Cheap & Easy 10 Gallon Rubbermaid MLT Conversion

[mcberry]

I just assembled this and so far so good. It is in the tub now doing a leak test, but seems to have no leaks. Everything is pretty tight, except I can still twist the whole assembly. If it ends up leaking then maybe I'll wrench on it a bit more, or perhaps add a 4th outside washer.

I got all of my parts from Lowe's except for the SS washer which I got at a local hardware store and the cooler which I got from Home Depot. I got a 5/8 SS flat washer, as they had no fender washers, but this seems to work fine.

The cooler at HD was in the garden section (someone was asking).

If anything goes wrong I'll be sure to ask for help here! Thanks!

 

[DoctorDuvel]

Hi mcberry!

Yes, the whole assembly on my rig still twists as well...I've used mine twice so far (60+ min each time) and no problems...so it doesn't seem to be an issue.

Happy brewing :rockin:

 

[worth]

Finished this conversion last week and did my first all grain brew with 79% efficiency on Saturday. Thanks so much to Flyguy for this great how-to.

 

[shamrockdoc]

Thanks for this post I just built this and I'm like a puppy with two peters waiting to brew this weekend.

 

[fococlimber]

which one is better though?

 

[aikidoka]

I bought the cooler from HD last night, but the parts for the valve were more expensive than a SS KettleValve & KettleScreen from the lhbs! Crazy that HD doesn't carry more hardware, curse of the modern ERP system...

The only real difference to this setup, I had to rotate the top of the valve 45deg anti-clockwise for handle clearance.

Thanks for a great original hack. No leaks so far, cold & hot tests.

 

[DrawTap88]

I built this over the weekend, and cannot get it to stop leaking. I admit that I tightened the fighuck out of it the first time. Any chance that could have ruined the factor seal?

If it still leaks after backing it off, I've decided to go out and get some 100% silicone to put around the SS washer on the inside.

Also wanted to let the folks around my area that the Menards in Crest Hill has some 5/8 ID SS washers. I may have a few extra once all is said and done too.

 

[dantodd]

You might try a garden hose gasket on the inside, worked for me.

 

[DrawTap88]

You might try a garden hose gasket on the inside, worked for me.

But are those rated for temps at or around 170?

 

[Captain_Bigelow]

I built this over the weekend, and cannot get it to stop leaking. I admit that I tightened the fighuck out of it the first time. Any chance that could have ruined the factor seal?

If it still leaks after backing it off, I've decided to go out and get some 100% silicone to put around the SS washer on the inside.

Also wanted to let the folks around my area that the Menards in Crest Hill has some 5/8 ID SS washers. I may have a few extra once all is said and done too.

I remember I had the same problem when I made mine and it was frustrating. I believe I went to my local hardware store and picked up a large o-ring which I placed on the inside right against the cooler wall. It worked great. I have had this over a year and put 15+ batches through it with no problems at all.

Also I find that the SS braid does a great job. When I start the run-off I never get any grain or "bits" at all in the liquid.

 

[DustBow]

Got the cooler last night at Home Depot ($40 and plenty in my store, I think $20 for 5 gal)

Going to get the hardware soon but I had a question about the brass fittings.
I've seen some posts on here about doing the vinegar & HP soaking to leach the surface lead out. My question is do these things really have lead in them at all? Isn't lead pretty much banned for anything that would come in contact with food & water? Or am I wrong on this?

I realize many/most/all of these parts are probably imported and quality control may not be 100% in regards to following regulations like this. But I was curious if there was an official policy.

I can still do the soak, it's not much of a problem and definitely cheaper than trying to find all the parts in SS.

 

[DrawTap88]

Instead of getting the tube of 100% silicon, I got a 1/2 inch ID o-ring, which solved my leaking problem.

 

[HatchetJack]

Question about the ball valve, how important is the adjustable valve to
the draining process. The reason I am asking is I had a high flow
upgraded Mr Beer valve laying around that fits perfectly into the igloo
round cooler with about 1/2" of threads left inside the cooler that I could
attach the braid. It seals great with the tapered rubber gaskets that come
with the valve. It's one of those lever valves that is opened or closed unless
you are controling by hand or wedge it or something. I would be in extra
cheap if this would work and all I would have to buy is a braid and a plug.
It took about 5 minutes to empty the 5 gallons of water with no braid.
Thanks HJ

 

[BendBrewer]

Question about the ball valve, how important is the adjustable valve to
the draining process. The reason I am asking is I had a high flow
upgraded Mr Beer valve laying around that fits perfectly into the igloo
round cooler with about 1/2" of threads left inside the cooler that I could
attach the braid. It seals great with the tapered rubber gaskets that come
with the valve. It's one of those lever valves that is opened or closed unless
you are controling by hand or wedge it or something. I would be in extra
cheap if this would work and all I would have to buy is a braid and a plug.
It took about 5 minutes to empty the 5 gallons of water with no braid.
Thanks HJ

Speed isn't necessarily your friend when mashing or sparging out. It is good to be able to control the rate of flow coming out of your MLT to insure proper rinsing of the grains for better efficiency. And draining your MLT too quickly can lead to your grain bed not settling properly which could lead to stuck sparges.

I think the valve you are talking about not having to buy is about 7 bucks.

 

[HatchetJack]

Ok, so what kind of time should I be looking at to drain the mash for a
5 gallon batch. Sorry for the dumb questions but I'm just trying to prepare
for all grain. The locking spigot is 3.95 plus shipping but I had an extra one.
I just thought I might could utilize it and save from all the washer hunting.
The inside diameter of the outlet is about 3/8" and It seems like I could easily
wedge it half open if need be.
http://www.mrbeer.com/product-exec/product_id/858/nm/Locking_Spigot_Assembly1

 

[BierSnob]

It takes about 45 to 60 minutes to sparge for a 5 gal batch

 

[DoctorDuvel]

It takes about 45 to 60 minutes to sparge for a 5 gal batch

are you referring to fly sparging?

 

[BierSnob]

yes, thats fly sparging.

 

[Pierce]

If it doesn't leak that I would say the internal washer isn't needed.

The poly one will NOT work. It needs to be SS and will say so on the package.

Skip the tubing. Use SS clamps or vinyl zip ties.

I'm not doubting you but what happens when you use the polymer tubing?

If its just a crush factor could I just cut the inside tubing some and put that in back in the braid for strength?

 

[JMass]

I used this for my HLT. Lowes had the 1/2 or 3/4 inch stainless washer, so I just went with the 25 cent zinc coated washers. I used 2 washers on the outside, but the handle hits the cooler, so I do think I need the 3rd washer. I had a few white washers hanging around that fit on the outside, so I didn't need the O rings - I bought the wrong size anyway. Apparently these were sold by outside measurement(?) I didn't have any leaks, but heard a cracking sound when I put the hot sparge water in the cooler.

This was my 1st time using a 3 level sparge. It sure beats sparging with a sauce pan.

 

[BendBrewer]

I'm not doubting you but what happens when you use the polymer tubing?

If its just a crush factor could I just cut the inside tubing some and put that in back in the braid for strength?

You don' want to use the tubing that comes with the braid. I never had my braid crush per say, mine just got beat up over time and started to become inconsistent.

Somewhere in this long thread FlyGuy suggests skipping any tubing inside the braid. It isn't necessary.

 

[BryanJ]

I just assembled a similar MLT to the op's and instead of using the ss braid i used a cpvc manifold and a shorter brass bulkhead. Does anyone have any experience with cpvc with brewing? It came out to about 80$ which was a bit more than i expected to spend but the cooler was 55...

 

[Hastings]

I'am only brewing 5 gallons of beer at a time. Will a 5 gallon cooler work for mash just as good as a 10 gallon??

 

[JMass]

If you brew stronger beers, or add a lot of water to adjust the temp, a larger cooler is better. I've gotten by w/ a 5 gallon cooler but it gets pretty full some times.

 

[DrawTap88]

I'am only brewing 5 gallons of beer at a time. Will a 5 gallon cooler work for mash just as good as a 10 gallon??

I don't think you can get away with a 5 gallon cooler if you're making 5 gallon batches. With my average 9-10 lbs of grains, plus around 3 gallons of water, my 10 gallon cooler gets more than half full. Not to mention that you're going to have to compensate for loss of mash efficiency by adding more grains or more water, depending on your preference, getting the 10 gallon cooler is worth the extra $20.

Hope that helps. If anyone sees any flaws in my logic, please let me and everyone else know.

 

[nanofreak]

I did a 60 Quart Ice Cube cooler (already had the cooler) with the same parts list, thanks FlyGuy for the post. No leaks, and I am a very happy man.

 

[bovineblitz]

I don't think you can get away with a 5 gallon cooler if you're making 5 gallon batches. With my average 9-10 lbs of grains, plus around 3 gallons of water, my 10 gallon cooler gets more than half full. Not to mention that you're going to have to compensate for loss of mash efficiency by adding more grains or more water, depending on your preference, getting the 10 gallon cooler is worth the extra $20.

Hope that helps. If anyone sees any flaws in my logic, please let me and everyone else know.

nope, flawless.

 

[Got Trub?]

I don't think you can get away with a 5 gallon cooler if you're making 5 gallon batches. With my average 9-10 lbs of grains, plus around 3 gallons of water, my 10 gallon cooler gets more than half full. Not to mention that you're going to have to compensate for loss of mash efficiency by adding more grains or more water, depending on your preference, getting the 10 gallon cooler is worth the extra $20.

Hope that helps. If anyone sees any flaws in my logic, please let me and everyone else know.

Nope. No flaws. I have both a 7g and a 10g cooler for mashing in. The 7g can - barely - mash a 1.045 OG beer with 80% efficiency and 1.2q:lb ratio. No way you could do an all grain in a 5g tun.

GT

 

[Zamial]

1st off thanks for the great DIY. Mine is done and it seems to not leak. I followed the instructions and parts in the OP and it was all pretty straight forward.

I may end up swapping out the nipple for 1 that is the next size smaller in length. While it does not leak the "looseness" of the ball valve does have me concerned. I understand that it does not need to be crushed on but it seems loose and scary...lol. We will see as it is "testing" now.

:rockin:

 

[MVKTR2]

Nope. No flaws. I have both a 7g and a 10g cooler for mashing in. The 7g can - barely - mash a 1.045 OG beer with 80% efficiency and 1.2q:lb ratio. No way you could do an all grain in a 5g tun.

GT

Like any question other than what color is green grass, you're gonna have differing opinions, & differing experiences from one individual to another. As you'll see below I've had a much different experience using a 5 gal. tun than Got Trub has with a 7 gal tun. I easily get 1.065+ OG biers with approx. 12 lbs of grist in my 5 gal tun with efficiency of 80-85%. In order to get a 1.045 OG bier I use less than 9 lbs of grist for an average recipe which doesn't come close to filling up a 5 gal tun.

I've got a 5 gallon cooler and am very happy with it for 5.5 gallon batches. Since investing in a simple corona style mill I now routinely get 82-85% efficiency. My last batch linked here: http://hopville.com/recipe/199372/other-smoked-beer-recipes/illudium-pu-36-smoked-porter contained 10lbs 5 oz. grist which produced 1.057 OG.

My brew prior to this one was a Strong Scotch Ale linked here: http://hopville.com/recipe/188576/strong-scotch-ale-recipes/1314-the-year-of-scottish-freedom which I got 86% efficiency on and a 1.089 OG on a 4.5 gallon batch using almost 13 lbs of grist which fit in my 5 gal tun with slightly thicker mash than usual.

I can achieve 1.100 on 4 gallon batches with my 5 gallon mash-tun. I have a Makita cooler which was listed as a 5 gallon cooler but I believe is more like 5.5 or 5.75 which helps me in terms of achieving good gravity numbers with a smaller mash tun. The down side of having a larger cooler is the heat loss issues you'll have when doing a small batch like a 1.035 Ordinary Bitter, Mild, Specialty Belgian, etc. It's very hard without a false top (piece of styrofoam placed on top of the mash) to get a good mash on 6 lbs of grist in a 10 gallon cooler.

My conclusion is it depends on what your expectations are & your brewing style. I just don't drink enough bier to make 10 gallon batches (I even have 3 kegs set aside waiting for the day I go bigger). Thus for me the idea of doing 4-4.5 gallon batches when I produce RIS, Barleywine, Scotch Strong, etc. is no big deal. About half of my brews are 1.045 or less session biers so the 5 Gal MLT works great and I would find more frustration in a larger MLT rather than the minor inconvenience of producing 'less' bier on the bigger styles. If it's a big deal, get a 5 & 10 gal MLT! I know even with a 10 gal I'll never say bye to the 5 gal tun!

Schlante,
Phillip