My $35 MLT cooler!

[moorerm04]

Built it this weekend just in time for my first AG brew day.

 

[tre9er]

Congrats! But your boil kettle looks suspiciously like a rubbermaid tote...I wouldn't boil in that :cross:

Make sure you leak test it with hot water, nearly full, BEFORE you put strike water in it. Been there, had to empty strike, re-heat it while I fixed the seal, etc. Nightmare.

 

[moorerm04]

The green Rubbermaid tote is actually my swamp cooler... I leak tested it the day I built it. Work great yesterday. Mashed 13lb of grain at 153 for an hour with only 1-2 degrees of temp loss. I was outside on a 35 degree windy day too.

 

[tre9er]

The green Rubbermaid tote is actually my swamp cooler... I leak tested it the day I built it. Work great yesterday. Mashed 13lb of grain at 153 for an hour with only 1-2 degrees of temp loss. I was outside on a 35 degree windy day too.

Nice job. Did you wrap it in blankets, too? Also foil over the grain bed can help reflect some heat. The lid is where most of the heat is lost.

 

[moorerm04]

Wrapped in a fleece blanket... Never heard of the foil trick I'll have to try that. I ended up 80% efficiency, I did a double batch sparge and it worked out really nice.