Electric Cool Box to Mash Tun

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ezraburke

DIPA Brewer
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So, thanks for Freegle i've managed to acquire a 40L electrically cooled Halford's cool box.

Paul and I are going to retrofit a ball valve and grain seive into this to make a mash tun.

However (there's always a however) this comes with caveats. Firstly, it's an electric cool box - can we convert the electric component to produce heat or should we just junk it and insulate the lid?

Secondly, there is a 'moisture outlet' in the base of the box - a small 2mm in diameter hole that is plugged up. How the hell are we going to make that watertight?

Finally, the instructions for the box say explicitly DO NOT FILL WITH LIQUID. Is this really a thing we shouldn't do?

All comments on a postcard please!
 
I don't think you would be able to do much with the electrics in terms of turning it to heat rather than cool.

As for the drain hole, rather than bunging it up is there anyway you could utilise it as your tap hole? Be a shame to drill another opening when one is already there.

As for not filling it with liquid, I expect this is Halfords' way of not wanting to be responsible for liquid and electrics in the same place - 'elf and softy' and all that....
 
I had a similar chiller cool box which had a chiller element embedded in the lid. I think you'd need to make sure that your mash couldn't get near it. I doubt you could easily use it to heat.

2mm hole? Maybe some flexible adhesive that's food-safe if you can find that. Otherwise you could assemble a nut, bolt and washers to plug it.
 
Oddly Paul suggested the same about hole - it's right in the centre on the base of the box. I suppose it would be useful for making it a gravity fed device but it'd be awkward to position the box.

Unless we put legs on it.... Good thinking Batman!

Right, plan. Will gut the lid and insulate, drill a hole in the base where the moisture outlet is and fit the ball valve and then build legs onto it with plastic or something.
 
If its a peltier cooler in it you can make it heat instead by reversing the positive and negative inputs. But if the colling is in the lid it would just over heat and burn out, if its in the base it could work OK as the wort would keep it cooler.
 
http://www.screwfix.com/p/tank-coupler-15mm/82376

Plastic bottle crate as a base? You could then use a tank coupler (above) to get your pipework in place, have a 90° bend in pipe coming out from the bottom of your cool box that is long enough to extend through the milk crate with a tap on the end. Make sure you have enough pipe protruding through the coupler into the box to fit your strainer to.
 
http://www.screwfix.com/p/tank-coupler-15mm/82376

Plastic bottle crate as a base? You could then use a tank coupler (above) to get your pipework in place, have a 90° bend in pipe coming out from the bottom of your cool box that is long enough to extend through the milk crate with a tap on the end. Make sure you have enough pipe protruding through the coupler into the box to fit your strainer to.

Right on the noggin, just visited B&Q over lunch. Will see about getting a bottle crate and then using a 90 degree elbow bend to a ball valve.

This is shaping up nicely!

Pics as it happens.
 
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