compression fitting or union on the connection or even a soft hose type coupling. I have to take my false bottom out of the metal tun now because grain does make it beneath.

 

[Burgs]

Yes, I'm not worried about that. Going forward I'll just take the false bottom out to get the grain chunks out and leave the rest intact. That's easy - and part of what I was doing before. I was just taking it too far by un-doing the coupling from the nipple from the valve, etc.

 

[Honda76]

I have never taken mine apart. I think the only time I would do anything is if I need to replace the SS braid.

Off topic, but still in the ball park. I did my first all brain brew using this system last weekend and had massive issues with the ss braid surfacing during my mash. Any only else have this issue? I was thinking about inserting something into it to keep it taught.

I'm going to venture a guess and say that most of the replies will say I over stirred... I feel like I over stirred...
Just looking for some advice from experience.

Thanks all, sorry for taking this off topic.

 

[Burgs]

Do you have anything in the end of it at all? I don't have a braid, personally, but I considered building one at one point and I remember FlyGuy's instructions had a square brass plug in the end to weigh it down.

I know I've also heard of people putting a small length of high temp tubing inside it with lots of slits cut into it - but I can't remember if that's for rigidity or just extra filtration... someone else will probably chime in.

 

[Honda76]

Yeah, I used the fly guy build and put the cap on the end. Still when I did my stir it moved and shifted to the top during the last brew. I think I might just convert all copper manifold, or use an insert with holes.

Though... I still got plenty of wort to make my Dunkel Weizen.

 

[Whut]

What they all said in the first 22 posts.

 

[Honda76]

Pretty much why I came to that...
Just curious if I was messing something in my process.

Oh, and there is NOTHING wrong with airlock sniffing!

 

[JonM]

Mine's set up so that the braid is clamped to a CPVC tee, and the tee just slips into a coupling that attaches to the ball valve. It's tight enough to hold the tee in place while stirring, but loose enough that I can just pull it out for cleaning. It's handy because grain and gunk gets stuck in the little frayed ends of the braid. That's the only thing I really clean. I just rinse everything else off with clean water and let the water run out the valve.