My new mash tun

[ben the brewman]

For years now I have been using a round drink cooler for a mash tun and have been unhappy the entire time because it always leaked and warped on the inside. I looked online for a new mash tun and didnt want to spend the money on a blichman, minibrew, or another cooler. I found a 44 quart stainless steel pot that I picked up for a great price and that is almost the exact same size as the drink cooler http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-.../dp/B000VXHKMC. I cut the threaded top off of the cooler and trimmed the foam from the inside to make the pot fit. I had a welding shop cut the handles off and weld a pipe fitting in the bottom of the pot for me. The pot slides perfectly inside of the trimmed cooler and if I would have lined up the hole a little better it would have been a perfect fit. I am using the same false bottom for the drink cooler in this mash tun. Here are a few pics of what I have done so you guys can check it out.

 

[ben the brewman]

Oh yea the pot came with a nice heavy duty lid that I plan on turning into a sparge assembly.

 

[dutchoven]

Nicely done ... all the benefits of stainless and a cooler. Can't tell from the pic, is that a domed false bottom?

 

[ben the brewman]

Yea its domed. It is the false bottom for the drink coolers.

 

[ben the brewman]

I really cant wait to try this thing out soon.

 

[TopherM]

I have the same pot with the SS basket that works perfect for 5G BIAB batches!

 

[Boodlemania]

Man, that's an awesome idea. I have an old 10G that cracked inside. I might try this when the time comes (meaning when my current 10G cracks.)

 

[ben the brewman]

Man, that's an awesome idea. I have an old 10G that cracked inside. I might try this when the time comes (meaning when my current 10G cracks.)

Yea its gonna crack its just a matter of time. Its a easy and perment fix for a plastic cooler.

 

[ben the brewman]

I have the same pot with the SS basket that works perfect for 5G BIAB batches!

It should work great for decent gravity 5 gallon batches and mid gravity 10 gallon batches.

 

[TopherM]

It should work great for decent gravity 5 gallon batches and mid gravity 10 gallon batches.

Eh, doesn't work for 10 gallon batches, but I also have a keggle for my bigger volume and gravity beers.

 

[ben the brewman]

its a 11 gallon pot. I have made plenty of 1.060 or so og 10 gallon batches before and many of high grav 5 gallon batches too. it will be just fine.

 

[ben the brewman]

here is more to back that up www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/how-big-your-mash-tun-needs-123585/

 

[kincade]

Eh, doesn't work for 10 gallon batches, but I also have a keggle for my bigger volume and gravity beers.

Why wouldn't it work for 10 gallon batches? I use my 10 gallon cooler all the time for 1.060 and lower batches.

 

[kincade]

Ben, did you have to cut off the top of the cooler to get the pot to fit? Just wondering if there is a way to keep the insulated top for long mashes?

 

[TopherM]

Why wouldn't it work for 10 gallon batches? I use my 10 gallon cooler all the time for 1.060 and lower batches

I do full volume BIAB, so I couldn't fit the starting volume in my 11 gallon pot, let alone the grains.

I suppose I could do a 10 gallon batch if I were to use partial volume mash and batch sparged, but I have a fully equiped keggle as well, so I do my bigger batches in there and stick to my same full volume BIAB process.

 

[kincade]

I do full volume BIAB, so I couldn't fit the starting volume in my 11 gallon pot, let alone the grains.

I suppose I could do a 10 gallon batch if I were to use partial volume mash and batch sparged, but I have a fully equiped keggle as well, so I do my bigger batches in there and stick to my same full volume BIAB process.

Aaah, that makes more sense. I have no experience with BIAB.

 

[bruin_ale]

Yea its gonna crack its just a matter of time. Its a easy and perment fix for a plastic cooler.

My 10G cooler is still going strong after 6 years of use.. rubber is still in great shape, what part cracked on yours?

 

[JonK331]

That is awesome. Some should start selling those pre-fabbed.

 

[kincade]

My 10G cooler is still going strong after 6 years of use.. rubber is still in great shape, what part cracked on yours?

Typically the plastic liner warps and then cracks.

 

[Boodlemania]

Typically the plastic liner warps and then cracks.

Yep. That's what's happened to me.

 

[wedge421]

haha that is a great idea~

 

[ben the brewman]

Ben, did you have to cut off the top of the cooler to get the pot to fit? Just wondering if there is a way to keep the insulated top for long mashes?

Yea I had to cut the top but the lid fits on still. It just sits there but it will still hold in the heat.

 

[ben the brewman]

My 10G cooler is still going strong after 6 years of use.. rubber is still in great shape, what part cracked on yours?

The plastic liner inside is what cracked. It warped and stayed like that for a while but the warp eventually cracked and started to leak between the walls.

 

[ben the brewman]

That is awesome. Some should start selling those pre-fabbed.

Thats a really good idea but the cooler was $40, the pot is $86, $50 for the welded fitting, and labor to install and modify. The price would be just $250 or so which im not sure if people would go for or not. Its just a nice diy project.

 

[kincade]

Yea I had to cut the top but the lid fits on still. It just sits there but it will still hold in the heat.

I'm wondering if it would be possible to cut the exterior farther down on the outside and reattach the threaded portion for the lid so that the lid would screw back on...

Also curious how much of the foam did you have to remove from the cooler after taking out the liner? Or did it just slide in?

 

[ben the brewman]

I had to remove about 1/8" of the foam all the way around the cooler. Its not enough to worry about really. I dont know about reattaching the threaded portion because I threw it away already but there is no reason to screw the lid down tight anyway. The insulated lid sitting on top of it will hold the heat just fine.

 

[ben the brewman]

I just look at the pics of it and the ring I cut off will not fit back on. The rim of the pot is right where the ring used to be.

 

[davefleck]

Sweet! The slight space and change in material should help the U value of the setup!

 

[ben the brewman]

I will let you guys know how this works out when I get to use it. I cant imagine that it will be that much different but it should be fun to try out.

 

[kincade]

Thanks for the advice ben. My pot arrived on Friday so I will be doing this shortly.