Stainless, insulated, bottom draining mash tun with top

[dtfeld]

Alpharetta/Milton...stumbling distance to the Olde Blind Dog!

 

[edmondsonm]

I would take an 80L right now. Where do I sign up??
Many thanks for reviving this!

 

[Carlscan26]

How does that work as a mash tun if there's no drain? The 80L one that is


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[dtfeld]

How does that work as a mash tun if there's no drain? The 80L one that is


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

You have to convert them, hence the reason this is in the DIY section.

There are several threads on home brewing sites in the UK and Europe, as these are readily available there from several home brew shops and also amazon Germany. Go to www.amazon.de and search for Schengler Thermoport. Unfortunately, no one is willing to ship to the US, and if they are it gets prohibitively expensive. I was quoted 180 Euro or about $245 just for shipping and wasn't sure if I could get it in the country legally.

There are several posts in this thread on how to convert these and here is another ...http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=42132 Look at the threads and let me know if you have any questions. Putting a drain in these really is easy. There is a sticky on how to solder stainless steel, I need to pull out the important parts as it a couple hundred pages long. But once you do it, you'll wonder why you didn't do it from the start, it really is that easy and gives a strong beautiful finish.

The 38.5l has a tap in the front and a lot of guys were using this, very similar setup to the Rubbermaid coolers. In this case you'll have a riser coming up and out.

I was looking for a larger insulated mash tun and I came across these, but it isn't easy for us in the U.S. to get them.. These go up to over 100 liters or about 25 gallons so they could be used for multiple barrel systems too.

My plan is to follow the threads from the UK and solder a fitting into the bottom, and run a valve out the front. I'll cut a new false bottom if one if the ones I already have won't fit.

Longer term, I'd like to get the volume up to where I could have the manufactured with the drain installed, but that's an expensive proposition.

Cheers

David

 

[uberg33k]

I don't suppose you know a welder in the area that could work on one of these.

 

[dtfeld]

Soldering in a fitting is pretty easy. You have to make a tool to pull a reduction fitting through a punched or drilled hole. Usually that's about $20. Then you pull your coupling through the same way.

Soldering you will need a standard propane or MAPP torch some Harris stay clean liquid flux (ebay or amazon)and basic 60/40 solder. Wrap the solder around the coupling 2 times and put on top where you pulled coupling through and heat just until the solder flows. Let cool.

Here is a picture of my bottom draining HLT. When I get home, I'll post a pict of the tool to pull fittings.

The Sticky thread in the DIY forum has all the info, but it is really long.