Need a "stiffener" or stints in the insulation on my cooler/mashtun. Any suggestions?

[clockwise]

I've been trying to get this thing right for a bit now. Almost there I hope.

I'm sure some of you ran into this problem before. I'm inserting 1/2" pipe through the insulated plastic double wall, but I need to tighten the internal nut, washer and silicone pretty tight to get a good seal. Problem is, more I tighten, the more it bends, even by hand. Very flimsy.

I've tried searching around a little bit, but I couldnt find any plausible suggestions. Are there any sprayable hard foams out there that would work? The only other thing I can think of is putting some sort of crescent shaped stints in there, but that sounds like a pain. Maybe concrete?

 

[microbusbrewery]

Use a holesaw to cut a bigger hole in the outer wall so that you're snugging up your fittings against the outer and inner surfaces of the inner wall.

 

[seigex]

Use a holesaw to cut a bigger hole in the outer wall so that you're snugging up your fittings against the outer and inner surfaces of the inner wall.

Good advice. This is what I did and it works great. Just make sure you put a good tight washer on the inside so it doesn't leak.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Another option is to remove the foam b/w the cooler walls locally to the fitting and replace with epoxy putty or bondo type two part filler.

A third option is to use an oversized sleeve of PVC pipe over the steel bulkhead.

 

[clockwise]

Use a holesaw to cut a bigger hole in the outer wall so that you're snugging up your fittings against the outer and inner surfaces of the inner wall.

So simple. So effective. It's the kind of solution that makes you feel stupid for not thinking of it.