Cheap & Easy 10 Gallon Rubbermaid MLT Conversion

[Bobby_M]

I don't recommend using an Oring at all on the outside. All you're potentially doing is concealing a leak that will soak the insulation. Check out the weldless bulkhead design link in my sig for a discussion of why these may fail.

 

[FlyGuy]

i put 4 fender washers on the inside along with the spigot seal that came with the cooler. on the outside, 1 cut washer (a little thicker). it was the only way i could get the parts to tighten enough to seal the hole. also, put 2 o-rings on the outside so the outside washer could add pressure to seal

however, i'm getting a slight leak (i'll probably mash regardless) of about a tablespoon/hour. tried with only 1 o-ring on the outside and same results... i haven't applied the vinyl tape yet because i didn't want to finalize everything yet (and it doesn't appear that the leak is coming from any threads)...

just wondered if you had any thoughts.

Chances are that your threads really are leaking. You pretty much need teflon tape on the outside parts, or liquid will make it through the threads eventually.

Another cause of leaking is actually over-tightening the parts. That seems to be pretty common. Have you tried backing off your tightness a bit?

 

[KerryD]

I had no luck with the washers on the inside... couldn't get it to not leak. I put the OEM interior grommet back in the cooler and put just an o-ring between the fitting and the grommet and my leaks went away.

 

[FlyGuy]

I had no luck with the washers on the inside... couldn't get it to not leak. I put the OEM interior grommet back in the cooler and put just an o-ring between the fitting and the grommet and my leaks went away.

I had the same experience. My build on this thread uses the same design.

 

[ArcaneXor]

Thanks to the OP, I was able to head out to Home Depot and Lowes today and assemble all the parts (except that annoying SS washer) needed to build a 5-gallon mash tun that I will be using to increase the amount of grain I use in my mini-mashes. The total cost (including some extra washers for the outside and a mini hacksaw) was about $55 up to this point - a bit more than I expected, but certainly much cheaper than had I bought a readily assembled one at a homebrew store.


Up to this point, I used an unmodified 2-gallon cooler. My boils max out at about 4 gallons, so I figure I can use up to 7 lbs of grain and still use a decent mash-to-grain and sparge-to-grain ratio.

So far no leaks, but the assembly is pretty loose, so I'll head out one more time trying to find the elusive SS washer tomorrow. If I can't find it locally, would anyone out there who has extras be willing to part with one or two if I pay for shipping?

EDIT: Also, are there any concerns about passivating the brass components that come into contact with the wort? Any concerns about exposing brass to StarSan, Oxyclean, PBW, etc?

 

[Irish1225]

So far no leaks, but the assembly is pretty loose, so I'll head out one more time trying to find the elusive SS washer tomorrow. If I can't find it locally, would anyone out there who has extras be willing to part with one or two if I pay for shipping?

EDIT: Also, are there any concerns about passivating the brass components that come into contact with the wort? Any concerns about exposing brass to StarSan, Oxyclean, PBW, etc?

i actually found the illusive SS washers at a local ACE hardware. they were $1 a piece, but i guess that's what you pay to avoid shipping

 

[sTiNkFiZzle]

for what its worth, home depot has these 10 gallon round coolers on sale right now for $37 USD.

 

[ArcaneXor]

Well, Ace didn't have the SS washer, so I ended up driving across town and picked up a 10-pack at Fastenal for $9. They weren't fender washers (just regular flat SS washers), but it works - No evidence of any leaking after 5 minutes filled with water, and I abused the cooler seal quite a bit from repeated assembly and disassembly to work out the most solid fit. Now I have parts to spare if I want to upgrade my 2-gallon tun.

I am basically using the same parts as in the OP, except a 16-inch, 3/8" braid, and one extra steel and one rubber washer on the outside of the cooler. The friction between the rubber washer and the cooler wall is the secret to keep the whole thing from rotating.

BTW, when I first read this thread the parts list sounded like it was written in a foreign language to me, and I managed to get the thing installed. If I could do it, so can anyone!

I am looking forward to making my first beer with this setup in a couple of weeks!

 

[DD2000GT]

I just made this MLT today and thought I would throw in an idea I tried. Many are complaining of the hollow ss braiding collapsing after a few uses. I thought it might be because where it attaches to the nipple is about 1" or so off the bottom, then angles down. I figured a10+ pounds of grain sitting on top of that may crease it right at the end of the nipple and block off flow. I decided to use about 1 1/2" of the plastic hosing that comes inside this brading to give support to the tube right at the end until it reaches the bottom. I had to heat the plastic up with a lighter to stretch it onto the barb - but worked pretty good. Now, the tube is not hollow until it is at the bottom of the cooler and uses the small piece of inside tubing for support.

Also - I made mine in a circular formation instead of a straight piece inside by using a "T" and two barbed ends coming off that. A 30" piece of braided line works perfectly in this setup without getting too close to the edge. The extra support I spoke about above was a little harder to install in this formation - but I finally got it in place. I also added a 5/8" neoprene washer between the ss washer and stock gromet on the inside for extra sealing.

The Rubbermaid cooler was $37 at HD (with there name on it) and the fittings ended up costing me about $38 - seems the prices have gone up a tad since this thread started. Over all though it looks like it will work great and no leaks! Thanks all for the thread.

 

[Beernip]

I just picked up a 10G Rubbermaid cooler this weekend to convert to an MLT. Without going through all 64 pages is the parts list on the front page still the master list? Any required adjustments.

 

[FlyGuy]

Yes, it is up to date. The only caution is to make sure you get all stainless steel hose clamps. I found out the hard way that some are stainless bands but cheap (corroding!) metal for the screws.

Also, be forewarned that large stainless steel washers are apparently hard to find in the US. Try Ace Hardware or Fastenal if your local big box home improvement store doesn't have them.

 

[SCARYLARRY]

15 minutes picking up parts

Free cooler


Building Mash Tun in 15 minutes

PRICELESS!!!!!!!!


Thank you!!!!!

So easy a caveman could do it.

 

[BioBeing]

I just got back from Lowes, where a very friendly and helpful girl walked me around the store helping me find parts. Gotta give them credit where it is due! They did not have the stainless fender washer, and were out of stock for the barbed adapter to go on the outside.

So I then went to a local hardware store (Stuart Bros) where a very helpful guy (who had sold his Mr Beer for $10 the day before - he sounded quite jealous that I was going to be making "good" beer!) got me a stainless 5/8 washer and the barbed adapter. I had a copy of the this thread printed out for the photos (which were very helpful) with me, and he did not think that the washer shown on the front page was a fender washer though. He showed me some fender washers (that weren't quite big enough ID, and they have a huge OD. I ended up getting just a regular stainless 5/8 washer, which seems quite big enough. TBH, it seems to me that you would have more trouble with the curvature of the wall and making a good seal with the bigger, fender, washer? I'll see how mine goes together, and let you know!

 

[Beernip]

I picked up all my parts yesterday except for the SS 5/8 washer. Called around to a few stores and the largest anyone has is 1/2. I may have buy the 1/2" and enlarge the ID. One more place to check today before I give up and start hacking up parts.

 

[Homercidal]

Yep I will have to turn the opening up a bit more on my washers. Put them in the lathe and shave a few thou. on the inside.

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

You can also find the proper size washers here: Bargain Fittings

 

[Beernip]

I just got back from Lowes, where a very friendly and helpful girl walked me around the store helping me find parts. Gotta give them credit where it is due! They did not have the stainless fender washer, and were out of stock for the barbed adapter to go on the outside.

So I then went to a local hardware store (Stuart Bros) where a very helpful guy (who had sold his Mr Beer for $10 the day before - he sounded quite jealous that I was going to be making "good" beer!) got me a stainless 5/8 washer and the barbed adapter. I had a copy of the this thread printed out for the photos (which were very helpful) with me, and he did not think that the washer shown on the front page was a fender washer though. He showed me some fender washers (that weren't quite big enough ID, and they have a huge OD. I ended up getting just a regular stainless 5/8 washer, which seems quite big enough. TBH, it seems to me that you would have more trouble with the curvature of the wall and making a good seal with the bigger, fender, washer? I'll see how mine goes together, and let you know!

Yeah, this is all I'm able to get too. Anyone foresee an issue using a SS 5/8 flat washer?

 

[DeafSmith]

I built mine today using a 5 gallon Igloo cooler (so far I'm only doing partial mashes). I made a few changes which I think will work well:

1. I couldn't find the 5/8 stainless washer, but I did find a 1/2 inch, large O.D. brass washer and reamed it out to 5/8, using a Dremel tool with a stone because I didn't have the proper drill bit to drill brass.

2. The hole in the cooler is 7/8 inch diameter - it was originally sealed with a 7/8 inch I.D. rubber washer with a hard plastic backing washer - I reused these parts, so from the inside cooler wall toward the center, I have the rubber washer, the plastic backing washer, the brass washer, and the barb adapter.

3. In order to hold the nipple centered and rigid in the hole, and to prevent leakage around the outside of the nipple, I cut a 1/4 inch (approx.) long piece of vinyl tubing with an I.D. of 5/8 and an O.D. of 7/8 and slipped it over the center of the nipple. Unfortunately, the nipple has an O.D. of about 11/16 inch in the center. The tubing slipped over this tightly (good), but now the O.D. went up from 7/8 to 15/16 (bad), so I had to sand down the outside of the tubing a little bit. This was a little tedious, but when I finished, I had a very tight fit into the hole in the cooler (good). This forms such a good seal that I don't have to use any teflon tape on the inside end of the nipple and only have to tighten the inside barb adapter finger tight. It doesn't leak at all and is simple to take apart for cleaning.

4. I cut a piece of 5/16 I.D. vinyl tubing about 14 inches long and placed it inside the braid as previously recommended here. Instead of cutting notches in all sides of the tubing, I used my Dremel tool with a cut-off wheel to cut a series of slots only along the side of the tubing which would end up lying on the bottom of the cooler. These slots were about 1/3 of the way into the tubing, about 3/32 inch wide, and spaced about 3/8 inch apart. I started the slits about 5 inches back from the barb adapter so that all the notches would be lying right on the bottom. This allows almost all the wort to drain out before any air gets in and breaks the siphon.

5. I used another barb adapater (3/8 barb to 1/4 MIP) and pipe cap (1/4 inch) on the end instead of a hose clamp, as previously recommended.

I'll find out in a week or two how well this is really going to work. Preliminary testing today was very encouraging.

(Edited #4 to change 3/16 to 3/32)

 

[GunnerMan]

Will the 10g work for 5 gallon AG batches with OG's of around 1.040 to 1.060? I want to make sure I have a good granbed.

 

[FlyGuy]

Yep, no problem if you are batch sparging. I did a mild a while ago that was about 1.035 with no problem at all. You could probably even PM in the thing (some here probably have).

 

[Beernip]

Yeah, this is all I'm able to get too. Anyone foresee an issue using a SS 5/8 flat washer?

Thanks FlyGuy, Finally managed to put mine together today. I've had it filled for two hours and a single drop of water leaked out. Now to plan my first AG brew.

 

[SilverKing]

I've been using a 10Gal Rubbermaid round cooler equipped with a SS braid for the last 15 batches or so. I can't seem to get it above 72% efficiency. When I was dumping out the grain from the last couple batches there seemed to be a good amount of wort left in the MLT. That was with it sitting on a bit of an angle to drain out as much as I could.
I'm concerned that my efficiency is being affected by the wort that I can't get out of the MLT when draining. Anyone else have this problem?... an ideas to get the last bit of wort out? It seems to leave about 1/4 - 1/2 gallon in the MLT with it tipped up on an angle and no grains in it. So I'm sure it's leaving even more when there are grains packed down in it.

grain crush is good. sparge temps are good. conversion is fine.

 

[DeafSmith]

I've been using a 10Gal Rubbermaid round cooler equipped with a SS braid for the last 15 batches or so. I can't seem to get it above 72% efficiency. When I was dumping out the grain from the last couple batches there seemed to be a good amount of wort left in the MLT. That was with it sitting on a bit of an angle to drain out as much as I could.
I'm concerned that my efficiency is being affected by the wort that I can't get out of the MLT when draining. Anyone else have this problem?... an ideas to get the last bit of wort out? It seems to leave about 1/4 - 1/2 gallon in the MLT with it tipped up on an angle and no grains in it. So I'm sure it's leaving even more when there are grains packed down in it.

grain crush is good. sparge temps are good. conversion is fine.

See my post a page or two back for a solution - I put a vinyl tube inside the braid with slots in the bottom half of the tube - all the slots are not only inside the braid, but are also lying right on the bottom of the cooler, so no air gets into the tube to break the siphon until the liquid level drops to about 1/2 the thickness of the tube - works great!

 

[SilverKing]

See my post a page or two back for a solution - I put a vinyl tube inside the braid with slots in the bottom half of the tube - all the slots are not only inside the braid, but are also lying right on the bottom of the cooler, so no air gets into the tube to break the siphon until the liquid level drops to about 1/2 the thickness of the tube - works great!

I've seen people refer to a piece of vinyl in the braid...never considered cutting slots like a manifold. thanks, I'll give it a shot.

another question for braid users. Do any of you use anything to actually hold the braid down? My braid stays down on the bottom for the whole mash, but when I start adding batch sparge water and stirring it up I sometimes accidentally lift the braid up a bit....then it's a pain to get it back down because of the "mash thickness".

 

[GunnerMan]

I just built mine out of a 5 gal one, was going to order the 10g but my boss gave me that 5 gal so it will get me started. I have a large rectangular cooler I can use for 10 gal if need be.

Only changes needed, the 5 gallon spigot area did not accept the 5/8 washers so I had to use a razor and cut some plastic out around it. Also the 5/8 washer inside(because of the smaller radius) does not tighten down as well as it could so I think it is a very very very slow leak right now.

My remedy is going to be to epoxy the first outside washer on, this will reinforce the area that I cut and stop any water drops that sneak through my o-ring and washer. Also for the braided hose, 12" was a bit to long, I think I will cut an inch off of it so it fits in the cooler better instead of wiggling up and around like it does now.

Waiting on my turkey fryer to show up at Ace(had to special order) and I will be on my way to Ag.

 

[BioBeing]

Used mine this weekend. 20.5 lb of grain in a 10 gal cooler. It was pretty full, but I had room for another pound or two maybe. No leaks.

 

[usurpers26]

Attach the end to a barbed (female) fitting, then screw in an end cap/plug into said barb fitting.

another question for braid users. Do any of you use anything to actually hold the braid down? My braid stays down on the bottom for the whole mash, but when I start adding batch sparge water and stirring it up I sometimes accidentally lift the braid up a bit....then it's a pain to get it back down because of the "mash thickness".

 

[SilverKing]

Attach the end to a barbed (female) fitting, then screw in an end cap/plug into said barb fitting.

It's already got that exact setup. It doesn't float on it's own, it only moves when I catch it with the mash paddle.

 

[usurpers26]

Oh, ok - then be more careful when stirring

I mostly mash thin, so I can tell if I'm catching it and if I do it always ends up settling back to the bottom without any fuss. Personally, I wouldn't worry about the wort loss in your MLT. It's nearly impossible to not have some dead space in this setup.

Was your 72% eff your brewhouse efficieny? Or your mash / into the boiler efficiency?

It's already got that exact setup. It doesn't float on it's own, it only moves when I catch it with the mash paddle.

 

[jppostKW]

i found that home depot sells a make your own bolt kit that has 2 stainless 5/8 washers in it for people having trouble finding them ended up needing both one as a spacer because 3 fender washers wherent enough and four where to many:rockin: