Cooler Mash Tun?!

Help!
I want to make the switch to all-grain brewing so bad I can't stand it. My problem is I can't decide how to make a mash tun. The wife and I just had a baby (a week old today) so I am trying to keep it on the cheap side. Did I say cheap? I meant brewing like I stole it!
If someone could link me to some instructables on how to make one that would e great! The more dumbed down, the better.
I had my eye on a cooler at Walmart that could hold 10 gallons (quarts to gallon google search staring at it) and it had wheels! So how do I make it a tun?
Thanks so much in advance, not even sure if this is the right thread... I will have more quality posts too. Someday!
-Zach
(P.S. I also brew in Alabama! GO HB9!!)

Even with a simple cooler design there are a lot of variables to consider. Batch size and average OG, round vs. rectangle, hose braid vs. manifold. You said cheap though....reallly cheap. Here's about as cheap as you'll get. Get the cheapest cooler you can find that suits your batch size. Make sure it has a drain. Then get the following. A nylon valve from the homebrew shop (or online if you have to), some vinyl tubing from the hardware store to match the valve (1/2" or 3/8" I think), a 12-18 inch piece of water supply line with stainless steel braid on the outside (same size as vinyl tubing), 3 stainless hose clamps, and a #3 drilled rubber stopper (should be able to get the stopper from the homebrew shop as well). Once you have all the materials, remove the drain cap from the cooler so you are left with a hole. Cut a piece of vinyl tubing to your desired final length and push a small lenght of tubing through the rubber stopper starting from the small end. Pull the rest of the tubing through the hole in the cooler from the inside out. Insert the rubber stopper into the cooler hole from the inside of the cooler (this is very important, if you insert the stopper from the outside of cooler it will pop right out when the cooler is filled with water). Cut the ends off the water supply line and remove the stainless braid. Leave one end open and crimp the other end by folding it back on itself. Attach braid to vinyl tubing on inside of cooler with a hose clamp. Cut the vinyl tubing on the outside of the cooler and attach your nylon valve wherever you want it. Secure the vinyl tubing to the nylon valve with the remaining hose clamps. Very cheap and very easy to build. I've gotten 6 years of worry free operation from this so far. The finished product should look something like this.

I think this is the easiest and cheapest way to build a mash tun.

Additionally, I would suggest Craigslist for the cooler (you can always search for a mash tun there too, and might be able to get a good deal).

For a 40 quart capacity cooler, if I was trying to do it really cheap with a used cooler, I think you could get her done for $30-$35.

Best of luck. If you decide differently on the braid or manifold, just search the forums. There are a TON of posts about this subject.

I've been all grain brewing for 3 years now and I don't even have a tun. Cheap? Did you say cheap? How about <$4? A pair of paint strainer bags and you can be all grain brewing this afternoon. Search out the term BIAB and do a little reading.

You guys are alright.

Considered BIAB, just weighing options I guess.

THANKS ALOT!

Switched to AG a couple of years ago, I do BIAB with full 5 gallon boils. Only thing you will need is a hunk of voile curtain and a decent sized pot (I would go with 10 gal. minimum for average gravity brews). I've been more than pleased with my beers and haven't seen a need yet to go to a 2 or 3 vessel system.

I use a piece of material (voile, ~$15) for my grain containment in the cooler I already had ($)0. Add a valve and some tubing and you're ready. The equipment looks like BIAB, but the method is infusion mashing with batch sparging. Pretty simple.

The nice things about voile is you can use it in any size cooler, cleanup is very easy (pick up the whole piece of material by the corners and dump the grains in the compost, rinse material), it is finer than the paint strainer bags resulting in less particles in the fermenter, and there is little fabrication time required.

TyroneSweetlick said:

I use a piece of material (voile, ~$15) for my grain containment in the cooler I already had ($)0. Add a valve and some tubing and you're ready. The equipment looks like BIAB, but the method is infusion mashing with batch sparging. Pretty simple.

The nice things about voile is you can use it in any size cooler, cleanup is very easy (pick up the whole piece of material by the corners and dump the grains in the compost, rinse material), it is finer than the paint strainer bags resulting in less particles in the fermenter, and there is little fabrication time required.

Click to expand...

Photo please. How large of a piece of voile are you using for what size cooler?