25l Willow Esky $19.99 - Coles

[kevnlis]

Coles currently has 25L Willow Eskies for $19.99. I picked one up and with a few bits of vinyl tubing and connectors made myself a great mash tun for under $40 (actually cost me closer to $30 because I had some of the bits laying around)! All up it was maybe 30 minutes of work to make the tun, too easy really, the only hard part would be drilling the tubing but lucky I have a drill press

If you have been thinking of making a mash tun but don;t know where to start, I will be putting a tutorial on how I made mine on my website later this week.

 

[danman]

keep the pics coming on this thread mate,ill be watching with glee!

 

[beerguide]

Can't wait to see your tutorial. Im thinking about advancing from the kit and a few bits (eg: hops and a little extra malt) into the world of mashing (or is it mini-mashing ) and think your tute will help greatly.

 

[kevnlis]

Can't wait to see your tutorial. Im thinking about advancing from the kit and a few bits (eg: hops and a little extra malt) into the world of mashing (or is it mini-mashing ) and think your tute will help greatly.

You can do a Strong Scotch Ale in a 25L esky, this will be the first brew done with the new tun and it will have a target OG of 1.080 or so which is well within style. I have not pushed the limits in my calculations but I am not sure I will need to go much bigger than this brew, which is why I picked it to be first

I am aiming to get it done Thursday, but we will see how my week pans out. I unfortunately have 2 children that are not i n school yet, and I work from home, on call 24/7 so things never really get done how or when I want them to.

I will definately make note and post some pics here when it is all completed.

 

[microbe]

Coles currently has 25L Willow Eskies for $19.99. I picked one up and with a few bits of vinyl tubing and connectors made myself a great mash tun for under $40 (actually cost me closer to $30 because I had some of the bits laying around)! All up it was maybe 30 minutes of work to make the tun, too easy really, the only hard part would be drilling the tubing but lucky I have a drill press

If you have been thinking of making a mash tun but don;t know where to start, I will be putting a tutorial on how I made mine on my website later this week.

I saw those and was tempted, but they don't have (or did I just not notice) a drain plug / bung. What sort of damage do you do drilling through one of those things?

Cheers,

microbe

 

[NickB]

I grabbed one of these about a year ago for the same price, and it's been a great purchase! I regularly do 5-6KG grain bills, for 30L boils, and it handles things pretty well (although 6KG really pushes the capacity).

Drilling through one does no damage, and I just used a cheapy spade bit from the Reject Shop. Used a SS nipple, a nut for the inside, a rubber washer and the budget ball valve from Bunnings, with a SS braid on the inside. Cost all of maybe $30.

I'd suggest grabbing one if you're even just thinking of stepping up to AG at some point soon, as I'm not sure they go for this price that often. I've only just begun to outgrow mine, so moving to a Keg-like vessel soon.

Here's a pic of mine anyhow (apologies for not showing much in it....)

View attachment 15315

Cheers

 

[kevnlis]

I went a different route to NickB. I priced up the braid and ball valve and found it would cost a considerable amount more than the vinyl tubing. Here is a run down of the parts list and the prices taken direct from the Bunnings docket.

25L Willow Esky - $19.99
13mm Vinyl Tubing 20M - $4.50 (I already had some left over from the garden irrigation)
Poly Elbow - 4x $0.62 - $2.48
Poly Cross - $1.81
Poly Tee - $0.73
Inline Valve - $2.20
1M Length of clear 13mm silicon tubing (this would not be necessary but I had some laying around)

Cost me $27 and change.... Can not see how it couls cost you more than $40 all up!

I just put a hole in the esky with a 14mm spade bit, poked some holes in a few pieces of tubing and assembled it all losely. Made a nice seal around the inside and outside of the esky where the hose fit through (it was a perfect fit so this was easy to do). All up took me less than 30 minutes, but like I said earlier the drill press I used to make the holes in the vinyl tubing was a big help!

 

[phonos]

Does anyone know if this special is on in sydney too?

 

[brettprevans]

Does anyone know if this special is on in sydney too?

the sale is on in melbourne as well so I assume its on in sydney too.

 

[kevnlis]

I just realised Nick had a bit of an accident near his mash tun

 

[phonos]

the sale is on in melbourne as well so I assume its on in sydney too.

Yep - It sure is! I just picked up a future mash tun!

 

[microbe]

Does anyone know if this special is on in sydney too?

It was also at that price in Ballina and Lismore today too. So you're probably in luck. Note to self - "Refresh" before "Reply"!!

Cheers,

microbe

 

[phonos]

thanks anyway microbe!

 

[beerguide]

Bought one of these last night, before I jump in blindly and make any modifications I'll wait for your notes/pics/tutorial kevnlis.

 

[NickB]

I just realised Nick had a bit of an accident near his mash tun

Yeah, well, I do get a bit excited on a brew day...Im only human after all. (Should have seen the wall near the kettle h34r



cheers

 

[kevnlis]

Yeah, well, I do get a bit excited on a brew day...Im only human after all. (Should have seen the wall near the kettle h34r: )



cheers

Gotta make sure all the other dogs on the block know the mash tun is yours.

Looks like I will have time today to get the pics/tutorial up. Stay tuned B)

 

[NickB]

Gotta make sure all the other dogs on the block know the mash tun is yours.

LOL, indeed. I fight them off with a stick if they get too close

Looking forward to seeing your tutorial though...interested to see what you did differently to me!

Cheers

 

[kevnlis]

Rain was expected, so I did not get a chance to do the now 2 brews I need to get done today. I will post here to let you know how the test run goes but I am fairly confident it will work OK. I did the tutorial on how I built the mash tun with pictures on my website here:

http://www.tinkletots.net/kevnlis/mashtun.html

 

[beerguide]

Thanks! Appreciate your tute and photos. I now have a much better idea of what I'm trying to achieve now.

 

[NickB]

Here's some pics of mine (sorry about the quality)

View attachment 15397

View attachment 15398

View attachment 15399


Cheers