Another Keg Mash Tun Build

[Truman42]

Ive been using my 36 litre esky for my mashtun with a copper manifold for my past 4 brews. It did the job fine except I had around 2-3 litres of dead space due to the drain hole being higher than the bottom of the esky and I didnt want to modify the esky too much as I still wanted to use it if we went away camping, as an esky.
Anyway I brought a 50 litre keg from a club member and have started converting it to a mash tun. My original plan was to mount it upside down and use the collar and spear entry as the wort drain but I still would have had to use legs to keep the keg bottom up off the brew stand, or use a milk crate etc, so I went with keeping it upright and mounting the wort drain underneath.

I had a local welding company we deal with at work plasma cut my lid.



Then brought a strip of rubber from Clark Rubber to put around the edge.



Then I drilled some holes in the botom and tapped some threads and used 60mm bolts for my legs and drilled a hole to mount an elbow for my wort drain. Im going to use a nut or two on the outside to keep the elbow as low as possible and maximise the amount of wort I can drain out of the tun. Dead space should be reduced to less than 100 mls.
I will add some threaded stainless pipe to the elbow and a stainless tap just oustide the keg diameter.



I then mounted an elbow on the side for my wort return. I will use a plastic T piece and a length of silicone tube connected in a loop with small holes as my wort return. This worked fine in my esky.



The lid fits perfectly with a nice snug fit and has a vent hole for the steam.



Just have to add the tap, and insulate the keg.

If I soak the inside of the keg with some PBW and give i a scrub with a scourer, will that get rid of the **** inside?

 

[booargy]

it might
try it and see if it does

 

[Truman42]

Yeh will do and see how it comes up.

Does anyone know where I can get a length of stainless threaded pipe (MALE) around 200mm long to mount my ball valve onto my elbow? Ive tried Geordi stainless and a few other places but none of them seem to sell threaded stainless pipe.

Otherwise I will have to use brass and risk galvanic corrosion, although thread tape would probably help this anyway.

 

[NickB]

Craftbrewer sell something like what you're after - might only be 100mm long though. I use them on my rig.

No affiliation etc

Cheers

 

[Nibbo]

Yeh will do and see how it comes up.

Does anyone know where I can get a length of stainless threaded pipe (MALE) around 200mm long to mount my ball valve onto my elbow? Ive tried Geordi stainless and a few other places but none of them seem to sell threaded stainless pipe.

Otherwise I will have to use brass and risk galvanic corrosion, although thread tape would probably help this anyway.

Geordi have BSP threaded pipe. 150mm long.

http://www.geordi.com.au/Products28d.htm

Try this page.

Nibbo

 

[QldKev]

For the staining / beerstone just a soak in PBW, throw it in hot water, mix, and leave overnight. Next day a quick rub using a s/s steel wool (cheap from Coles etc) will leave it like new.

Here's a fitting on ebay that's 150mm long, by the time you have fittings on either end it may get you out the side.

Otherwise if you want the full 200mm get 2 of these 100mm lengths and a joiner. All up under $10 posted. You could even swap out the joiner/coupler for a T piece and insert your temp probe underneath the vessel out the way.


QldKev

 

[Truman42]

Craftbrewer sell something like what you're after - might only be 100mm long though. I use them on my rig.

No affiliation etc

Cheers

All I could find on the CB website was threaded fittings that were 2.5" long. I need at least 180mm long.

 

[Florian]

All I could find on the CB website was threaded fittings that were 2.5" long. I need at least 180mm long.

Give the shop a call, chances are they have it in stock but not on the website yet like many other products.

 

[dicko]

Why not use s/steel pipe and compression fittings or weld the reqired fittings on the ends

Cheers

 

[Truman42]

thanks gents might check out both those options.

Here is what an hour in the acid bath at work did to the inside of the keg. Its bloody spotless.

 

[Muscovy_333]

thanks gents might check out both those options.

Here is what an hour in the acid bath at work did to the inside of the keg. Its bloody spotless.

View attachment 58802

Love the bolt legs Truman, I cut a hole in my brew stand to accomodate a triclover attachement to the sanke outlet but it is a pain in the....when cleaning.
I am going to follow suit with some similar legs. (Got some sortfurniture legs that i could tap in the same way.)

Welcome back BTW.

 

[Truman42]

Love the bolt legs Truman, I cut a hole in my brew stand to accomodate a triclover attachement to the sanke outlet but it is a pain in the....when cleaning.
I am going to follow suit with some similar legs. (Got some sortfurniture legs that i could tap in the same way.)

Welcome back BTW.

Cheers mate, good to be back brewing. Im sick of buying craft beer at $4.50 a stubbie when I can make my own. Let me know if you need a hand with it, lots of good brewery building toos etc here at work.. :beer:

 

[real_beer]

Ive been using my 36 litre esky for my mashtun with a copper manifold for my past 4 brews. It did the job fine except I had around 2-3 litres of dead space due to the drain hole being higher than the bottom of the esky and I didnt want to modify the esky too much as I still wanted to use it if we went away camping, as an esky.

Hi Truman,

As long as you have a piece of hose on your esky's drain tap long enough to reach below the outside bottom of the esky you wouldn't have to modify it. Just thought I'd mention it as you've already made a copper manifold for it. You could sell it as a complete mash tun & use the money to buy another esky.

cheers

 

[QldKev]

Shove a shoe under the end away from the tap and you'll get more out of the mash tun. Send me then money you was going to spend on this build. We're both happy :lol:

 

[mje1980]

I use a highly innovative wonder of modern technology. A 4 x 2 offcut, at the opposite end of the esky!.

Back on topic, im thinking of doing something similar, i just need to get off my arse and do it. So much good bling, good brewing ideas out now that i really like the look of, but i just stick with the old 3v esky, keggle, keggle HLT. Works so good!

 

[Truman42]

The pickup came into the middle of the esky so tilting the esky at one end wouldnt have worked.
Besides that I was starting to warp the lid on the esky and didn't want to wreck it any further.

And on top of that an esky doesn't look as cool or has the bling factor that a keg has.

I have a copper manifold free to good home if anyone is interested

 

[Truman42]

Well heres the finished product.

I used some stainless tube and compression fittings to mount the ball valve. (Which I have to swap over for a stainless ball valve I have at home).

Im really happy with how it turned out and cant wait to give it a try. I brought a stainless domed false bottom from KK minus the fittings and filled the hole with a brass nut.

 

[Muscovy_333]

Well heres the finished product.

I used some stainless tube and compression fittings to mount the ball valve. (Which I have to swap over for a stainless ball valve I have at home).

Im really happy with how it turned out and cant wait to give it a try. I brought a stainless domed false bottom from KK minus the fittings and filled the hole with a brass nut.

View attachment 58952

View attachment 58953

Thats a belter Truman, nice work.

 

[sama]

Are you using a pump?I found with such a setup after an hours mash,anything that gets through your false bottom/manifold will clog the outlet tube/pipe.all the **** settles at the lowest point .with a pump it'll suck through,tho without,you need to blow back up through the ball valve to unclog.a pita.

 

[TheCarbinator]

and insulate the keg.

I've been thinking about making something very similar with an elbow at the bottom of a keg.

Been thinking about putting the keg inside bigger pot (the bigger pot could be just made from any old sheet metal) and filling the cavity with expanding foam.

Is that a crazy idea?