leaking mash tun

[John Spiegel]

Putting together a mash tun using an old 5 gal cooler. I got the necessary hardware (Dernord 1/2 inch stainless ball valve system) and attached the new spigot. Maybe it's just my cooler, but there's enough insulation that the 1/2" hex nipple doesn't quite have enough space on both sides for the spigot+o-ring on one side, and for the o-ring+washer and also bazooka screen on the other. I tried fitting the bazooka screen on top of the o-ring, and it worked to keep most of the water/wort in, but if I wiggle the spigot at all or even open the ball-valve, a little bit leaks through. Used the set up for a brew and lost roughly 1 quart over the course of the mash and sparge. Luckily, I was able to catch most of that, but still. It's currently functional, but definitely annoying. Just wondering if my cooler is a weird size, or if you all use larger hex nipples than I do to connect everything together?

 

[VikeMan]

It sounds like you already know the probable answer: Use a longer fitting. One size doesn't fit all.

 

[RufusBrewer]

I had the same issue with my cooler based mashtun. I ended up stuffing the space around the holes with sandwich bags to reinforce the plastic walls of the cooler. I also made some spacers to shim the space between the outside nut and the cooler wall.

I had access to a machine shop at work. Eventually, I cut a 0.125" piece of stainless steel such that it covered the flat part the wall where the valve hole on the inside if the cooler, and drilled a hole in stainless steel. I used food grade RTV (aka Silicon sealer) and glued it into place.

Between increased surface area and the RTV, I could tighten down on the thread and that thing never leaked on me again.

 

[John Spiegel]

I had the same issue with my cooler based mashtun. I ended up stuffing the space around the holes with sandwich bags to reinforce the plastic walls of the cooler. I also made some spacers to shim the space between the outside nut and the cooler wall.

I had access to a machine shop at work. Eventually, I cut a 0.125" piece of stainless steel such that it covered the flat part the wall where the valve hole on the inside if the cooler, and drilled a hole in stainless steel. I used food grade RTV (aka Silicon sealer) and glued it into place.

Between increased surface area and the RTV, I could tighten down on the thread and that thing never leaked on me again.

I thought about using some caulk or something on the space there, but wasn't sure. Sandwhich bags is an interesting idea. Hadn't considered that one.

 

[Bobby_M]

It's because Dernord is a Chinese company where none of their "designers" actually brew beer or know the first thing about it. They just copy products based on pictures they find on other websites. Turns out their bulkheads are not actual bulkheads but some mickey mouse off the shelf plumbing parts.

Putting an oring on the outside of the cooler is bad design because if the interior one leaks and the outside one doesn't, you just flood the insulation area with liquid.