Cheap & Easy 10 Gallon Rubbermaid MLT Conversion

[billf2112]

Could not find stainless steel braided hose myself except in the dishwasher install kit. I used O rings to stop the leaking. Will use it for the first time later this week.

 

[Beezy]

Could not find stainless steel braided hose myself except in the dishwasher install kit. I used O rings to stop the leaking. Will use it for the first time later this week.

You don't have a home depot or lowes? I looked through many options there.

 

[bottlebomber]

Yeah I can't get a tight seal on it either. And the o-ring on the outside seems like very poor placement. If you're preventing a leak there then it's getting into the innards of the chest where that foam crap is. That can't be good for you. I'm thinking preventing it from seaping from the inside would be better.

Its supposed to. That's why you use the original Rubbermaid seal that comes on the original valve for the inside.

 

[jimlin]

Yeah I can't get a tight seal on it either. And the o-ring on the outside seems like very poor placement. If you're preventing a leak there then it's getting into the innards of the chest where that foam crap is. That can't be good for you. I'm thinking preventing it from seaping from the inside would be better.

Yup. Work on getting the rubber gasket on the inner wall to sit flush and don't over-tighten it. My cooler has a hard plastic ring that surrounds the gasket, between the SS washer and the gasket.

 

[Paulgs3]

I upgraded this set up with a bazooka tube (from rebelbrewer). It was a tough fit and I had the bend the crimp at the end of the screen down to fit it in, but it worked beautifully. I want to say the tube was like $12


Just got an 85% efficiency on my last brew with this set up!

 

[integra93ls]

ok this is what i did and it works great.
instead of using the (watts a-786) 3/8 x 1-1/2
get the (watts a-785) 3/8 mip x close nipple.

now get 2 o-rings (5/8) that will fit over the middle of the nipple.
what i did was wrap the whole nipple with the teflon tape then slide the 2 o-rings onto the nipple and put them in the middle. now wrap the o-rings with more teflon tape to make a tight seal. then use as per the directions on pg1.

worked great for me and builds up the nipple so you get a nice tight fit and helps seal it so u get no leaks.

 

[integra93ls]

but now what to do for the inside.

what is better the ss braid line or a pvc manifold??

 

[Cosper123]

Its supposed to. That's why you use the original Rubbermaid seal that comes on the original valve for the inside.

Which would still deem the o-ring on the outside as useless.

 

[bottlebomber]

Which would still deem the o-ring on the outside as useless.

Because a standard black 5/8 O-ring on the outside is so small it just sits there in the recess on the outside of the cooler doing nothing. A gasket that small contributes nothing as far as sealing this set up.

 

[Cosper123]

ok this is what i did and it works great.
instead of using the (watts a-786) 3/8 x 1-1/2
get the (watts a-785) 3/8 mip x close nipple.

now get 2 o-rings (5/8) that will fit over the middle of the nipple.
what i did was wrap the whole nipple with the teflon tape then slide the 2 o-rings onto the nipple and put them in the middle. now wrap the o-rings with more teflon tape to make a tight seal. then use as per the directions on pg1.

worked great for me and builds up the nipple so you get a nice tight fit and helps seal it so u get no leaks.

I like this idea, thanks much.

 

[starrfish]

I put original white gasket back in... on inside stopped leakage.

 

[integra93ls]

I put original white gasket back in... on inside stopped leakage.

yes you still need the inside original gasket but when i did it and had all tight it still leaked. so i added the o-rings with the tape on it to build it up for the outside of the cooler.

 

[Cosper123]

Yeah I started out with original white gasket left in. Tried a special washer on top of that and it still trickles out. Done messing around, ordered foodsafe high temp (up to 400 degrees) caulk from McMaster-Carr and going to seal that mfer up for good.

 

[Cubslover]

Check out my thread on the PTFE flange gasket that I used for mine. Cheap, easy, works great.

 

[Khazadum]

Hey guys, I'm having a problem with Fender Washers. First time I was stupid and accidentally bought 1/2" ID Fender Washers... then I ordered some 5/8" inner diameter SS fender washers like this guide says, and they don't slide onto my 3/8” MIP x 1-1/2” brass nipple (Watts A-786). Is the guide wrong? Is there something I'm not doing right? Do I need to now buy washers again but this time 3/4"?

 

[ACESFULL]

Hey guys, I'm having a problem with Fender Washers. First time I was stupid and accidentally bought 1/2" ID Fender Washers... then I ordered some 5/8" inner diameter SS fender washers like this guide says, and they don't slide onto my 3/8” MIP x 1-1/2” brass nipple (Watts A-786). Is the guide wrong? Is there something I'm not doing right? Do I need to now buy washers again but this time 3/4"?

You will need 3/4" washers.

 

[bottlebomber]

Hey guys, I'm having a problem with Fender Washers. First time I was stupid and accidentally bought 1/2" ID Fender Washers... then I ordered some 5/8" inner diameter SS fender washers like this guide says, and they don't slide onto my 3/8” MIP x 1-1/2” brass nipple (Watts A-786). Is the guide wrong? Is there something I'm not doing right? Do I need to now buy washers again but this time 3/4"?

If memory serves me correct, the washers don't slide over the nipple, they only go over the threads (on the inside). The 1 washer on the inside stops right at the end of the thread.

 

[Aschecte]

ok I just fixed it 100% heres the deal if you use a home depot rubbermaid 10 gallon cooler don't use the3/8 x 11/2 nipple use a 3/8 x close nipple and 1 ss washer inside with the original gasket then on the outside use the 5/8 o-ring and only 2 ss washers. follow all other directions this now works absolutely awesome been holding temp and volume not even a slight dribble !!!

checl out my earlier post

 

[Zokfend]

I just built this, using the guide to the letter. I bought all my stuff from Home Depot. Total price was about $80.00. I too had to buy the Crown-Bolt's "Create-A-Bolt" kit in order to get 5/8in stainless steel washers (kit came with 4). Unfortunately even those were not enough, so I had to convert two lock-washers in that kit as additional spacers. i added one on the inside (between the female barb adapter and the fender washer), and i added another on the outside (between the outer-most fender washer and the ball valve). By converting the lock-washers, I simply took a couple of pliers and sorta pulled them apart a little, to create enough space for the threads of the nipple to pass thru. I also flushed out the ends so it would not act as a lock-washer anymore.

Long story short, it took less than 20 minutes to convert, and it's been sitting completely fully of hot water for over an hour, and no leaks. My only advice is at the ends of the steel braid where you cut, fold the exposed barbs inward, and then insert the head plug or the barb adapter. It just looks much cleaner, and you're less likely to prick yourself. Also, I was not sure which steel braid to buy since there were some off-brands. I ended up buying the Watts brand, 16" long. It's $3 more than the off-brand, but the braids look like they're better quality. I bought 16" long thinking it would stretch across the entire diameter of the cooler bottom (and it almost does), but I've since read that the filtration really only occurs at the first 3 or 4 inches of the braided tube.

Anyhow, cheers. Great tutorial.

 

[MikeG]

...Also, I was not sure which steel braid to buy since there were some off-brands. I ended up buying the Watts brand, 16" long. It's $3 more than the off-brand, but the braids look like they're better quality. I bought 16" long thinking it would stretch across the entire diameter of the cooler bottom (and it almost does), but I've since read that the filtration really only occurs at the first 3 or 4 inches of the braided tube.

Anyhow, cheers. Great tutorial.

Hey, just double checking that the label on the package was SS, I know HD carries a fair amount of synthetic hose that looks like SS. With sharp ends I'm thinking you have the SS though.

You went the same exact route I went in building a MT, good luck on your first brew!

 

[jetmac]

This is one HE_LL of a thread, spanning 4 1/2 years, over 465,000 views and almost 1700 replies.

 

[Zokfend]

Hey, just double checking that the label on the package was SS, I know HD carries a fair amount of synthetic hose that looks like SS. With sharp ends I'm thinking you have the SS though.

yeah, i guess i should have mentioned, i got the Watts Floodsafe stainless steel faucet connector. the model number is FSF16 (or FSF12 for 12" long). key is "braided stainless steel".

that's a good point.

 

[barrooze]

This is one HE_LL of a thread, spanning 4 1/2 years, over 465,000 views and almost 1700 replies.

Very true. I wonder how many DIY MLTs have been built based off this. I know mine is.

 

[Cosper123]

Yeah it's one awesome thread.

 

[bovineblitz]

I took the fittings out of my mash tun because I was worried wort was leaking into the foamy area of the cooler. I'm not sure if it was or not but the original grommet that came with the cooler was shredded and wouldn't work any more. After trying a bunch of things, none of them successful, I decided I had to take a trip to Home Depot to find a new grommet. I never used a SS washer in my original build but figured I should get one now.

I picked up a rubber grommet in the area with the nails and screws, they're in a pullout drawer with some random stuff in it but the drawer does say "grommets". The 5/8" grommet works great on a rubbermaid 10gal cooler. I also grabbed SS washers from the same section in the the "create a bolt" kit and wound up using 3 of them. To help seal it I put an o ring between the SS washers and the grommet and it's working well... I'm not sure if this is necessary (could it be a bad thing even? Should I use a neoprene washer instead?) but it seems to be doing its job.

It was a frustrating day but it came together. Hopefully this info can help someone out.

 

[ACESFULL]

I took the fittings out of my mash tun because I was worried wort was leaking into the foamy area of the cooler. I'm not sure if it was or not but the original grommet that came with the cooler was shredded and wouldn't work any more. After trying a bunch of things, none of them successful, I decided I had to take a trip to Home Depot to find a new grommet. I never used a SS washer in my original build but figured I should get one now.

I picked up a rubber grommet in the area with the nails and screws, they're in a pullout drawer with some random stuff in it but the drawer does say "grommets". The 5/8" grommet works great on a rubbermaid 10gal cooler. I also grabbed SS washers from the same section in the the "create a bolt" kit and wound up using 3 of them. To help seal it I put an o ring between the SS washers and the grommet and it's working well... I'm not sure if this is necessary (could it be a bad thing even? Should I use a neoprene washer instead?) but it seems to be doing its job.

It was a frustrating day but it came together. Hopefully this info can help someone out.

Not sure where you all are finding these create-a-bolt kits in HD but the ones I have found are all Zinc coated kits. I know those arent good so maybe my HD doesnt carry them.

 

[bovineblitz]

Not sure where you all are finding these create-a-bolt kits in HD but the ones I have found are all Zinc coated kits. I know those arent good so maybe my HD doesnt carry them.

For me they were hanging right in front of my face. There were some that said zinc but there were also a few that said "STAINLESS" in a little diagonal ribbon across one of the corners.

edit: and to answer my own question above, putting an o-ring between the grommet and the steel washers didn't work all that well in the end. I had to reseat everything a couple times and couldn't get a good seal again. I replaced it with the neoprene washer I picked up (I think it was a 3/4" by 2", I eyeballed the size of the opening in the store). The washer is doing the trick just fine.

 

[Zokfend]

i'm curious, this setup leaves about 7 cups (or .44 gallons) of dead space if you set the tun flat. do the majority of brewers who use this setup leave the tun flat, and adjust the sparge water amount, or do you calculate your deadspace and also mash while tipping your tun? i'm just trying to set up my brewsmith equipment profile.

thanks.

 

[barrooze]

I always leave it flat and consider that dead loss. Mine's a tad over 1 qt. It all gets calced into my recipes. I love BeerSmith.

 

[bottlebomber]

Funny, I get 0 dead space. The siphon action in the braid sucks out every last drop.