Tried this? It's workin'!

[scottmd06]

I got a 5-gallon igloo water cooler, removed the push-spigot and replaced it with a replacement spigot for a fermenting bucket. When tightening down the plastic nut, i put in a small piece of vinyl mesh first so when the nut was tight it would create an in-spigot filter to keep grain back... I put some grain in the cooler, added water and tested it with positive results! Just wanted to share, even though I'm sure someone has done this lol

 

[Hex23]

That's cool. Gotta give you props for making it simple and cheap. Conventional wisdom would say that you're going to see low efficiency. But then again conventional wisdom is often wrong. Let us know what your efficiency is like.

 

[SkewedBrewing]

Ya, +1. I'm curious to see what your efficiency is like. I've got a 5 gallon igloo sitting around for mini mashes that would be perfect for this kind of DIY experimentation.

 

[SkewedBrewing]

Also, pics please.

 

[ChowderMonkey]

I am confused as to how this would effect efficiency. It is basically a batch sparge with a very short braid. It would get the same efficiencies you would expect from a batch sparge system correct? The main issue I would see with this might be an increased risk of stuck sparges. Please correct me if I am off base.

 

[IrregularPulse]

It sounds good but Chowder's concern is also my own. Less (far less) surface area. A smaller block would be more detrimental. Curious to see your experience after a couple batches though.

 

[scottmd06]

Yea guys scratch this idea lol got plugged up eventually =( i'm going to build a stainless steel braid hose to wrap trough the bottom like the others out there =)

 

[Hex23]

According to the "conventional wisdom" the efficiency issue would be due to possible channeling and other inconsistent flows. An ideal mash has wort flowing equally in all places during vourlauf (See Palmer, How to Brew"). If I understand your configuration correctly you are going to get fast flow near the drain and very slow flow far from the drain. It's impossible to create a perfect manifold, but some designs are better than others. I use the SS braid method, but instead of a more typical straight tube, I made a circle. I'm still working on maximizing my efficiency - I've only hit 70% so far. Supposedly the drilled dome is a better design.

Nice try anyway. Sometimes trial and error are the best technique.

 

[scottmd06]

I found a nice youtube video by a member named dustball23 who brews with his wife and they made an excellent DIY mash tun with a braided stainless steel hose that wraps through the tun and then attached back to itself with a "T". I would really like to do this project!