DIY Cooler Mash Tun

[Avocado Fruit]

Hi guys,

I'm upgrading my setup by replacing my trusty bucket-in-a-bucket mash tun with a picnic cooler style mash tun. My current tun consists of two identical plastic fermenters - the outside vessel wrapped with several layers of insulation, the inside vessel drilled with lots of tiny holes in the base. I have undergone many brew days with this mash tun (many involving a stuck sparge) and I think it's time for a change.

With the cooler style mash tun, I plan to keep the build very simple by investing in a 24L cooler and one of those ball valve filter kits that you can get for a couple of quid on eBay. As far as I'm aware, the build is as simple as drilling a hole in the side of the cooler for the ball valve kit before screwing everything in place with some PTFE tape where necessary.

Has anyone used one of these ball-valve Bazooka kits before? Is there anything I haven't taken into account? Is it even worth scrapping my bucket-in-a-bucket mash tun?

All comments welcome!

 

[Banbeer]

I used this type of mash tun for a while with the bazooka fitted and it worked for me, not used any other to compare with. I ordered an all in one last week so have no use for it and would let you have it quite cheap if interested.

 

[Clint]

I use the picnic and bazooka set up but I line it with a big filter bag to make cleaning easy. No stuck sparges.

 

[simon12]

I use a cool box with a bazooka that fits well into this tap https://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Bin_Fermenter_tap.html

 

[prog99]

Even simpler, keep your outer bin and chuck the inner with the holes in the bin.
Use a nylon bag in place. Job done, it’s what I did last year.

 

[Avocado Fruit]

Thanks for the prompt replies guys! Some useful info here.

Even simpler, keep your outer bin and chuck the inner with the holes in the bin.
Use a nylon bag in place. Job done, it’s what I did last year.

Does this approach not get messy or fiddly? The fermenter is 30L, so I imagine I would need a pretty large bag. Either this or use a brew-in-a-bag lining.

 

[cushyno]

I started with a coolbox that I didn't want to drill into. I made a fairly effective bazooka thing out of a flexible pipe coupling and some plastic tubing that I can leave inside when the lid is on for mashing, then dangle over the side to Syphon out the wort.

Since then, mainly to aid ease of cleaning I started using a big BIAB bag as a liner for the mash tun. The bag is a really fine weave so the bazooka isn't really required.

Try this :
A coolbox or insulated bucket, a piece of silicone tube long enough to syphon with, a short piece of copper or plastic pipe in the coolbox end of the tube, a BIAB bag.

No drilling necessary. The weight of the bag with grain in keeps the tube in place and the bag avoids the tube getting blocked by filtering.

 

[Avocado Fruit]

Try this :
A coolbox or insulated bucket, a piece of silicone tube long enough to syphon with, a short piece of copper or plastic pipe in the coolbox end of the tube, a BIAB bag.

No drilling necessary. The weight of the bag with grain in keeps the tube in place and the bag avoids the tube getting blocked by filtering.

Sounds like a great, simple idea. I must say though, I do love the convenience of a tap on my mash tun. My bucket-in-a-bucket mash tun did have one, although it was plastic and leaky at times.

 

[prog99]

Does this approach not get messy or fiddly? The fermenter is 30L, so I imagine I would need a pretty large bag. Either this or use a brew-in-a-bag lining.

No, I was recommended this technique here and it works great.
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/improve-my-mash-tun.79771/#post-790360

 

[Avocado Fruit]

No, I was recommended this technique here and it works great.
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/improve-my-mash-tun.79771/#post-790360

Ahhh that makes sense. Well in that case, maybe keep the inner bucket with the holes and put the BIAB bag around that in order to keep the false bottom and eliminate the need to suspend the bag during sparging.

Nice ideas here.

 

[Avocado Fruit]

Update! I was going to try a different approach with my current bucket-in-a-bucket mash tun before going ahead with the cooler conversion.

After all your useful responses, I was going to simply use a fine BIAB bag inside the inner bucket (the one with the holes in), in an attempt to stop any blockages causing my stuck sparges. I think keeping the false bottom would be useful, hence why I don't just use the BIAB inside the outer bucket.

The problem is, it's hard to find a BIAB bag that fits a 30L fermenter, which I think would be ideal. No suspension needed, no having to open and close the bag when stirring grains, just have the top of the bag permanently open, hanging over the mash tun with the lid on.

Using a smaller bag has been suggested, but would this not get messy when having to stir the grains during a batch sparge?