MLT cooler conversion with crushproof braid

[BrewDog760]

Great idea nostalgia and a good thread for me to subscribe to *Done* so that I can come back to it. I just went through a stuck mash experience that added an hour + to my brewing time. I think my perhaps overused braid from a plumbing line flattened out and made life suck. SWMBO just got new baseboards installed by yours truly so I shouldn't get the arched eyebrow when I come back from the hardware store with some new stuff.

 

[jaythebassist]

Like this?

Hard to tell in the pics, but did you drill the holes bigger near the open end, and smaller near the valve? I'm thinking then you could pull sweet wort more evenly from the bottom of the MLT. I'm getting ready to mod a cooler to be my MLT, and don't know if this is terribly important.

Thanks. This is an awesome thread.

 

[bovineblitz]

Just a little update for anyone who's thinking about doing this... I just did a mash with 1.5lbs of flaked corn and minute rice (25% adjunct) with the braid in the original post. I used 1/2 pound of rice hulls and my sparge was quite slow but steady and very very clear. This is my first mash with the braid and I was afraid of it getting stuck after reading the entire thread... so I figured why not do a cream ale and find out if I need to go back to a toilet mesh hose. I'm happy to say that it worked well even though my mash turned into a goop and I'm planning on sticking with this one.

I love having the spring in the mesh braid, not only is it collapse-proof but it also doesn't float around in the mash tun anymore.

 

[nostalgia]

Nice! Closing in on two years later, and I've put dozens of batches through this braid. I don't have a single complaint. It even stands up to the beating I give it with the mash paddle

-Joe

 

[IffyG]

Glad to get some long term feedback on this project. I'll be tackling this on my own in the very near future.

 

[IffyG]

In case anyone is curious, I spent 90 bucks for parts and shipping for this set up vs 65 for a 'bulkhead', ballvalve and bazooka screen set up from the cheapest vendor. Money well spent IMO.

 

[bovineblitz]

I suggest at least a half pound of rice hulls with the braid in the OP... or else your sparge will be really, really slow.

Maybe I'm just spoiled by fast sparges.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Well, I just had my first stuck runoff and stuck sparge - even after taking all of the grain out of the MLT and putting it in a grain bag. The mash was 50% flaked wheat and apparently formed a spackle, completely clogging the braid.

I took a side-by-side of a dishwasher hose I had in stock and the protective sleeve from McMaster that I used. Dishwasher hose on top. You can see the big holes in the weave. I'll be trying that next time.

Live and learn! Spring: great idea. Mesh abrasion sleeve for lautering: bad idea.

-Joe

Perhaps post 1 of this thread should be revised, rather than mention on post 45 of unsatisfactory results w/ the specified materials.

 

[IffyG]

Perhaps post 1 of this thread should be revised, rather than mention on post 45 of unsatisfactory results w/ the specified materials.

The question is, has he done a mash with the other material using 50% flaked wheat? If he had a spackle like mass form in his MLT, I don't know that the other braid would have helped all that much.

 

[IrregularPulse]

Nice! Closing in on two years later, and I've put dozens of batches through this braid. I don't have a single complaint. It even stands up to the beating I give it with the mash paddle

-Joe

By "this braid" I assume you mean the toilet line since you switched it? Or did you go back?

 

[Marshall081]

All those responses and no one got the metallica reference.

 

[nostalgia]

By "this braid" I assume you mean the toilet line since you switched it? Or did you go back?

Hey sorry IP, I never saw this post. Yes, I mean the toilet line since I switched it.

Now that I have 2 years experience under my belt, I'm fairly certain the stuck runoff I had wasn't the fault of the original braid, but we'll never know

-Joe

 

[Cubslover]

I'll be building this exact cooler into a MLT this week. It doesn't have a drain from the factory so I'll be using my own "Bulkhead" fittings to fab this up... Preliminary fabs have worked great. I'll do a build thread when I do it.