Mash tun cooler repair, help!(Coleman Xtreme)

[G-Ro]

Noticed a leak yesterday during the mash in my 70 qt Coleman cooler and after taking out the bulkhead found four cracks. These are mostly due to the fact that my fittings contained only ONE o-ring and the metal nuts squeezed together the cooler wall too tightly. I’m fed up with it, can/should I repair this and how?? I have silicone sealant on hand as well.

 

[brewbama]

I am not sure you can/should repair it. You need more bearing surface so you don’t engage the cracks allowing leaks. I recommend a 1/2” ID x 2” or even 2.5” OD food safe gasket and corresponding washer. (This photo made me realize I need to clean my MLT!)
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For others that have similar cooler MLT, to eliminate this issue do what Bobby from Brewhardware suggested and cut the white plastic ring that comes around plumber’s tape to fit inside the cavity where the foam is between the inside plastic liner and outside plastic shell. Wind it up, place it in the hole and let it unwind in the hole. That plastic ring gives the nuts something to tighten against so it doesn’t pinch together like that. Here’s his video:

 

[G-Ro]

Thank you! Before I turn it into a beer cooler or sell it, is there there an epoxy I should use to first fill in the cracks? Where would I find food safe gaskets?

 

[sonex]

You could try plumbers putty with a large washer behind the putty. I have not tried this but I am a plumber and have been amazed at times how well the putty seals. hope you can save your cooler.

 

[wilserbrewer]

The fast and easy repair would be to scuff the plastic area well with coarse sandpaper and slather the area with 100% silicone sealant....imo investing too much time, effort and money into a broken cooler isn’t worth the effort.

My history tells me the sealant will work, won’t be pretty but will work for a long while...

A large washer and gasket would of course be better, and some sealant wouldn’t hurt your cause going this direction.

Bobby M’s suggestion of a pvc spacer to support the cooler walls is a good one, some folks also pack the void between the cooler walls with epoxy putty....

Silicone sealant is your friend lol, will hide your mistakes.

 

[RM-MN]

This might be the right time to give BIAB a try. After one batch you may decide to forget fixing the cooler to use for beer.

 

[G-Ro]

Going to try the sealant and gasket method until I get a good deal on an igloo. Where does one buy food grade gaskets ?

 

[mongoose33]

Going to try the sealant and gasket method until I get a good deal on an igloo. Where does one buy food grade gaskets ?

https://www.google.com/search?q=foo...rome..69i57.2661j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

[Lorne Lemaire]

you could try cutting hole larger on inside with razor knife/holesaw to a size that a rubber bung would seal. enlarge hole in bung to fit 1/2" copper pipe, join pipe to manifold with a little 1/2" silicone hose. outside of cooler sweat on elbow and threaded copper piece to ball valve.

 

[mirthfuldragon]

This might be the right time to give BIAB a try. After one batch you may decide to forget fixing the cooler to use for beer.

Came here to say the same thing. A little off topic, but I haven't used my 10g igloo cooler at all in my last 10 or so brews. No-sparge BIAB in a keggle. Lost maybe 3% efficiency (72-75% now), but I use the LHBS grain mill and double-crush. BIAB is less to clean, and by skipping the sparge, my brew days are down to about 4 hours or so.