Cooler conversion to MT..

Yakima 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
bball3414

bball3414

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2010
Messages
78
Reaction score
1
Location
Boston
Im slowly going to be transitioning to doing AG in my kitchen, as I still rent and dont have outdoor space for a tiered setup.

I will be sticking with 5 gallon batches for the time being b/c gas on my stove would cost wayyy to much to heat up enough water for 10 gallon batches.

Im going to do a cooler conversion and was wondering if i needed anything else for it?
cooler: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000G64I1A/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

valve kit: http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/bronze-cooler-valve-kit-w-barb.html

mash filter: http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/mash-boil-screen.html

Also... right now i have a 5 gallon stock pot for by boil kettle while doing extracts. I figure i can use this for the HLT for my sparge water. Batch sparging, im thinking for now. Will this be a large enough pot?
I would get a new boil kettle.. what size do you recommend? I would imagine a 10 gallon if i want to end up doing a full boil.

Thanks!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
5 won't cut it for your BK but will be fine for your HLT. I currently use a couple of 3 gallons for HL to cut down on space.

Get a 10 gallon BK for sure and you'll be covered.
 
what im planning to do is get a new BK...10 gallons.

Then for my setup up... ill heat up the strike water9The water that goes into the mash correct??) in the BK... then dump that into the cooler and start the mash.
While this is happening, ill be heating up the sparge water in my current 5 gal pot.
then batch sparge for my runoff.

this is the most logical way to me seeing as how i am using my kitchen stove.

Any other ideas??

gotmud-- where can i find a longer close nipple... the XL one on northern brewer seems to only be 1 1/4 inches... the cooler says it is 2 inches... so i will def. need more length than that
 
i have the 50 qt coleman and i had to purchase a 2 1/2 nipple the coleman r pretty thick.. also am i the only one that thinks 70 qt is over kill?? you wont have any grain depth with a 70 i get a decent one with a 50 qt
 
sounds good... thanks for the advice!

from reading the forums, the overall consensus is that with batch sparging, you didnt need to worry about grain depth.

i guess it would be better to plan ahead in case i ever want to do fly sparging.
 
brooklyn-- what length valve did you use for getting through the cooler wall? I cant find the qidth specs anywhere.
Will the ones i have linked about from northern brewer be adequate? I think its 1.25 inches...
I can always get longer.. Im just J/w... thanks!
 
Shorter the better. The recess for the spigot goes in a lot and there isn't a lot or wall to get through. I used the smallest recommended cooler nipple at bargainfittings which I think is 1.25 and I still had to pack a couple of extra washers behind the valve to fill the extra space. I probably could have used the shorter keg length nipple.
 
I have the 50qt Coleman Xtreme with one of the new cooler bulkheads that Bargain Fittings is selling. Works great and was super easy to install. I would settle on your cooler and then take a measurement when you remove the plastic spigot so you get the correct sized nipple.

Sent from my iPhone using HB Talk
 
does anyone know or notice a major difference between using a regular coleman cooler versus the xtreme ones?

its like a 20-30 buck difference in the stores and I want to know if its worth the extra money to get the extreme kind.

thanks!
 
bball3414 said:
does anyone know or notice a major difference between using a regular coleman cooler versus the xtreme ones?

its like a 20-30 buck difference in the stores and I want to know if its worth the extra money to get the extreme kind.

thanks!
Click to expand...

I started off with a standard Coleman cooler. HUGE mistake. Couldn't keep heat, had terrible efficiency. Had to kick it to the curb, take the hit, and get an Xtreme. The extra insulation makes a big difference. This is using a single infusion mash and batch sparging.
 
cool... thanks! thats what im figuring on doing.. just 5 gallon batches for now with batch sparging.
Im think ultimately, i will end up getting the 52 quart in case i move up to 10 gal. batches anytime soon...
 
bball3414 said:
cool... thanks! thats what im figuring on doing.. just 5 gallon batches for now with batch sparging.
Im think ultimately, i will end up getting the 52 quart in case i move up to 10 gal. batches anytime soon...
Click to expand...

I got the 36 quart and wish I had gotten one bigger because I didn't have enough room to fit all the liquid and grain for a Belgian Dark Strong I was brewing as a 5 gallon batch.

Also, this is the bulkhead I used http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=147
 
what thickness did you get? I would imagine needing at least the 2.5 thickness from a previous earlier in the discussion
 
bball3414 said:
what thickness did you get? I would imagine needing at least the 2.5 thickness from a previous earlier in the discussion
Click to expand...

I actually used the 2.0" version, but just got it to work. the 2.5 would probably work better, but might need some washers. The wall thickness really reduces where the spigot is. I also put a thermowell in the cooler and that required the 3 inch version to fit.
 
bball3414 said:
well... it has begun... just ordered the cooler... http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Xtreme-Chest-Cooler-qt%252e%2529/dp/B000Q62Y34/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1296183167&sr=8-16

im wondering if it would be cheaper to order the fittings parts at bargainfittings.com or just go on over to home depot and pick them up separately... any ideas?
Click to expand...

The Lowes by my place never has stainless steel fittings, and if they did I don't think they would be that cheap. I have ordered a lot of stuff from bargainfittings.com including a kettle conversion kit, dip tube, lots of cam locks, and my cooler conversion kit and they have always done a great job. Stuff is to my door in 2-3 days.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Similar threads

F
Georgia 3-Vessel all grain system - $300
Replies
0
Views
256
fuzzybee
F
A
New K-RIMS System question
Replies
10
Views
741
Genuine
Genuine
JeffersonCoastal
Going from three vessel propane to Electric All in one
Replies
23
Views
2K
thewho1985
T
Lollim96
Can someone please explain AG brewing in mash tune that don’t have elements? Like cooler tuns?
Replies
13
Views
1K
marx2k
M
F
mashing a small amount of grain in a large amount of water.
Replies
8
Views
1K
fluketamer
F
InkBird 300

Latest posts

Back
Top