Fittings question for 48qt Coleman MLT

[WildernessBrewing]

Hey guys,

I'm in the transition to AG, and I'm attempting to build a MLT using this 48qt Coleman cooler. I already have a 1/2" NPT bazooka screen I'm planning on using inside the cooler to separate the wort from the grain, but I'm looking for the easiest way to complete the build. I was considering using this bulkhead, through the wall of the cooler at the factory drain spout hole, and connect a 1/2" ball valve to the outside and the bazooka screen to the female end of the bulkhead on the inside. Does anyone know if this would be feasible?

Alternatively, does anyone personally recommend a specific way of building a MLT from this particular cooler? I was originally going to opt for a cheap and easy build, like this HBA method, but to me that just seems like a temporary option.

Thanks in advance, everyone

 

[JLeuck64]

My 1st AG mash tun was the next size larger cooler (54 qts). I sourced out the parts to put a ball valve on the outside. That was a little problematic to seal but after a few tries I got it working ok. I used the same method as the video to make a screen to filter out the grain particles. The 1st screen lasted through many brew sessions, eventually it was damaged and needed replacement. I never could get the same clear drain after replacing that 1st screen... Don't know why either. I tried making a few more drain screens with no luck. Then I decided to upgrade to a larger cooler and this thread is the link to my build. Notice how I used the existing bulkhead fitting that came with the cooler and just pushed the drain hose through it. That method is dirt cheap and it seals perfectly! I have even more brews through that 2nd cooler than the 1st one and it is still sealing just fine. One other thing I would encourage you to consider or try is go ahead and build a drain manifold for your cooler mash tun. I did a little bit of research in Palmer's How to Brew book when I was considering building a drain manifold for my new cooler. What really caught my attention were these charts showing the pressures inside the mash tun versus the number a drain pathways. The head pressure developed at the bottom of a mash tun with just one drain path is higher than with multiple drain paths. It occurred to me that this just might be the reason I was experiencing poor performance with a single mesh screen in my old mash tun. So I built a simple dual path drain manifold for my new mash tun and couldn't be happier with the results. Drains wicked fast and clear.

 

[WildernessBrewing]

My 1st AG mash tun was the next size larger cooler (54 qts). I sourced out the parts to put a ball valve on the outside. That was a little problematic to seal but after a few tries I got it working ok. I used the same method as the video to make a screen to filter out the grain particles. The 1st screen lasted through many brew sessions, eventually it was damaged and needed replacement. I never could get the same clear drain after replacing that 1st screen... Don't know why either. I tried making a few more drain screens with no luck. Then I decided to upgrade to a larger cooler and this thread is the link to my build. Notice how I used the existing bulkhead fitting that came with the cooler and just pushed the drain hose through it. That method is dirt cheap and it seals perfectly! I have even more brews through that 2nd cooler than the 1st one and it is still sealing just fine. One other thing I would encourage you to consider or try is go ahead and build a drain manifold for your cooler mash tun. I did a little bit of research in Palmer's How to Brew book when I was considering building a drain manifold for my new cooler. What really caught my attention were these charts showing the pressures inside the mash tun versus the number a drain pathways. The head pressure developed at the bottom of a mash tun with just one drain path is higher than with multiple drain paths. It occurred to me that this just might be the reason I was experiencing poor performance with a single mesh screen in my old mash tun. So I built a simple dual path drain manifold for my new mash tun and couldn't be happier with the results. Drains wicked fast and clear.

Hey thanks for the great response. That chart on htb is really interesting. I think a manifold will probably be the best way to go in the long run. In the build you linked, do you know what ID and OD tubing you used? It looks like the factory drain port is the same size as the Coleman unit I have.

edit: Nevermind, looks like you went with 3/8" by 1/2"

 

[JLeuck64]

Yup, that sounds right to me. It's a tight enough fit to not leak but not so tight you can't work it through with water as a lubricant. I had almost enough pipe left over (10ft piece) to build the fly sparge manifold later on too. That's a worth while thing to think about also, fly sparging rocks when you compare the time difference versus batch sparging. As near as I can tell the efficiency is darn near the same but fly sparging shaves at least 20-30 minutes off that whole drain process.