Very cheap Coleman Xtreme conversion

[joejaz]

A victim of the recession, I didn't want to spend a lot of extra money for a mashtun. I picked up a 70 qt Coleman Xtreme at Walmart for $38. Now the one I converted for my son cost an additional $60 for hardware. He went SS ball valve and a 2 channel copper manifold. For mine I took the plastic bulk head vale off one of my ale pails. It fit perfectly in the cooler opening. Instead of using the plastic nut on the inside of the cooler, I got a copper 3/4" female to 1/2" fitting, Cost $5.37 at Lowes. I had a left over piece of copper pipe from my son's mashtun and made a single manifold the length of the cooler and got a copper cap for 53 cents. Did not solder anything. Hope the valve can stand the heat, will test it out this week and get back with the results.

 

[cvstrat]

You could use brass ball valves too, they are cheaper and work great. Sounds like you did a pretty good job creating a great mash tun. I personally don't think having the super hot wort running through those cheap plastic valves is going to be good for the long term, plus plastic can get yucky over time. Granted you're not worried about much bacteria at that point since it's all pre-boil. I think you'd be fine for a few batches but I'd probably look into another valve when the funds are there.

 

[janzik]

Yeah, I was thinking about the temperature, after we got off the phone. I forgot to call you back. Like the guy above me said, you can probably get away with a cheap brass one for a few bucks and it will definitely outlast the plastic.

You figure by time you drain out, its probably only running in the 140s, maybe low 150s if you mashed high.

 

[joejaz]

Update. Did first 5 gallon batch today. Valve was fine, no leaking and no discernible problem with heat. Also single manifold was very effective and I didn't notice any difference from 2 channel manifold.

 

[Orfy]

Pictures?...

 

[Big10Seaner]

I personally love my coleman xtreme mash tun, it works great!

 

[janzik]

Pictures?...

It will probably quicker if I stop by my Dad's on the way home and take care of that for him...

 

[bdnoona]

Are plastic spouts rated to withstand that type of temps? There might be a chance of plastic leeching into the wort.

 

[joejaz]

Are plastic spouts rated to withstand that type of temps? There might be a chance of plastic leeching into the wort.

Don't really know about temp rating. I don't think they were made for this purpose in mind. Will update post from time to time to let everyone know how it is holding up. As far as leeching, again I don't know. I imagine the valve is food grade since it is in a fermenting bucket and will be in contact with the fermentables for some period of time. I wonder though if the problem of leeching with plastic and brass is overstated. How hot is your 20 oz.coffee when you drink it out of a plastic lined cup, probably in contact longer than the draining wort from a mashtun. Also, think about this ( I never did before), what about the plastic walls inside of a cooler that is exposed to 140-150degrees of liquid for an hour to a hour and a half. The cooler wasn't manufactured for this purpose. I think this would present more of a concern then the valve. Maybe some can shed some light on this.

 

[joejaz]

It will probably quicker if I stop by my Dad's on the way home and take care of that for him...

It would have probably been quicker if I drew the pictures

 

[janzik]

Finally got around to posting the pics for ya...

 

[wilserbrewer]

Looks good, IMHO that's all you ever needed. Sorry, but overdone cooler mash tuns git on my nerves.

 

[joejaz]

one other thing, pull the manifold out and it converts into a cooler!

 

[joejaz]

Did second 5 gal batch today, added 12.5 quarts of water to tun at 200 degrees and let settle to 170 degrees before mashing, no leakage, no problems with fitting.

 

[joejaz]

one other observation, the single channel manifold seems to work just as good as the double chanel rectangle manifold I made for my son's mashtun.

 

[Adam78K]

Have the exact same cooler and used a kitchen braided stainless steel hose for my manifold. Works great, you don't collect as much sugar, but for time connivence and money well worth it for me.

 

[Schnitzengiggle]

Have the exact same cooler and used a kitchen braided stainless steel hose for my manifold. Works great, you don't collect as much sugar, but for time connivence and money well worth it for me.

I think with a SS braid, and a copper manifold, the amount of extraction is about the same, especially when batch sparging. Run-off speed may differ, none the less, sugar extraction should be the same.

EDIT: I get about 81% efficiency with my SS water heater briad.

 

[janzik]

Have the exact same cooler and used a kitchen braided stainless steel hose for my manifold. Works great, you don't collect as much sugar, but for time connivence and money well worth it for me.

Why do you think you're not collecting as much sugar (I read that as you are saying you get a low efficiency, or at least lower than you feel you should be getting). What type of numbers are you getting out of your setup? I have consistently yielded 75-85% with my copper manifold and venture the results would stay the same with the single pipe that my Dad uses.

 

[joejaz]

Update: Did third 5 gallon batch 200 degree water, no leaks. Mashed 60 minutes at 154. I guess if there was going to be a problem it would have happened by now.

 

[joejaz]

Did 11 gallon batch over weekend, 200 degrees into tun, no leaks. Plastic fittings holding good.

 

[E-Mursed]

Wanted to post and let anyone who is considering this route what issues I have run into. This is a great idea, and my intention was to run with it and make an inexpensive mash tun. Things didn't turn out as easy as I had hoped.

Got my cooler, the Coleman Xtreme 52qt model and paid $34. Bought an extra bottling bucket spigot and the other copper fittings mentioned. After removing the original cooler spigot I went and installed the stripped down bottling spigot. It is a perfect fit diameter wise and screws in nice and tight. The cooler I have must have a thicker wall or the spigot I bought is shorter, because the threads barely poked out through the inside of the cooler. Nothing I did changed that. Had to run out and buy a brass ball valve and associated parts to make a bulkhead fitting. After that, I cannibalized the 2 rubber rings and the fastening nut from the bottling spigot and made a great setup that did not leak on the first test.

I have the 2 foot piece of 1/2" copper pipe and a bending kit that I will use tomorrow to make the manifold tomorrow. Will do my cuts first and then bend to conform the drain channel. After that I will post some pics.

If you do decide to do this route, make sure the shaft of the bottling spigot is at least 1.5 inches to pass through the wall of the cooler. Otherwise this really is a great way to make an inexpensive mash tun. Thanks again for posting the OP and for the inspiration.

 

[Shaggyt]

FWIW, my first low budget manifold and drain setup for my CE 52qt was normal 3/8" siphoning hose pushed through the Coleman drain port, jammed into a 1/2" CPVC two-row manifold. Flow control was a shutoff hose clamp.

I've since upgraded to brass valve w/copper manifold, but this first setup was super cheap and extremely effective, 82%+ efficiency depending on grist crush.