A cooler with a valve installed is the first step in building various equipment for homebrewing beer. Once the valve is on, this cooler can be made into a mash tun or a wort chiller. This instructable is meant to be the first step in my following instructables on how to build these.
This will allow you to drain liquids from the cooler at a controlled rate and will be simple enough to disassemble and clean.
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Signing UpStep 1: Rule # 1 aka "The Golden Rule"
Please note: Have all of your materials on hand ahead of time. You don't need to be driving to the hardware store after following the golden rule.












































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Great idea, even if you use it to drain your cooler while camping! I would recommend using braided hose. This is a much stronger hose that will not kink, bend or get damaged if anything is put on top of it by accident. It is a little more expensive, however for 2 to 3 feet the difference might be a couple bucks!
i was thinking about one of these 10 years ago. (When i started all grain)
But in the end, i decided that i want to be able to do step mashes, without the need of a decoction. So i use a 50l keg with a burner and insulation.(in the meantime, we have a new insulation installed)
I got all three kegs for 150$, and built the tower with the help of a pro-welder. He also enlarged the boiler to hold around 75l (20gal).
We brewed around 400 batches with this setup.
In the second pic, you can see my brewbuddy willy stomping Sauerkraut.(Upcoming instructable) Left of the blue barrel, there are our 3 new 100l (26gal) stainless containers. The one in front with the sticker was used to raise money during our 10 year anniversary. We will soon step up our production with them...(I was very lucky, i got them for free)
I'm sure there are a million ways to put a valve on a cooler. I used whatever I could get at the hardware store.
For the mash tun, the internal coupling attaches to a CPVC fitting and that is what I use to lauter with. The filter is all CPVC. I am also working on an arm that could be incorporated into the lid for fly sparging, but the MLT could certainly be used for batch sparging. I actually plan on trying both to see what my efficiencies will be.