Coleman 62 qt Xtreme Wheeled Cooler <$20!

[xumbi]

I hope this is the right place for this, since there isn't a "deals" forum, but I just came across this deal on a coleman 62 qt cooler from sears, only $19.97! Coleman sells it for $72.99 on their website, insanity!

I ordered one and opted for in-store pickup, so no shipping!

I can't wait to go AG with this baby.

Here's a pic

Update: This deal is dead As of 2/12 sears has it priced back up to $49

 

[RedVR6]

Heh...first post. Still need to introduce myself.

Wow...nice deal. I have a 52qt Xtreme I bought not too long ago for a mashtun. I will get one of these too.

 

[iamjonsharp]

This is a good deal.

 

[Moonpile]

I agree that this looks like a good deal. I think I got my 70qt eXtreme for something like $37 at Walmart last year.

http://picasaweb.google.com/justin.cann/MoonpileSBeerPix/photo#5132527218532921090

http://picasaweb.google.com/justin.cann/MoonpileSBeerPix/photo#5132527227122855698

Just gave it its maiden mash on MLK day. The S/S hose got stretched out by 23.5 lbs of grain though. I'm planning on making a copper collection manifold before next brew. Though, to be fair, it drained well, if a bit slowly, the whole time.

 

[mrkristofo]

Well, looks like Kris is going AG.

 

[Bombo80]

I just got a 60qt cooler, with telescoping handle and wheels, from Sam's for $28, out the door. Just got my copper manifold laid out, and cut, last night. Also got the brass tube and gaskets going through the drain hole. I'll post pics when I'm done.

 

[RedVR6]

xumbi,

Make sure you call your store to make sure they have it in stock. I just went thru a whole fiasco on the phone to find out it was not in stock in my local store even though Sears.com stated it was. Had to cancel my order then order again to have it shipped. Pain in the rear. lol

 

[rob897]

I just recently purchase the 70qt version of this from Walmart for $35.00 and just finished up the copper manifold, heres the pics

Will be doing an American IPA on the Mash Tun within the next few weeks.

 

[xumbi]

xumbi,

Make sure you call your store to make sure they have it in stock. I just went thru a whole fiasco on the phone to find out it was not in stock in my local store even though Sears.com stated it was. Had to cancel my order then order again to have it shipped. Pain in the rear. lol

Hmmm, I received an email this morning telling me that it's ready for pickup, hopefully I won't have a problem. I'll try to pick it up tonight and report back.

 

[Bombo80]

rob897,

Nice manifold. How many points on it are soldered ?? Just curious as I am going to be finishing mine tonight.

Thanks

 

[RedVR6]

Hmmm, I received an email this morning telling me that it's ready for pickup, hopefully I won't have a problem. I'll try to pick it up tonight and report back.

So did I...until I got some strange call from the store I was picking it up at asking me to call them back. An hour of trying to calla nd get someone on the phone, I finally got a hold of someone in the store and they had no idea what I was talking about...nor did they know what a cooler was.

Good luck.

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

rob897,

Nice manifold. How many points on it are soldered ?? Just curious as I am going to be finishing mine tonight.

Thanks

I have roughly the same copper manifold. I have NO solder joints. Instead, I put the tubes into the connectors, lightly pounded on them with a rubber mallet, then twisted the tube 90 degrees. Deforming them makes them difficult to slide in and out, but relatively easy to clean. Haven't had an accidental break-apart yet.

 

[rob897]

rob897,

Nice manifold. How many points on it are soldered ?? Just curious as I am going to be finishing mine tonight.

Thanks

Everything is dry fitted (unsoldered) except for the tube that connects to the valve.
That part is soldered to the threaded adapter.
Hope that helps, but leaving them unsoldered as someone else said makes cleaning a snap!!

 

[JustMrWill]

Quick question: Any pros/cons in using a rectangular cooler versus the cylinder ones?

-JMW

 

[Bombo80]

Thanks guys

 

[xumbi]

So did I...until I got some strange call from the store I was picking it up at asking me to call them back. An hour of trying to calla nd get someone on the phone, I finally got a hold of someone in the store and they had no idea what I was talking about...nor did they know what a cooler was.

Good luck.

Yikes, this is discouraging. Oh well, I'm about to head to sears, I'll cross my fingers.

 

[hollowdp]

This cooler looks huge, would there be any downsides to a mash tun with this much surface area? For instance, a really thin grain bed on lower gravity 5 gallon batches...

 

[rdwj]

This cooler looks huge, would there be any downsides to a mash tun with this much surface area? For instance, a really thin grain bed on lower gravity 5 gallon batches...

It's not the perfect solution for a 5 gallon batch, but it will work. You have to ask yourself if you want to be set up for 10 gals or 5 gals and go with one or the other. I do mostly 10 gal batches and I have the 52 qt version of that cooler. I wish I had a little extra room.

 

[xumbi]

Success! I had zero problems. Here is some visual evidence:

Can you see the original price tag? $49.99!

The inside dimensions are a little weird, hopefully this won't be a problem.

I just removed the spigot, insulation is visible.

Good luck to anyone else who goes for it. I'll post more pics when I install the hardware in a few weeks.

 

[RedVR6]

Lucky!!! LOL. That is good news.

I am curious about the thickness of the cooler wall compared to the 52Qt version. I assume the same. I mention this because when I fitted my stainless ball valve and Bazooka screen to my 52qt Xtreme I needed a 2" nipple to get a proper fit as the one that came with the valve was a hair too short.

Pics of my cooler: http://Salty.smugmug.com/gallery/2537082/1/133327309

 

[HarvInSTL]

Awesome! Thanks just ordered one!

I'm sure the SWMBO will freak, considering I bought a 100qt from SA after Christmas for $44.

Now to build a weldless fitting

 

[Moonpile]

HarvInSTL: That weldless fittings link was great. Thanks!

Xumbi: In case you haven't done this before: When I converted my 70 qt eXtreme, I didn't know to save the factory gasket from the inside. Luckily I hadn't thrown it out. Definitely hang on to that.

The hole compressed quite a bit when I tightened up the parts. The gasket helped with that, in addition to the o-rings. I also ended up having to use two washers (or shims as the parts list HarvInSTL linked calls them), one inside and one outside.

I also had to really crank down on everything to get it to stop leaking. Doing it by myself it helped to have vise grips and a channel lock. I put the vise grips on the coupling inside after threading that onto the nipple along with the shim, o-ring and factory gasket in that order. Then cranked on the locknut outside with the channel locks. Even then I only got it to stop dripping. I probably was being a bit gingerly with it. When a friend and I both cranked on it we crushed the wall more than I had before, but it totally stopped leaking and performed excellently on our first AG batch on MLK day.

Here's to a great batch.

 

[Onescalerguy]

I have that cooler also and i love it.Super insulated,no temp drop at 60 mins.It will hold 22lbs of grain and 9.5 gals sparge water right up to the rim.I paid sixty bucks for it though...you got a hell of a deal.
Cheers


PS-i have the SS braid and use a drilled rubber stopper for the bulkhead...works fine.

 

[rob897]

This cooler looks huge, would there be any downsides to a mash tun with this much surface area? For instance, a really thin grain bed on lower gravity 5 gallon batches...

From everything I have read online as long as you are batch sparging the bed depth is not that critical. And I will be moving to 10 gallon batches soon so I wanted to have enough room.

 

[rdwj]

I have that cooler also and i love it.Super insulated,no temp drop at 60 mins.It will hold 22lbs of grain and 9.5 gals sparge water right up to the rim.I paid sixty bucks for it though...you got a hell of a deal.
Cheers


PS-i have the SS braid and use a drilled rubber stopper for the bulkhead...works fine.

Are you sure it's 62 qt? I had a little over 27 lbs of grain and 8.5 gallons of water in my 52 last week. Seems like you should have more room.

 

[Onescalerguy]

Alright,i suppose i could get a bit more in.Probly another inch of freeboard or so.I do know that it's none too big though.
Cheers

 

[ColoradoXJ13]

I would totally jump on this, but I think I am going to try to find an 80qt one. 15 gallon mash tun (62 qt) with 1.25 qt/# of grains gets to a max of ~38#/batch (if all 2-row that is a ~1.088 OG) , 20 gallons gets to ~50#/batch (~1.116 OG).

 

[xumbi]

It's not the perfect solution for a 5 gallon batch, but it will work. You have to ask yourself if you want to be set up for 10 gals or 5 gals and go with one or the other. I do mostly 10 gal batches and I have the 52 qt version of that cooler. I wish I had a little extra room.

I am planning on using this for 5 gallon batches mostly.

Although I do tend towards the higher gravity brews, how will the larger size cause problems for 5 gallon batches? Thanks.

 

[SOB]

Just tried to get one (procrastinated for a day) and it seems they are out of them...shucks...

 

[robbins]

If you want to go for the dennybrew a #3 stopper did the trick for me. I have the 70 qt. marine coleman extreme. I've been meaning to make it more 'permanent', but couldn't find a 3/4" SS washer.

HarvInStl, let me know when you order, and I'll be happy to tag along.

Cheers.

 

[BNVince]

Here is my Coleman 70qt. It's rock solid. With a little bit of hot water to pre-heat the tun I don't lose more than 1 degree during an hour long mash. It's fantastic.

 

[FSR402]

That cooler is going to work great. I have the 80qt one and love it.
Don't worry about the grain bed depth. If you are batch sparging then it does not matter at all and if fly sparging then it only matters if the manifold is not covered. The good thing with these coolers is that the foot print is not that large. It's narrow, long and deep. so the grain bed is plenty deep for a 5 gallon batch..

The other day I was listening to some of the archived MP3's of the Brewing network and they had a professional brewer on there that said not to have a thick grain bed. If it's thick you can't rinse it well. It only had to be deep enough to filter.He had some equation to figure out how large of a MLT was needed but I don't remember what it was.

 

[hollowdp]

Has anyone ordered a weldless fitting for this yet? I'm looking at discount fittings and can't decide if I need the one for the thick wall or the regular. I know the thick wall says for extreme type coolers but the wall didn't look to be more than 7/8" thick where the hole was. The regular goes up to 5/8" and the thick goes from 7/8" to 1.5".

Any guidance?

 

[RedVR6]

When I bought my 52qt Xtreme I ordered the weldless stainless cooler ball valve kit from NB: http://pivo.northernbrewer.com/nbstore/action/search-do?searchTerm=7581+&x=0&y=0

Assuming the walls of the 52 and 62qt coolers are the same, I found the nipple to be a hair too short for proper fitment (as mentioned on page 2) that came with that kit (1.5" IIRC)...I managed to find someone on Homebrew.com selling 2" nipples...which worked perfectly. HTH

 

[Donasay]

Looks like they caught on the cooler is now selling for 79 bucks again

 

[ColoradoXJ13]

Looks like they caught on the cooler is now selling for 79 bucks again

Glad I ordered mine on friday night, should be delivered to my local walmart on thursday.

 

[hollowdp]

Does the length of the braid come into play here? It seems like you'd want it to run the full length of the cooler for faster throughput.

 

[splat]

You got a good deal....I didnt do too bad, picked up mine at K-mart for 29.99 I think...Havent used it yet, but maybe in two weekends or so...(still got to get my boil pot done, and get a wort chiller)

 

[mrkristofo]

I suppose I should post my pics, too. Here's the manifold:

 

[missing link]

When I tried using a real long braid, it kept floating up to the surface. I used a brass plug in the end to help hold it down. When it floats up, your only filtering or draining right at the spigot. I switched to a PVC manifold and it works much better for about the same cost as the braid.

Linc