MLT cooler conversion with crushproof braid

[Kauai_Kahuna]

That cooler sure looks like the one I use, and I have not even had a single degree drop on me in 1 hour to 1.5 hour mashes. Maybe it's because my ambient temperature is around 80F.

 

[nostalgia]

I'm chilling the wort now. The cooler lost 9 degrees over an hour without me opening the lid once.

Now I only had 6# of grain and 2 gallons of water in there, so it may be I lost a lot due to headspace. Maybe I'll try a piece of pink foam insulation on top next time. I'm not sure that stuff is food safe, though

-Joe

 

[nostalgia]

Almost forgot! The braid worked flawlessly. The flow was less than I'm used to with BIAB, but was steady.

-Joe

 

[stevea1210]

glad to hear the braid worked out. Sorry about the temp loss,ouch.

My braid in my 5 gal tun needs replaced, and I think i'm going to use this method with the spring.

 

[nostalgia]

Well, according to Beersmith I had a 79.5% efficiency going into the boiler. I'll certainly take that!

And holy crap, Whirlfloc is amazing.

-Joe

 

[rking]

Just a heads up, but Ive had quite a few problems with the stainless hose clamps corroding... Ive switched to big industrial nylon zip ties with no problems now ...

 

[bendavanza]

Some hose clamps are cheaper with zinc coated screws and only the bands are ss. The current stock at my home depot are ALL ss. They still look shiny and new.
-Ben

 

[nostalgia]

Yes indeed. The ones I bought from McMaster are supposed to have the stainless screw as well as the band.

And the teflon tape is just to provide a little cushion from wear between the band clamp and the SS strands.

-Joe

 

[Schnitzengiggle]

Sticky this DIY project!!!!!

PROST!

 

[JMSetzler]

I just filled the lid to my 10g round cooler with great stuff (window safe) we'll see how I fare with my next batch. I drilled two small holes from the top, and filled a little here and there until it was nearly full, and I still had worms of stuff coming out for a bout an hour.

I'm definitely interested in hearing the results of your project with Great Stuff. I'm building two MLTs and I think I would like to do this with both.

 

[Catt22]

Ironically, on the advice of one of your WHALES club co-members, just tonight I tried to take the inner hose out of a 24" water heater supply line to build my MLT. Talk about a royal PITA! I was able to get the hose out of a typical SS supply line in about 3 minutes. After working on the water heater supply hose for I guess 45+ minutes I gave up (I had about 4" out by then). I'd love to know: How do you do it? There's got to be a trick I'm missing (beyond the typical "push don't pull" advice).

Try warming the hose with hot water and then slather it with dish soap for lubrication. I had no trouble at all removing the braid from a 3/4" water heater hose. The soap really helps a lot.

 

[stevea1210]

I ordered the parts from MMC and had them in less than 36 hours. quick ship!!
I also went to home depot and picked up 2 Watts a-294 3/8" hose barb adapters, and a Watts A-758 3/8" female tee to hook the whole thing to my existing bulkhead.

It's sitting by the sink filled with water and not leaking . Hopefully I'll get to brew Sunday to give it a test. I'll report back here what happens.

 

[stevea1210]

I put the braid through its first workout, and it worked great. I had great flow, and the braid stood up wonderfully. I like this setup much better. thanks for the idea.

 

[nostalgia]

:rockin: Rock on! Glad I could help

-Joe

 

[nostalgia]

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

 

[evanmars]

FWIW, I have basically the same Ice Cube cooler, only mine came with a drain. Most heat loss I got was in my garage @ about 25 degrees F. I lost about 2 degrees over 1 hour. I have not filled the lid with insulation. I do put a couple of gallons of hot tap water in while getting everything else set up, before mashing in.

 

[Bobby_M]

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

Ah, no loss. Cover your fuel lines with the sleeving.

 

[thelorax121]

I use the binding from a spiral bound notebook the same way, and its free!

 

[AnOldUR]

I use the binding from a spiral bound notebook the same way, and its free!

. . . but is it stainless?

 

[wilserbrewer]

I tried...I thought that braid might be a bit fine?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/mlt-cooler-conversion-crushproof-braid-122433/#post1364709

 

[thekingofspain]

Anyone try a braid and then have it cover a cooper pipe that has some slots/holes in it? Like a mini braided manifold.

The thought is that more of the braid will be used since less of suction will occur around the value and be distributed more.

 

[AnOldUR]

Anyone try a braid and then have it cover a cooper pipe that has some slots/holes in it? Like a mini braided manifold.

Like this?

 

[thekingofspain]

Yeah kinda like that. Does it work for you?

Would you do anything different? The holes are bigger than I imagined.

Is the end of the copper open or closed?

 

[AnOldUR]

Yeah kinda like that. Does it work for you?

Would you do anything different? The holes are bigger than I imagined.

Is the end of the copper open or closed?

Works great. The end of the copper is open and the holes are big to not restrict the flow. The only thing that I am considering changing is the braid. If you look at post #45 of this thread you'll see that there are different levels of weave. Mine is very fine and can result in a slow lauter sometimes. But the other side is that it does a nice job of filtering and doesn't take much vorlauf time before the run-off is clear.

Edit:
The other nice thing about the setup is that it is very rigid. It never moves from the bottom, even when hit with the mash paddle.

 

[thekingofspain]

Ok I made a hybrid one. 27 inches braid that covers 10 inches of copper with a machine gun hole pattern. The holes are much smaller than yours. The copper is open on the side and the braid is closed at the end with a hose camp and copper cap.

I also have a 20" stainless sping that support the braid. Only issue I have is the spring moves up and down the braid.

I never done AG before so I can not tell you how this comapres to anything else or how it work in general as of yet.

I left the joint between the threaded adapter and the copper pipe un soldered for easy removal and cleaning, but not sure how easy it could be knock off during stirring.

thanks for the update.

 

[thekingofspain]

Finally brewed something and the tube and mesh combo worked great.

Actual I used the mesh also in the brew kettle and the wort chiller dented it. (it also clogged as well). I might use a stub of copper tube there as well in addition to a hop bag.

 

[MikeG]

...
20" stainless steel spring, p/n 9663K27 $4.55
10-pack of all-stainless clamps, p/n 5321K17 $6.79
2 feet of 1/2" stainless steel expandable mesh sleeving, p/n 1478T3 $5.72

-Joe

I order these parts yesterday from McMaster-Carr at 9:25a. My wife sends me a message at 2:40p that a delivery has been made, I'm stumped as to what it could be but it's my McMaster-Carr order!

$5 shipping in a box large enough to hold 20# of grain and hops (and probably more) all for these few items. That's the fastest delivery I've ever seen even if it was in an oversized box.

I like this setup, can't wait to try it out.

 

[nostalgia]

Hey Mike, hope it works out for you. I did find that the expandable mesh sleeve was a little too fine for some mashes: see post #45 above.

I'm still using the setup with great success though. I've done 16 batches with it so far.

-Joe

 

[bad coffee]

Love the spring idea. I'm using it on my next mash tun.

I order these parts yesterday from McMaster-Carr at 9:25a. My wife sends me a message at 2:40p that a delivery has been made, I'm stumped as to what it could be but it's my McMaster-Carr order!

Just another reason to love MMC!

 

[MikeG]

Hey Mike, hope it works out for you. I did find that the expandable mesh sleeve was a little too fine for some mashes: see post #45 above.

I'm still using the setup with great success though. I've done 16 batches with it so far.

-Joe

Thanks for the info, I might just go ahead and use my old braid but I don't brew wheats anyhow.