Igloo cube mash tun?

[Boostedstang]

I am finally getting back into brewing and plan to make the switcheck to all grain soon. I have been doing research on building a mash tun out of a cooler. Most of the threads I find on this subject are based on coleman max cold coolers, I can't stand them do to the crappy hinge design. I have been through 2 of them in the last year and a half due to the hinge screws pulling out. This last one I fixed temporarily but now the screws are coming out again and one of the hinges is about to split too. Needless to say I have no intention of using one of these coolers for a mash tun.

So this has lead me to looking into other coolers. I have found that a 60 qt Igloo cube will only run me $22, the hinge is better and it will take up less space. The space aspect is huge to me btw. Is this cube ok to use? will I have any issues maintaining my temp with it?

I have no plans of making more then 5 gallon batches fyi.

Thanks for any advice/info.

 

[aspiffymofo]

Mine works great. I usually throw a blanket or towel over the top since the lid is not insulated. Some people spray insulating foam in there, but I haven't found that its needed

One problem is that the outlet isn't at the bottom of the cooler, but a few inches up.. so you will need to make some kind of connection to get your screen or manifold to the bottom..

 

[armedcor]

A friend of mine I brew with uses one of these with just a simple bazooka screen and the thing is a monster. Holds temp rock steady, fairly compact and damn efficient.

 

[armedcor]

Mine works great. I usually throw a blanket or towel over the top since the lid is not insulated. Some people spray insulating foam in there, but I haven't found that its needed

One problem is that the outlet isn't at the bottom of the cooler, but a few inches up.. so you will need to make some kind of connection to get your screen or manifold to the bottom..

Yea good point my friend has insulated his lid.

 

[Boostedstang]

sounds like I'll be picking one of these up tomorrow.

Thanks for the quick replies gentlemen.

 

[dirkomatic]

I have one of the old 48 quart tons and it works great for batch sparging. I recently tried recirculating and found my manifold doesn't let enough flow through, so I am making a grant... I filled the lid with insulation. it was easy to do... The lid is really heavy now and is probably better insulated than the sides.

I have pics in my thread https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=462167

 

[Boostedstang]

Thanks for the link. Iam still not sure how I feel about a cpvc manifold. I am concerned about chemicals leaching from the plastic. I'll probably end up using stainless steel or copper.

 

[dirkomatic]

Thanks for the link. Iam still not sure how I feel about a cpvc manifold. I am concerned about chemicals leaching from the plastic. I'll probably end up using stainless steel or copper.

Trust me, I would prefer stainless... But CPVC is service rated up to 200 F (unlike PVC), more than the walls of the Igloo cooler you will be mashing in.

 

[Boostedstang]

How exactly did you go about filling the lid with spray foam?

 

[dirkomatic]

The lid has a little flip up lid. I drilled a couple holes in the area under that lid and sprayed it in with the straw that came with it. I let gravity work for me as much as possible and tried to spray all around. Then I put in some little caps to cover the holes. I'll take some pics and post them to that other thread later tonight.

 

[dirkomatic]

Posted pics of the lid here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=6896259&postcount=8