Cheap & Easy 10 Gallon Rubbermaid MLT Conversion

[J-Wood]

Good point.

 

[ontheuglydrumset]

Here's what that looks like on my Home Depot receipt. I'd imagine if you hand this to an employee, it would make shopping a LOT easier. The washers were not sold individually, so I purchased them in the form of the "nuts and washers" kit, which contained four washers for $3.92.

So the above was the recommended set of goods from the original post. However, I found that even after adding 3 washers to the outside, the setup was still very loose, so I ended up going back to Home Depot and getting a different-sized nipple instead of continuing to stack washers. I shrank from the 1 1/2" to a (approximately) 1" (Watts LFA-785 instead of the suggested LFA-786).



With this setup, everything tightens up well with just one washer on each side, but with the downside that the valve arm doesn't quite go all the way to the closed position. It hits the side of the cooler before getting fully closed, but it does close sufficiently to stop flow, and it did not leak one drop for me. I'd definitely recommend this setup instead of the original suggestion. I'll probably go back to Home Depot soon in search of a short brass extension piece to extend the valve away from the cooler a bit further and allow it to fully close.

 

[DurtyChemist]

SUPER helpful. Only thing easier would be the SKU #'s. The only thing I DONT see is the valve you purchased. Any possibility of you posting a photo of the closed valve interference?

View attachment 218818



Here's what that looks like on my Home Depot receipt. I'd imagine if you hand this to an employee, it would make shopping a LOT easier. The washers were not sold individually, so I purchased them in the form of the "nuts and washers" kit, which contained four washers for $3.92.



So the above was the recommended set of goods from the original post. However, I found that even after adding 3 washers to the outside, the setup was still very loose, so I ended up going back to Home Depot and getting a different-sized nipple instead of continuing to stack washers. I shrank from the 1 1/2" to a (approximately) 1" (Watts LFA-785 instead of the suggested LFA-786).



View attachment 218822



With this setup, everything tightens up well with just one washer on each side, but with the downside that the valve arm doesn't quite go all the way to the closed position. It hits the side of the cooler before getting fully closed, but it does close sufficiently to stop flow, and it did not leak one drop for me. I'd definitely recommend this setup instead of the original suggestion. I'll probably go back to Home Depot soon in search of a short brass extension piece to extend the valve away from the cooler a bit further and allow it to fully close.

 

[mrgrimm101]

Would there be any advantage or disadvantage to using a rectangular cooler instead of a round cooler? I've found rectangular coolers for much cheaper than the round and they seem to be comparable in its construction and durability.

Were I to get a rectangular cooler, would I need any other parts than what is listed on this post? Would just the 12" bazooka screen work, or should I look into building a manifold?

 

[fosaisu]

Would there be any advantage or disadvantage to using a rectangular cooler instead of a round cooler? I've found rectangular coolers for much cheaper than the round and they seem to be comparable in its construction and durability.

Were I to get a rectangular cooler, would I need any other parts than what is listed on this post? Would just the 12" bazooka screen work, or should I look into building a manifold?

Here's one of a number of threads with discussion on round vs. square coolers:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/mash-tun-round-vs-square-poll-148575/

I've got minimal experience but my take-away from that and other threads is that square vs. round doesn't matter if you're batch sparging, so if that's your plan there's no reason not to go with the cheaper square cooler. You'd probably want to do some searching though to confirm that the parts you are looking at will fit the specific cooler you buy.

 

[Wingnutt73]

So I Just built this two weeks ago. I got the a round and a square cooler. The round build went great hardest part was removing the tubing from the steel mesh. Now the square cooler build was much harder. The walls are thicker and the spout is at a downward angle. I had to cut away some of the plastic to make the bulkhead flush on the outside. The bulkhead and the connecting piece are also to small for the whole in the square cooler I got. I would suggest going a size larger.
Since the walls are thicker also I was not able to use as many washers or tighten it as tight as I would have liked. Now it doesn't leak but if you were to bump the bulkhead it will. Other than that all went well and they work great. I am going to look into replacing the bulkhead and conecting pieces to make sure it will never leak.

 

[Maxham51]

I eliminated these parts
- brass square head plug (Watts A-737)
- ½” x 12” (or larger) braided stainless steel '

and added this part
1/2" Male x 3/8" Female NPT Reducer Bushings
This is used to tighten the inside and can be used to attach a standard bazooka type filter. Much better then a the braiding from a hose.

 

[Keith_O]

What is this bazooka filter?
Can you post a pic?

 

[OakPond]

I bought all the parts for this, and put it together. For some reason I couldn't fit the washers on very well, so I just said screw becuase it was holding water fine, and then just reinforced it with a butt load of teflon tape. Works perfect.

 

[mrclean]

What is this bazooka filter?
Can you post a pic?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ISY2DC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[OakPond]

Just want to throw in a satisfied post. This design worked better than I possibly imagined. My first all-grain experience was amazing! Don't think I'm ever going back to extract. This process is so much fun and more invovled.

 

[Crucial-BBQ]

Not sure if I posted in this thread or not...

...I found the - 3/8” MIP x 1-1/2” brass nipple (Watts A-786) to be too long. Not to mention it was the pits trying to get the nipple and the valve ends to screw in all they way. Instead of buying more washers I just got a shorter MIP.

...The stainless steel hose clamps from Home Depot rusted rather quickly (after first batch). Yes, they were clearly stamped as being "stainless". Ended up replacing them with clamps from LHBS.

...Ended up replacing the screen with a Bazooka tube...the braid that is suggested works good but the ends fray too easily, didn't want any bits to break off.

...I was going to build a second one then realized that I could get all stainless steel parts from my LHBS for only a couple dollars more...and that they "should" have been sold with the specific use of home brewing in mind...not plumbing.

...Also, be careful when you buy ball valves from a hardware store. Some of them contain a teflon grease inside to lubricate the ball/valve.

 

[Baldy246]

I crafted my MLT over the past week and did my first all grain brew today. Everything was going great until during my sparge I was just getting drips. Finally when I got all the grain out, my supply hose was flat as a pancake.

Did I do something wrong? Is this normal? What should I do differently?

Thanks!

 

[day_trippr]

Take the braided tube to the hardware store and find some stainless steel springs to stuff inside...

Cheers!

 

[RuckingBrewer]

I can not get the flex hose inside the braid to move by pushing it with needle nose. Anyone have some advice?

 

[badlee]

If you bunch up the braid,it will be easier to remove.
Problem is,when you pull on it,it tightens around the inner plastic.

 

[CGVT]

Soap

 

[juggabrew]

I can not get the flex hose inside the braid to move by pushing it with needle nose. Anyone have some advice?

Push one side of wire mesh towards the center and pull the other end in the opposite direction. It will slip out in no time

 

[ctbrewer227]

Finished my build today on my new MT, everything went good as planned, got all the parts at home depot, only thing I notice when done is the whole assembly spins but it passed the leak test and holds water perfectly with no leaks

 

[cdoebler]

Getting ready to do my build with a 10 gallon igloo but I'm concerned about the hose getting crushed eventually. I was thinking of doing a plastic manifold. Has anyone done this and has any tips on shape or tubing size to use?

 

[KLAAYHAUS]

Getting ready to do my build with a 10 gallon igloo but I'm concerned about the hose getting crushed eventually. I was thinking of doing a plastic manifold. Has anyone done this and has any tips on shape or tubing size to use?

If you use copper conduit inside your ss braid you'll be fine, that's what I used. I had a problem with twisting the braid when I stirred the mash (with a paint stirer on my drill) so I just bought a small SS pork rack in the grilling section at Meijer and use that as a cage around my braid.

 

[bigwigg]

I put galvanized steel wire inside of mine wrapped kind of in a spiral like a notebook spiral. Have only had one stuck sparge but it fixed itself.

 

[cdoebler]

If you use copper conduit inside your ss braid you'll be fine, that's what I used. I had a problem with twisting the braid when I stirred the mash (with a paint stirer on my drill) so I just bought a small SS pork rack in the grilling section at Meijer and use that as a cage around my braid.

What is a pork rack?

 

[Stealthcruiser]

I put galvanized steel wire inside of mine wrapped kind of in a spiral like a notebook spiral. Have only had one stuck sparge but it fixed itself.

Find you something else, and swap it out with that galvanized crap, something a little more "inert".............

 

[KLAAYHAUS]

What is a pork rack?

It's a rack to cook pork tenderloins on your grill. I put the copper conduit inside the braid and then the entire thing is protected by the "cage."

 

[KLAAYHAUS]

I put galvanized steel wire inside of mine wrapped kind of in a spiral like a notebook spiral. Have only had one stuck sparge but it fixed itself.

You may want to use copper instead: http://www.ehow.com/info_8620608_dangers-cooking-galvanized-steel.html

 

[bigwigg]

Thanks

 

[OrangesOfCourse]

I decided to try and build this but it seems that the new Home Depot coolers are a little different. The spigot assembly is 3/4 inch instead of the old style. Should I size up everything to a 3/4 inch size or is there a different solution?

 

[Baldy246]

I recently purchased 2 and followed these directions and it worked fine. You really have to torque them down to prevent leaking. I mean you really have to put some stank on it! They work great!

 

[adbuett]

I decided to try and build this but it seems that the new Home Depot coolers are a little different. The spigot assembly is 3/4 inch instead of the old style. Should I size up everything to a 3/4 inch size or is there a different solution?

Oranges, I have just found this out as well. I was able to get a good seal after putting a lot of torque on the bulkhead fittings, but the assembly just ended up too flimsy for me. The wiggling I was able to accomplish leads me to think I'm going to end up with leaks down the road.

This issue is actually the exact reason I moved from lurking to joining the forum. Not because I am searching for a solution, but because I believe I have found one. I will make a new post detailing my procedures and edit this one once complete.

Andrew

edit: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f257/10gal-home-depot-cooler-mt-big-hole-fix-519025/