Do you have an Igloo brand cooler that was only used a couple of times? Are you a homebrewer? Do you like to make great beer? Want to make your own mash tun inexpensively? Look no further and read on!
A mash tun is a container that can hold temperature and extract all the fermentable sugars from crushed grains. If you steep your grains or use a BIAB system you essentially are mashing to extract the sugars from the grains. This requires that you hold a temperature with the grains suspended in the water for a period of time (60-90 minutes). If you like to sit and watch a pot with a thermometer in it for an hour or longer just stop reading right now. If you have continued to this next sentence then sit back, relax and have a home brew and read on!
Instead of constantly heating your mash water, you can turn your average insulated cooler into a mash tun that very effectively holds a tight temperature range without needing to constantly apply heat that will melt your cooler BTW! If you use an insulated cooler, it will hold and retain the heat of the water placed inside for your mash time.
What You Need
1. The first thing you want to do is to remove the valve completely from the cooler. This may require the plyers and/or adjustable wrench depending on how it is installed into the cooler.
2. Use the brass nipple and one of the locking nuts and washer and install the nut and washer close to the middle of the nipple.
3. Apply Teflon tape to the end where the washer and nut are.
4. Screw the in tee into the nipple over the Teflon tape, make sure it is tight and snug.
5. Next put some Teflon tape on the threads on the hose barb connector and screw together the bushing and the hose barb connector.
6. Now place Teflon tape on the exposed threads of the hose barbs and screw two of them into the other ends of the tee.
7. Use the metal sheers cut the ends off the braided hose and discard them in the trash.
8. Carefully with the plyers grab the interior hose and push back the stainless steel braiding and remove the hose.
9. What you are left with is a hose (to be used later) and the stainless steel braid. We will be using the braid as the filter for the grains instead of a false bottom.
10. Push one end onto the hose barb along with a stainless steel hose clamp.
11. This is with the one side connected. There is no need to use the Teflon tape.
12. Measure and cut the mesh braid at any time.
13. Install the tee connector through the cooler wall and secure it on the other side with another rubber and lock washers to the cooler. G the teflon tape install the remaining hose barb in the the out port on the valve.
14. Using the hose barb and reducer install them on together
15. Thread another washer and lock nut onto the end of the nipple inside the cooler.
16. Insert the inner tubing from the braided hose over the barb on the outside.
When I was finished I heated about 4 gallons water up to around 165 degrees and filled the mash tun and made sure there were no leaks and also to time and see the temperature drop, if any, for 1 hour. I checked the temp before I started the timer and after I closed the cooler. When the hour was up I removed the lid and found that my temperature was within 1-2 degrees from where I started.
Conclusion
Well there you have it all completed, your new mash tun. For less than $100 you can purchase all the parts needed to build your own mash tun. With this project it is also very easy to use a false bottom over the mesh tubing.
A mash tun is a container that can hold temperature and extract all the fermentable sugars from crushed grains. If you steep your grains or use a BIAB system you essentially are mashing to extract the sugars from the grains. This requires that you hold a temperature with the grains suspended in the water for a period of time (60-90 minutes). If you like to sit and watch a pot with a thermometer in it for an hour or longer just stop reading right now. If you have continued to this next sentence then sit back, relax and have a home brew and read on!
Instead of constantly heating your mash water, you can turn your average insulated cooler into a mash tun that very effectively holds a tight temperature range without needing to constantly apply heat that will melt your cooler BTW! If you use an insulated cooler, it will hold and retain the heat of the water placed inside for your mash time.
What You Need
- Insulated cooler (Igloo, Rubbermaid, etc) that will be large enough to hold your grains and water. I chose a 5 gallon cooler since that is what I had.
- 1 " 1/2 in x 1 1/2 in brass nipple (Watts LFA-836)
- 3 " 3/8 in ID x 3/8 in MIP brass hose barb (Watts LFA-294)
- 3 " 1/2 in MIP x 3/8 in FIP brass bushing (Watts LFA-828)
- 1 " 1/2 in MIP Brass tee (Watts LFA-808)
- 1 " 1/2 in threaded brass ball valve, Full port
- 1 " 3/8 in x 3/8 in x 48 in Braided Polymer Dishwasher Connector hose
- 2 " in rubber washers thick enough to seal the hole
- 2 " 3/8 in stainless steel hose clamps
- 2 " in locking washers (found where the electrical section of your store is)
- 1 " Roll of Teflon tape
- 2 " 10 or larger adjustable wrenches
- 1 " Plyers
- 1 " Needle nose plyers
- 1 " straight tin snips (or anything to cut the ends off the dishwasher hose)
1. The first thing you want to do is to remove the valve completely from the cooler. This may require the plyers and/or adjustable wrench depending on how it is installed into the cooler.
2. Use the brass nipple and one of the locking nuts and washer and install the nut and washer close to the middle of the nipple.
3. Apply Teflon tape to the end where the washer and nut are.
4. Screw the in tee into the nipple over the Teflon tape, make sure it is tight and snug.
5. Next put some Teflon tape on the threads on the hose barb connector and screw together the bushing and the hose barb connector.
6. Now place Teflon tape on the exposed threads of the hose barbs and screw two of them into the other ends of the tee.
7. Use the metal sheers cut the ends off the braided hose and discard them in the trash.
8. Carefully with the plyers grab the interior hose and push back the stainless steel braiding and remove the hose.
9. What you are left with is a hose (to be used later) and the stainless steel braid. We will be using the braid as the filter for the grains instead of a false bottom.
10. Push one end onto the hose barb along with a stainless steel hose clamp.
11. This is with the one side connected. There is no need to use the Teflon tape.
12. Measure and cut the mesh braid at any time.
13. Install the tee connector through the cooler wall and secure it on the other side with another rubber and lock washers to the cooler. G the teflon tape install the remaining hose barb in the the out port on the valve.
14. Using the hose barb and reducer install them on together
15. Thread another washer and lock nut onto the end of the nipple inside the cooler.
16. Insert the inner tubing from the braided hose over the barb on the outside.
When I was finished I heated about 4 gallons water up to around 165 degrees and filled the mash tun and made sure there were no leaks and also to time and see the temperature drop, if any, for 1 hour. I checked the temp before I started the timer and after I closed the cooler. When the hour was up I removed the lid and found that my temperature was within 1-2 degrees from where I started.
Conclusion
Well there you have it all completed, your new mash tun. For less than $100 you can purchase all the parts needed to build your own mash tun. With this project it is also very easy to use a false bottom over the mesh tubing.